Coz Dive Report....late,but hey

[mardigrastexan]

My wonderful girlfriend and I returned from Cozumel on Nov 1st after a week of fantastic diving. The water temps ran approx 80 degrees and the vis was always 100+ ft. We basically dived every reef,except for the advanced areas. We did a night dive at Paradise reef which was great. We saw 8 octopus and tons of crabs and lobster there.
Out of all of the dives ,the best and most alive reef was Santa Rosa Wall.....it was simply incredible. Saw two nurse sharks swimming,not hiding as they're known to do,and a very large Ray. The coral was very vibrant and full of fish.
We made all of our dives with "Scuba with Alison". She was also fanatastic. She made the dives very fun and comfortable for everyone on the boat. And she knows where the critters are. I will use Scuba with Alison again,and I would highly recommend her operation to anyone.Oh,and let me not forget Chucho...this DM is a fish. You've never seen a person this comfortable under water. He has over 40 years experience,and he's a wonderful person ,too. She can be found at www.scubawithalison.com
We will never dive with Scubadu. At one point this operation actually ran over our safety sausage(we were less than 10 feet below the surface.)...and they never seemed to care about the safety of the other dive operations diving around them. They seemed unprofessional in my opinion.
We stayed at the El Presidente for the entire week. This is a very nice hotel by the island's standards. The service and food there was second to none,as we never lacked for anything we needed. I would like to see a better air conditioning system at a hotel of it's caliber. And hey,if you're looking for a soft bed in Coz,it ain't gonna happen. Stay in the water!
Over all,the experience was a blast and we can't wait to do it again.

 

[ggunn]

mardigrastexan once bubbled...
My wonderful girlfriend and I returned from Cozumel on Nov 1st after a week of fantastic diving....

She's reading over your shoulder, isn't she? ;^)

 

[5615mike]

Sounds like you had great time.........tough not to in Coz. Presidente is a great place but very very pricey. Stayed there a few times and after staying in Condos and FA won't go back. FA is almost as nice if you stay in the Casita Suites IMO. Don't know if you stayed in a regular room in the high rise or in one of the reef rooms on the ground floor that run out towards the sea. Nice but again very pricey. Scuba Du is typical of a Resort operator in my opinion. Dove with them one trip and would not again.

As far as beds go, you won't find a soft bed in Coz at a regular hotel. We have only found them in Condos which when compared to resort prices, have been basically the same cost or cheeper but if you want ocean front, most are on the north end of the island which makes diving in the am a hassle due to early start times. FA is so convenient as is El Pres due to the southern location which is where most of the better reefs are located which translates into shorter boat rides. A/C, most Hotels again don't have great A/C's. Again, the condos are a different story. Next time you might at least consider trying a condo. It might be an enjoyable change of pace.

 

[mardigrastexan]

ggunn...actually she wasn't,but she has been known to read my past threads

5615mike...it was a reef room. Oh, by the way, my wonderful girlfriend fell twice on the faux marble floors near the shower area of the room. Can't say she was very happy about that. :upset:

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

5615mike once bubbled...
Presidente is a great place but very very pricey. Stayed there a few times and after staying in Condos and FA won't go back. FA is almost as nice if you stay in the Casita Suites IMO. Don't know if you stayed in a regular room in the high rise or in one of the reef rooms on the ground floor that run out towards the sea. Nice but again very pricey.
Again, the condos are a different story. Next time you might at least consider trying a condo. It might be an enjoyable change of pace.

After having a villa vacation last year we are considering a condo. Any advice? Any opinion on the Coral Princess?

 

[5615mike]

mardigrastexan once bubbled...
ggunn...actually she wasn't,but she has been known to read my past threads

5615mike...it was a reef room. Oh, by the way, my wonderful girlfriend fell twice on the faux marble floors near the shower area of the room. Can't say she was very happy about that. :upset:

Funny you mention that. We had the same problem. Had to be careful anytime you went in the bathroom area. That floor would never be in an American Hotel. Can you say "Attorney" from your hospital bed?

 

[5615mike]

Tim Ingersoll once bubbled...


After having a villa vacation last year we are considering a condo. Any advice? Any opinion on the Coral Princess?

Tim,

I have seen the villas you have stayed in around the Carib...stay away from Coral Princess. You will be sorely disappointed. check out

http://cozumel-villas.com/beach.html
Sunset and Seaside are nice. There are many pictures to see what you are getting. Never been disappointed with either place. Cantamar is nice if you get the right unit. I think the guys name at cozumel-villas is Mike. Nice people. If you go during off season you can work a deal on the unit. We usually go in May and Sept/Oct.


http://www.cozumelvillas.com/listing.html#Anchor4
Is another decent place to look but I like the previous one better.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

5615mike once bubbled...


Tim,

I have seen the villas you have stayed in around the Carib...stay away from Coral Princess. You will be sorely disappointed. check out

http://cozumel-villas.com/beach.html
Sunset and Seaside are nice. There are many pictures to see what you are getting. Never been disappointed with either place. Cantamar is nice if you get the right unit. I think the guys name at cozumel-villas is Mike. Nice people. If you go during off season you can work a deal on the unit. We usually go in May and Sept/Oct.


http://www.cozumelvillas.com/listing.html#Anchor4
Is another decent place to look but I like the previous one better.

Thanks for the info. I talked her into trying the Presidente Intercontinental this year. I'll post a trip report and let you know how it goes.

 

[ggunn]

5615mike once bubbled...


Funny you mention that. We had the same problem. Had to be careful anytime you went in the bathroom area. That floor would never be in an American Hotel. Can you say "Attorney" from your hospital bed?

One reason some of the waterfront hotels on Cozumel have hard, water resistant floors in the rooms is because of hurricanes. The owner of La Perla (later Lorena, still later Caribe Blu) told us that during several storms he just opened the room doors on both the ocean side and the street side and let it blow through rather than try to resist it and have to replace all the glass. Carpet would have been a mess to deal with.

 

[aquasport]

How are scuba with allisions prices, i am going to cozumel this spring she sounds good for a new diver.