Caution about Cozumel

[getwet2]

says in very first post, they got a free week from them...

You are correct, RPdiver did get a free week but I'm not responding to RP Diver I'm responding to pilot fish........ post #49.

 

[Damselfish]

ah, sorry.

 

[getwet2]

Hey, No problem! :boings:

 

[pilot fish]

Like I said, there's no shortage of dive op's on Cozumel and who's to say which one is bettter then the other except for the person who has personally tried them. I have always done it this way no matter where I go and have never had a problem finding a dive op. Booking travel at the last minute isn't a very hard thing to do as long as you are not set on one particular destination.

I gather from your information that you have been to Cozumel twice and both times you used Dive Paradise. You said you had a problem with them the first time so I have to wonder why you used them a second time? Like other people on this board, I don't dive every single day I'm on vacation so I can be flexible, I like to see some of the topside stuff as well.

Some people might think it's risky to do it this way but... what ever. Personally I think it's risky to book and pay for your hotel, flight and dive op in advance and then travel to a destination that lines in the hurricane belt, say ...Little Cayman, during hurricane season no less but hey, not everybody does things the same.

Safe diving!

Yes, that's correct, dove with Dive Paradise twice. The first time was 3 years ago when I had only 30 dives so it was not a problem for me to be on a slower boat. As it turned out, that was in Oct and the boats were not crowded then at all, unlike this last Feb. I guess I just overlooked the possibity of crowds. Guess I just forgot about the slow boats too. It really became apparent when I saw everying passing us, even a flat bottom boat, and we did the same reef 3 times. Unless you write something about it in your log, and a few years go by, you can forget. My log was filled with weight issues, reef descriptions etc but nothing on DP and slow boats. See? That's how things can recur. I should have written something in my log.

On DP Diver. I don't like how everyone gets preachy and infalable, on the Internet anyway, ang get hypercritical. The same thing could have occured with him? Just a note, as Azza has correctly pointed out, if we all continue to hound other posters for an apparent oversight, mistake, how quickly will people post those oversights and mistakes to seek advice? Advice is one thing, hounding someone with, you should have known better and its all YOUR fault, etc, is counter productive. DP Diver is a good diver, has plenty of experience and should be treated a bit better. If you have a different opinion that's fine, but let's be a bit less hypercritical.

I would have written a letter to them too but I'm too lazy. They just won't get my business again, nor that of my friends.

 

[Dive-Ho]

DP Diver is a good diver, has plenty of experience and should be treated a bit better. If you have a different opinion that's fine, but let's be a bit less hypercritical.

I would have written a letter to them too but I'm too lazy. They just won't get my business again, nor that of my friends.[/QUOTE]

Just because some one has a Dive master rating doesn't make him a Good diver with plenty of experience, nor does a log book showing 100 dives.I am a firm beliver that we are treated either the way we deserve to be treated or the way we allow ourselves to be treated.I think someone with 25 years of experience in diving should have known to do his homework ! And he started this thread as a warning about Coz when it should have been either a warning about DP or hey maybe a WARNING TO MAKE SURE YOU RESEARCH BEFORE YOU BOOK ..As you said I have a different opinion than you and I didn't see any post that were hypercritical of Rp Diver.YMMV.
Dive-Ho

 

[MMM]

Like I said, there's no shortage of dive op's on Cozumel and who's to say which one is bettter then the other except for the person who has personally tried them. I have always done it this way no matter where I go and have never had a problem finding a dive op. Booking travel at the last minute isn't a very hard thing to do as long as you are not set on one particular destination.

)

I've booked two last minute trips to Coz in the past couple of months (literally leaving a couple of days after booking) during high season (Christmas/New Year week and Carnaval). Sent e-mails to the ops I wanted to use and made arrangements when I got there. I went north, I went south, and for the most part, had very experienced divers on each boat I went out on. Probably being a solo diver makes it a bit easier for ops to put me on a boat and I wouldn't recommend this for a group!

