Squeekycat
Registered
Let me start out by saying we had an excellent trip to Coz.
Our trip was from 4/16/04 through 4/21/04. The weather was perfect no rain and no blistering heat or humidity.
THE FLIGHT:
We flew Continental, non-stop from Houston - smooth and quiet flights both ways.
ACCOMMODATIONS:
We stayed at the Occidental Grand an all inclusive resort at the south end of the island. We liked it very much.
The Room: The resort was filled to capacity the first night, so they upgraded us to a Royal Suite. The room was on the 2nd floor. It was very nice, but had an odor about it some type of cleaning/detergent smell. The Royal Suite had a king size bed and the bathroom was very spacious. Terry cloth robes were provided, along with a CD player, VCR, large TV and evening turn down service. The next day we were moved to our regular room. We requested a 3rd floor room, which turned out to be perfect. I thought the room was more visually appealing than the Royal Suite nicer colors. Our room had a very large bathroom and nice balcony where we could dry our bathing suits, shirts There was a TV and 2 double beds, a mini fridge and a safe. Leaving a few dollars for the cleaning staff ensured that we would be taken care of with enough towels, water We were really impressed with the room, and would not pay the extra amount for the Royal Suite. We just didnt see where the extras were worth it.
The Food: 5 restaurants to choose from reservations required at 2 of them. We ate at the buffet restaurant right off of the lobby of the hotel for all of our meals. The food was very good, with a variety to choose from and may I add, the vanilla ice cream is very yummy! Tipping the waiters a few bucks every day ensured constant attention from the staff.
The Beach and the Pools: There are 2 pools and a nice beach. There were activities at the larger pool. The smaller pool is quieter, with fewer kids. The beach and pools had comfortable chairs and umbrellas. There is a place to play volley ball on the beach, bars at each pool, towel service as well as a beach restaurant/snack bar. We didnt spend too much time in these areas, but they looked very nice.
Other: There is also a bar next to the lobby, a work out facility and tennis courts.
THE DIVING:
We dove with Blue XT Sea Diving from Saturday through Tuesday. 2 morning dives each day. We did not do any afternoon or night dives.
I must say, my husband (Texas Diver) did a bunch of research for this trip, and picking Blue XT Sea Diving was the right move. This was our best dive vacation ever!
The boat Shamu was fast. Fit 6 divers and 3 staff members very comfortably. Towels and wind breakers were provided after each dive along with bottled water, juice and snacks. The surface intervals were spent on the beach, which was great because there were bathrooms and a place to buy food/beverages. Blue XT Sea will keep your gear, rinse it for you, and make sure that it is all hooked up and ready for you for your next dive.
The staff was first rate! Mago, the captain, was always there to pick us up quickly when we surfaced, and hes great at pulling off fins that are stuck! You see, I have old fins without the quick release straps, and some days they were hard to get off. Raul and Aristeo are great Dive Masters. They are very friendly. They made sure that we had a great time, while being safe. They took extra measures to find and point out cool sea life.
We became Nitrox certified through Blue XT Sea.
The Diving: These were the best dives weve done to date. Weve only been diving at Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, so this was our first time diving with currents very different experience than Cayman. We dove some great sites Palancar Bricks, san Francisco Reef, Punta Sur Reef (the end), Pasa Del Cedral and Cedar reef, to name a few.
There are some great fish and reef life to be seen! We went through many smaller swim throughs. We saw magnificent sea life, including a 7 ft nurse shark nestled under a reef, a huge sea turtle and a giant spotted eagle ray which spanned about 6 feet across, and was approximately 1 ½ feet thick through the head. There were plenty of angel fish, some barracudas, a few eels, smaller sea turtles and a bunch of other fish.
In summary, WOW is the best word I can use to summarize our dive experience with Blue XT-Sea Diving and Coz. Already planning our next trip back hopefully in July!!
:kitty:
Our trip was from 4/16/04 through 4/21/04. The weather was perfect no rain and no blistering heat or humidity.
THE FLIGHT:
We flew Continental, non-stop from Houston - smooth and quiet flights both ways.
ACCOMMODATIONS:
We stayed at the Occidental Grand an all inclusive resort at the south end of the island. We liked it very much.
The Room: The resort was filled to capacity the first night, so they upgraded us to a Royal Suite. The room was on the 2nd floor. It was very nice, but had an odor about it some type of cleaning/detergent smell. The Royal Suite had a king size bed and the bathroom was very spacious. Terry cloth robes were provided, along with a CD player, VCR, large TV and evening turn down service. The next day we were moved to our regular room. We requested a 3rd floor room, which turned out to be perfect. I thought the room was more visually appealing than the Royal Suite nicer colors. Our room had a very large bathroom and nice balcony where we could dry our bathing suits, shirts There was a TV and 2 double beds, a mini fridge and a safe. Leaving a few dollars for the cleaning staff ensured that we would be taken care of with enough towels, water We were really impressed with the room, and would not pay the extra amount for the Royal Suite. We just didnt see where the extras were worth it.
The Food: 5 restaurants to choose from reservations required at 2 of them. We ate at the buffet restaurant right off of the lobby of the hotel for all of our meals. The food was very good, with a variety to choose from and may I add, the vanilla ice cream is very yummy! Tipping the waiters a few bucks every day ensured constant attention from the staff.
The Beach and the Pools: There are 2 pools and a nice beach. There were activities at the larger pool. The smaller pool is quieter, with fewer kids. The beach and pools had comfortable chairs and umbrellas. There is a place to play volley ball on the beach, bars at each pool, towel service as well as a beach restaurant/snack bar. We didnt spend too much time in these areas, but they looked very nice.
Other: There is also a bar next to the lobby, a work out facility and tennis courts.
THE DIVING:
We dove with Blue XT Sea Diving from Saturday through Tuesday. 2 morning dives each day. We did not do any afternoon or night dives.
I must say, my husband (Texas Diver) did a bunch of research for this trip, and picking Blue XT Sea Diving was the right move. This was our best dive vacation ever!
The boat Shamu was fast. Fit 6 divers and 3 staff members very comfortably. Towels and wind breakers were provided after each dive along with bottled water, juice and snacks. The surface intervals were spent on the beach, which was great because there were bathrooms and a place to buy food/beverages. Blue XT Sea will keep your gear, rinse it for you, and make sure that it is all hooked up and ready for you for your next dive.
The staff was first rate! Mago, the captain, was always there to pick us up quickly when we surfaced, and hes great at pulling off fins that are stuck! You see, I have old fins without the quick release straps, and some days they were hard to get off. Raul and Aristeo are great Dive Masters. They are very friendly. They made sure that we had a great time, while being safe. They took extra measures to find and point out cool sea life.
We became Nitrox certified through Blue XT Sea.
The Diving: These were the best dives weve done to date. Weve only been diving at Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, so this was our first time diving with currents very different experience than Cayman. We dove some great sites Palancar Bricks, san Francisco Reef, Punta Sur Reef (the end), Pasa Del Cedral and Cedar reef, to name a few.
There are some great fish and reef life to be seen! We went through many smaller swim throughs. We saw magnificent sea life, including a 7 ft nurse shark nestled under a reef, a huge sea turtle and a giant spotted eagle ray which spanned about 6 feet across, and was approximately 1 ½ feet thick through the head. There were plenty of angel fish, some barracudas, a few eels, smaller sea turtles and a bunch of other fish.
In summary, WOW is the best word I can use to summarize our dive experience with Blue XT-Sea Diving and Coz. Already planning our next trip back hopefully in July!!
:kitty:
