Can't beat Cozumel

[kixy1]

What Fishi said.

MY vote would be LCBR all the way. It's a very nice, relaxing, vacation that just so happens to have some of the best Caribbean diving I've seen. It's been a few years, but I hear the food is still very good. When I was there it was seriously the best food,I've had on a trip! They really pamper you too, which is niiiice

 

[cicopo]

There's a lot to be said about diving with other dive ops vs just SCC. SCC doesn't do the northern reefs from what I've read so if they are limiting their guests to only 60-70% of the reefs you've got to try a second (or 3rd etc) dive op to see the rest of the reefs. Maybe you can splurge on a higher end resort in Coz since it's an Anniversary trip & use one of the other small ops who do any site weather & diver experience can allow.

 

[Mike]

Geeze Mike. You seem to really have it in for SCC. Big nasty pier? Hmmm... I am on a diving vacation, seems pretty cool and convenient to me.

True there is no real beach to the water. You have a point there, but so what. I have looked at your dive history and you sure do have a lot of experience at many different dive locations.

So what about these other dive locations or places you are staying make it so you say that SCC is not even on the same planet?

I really would like to know as that can help in considering my next vacation dive destination.

If pictures are worth a 1000 words, the best way to see the differences is in pictures. You can do an image search on google using both names and see what you think.

I don't have anything against SCC, but I don't see how anybody would compare these places to each other.

 

[Keith.M]

So what resort is that? Does look very nice!

 

[cicopo]

The second photo looks like it's had some help from Photoshop but at the same time I can say that you could take something similar at the Allegro, Grand & Iberostar. I do however agree there isn't much to compare about the waterfront areas of SCC (or Hotel Coz which is my usual place of choice) to the southern resorts I've named.

 

[divingjd]

The second photo is LCBR, and it really looks like that. I can't vouch for the sailboats, but that's a good picture of the resort. I agree that it's very different from Coz. I only know SCC from reports from my friends, and LCBR has got o be a lot nicer. I found LC to be one of the most relaxing places on the planet and the diving was the best I've seen in the Caribbean. I love Coz and constantly struggle with the value proposition going anywhere else, but I think LC is worth the additional cost, particularly for a special occasion. The value of Coz wins out with me more often than not, but I'm really glad I've been to LCBR and want to go back soon.

 

[Mossman]

I can't compare Cobalt Coast to SCC as I've never been to SCC, but Grand Cayman is simply a more expensive island than Cozumel. That said, the diving is different, which may or may not make it worth the price. Drifts on the north shore tend to be very slow, allowing more time for photography. Sting-ray city makes a unique dive. Also, the shore diving at Cobalt Coast gets deeper than what you can do off SCC, really deep if you want to swim all the way out to the "deep wall". They have a nice pool, rooms are spacious, food is excellent. Their tech instruction is first rate so it was a perfect place to stay when I did a tech class while J was able to do boat dives. It's a bit off the beaten track from the rest of Cayman's tourist areas, so you'll need a taxi or rental if you want to Georgetown, 7-mile-beach, or really anywhere else on the island. They do have specials going on throughout the year, which can alleviate the prices a bit, but I doubt it's ever as cheap as SCC or other Cozumel options.

---------- Post Merged at 11:21 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 11:13 AM ----------

As for a suggestion, I'd go somewhere else besides the Caribbean, like across the Pacific. Hawaii is expensive, but if you go further, you can get great deals in Indonesia and the Philippines, and the diving is mind-blowing.

 

[diveprof]

Both Coz and Little Cayman are wonderful each in their own way. Would I make a decision to not visit LC and only go to Coz due to what some may see as "better value?" I think not. Life is short. LCBR offers a very different experience. I will say without a doubt that I am glad I went a couple of years ago. Yes, I will probably go to Coz more frequently that LCBR as it is more affordable, but I would not have traded off the experience of Little Cayman to save a few bucks. I would just push back the next trip a bit if needed to get the finances in order.

 

[BettyfromToronto]

WOW!!! Lots of comments and opinions here. I'll try to answer them all, if not my name.

1. Yes we don't fly though the USA as I don't like connections or the fact I cannot lock my luggage and of course there is TSA.
2. Connections are bad but a puddle jump like to LCBR was doable.
3. We are willing to pay more but not 3x the price. $1K more for T&C was okay too except there are KIDS!!! Don't have any and don't want to spend my vacation listening to someone's kid all day. Sorry
4. LCBR was doable when it was the even more than twice the price including the additional $500 more for the beach front room. But not now when the cost is now $2516 for the same thing. Over $5K?? We could go east for that money. Maybe we will do LCBR but just not the week we want due to the web package being sold out and the pool view room now costing the same as the beach view web package. I thought booking 7 months in advance was enough. I guess not.
5. Have done Roatan. Fantasy Island actually. Hotel and food was not great but adequate. The dive op was great with 3 boat dives per day but we were totally disappointed that there were no fish. Beautiful coral but no fish. Hubby won't go back.
6. If we move to Hong Kong then that is when we will do the Pacific. If we move to Cozumel then we will do trips to visit family in HK and do side trips to dive so for now that is not an option.
7. I spent my lunch hour looking at Grand Turk. If hubby was willing to puddle jump now to Little Cayman then maybe???? But I guess there are no AIs there. What are the food prices like. Expensive I assume. I have heard of some trips to the Cayman and T&C where the food cost for the week was more than the hotel and air combined. We don't like that "unknown".
8. We can always fall back on the plan to visit Cobalt Coast. We have been to Cayman for one day on a cruise. Would never visit town again and 7 mile beach is not really our thing. Like that CC is secluded. Like the set-up similar to SCC. I guess I need to do an inquiry and see if they even have availability and at the cost advertised on their website. Again it costs more than SCC but that is okay and we are again willing to upgrade to a one bedroom suite to overlook the ocean.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I love this forum because no one is shy to say what they think.

Betty

 

[Mike]

You can lock your luggage with TSA approved locks