Casa Mexicana

[scubaNYC16]

I would tell, them. My dilemma is booking the hotel myself and using a couple of dive ops, or letting 3P or XT Sea book my hotel and dive only with them. I wouldn't want them to book my hotel, and then not use them for the entire stay.

Expedia mobile app always has great prices on Casa Mexicana.

 

[ggunn]

Why not? They may get a referral fee for booking you.

It may be "legal" to do so, but if I got a dive op to book my hotel I would feel kinda crummy if I dove with another op.

 

[ReefHound]

It may be "legal" to do so, but if I got a dive op to book my hotel I would feel kinda crummy if I dove with another op.

But IF they get a referral fee (I do not know for a fact that they do) then you are hurting them more. By all rights, a hotel should pay a decent referral fee for direct booking. I think the big brokers like Expedia and Orbitz take up to a 30% cut. Seems like having a dive op book it keeps that money in the hands of the locals not some international corporate giant.

I'd like to hear from some dive shop owners - if you have a regular customer who wants to use another op on a given trip, would you want to book hotel for them or prefer they book it themselves?

 

[Snoweman]

Just ask Jeanie and Christy to give you a price for the same itinerary and then make a choice. Ask about cash discount. They are both excellent, but just be courteous and dive with whomever makes your hotel reservation

It's not so much about price. It's about do I want to stick with what I know, or do I want to try another dive operator - for at least part of the stay. I like that 3P is just around the corner from Casa Mexicana, but I'm not sure if that really matters. I am also thinking that retrieving my gear mid-trip from one and turning it over to another is just another hassle.

I have posted

Expedia mobile app always has great prices on Casa Mexicana.

I have you used the app AND stayed at the Casa Mexicana? I am always concerned about not getting as good of service when I don't book directly with the hotel. I consider using a dive shop to be another way of "direct booking".

 

[ReefHound]

It's not so much about price. It's about do I want to stick with what I know, or do I want to try another dive operator - for at least part of the stay. I like that 3P is just around the corner from Casa Mexicana, but I'm not sure if that really matters. I am also thinking that retrieving my gear mid-trip from one and turning it over to another is just another hassle.

TP being around the corner from CM is a great convenience. Allows you to have breakfast without rushing so long as you're downstairs at 7am. And convenient to walk to shop for this or that - paperwork, gear repair, gear pickup. Also helpful when you're at the shop in the morning and suddenly remember you left your dive computer in the room. Jogging, you can get to your room and back to shop in less than 5 minutes. Go ahead, ask me how I know! The times we used TP/CM we would have the taxi drop us in front of our hotel on way back since it's right on the way.

It would be a small hassle to move gear mid-trip but that might be the cost of trying a new op. I might rather do most of my diving with the op I know and love, and try a new op maybe for a day. If are going to do any shore diving you also have the hassle of retrieving gear.

 

[ReefHound]

I have you used the app AND stayed at the Casa Mexicana? I am always concerned about not getting as good of service when I don't book directly with the hotel. I consider using a dive shop to be another way of "direct booking".

In my entire life there has only been one time where I noticed any difference at all. That was at a Marriott in LA on a business trip where for some reason we went to check in at 9pm and they were out of the non-smoking rooms we booked. We had to take smoking rooms and a voucher for breakfast. The clerk said if we had booked direct, those guests were upgraded to suites.

 

[scubaNYC16]

It's not so much about price. It's about do I want to stick with what I know, or do I want to try another dive operator - for at least part of the stay. I like that 3P is just around the corner from Casa Mexicana, but I'm not sure if that really matters. I am also thinking that retrieving my gear mid-trip from one and turning it over to another is just another hassle.

I have posted


I have you used the app AND stayed at the Casa Mexicana? I am always concerned about not getting as good of service when I don't book directly with the hotel. I consider using a dive shop to be another way of "direct booking".

Yes, 4 times. You will get the same good service regardless.

 

[fishi]

IMO, the difference between dive ops is largely about the boat ride. Once I am in the water it doesn't much matter to me who got me there. Yeah, there are the big tanks some offer but the difference in price isn't worth it to me (and yeah, I've taken into account the minutes of bottom time per dollar equation) and most (all?) ops have competent DM's who know the reefs and can spot wildlife. If I were to book my hotel through a dive op I'd dive with them.

I would say that there is a big difference between diving with Aldora and 3P’s. They both have their pros and cons. I’m not saying that one is better than the other, they’re both good to dive with but it is a different experience. Mostly in the location of the dive but also the route they take through the different reefs. I think splitting your time between the two of them is an excellent idea. I don’t see how anyone can say that the difference is only on the boat ride. How many dives have you done with Aldora and 3P’s?

 

[ggunn]

I would say that there is a big difference between diving with Aldora and 3P’s. They both have their pros and cons. I’m not saying that one is better than the other, they’re both good to dive with but it is a different experience. Mostly in the location of the dive but also the route they take through the different reefs. I think splitting your time between the two of them is an excellent idea. I don’t see how anyone can say that the difference is only on the boat ride. How many dives have you done with Aldora and 3P’s?

I have not dived with Aldora; it's not worth the premium cost to me, as I related earlier in this thread. YMMV, of course. I haven't dived with 3P either, although I have dived with all those folks when they were with another op. I have, OTOH dived with a few other ops in my 20+ years of diving Cozumel. Once I am in the water it doesn't make much difference to me how I got there.

 

[fishi]

I have not dived with Aldora; it's not worth the premium cost to me, as I related earlier in this thread. YMMV, of course. I haven't dived with 3P either, although I have dived with all those folks when they were with another op. I have, OTOH dived with a few other ops in my 20+ years of diving Cozumel. Once I am in the water it doesn't make much difference to me how I got there.

I found diving with 3P’s to be a very similar experience to diving with Blue Angel. Not much difference there. But diving with Aldora and maybe some of the other premium dive ops that I haven’t tried yet there is enough of a difference to go through the trouble of giving them a try.