Caution about Cozumel

[RP Diver]

What exactly did they do/not do that would cause you to write a nasty letter? I mean, you booked with Dive Paradise.....on the cattle boat, not their fast boats. Yes, when you do this you may end up on the same dive a couple times that week. When you dive on the cattle boats you go where they want to take you and they usually have a wide assortment of divers on the boat from newly certified to advanced. This is true anywhere, not just Cozumel. If you wanted to dive on Dive Paradise' fast boats, you really should have tried to make arrangements before you got there. They would most likely have had a couple other divers lined up who wanted to go, also, unless they were already full. Your letter must have been pretty bad if they gave you a full week free for the two of you. Was the water too wet or what? We have used Dive Paradise before on their cattle boats. Yes, we had the same situation as you.....new divers, dove some sites same as the day before, but that was our fault, not theirs, because we booked it that way. We now use another shop which has small fast boats, a small groups of divers and take us where we want because this is the type of diving we prefer. Sorry....I just can't see why you would give them a hard time about a choice you made.
You said " Cozumel is still a good, economical place to go, especially for the less experienced diver"
I have no idea what you mean by " especially for the less experienced diver" . Cozumel is a great place to go. If it wasn't economical I would still go there. The current you complain about is exactly what keeps the reefs so healthy. We have been diving many other places, but we happen to love the diving in Cozumel and also, the people are so friendly. Great place to dive and relax. You don't want to go? No problem. Hope you guys find that place that is perfect for you. I already have.

DP's info said that all you had to do to get on the fast boats was to ask when you checked in with them on the island. It wasn't until after we got there that they said that was false and that you had to book ahead. Then a girl diving with us on the boat the first 2 days asks the DM on the cattle boat if she can get on the fast boat and he says "Sure, no problem.". The rest of the week she went out on the 6-pack boats. We went to the DP office and asked again and got the same run-around as we were handed to start with. Sorry, but that isn't the way I expect to be treated when I'm paying that much in the first place and willing to pay the extra premium for the faster boats. I don't like it when I know that someone is blowing me off.

 

[pilot fish]

DP's info said that all you had to do to get on the fast boats was to ask when you checked in with them on the island. It wasn't until after we got there that they said that was false and that you had to book ahead. Then a girl diving with us on the boat the first 2 days asks the DM on the cattle boat if she can get on the fast boat and he says "Sure, no problem.". The rest of the week she went out on the 6-pack boats. We went to the DP office and asked again and got the same run-around as we were handed to start with. Sorry, but that isn't the way I expect to be treated when I'm paying that much in the first place and willing to pay the extra premium for the faster boats. I don't like it when I know that someone is blowing me off.

You are absolutely right. What you describe is my experience with DP also. As I said in a previous thread about Dive Paradise, they are good for the newbie diver but awful for an experienced diver. I think the island is losing whatever charm they once had because of the cruise ships and excessive dive traffic. Yes, great diving there but you really have to be careful whom you dive with.

 

[Mawg]

ADIOS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree. Dont let the doorknob hit ya................ And you dont need to be in fast boats to get the ultimate experience in diving in Cozumel. Try going out with Careyitos for a true look at the best of Cozumel diving. Ricardo and Tony will put you INTO the current , that's where the fish are.

 

[Mawg]

To each his/her own. I have been going to Cozumel since 1978, and while yes, absolutely, there have been some changes since then and not all of them have been for the better, Cozumel remains one of my favorite places on the planet. On every trip there, I start planning my next trip there before I leave.

I have only been out on a cattle boat for one dive, and that was enough; even as a beginner, the small boats (for me) were a better choice. I try to stay out of town in the middle of the day when there are a lot of cruise ships in port. I spend a lot of time over on the east side, which has stayed virtually unchanged in my nearly 30 years of going there (well, except for the devastation wrought by Hurricane Gilbert) . I stay in a small quiet hotel that was built in 1980 or 81 and is still as charming as it was then. I started diving there in 1994, and while I will grant that there has been a decline in some of the reef life in some locations, in my experience it has not been as extreme as some would let on; I still get amazing dives every time I go there.

I wish the cruise ship lines had never found Cozumel, but development is a fact of life. Sometimes it is up to the individual to figure out a way to turn chicken s**t into chicken salad. So far, I have been able to deny the march of development spoiling my experience on Cozumel.

As always, YMMV...

Couldnt possibly agree with you more Gordon. I tell people I'm going to Cozumel and they say " Again?" I am just as excited about my upcoming trip in May as I was the first one in 1992. And like you, I love the east side. I love renting a jeep and going miles up the road behind Mescalitos. There are some GREAT beach areas and the diving over there is incredible.I have been all over the Caribbean and Central America. Cozumel and the Yucatan do it for me every time. One of these days, I may not come back.

 

[caribdiver]

DP's info said that all you had to do to get on the fast boats was to ask when you checked in with them on the island. It wasn't until after we got there that they said that was false and that you had to book ahead. Then a girl diving with us on the boat the first 2 days asks the DM on the cattle boat if she can get on the fast boat and he says "Sure, no problem.". The rest of the week she went out on the 6-pack boats. We went to the DP office and asked again and got the same run-around as we were handed to start with. Sorry, but that isn't the way I expect to be treated when I'm paying that much in the first place and willing to pay the extra premium for the faster boats. I don't like it when I know that someone is blowing me off.

Maybe they weren't comfortable putting you on the fast boats for whatever reason.

 

[TCDiver1]

To each his/her own. I have been going to Cozumel since 1978, and while yes, absolutely, there have been some changes since then and not all of them have been for the better, Cozumel remains one of my favorite places on the planet. On every trip there, I start planning my next trip there before I leave.

I have only been out on a cattle boat for one dive, and that was enough; even as a beginner, the small boats (for me) were a better choice. I try to stay out of town in the middle of the day when there are a lot of cruise ships in port. I spend a lot of time over on the east side, which has stayed virtually unchanged in my nearly 30 years of going there (well, except for the devastation wrought by Hurricane Gilbert) . I stay in a small quiet hotel that was built in 1980 or 81 and is still as charming as it was then. I started diving there in 1994, and while I will grant that there has been a decline in some of the reef life in some locations, in my experience it has not been as extreme as some would let on; I still get amazing dives every time I go there.

I wish the cruise ship lines had never found Cozumel, but development is a fact of life. Sometimes it is up to the individual to figure out a way to turn chicken s**t into chicken salad. So far, I have been able to deny the march of development spoiling my experience on Cozumel.

As always, YMMV...

I have to agree with your sentiments here ggunn. I've been diving in Coz off and on for 15+ years and it continues to impress me to this day. IMO, Coz yields the best bang for your buck in the Carribean, all thing considered.

That said, Coz is a drift diving destination. Anyone who doesn't like or want drift diving, should not go to Coz. The current is a factor on most every dive you will do there.

 

[MissDi]

Well after reading all the replies on this I feel the need to reply as well.
I will be doing my 5th trip to Cozumel next month and I love it. I have also dived with Dive paradise each and every time and continue to do so. One difference is, I have always gone with a big group. Apple has always been great to us. We have always contacted her prior to our visit. She gives us a boat (The slow ones) to ourselves so we get to pick the dive sites. I am an experienced diver but we also have less experienced divers with us so we plan accordingly. We also get the pick of our divemasters so we have ones that know us and we like diving with.
I love Cozumel and will continue to go there. I also enjoy diving with Dive Paradise.
I just thought someone should hear some of the good things.

 

[RP Diver]

Maybe they weren't comfortable putting you on the fast boats for whatever reason.

That's funny. Har har. :11: After some of the diving I did in the Sea of Cortez and Costa Rica, Cozumel is like diving in a swimming pool with a current jet. They had no problems with putting us on a fast boat a year later.

 

[Rick Inman]

DP's info said that all you had to do to get on the fast boats was to ask when you checked in with them on the island. It wasn't until after we got there that they said that was false and that you had to book ahead. Then a girl diving with us on the boat the first 2 days asks the DM on the cattle boat if she can get on the fast boat and he says "Sure, no problem.". The rest of the week she went out on the 6-pack boats. We went to the DP office and asked again and got the same run-around as we were handed to start with. Sorry, but that isn't the way I expect to be treated when I'm paying that much in the first place and willing to pay the extra premium for the faster boats. I don't like it when I know that someone is blowing me off.

Thank heavens for scubaboard and google!!
I don't know how you picked the dive opp or your hotel, but in your original post you said you sent a letter to your LDS, so my GUESS is that is your source. Well, there ya' go. I have booked my first trip to Coz in May, and I am staying at the Caribe Blu Hotel and diving with Christi's Blue XT Sea. My guess is that I will have a very different experience than you - and I'm not and instructor. Yet you and I both have the same sources of information available from which to make our vacation decisions. How much research did you do? Did your LDS say, "I can get you a good deal at such-and-such"? I haven't been to Coz yet, but I know that it's all drift diving, I know which dive opps will fit my style of diving, I know which hotel has the things I want (waterfront, view, dive shop, pick-up spot for Blue XT Sea, beach dive, etc.), I know when the crowds are largest (May begins the "low" season), I know there is trash on the east side beaches, I know which restaurants are best, I know the taxi fares, air temps, water temps, bugs, lizards and snakes (oh, and crocs, too!).
Bottom line for all of us is that you usually get out of a vacation what you put into it. I've never been to Coz and I could have told you what to expect from DP. Many people enjoy the larger boats: their friends go snorkeling, they meet lots of new people, easy dive sites which they can go back to, less sea sickness, etc. These people wouldn't be happy with Aldora. How do you know the difference? About ten mins on the web and anyone would know.
The irony of your post is that many other people will have a better experience in Coz because of it. So you're helping other people - which is the chicken salad of your post.

 

[Fin59]

That's funny. Har har. :11: After some of the diving I did in the Sea of Cortez and Costa Rica, Cozumel is like diving in a swimming pool with a current jet. They had no problems with putting us on a fast boat a year later.

My guess is they put you on the fast boats your second trip because of the letter you previuosly wrote to them. Dive Ops have no way of knowing what experience you have other than what you tell them. How many people do you think walk into their shop each day and others and want to dive Devil's Throat, Maracaibo, Barracuda and San Juan and don't have the skills or eperience to dive these sites? If they took everyone who asked there would be a lot more accidents or deaths in Cozumel.