 

[NAIBdiver1]

My girlfriend and I were in Cozumel in December (2004) and we had a great time and were SUPER HAPPY with Dive Paradise ! Both of us are experienced divers and between us have hundreds of logged dives as well as over a 1,000 volunteer dives each at a large national aquarium. We dive from New Jersey north to the Caribbean south. Dive Paradise is a great operator for beginner to expert diver.

Dive Paradise went out of the way to go to every dive site in Cozumel that we wanted to dive. We tended to be on the same boat everyday with the same divers and yes, we did vote for each destination. We were mostly on the boat "Tango" and it's a fast boat and never more than 12 divers (spit in to two groups). The DM's went way out of their way to accomidate those of us with video cameras. Things like taking turns being first through swim throughs were especially appreciated. Even the "in house" videographer pointed out shots that I would have other wise missed.

No one grabbing animals, touching corals etc. - DM's briefing very good and rules briefed and followed.

One Paradise DM - on his own literally ran my 1st stage to the repair facility, had it repaired and returned it to me before my afternoon dive.

Cozumel is one of our favorite destinations and Dive Paradise one of our favorite dive operators.

link to my trip report
http://www.scubaboard.com/t84241-cozumel-trip-report-dec-2004.html

BTW - why the hurry ? I like the boat rides out and back. Going by the light house as the sun was setting was spectacular.

 

[Rick Inman]

I have read all the threads on this posting. I can not believe that people can be so harsh and put down their own opioions and consider themselves as experts to warn everyone else away. The ones in particular that got me were the ones regarding Dive Paradise....

Welcome to ScubaBoard, Diveheaven!
Interesting first post. Fill out your profile and tell us a little about yourself, OK?

 

[sdwho]

I'm going to second NAIBdiver1--
I first dove Coz in 95 and for a number of years we made an annual Thanksgiving trip there with some friends. The first time we dove with Dive House, but all of the other times we've gone with Dive Paradise. I had no problems with either. With DP we made advance arrangements to get a fast boat and we've not been disappointed. I'm sorry that some divers have had bad experiences with DP; from my experience that's the exception rather than the rule, but it just reinforces my belief that you should get as much information in advance and if there are things that are "make or break" about your dive experience, make as certain that they are taken care of in advance. Better to be a bit forceful and obnoxious up front then disappointed and complaining later.

As for the drift diving at Coz -- well, compared to the diving in Palau or Galapagos, its not much to worry about. Heck, the first time I dove Coz I had fewer than 10 dives under my belt.

In any event...you know what they say...a "bad" day of diving is better than a good day on shore.

sdwho

My girlfriend and I were in Cozumel in December (2004) and we had a great time and were SUPER HAPPY with Dive Paradise ! Both of us are experienced divers and between us have hundreds of logged dives as well as over a 1,000 volunteer dives each at a large national aquarium. We dive from New Jersey north to the Caribbean south. Dive Paradise is a great operator for beginner to expert diver.

Dive Paradise went out of the way to go to every dive site in Cozumel that we wanted to dive. We tended to be on the same boat everyday with the same divers and yes, we did vote for each destination. We were mostly on the boat "Tango" and it's a fast boat and never more than 12 divers (spit in to two groups). The DM's went way out of their way to accomidate those of us with video cameras. Things like taking turns being first through swim throughs were especially appreciated. Even the "in house" videographer pointed out shots that I would have other wise missed.

No one grabbing animals, touching corals etc. - DM's briefing very good and rules briefed and followed.

One Paradise DM - on his own literally ran my 1st stage to the repair facility, had it repaired and returned it to me before my afternoon dive.

Cozumel is one of our favorite destinations and Dive Paradise one of our favorite dive operators.

link to my trip report
http://www.scubaboard.com/t84241-cozumel-trip-report-dec-2004.html

BTW - why the hurry ? I like the boat rides out and back. Going by the light house as the sun was setting was spectacular.

 

[Dive-Ho]

Welcome to ScubaBoard, Diveheaven!
Interesting first post. Fill out your profile and tell us a little about yourself, OK?

Hey what happened to Diveheaven's post ? I was just reading it now it's gone. :11: