Question “Concierge Diving” Is that a thing or marketing babble?

[Marie13]

There’s what I call “valet” cave diving in Mexico There are porters (aka scuba sherpas) that will help set up your SM tanks (I always did my own), haul tanks up and down the many steps to the water at the cenotes, and even bring your SM rig down to where you are at the water’s edge. I had a week of this while doing full cave in August. I’ll do it again when I’m there in December. I have bad knees and sciatica. It was my instructor’s way around my physical issues and it allows me to concentrate on my diving and not hurt myself hauling tanks up and down the many steps. 500 pesos/$25 a day. Porter also watches the truck when you’re diving, which is a good thing. Worth every penny.

 

[MichaelMc]

I want to enter and exit from the gentle moon pool with soft lighting and a Jacuzzi beside it.
Or a moon pool 20' down with portholes to watch the fish.

 

[CycleCat]

The boat we dive with in San Carlos (Sonora, MX), I would not consider concierge but they change tanks between dives, have good food and drinks during the surface interval, and the thing they do that I really like is let you walk to the edge of the dive platform with fins in hand and then place them on your feet and adjust the straps while you hold the dive ladder railing so you just need to step off.

 

[Joneill]

Love it. Ocean Frontiers in the Cayman Islands does it best. Walk off the boat, go eat, go to sleep. The next day, walk back on the boat. Washed and dried gear (your own) rigged and ready to go.

Agreed - Ocean Frontiers does a nice job!

The only better was my recent RA liveaboard where they also had crew waiting on the platform to help you out of your wetsuit and boots as soon as you got off the RIB between dives. They then rinsed/deodorized/hung it all up to dry a bit and then had it back to your station before the next dive! Mask, cameras and dive computers were all you had to manage!

 

[Lorenzoid]

Hilarious, Doc! I guess pretty much every liveaboard above Blackbeards tier in the Caribbean and whatever counts as a liveaboard in the UK is "concierge." Sure, they hand you a towel and a cold drink when you return from the dive, and they feed you and maybe put a chocolate on your pillow and all that. Whatever. As for land-based dive ops, I don't know what they could do for me that would make it "concierge." Just marketing babble would be my vote.

 

[Doc]

…recent RA liveaboard where they also had crew waiting on the platform to help you out of your wetsuit and boots as soon as you got off the RIB between dives. They then rinsed/deodorized/hung it all up to dry a bit and then had it back to your station before the next dive!

why live aboard crews do this:

They want the diatoms & fish poop washed off of you before you step inside the ship.

Nothing really but self preservation.

 

[tursiops]

I'm sorry that those who do not understand a term apparently feel it is necessary to make fun of it.

Concierge or valet diving is indeed a thing, and many people (particularly older) will happily pay for it.
You don't have to handle your gear, and the pampering is much appreciated. Reef Divers in Little Cayman and Cayman Brac are very good at it. You don't even have to move around the boat with your gear on; you go sit on a little seat at the transom, your gear is brought to you and you stick out your arms and put it on, then step into the water. You take your gear off at the ladder, climb up with no gear on, and your gear is brought back to your seat. Etc. And in the Philippines and Indonesia it is an art form; you are lucky if you get to carry your own camera to the water!

 

[Joneill]

why live aboard crews do this:

They want the diatoms & fish poop washed off of you before you step inside the ship.

Nothing really but self preservation.

What a silly statement… and completely wrong - it’s just great service and making the experience as pleasant and efficient as possible!

 

[Rob9876]

Valet or Concierge diving can be nice on vacation -- just get off the boat and leave your gear to be rinsed and hung overnight, to magically reappear the next morning. Nice to just jump off the boat and meet our non-diving family members for a quick lunch and afternoon activities, without having to worry about schleping and rinsing gear, etc.

I'm guessing we only have a little while longer before this thread becomes a "I'm too cool for concierge service" thread like most others do. I have no trouble dealing with my gear, but concierge/valet service on vacation is very nice!

 

[<*)))><]

De Rigueur to avoid the "poors"