My wife and I traveled to Cozumel for new years to celebrate a milestone. It was ten years ago in Cozumel we first started diving together as a couple and we returned to mark our 200th dive couple dive. For some unknown reason I decided to try a new resort and dive operator, so I opted for the Allegro on the south side of the island and Pro Dive International which was located on site. My report as usual is honest so pardon the pun, I’ll just dive right in. *Disclaimer, I am not one to easily complain. However, this is what you’re going to get.
THE RESORT-
The Allegro Cozumel Resort is owned by Occidental and billed as a four-star establishment. Well, not in my book by a long shot. We stayed in what was called a superior room with two double beds, and that was about all there was room for. We have been all over the Caribbean and this so called superior room was by far the smallest room we have been in. Ever! There was limited closet space with a few shelves and not even a chest of drawers for clothing. I was surprised to discover no box springs under the bed but a nice thick concrete slab for a good “Hard” sleep. Nightly outdoor entertainment pounded an overly deep based rhythm to every corner of the resort, but was usually stopped by 10pm. Now if you are into this type of thing this may be the place for you because if you missed the party at night, there were all day parties at the swimming pools with loud music and MC’s yelling over a PA system. The fact remains that I outgrew frat parties a very long time ago and I rather prefer a relaxing atmosphere on my vacations especially when I am diving. Doors between rooms are paper thin. So much so that I know more about the people next door than I’m sure they want me too. We got there on a Saturday and we had no hot water. After multiple requests we finally got hot water on Monday. The shower leaked and would not drain. After multiple requests and finally having our entire room flooded with water; the shower was fixed five days after we first reported the issue. One might think this was an isolated event, but I spoke to two other people who had similar issues, one of which had a roof leak that soaked all their belongings; and they were asked by management to sign a non-disclosure agreement stating they would not sue the hotel. Dinner reservations are required at several of their specialty restaurants but, what they don’t tell you is if you, and you don’t walk into the lobby the first day early in the morning and make reservations for the entire week, you might as well just forget it. Oh! “Continental” breakfast only consists of coffee and toast. . What food we did eat, the entire week was, to be quite honest, absolutely terrible. I was at an all-inclusive for a week and I lost five pounds if that tells you anything. Almost everything was included at this all-inclusive except the internet. $80.00 for the week. The water in front of the resort was rather dirty. You would have to swim about out 100 yards or so to get water clear enough to enjoy.
DIVING OPERATIONS-
Pro Dive International has four operations: The Allegro at Cozumel, Playa Del Carmen Catalonia, Riviera Maya, and the Dominican Republic. Operations at the Allegro Cozumel were somewhat lacking when compared to numerous other operators we have had the pleasure of diving with and, Pro Dive did not impress. First off on the medical questionnaire both of us checked off high blood pressure for which we have controlled under medication. they forced us to go into town and make a Doctor’s appointment to obtain medical clearance to dive. Because of this we missed a half day of diving and I course I had to pay out of pocket for the doctor visit. The shop, was not so much a shop. They have rental gear, that’s about it. There is no bathroom at the shop. It’s only a brisk five-minute walk to a facility. There are no lockers or even drying rooms for divers gear. When you report in they give you a large plastic milk crate. Come off a dive, rinse your gear, stuff it in the crate, and your gear is stored inside that crate in the facility overnight. There is a place to hang your suit outside, but there is limited available space and your gear doesn’t have time to dry before stowing. . When you dive the next day, you will find your crate conveniently placed outside on the ground with fifty other crates. Good luck finding yours. Boats go out four times a day. They return between “EVERY” dive. Reason being is they don’t have enough tanks to put on the boat. There isn’t room on the boats for them anyway. We were packed into these boats like we were on a sardine run. They repeatedly shorted us on air. Average PSI sat at 2700. Only once did I see a tank at 3,000 but, what makes me happy is 3100. Every briefing consisted of the DM’s wanting you at a safety stop at 700 PSI. DM’s. Some were pleasant, some were flat out rude. We had a different DM on every dive and we also alternated boats on every dive which meant we carried our gear off after every single dive. Not only is this unorganized it also makes it hard to tip when you’re there for a week as I typically don’t carry enough cash to tip that many people. Boats were split into two groups each with a DM. . Their briefings took place while in route to a site which largely meant you could not hear much of what they were saying. This didn’t matter much to us as we know how to dive Cozumel, but I have no doubt that the less experienced became confused by their ramblings. A few even asked me questions after the briefing was over. DM’s would attempt to treat everyone on the boat as if they were rookies. It helps to know your customers. One policy they tried to push was that the when one person in the group reached 700psi the dive was over for everyone and the entire group would surface together. Well, homie doesn’t play that so most times my wife and I just drifted on, popped a sausage, and came up when we were good and ready. The boat still managed to pick us up just fine. DM’s at times were not very attentive to divers exiting the water. Boats varied in size. None of them had room to carry on anything extra. Drinking water was provided in an igloo cooler and it was NEVER cold. The paper cups almost disintegrated before you could finish a drink. Snacks, such as fruit after a dive, I can only remember being offered once in a week. Boats did have soak buckets for cameras and masks.
PLAYA SHARK DIVE-
We booked a bull shark dive with Pro Dive’s sister operation in Playa Del Carman Catalonia. Getting there was all your responsibility.. The first dive was scheduled to leave at 10:00am. We boarded 45 minutes late. Unbeknownst to us there was no dock or marina. We dressed out, put all our gear on our back, crossed a wide beach, and entered 2 ½ foot waves to hop on a 20-foot boat designed for eight people with twelve on board that was bobbing uncontrollably in the water. The reef dive consisted of lots of sand with scattered coral humps with quite impressive schools of fish, and a heavily ripping current. Visibility was maybe 50 feet. We came back to the beach, off loaded the boat, they brought out new tanks, and we went back out again. No time for the lunch we were promised. The shark dive was an 80’ drop to a sandy bottom. We just swam until we spotted something and settled to the bottom in a group. At one point my wife was right behind me in safe position per our briefing but, the DM from the other half of the boat unexpectedly swam up behind her and grabbed her by the arm and attempted to physically move her which is completely unacceptable behavior, and my wife let him know it. It was quite apparent that this guy was doing nothing but showboating. We only saw three bulls who very briefly swam in and out, the most impressive of which was a 10-footer who came within a few feet. Visibility was maybe 20 feet. The DM said that was normal visibility for that dive. Overall it was rather anti climatic. Let’s just say it wasn’t like decompressing on a 40’ shelf in the great blue hole with ten bull sharks.
We were told lunch was included and it was also printed on our receipt. After two dives and it being two in the afternoon we were hungry. Dive Pro managers told us that people from the Allegro shop never get lunch at Playa and they refused to provide us lunch. I found this quite interesting because the very next day people we dove with from the Playa group came over to the Allegro to dive. All transportation was provided, a DM came with them, and all of them were provided lunch. Hmmm.
THE DIVING- Cozumel is a popular destination and there is reason for this. It’s easy to get to and the diving is great. The only thing I have come to not appreciate is the popularity. Now again, this was high season, this was our third trip to the island but, the first time during high season. The place crowed. One day I lost count at 42 dive boats operating in our proximity to ours and I was told that every day during high season there are 2,500 divers in the water daily. Overall, we did have great diving. It was fun despite the numerous shortfalls. We will be back, just not to the Allegro, and not with Pro Dive. Stay salty my friends.
THE RESORT-
The Allegro Cozumel Resort is owned by Occidental and billed as a four-star establishment. Well, not in my book by a long shot. We stayed in what was called a superior room with two double beds, and that was about all there was room for. We have been all over the Caribbean and this so called superior room was by far the smallest room we have been in. Ever! There was limited closet space with a few shelves and not even a chest of drawers for clothing. I was surprised to discover no box springs under the bed but a nice thick concrete slab for a good “Hard” sleep. Nightly outdoor entertainment pounded an overly deep based rhythm to every corner of the resort, but was usually stopped by 10pm. Now if you are into this type of thing this may be the place for you because if you missed the party at night, there were all day parties at the swimming pools with loud music and MC’s yelling over a PA system. The fact remains that I outgrew frat parties a very long time ago and I rather prefer a relaxing atmosphere on my vacations especially when I am diving. Doors between rooms are paper thin. So much so that I know more about the people next door than I’m sure they want me too. We got there on a Saturday and we had no hot water. After multiple requests we finally got hot water on Monday. The shower leaked and would not drain. After multiple requests and finally having our entire room flooded with water; the shower was fixed five days after we first reported the issue. One might think this was an isolated event, but I spoke to two other people who had similar issues, one of which had a roof leak that soaked all their belongings; and they were asked by management to sign a non-disclosure agreement stating they would not sue the hotel. Dinner reservations are required at several of their specialty restaurants but, what they don’t tell you is if you, and you don’t walk into the lobby the first day early in the morning and make reservations for the entire week, you might as well just forget it. Oh! “Continental” breakfast only consists of coffee and toast. . What food we did eat, the entire week was, to be quite honest, absolutely terrible. I was at an all-inclusive for a week and I lost five pounds if that tells you anything. Almost everything was included at this all-inclusive except the internet. $80.00 for the week. The water in front of the resort was rather dirty. You would have to swim about out 100 yards or so to get water clear enough to enjoy.
DIVING OPERATIONS-
Pro Dive International has four operations: The Allegro at Cozumel, Playa Del Carmen Catalonia, Riviera Maya, and the Dominican Republic. Operations at the Allegro Cozumel were somewhat lacking when compared to numerous other operators we have had the pleasure of diving with and, Pro Dive did not impress. First off on the medical questionnaire both of us checked off high blood pressure for which we have controlled under medication. they forced us to go into town and make a Doctor’s appointment to obtain medical clearance to dive. Because of this we missed a half day of diving and I course I had to pay out of pocket for the doctor visit. The shop, was not so much a shop. They have rental gear, that’s about it. There is no bathroom at the shop. It’s only a brisk five-minute walk to a facility. There are no lockers or even drying rooms for divers gear. When you report in they give you a large plastic milk crate. Come off a dive, rinse your gear, stuff it in the crate, and your gear is stored inside that crate in the facility overnight. There is a place to hang your suit outside, but there is limited available space and your gear doesn’t have time to dry before stowing. . When you dive the next day, you will find your crate conveniently placed outside on the ground with fifty other crates. Good luck finding yours. Boats go out four times a day. They return between “EVERY” dive. Reason being is they don’t have enough tanks to put on the boat. There isn’t room on the boats for them anyway. We were packed into these boats like we were on a sardine run. They repeatedly shorted us on air. Average PSI sat at 2700. Only once did I see a tank at 3,000 but, what makes me happy is 3100. Every briefing consisted of the DM’s wanting you at a safety stop at 700 PSI. DM’s. Some were pleasant, some were flat out rude. We had a different DM on every dive and we also alternated boats on every dive which meant we carried our gear off after every single dive. Not only is this unorganized it also makes it hard to tip when you’re there for a week as I typically don’t carry enough cash to tip that many people. Boats were split into two groups each with a DM. . Their briefings took place while in route to a site which largely meant you could not hear much of what they were saying. This didn’t matter much to us as we know how to dive Cozumel, but I have no doubt that the less experienced became confused by their ramblings. A few even asked me questions after the briefing was over. DM’s would attempt to treat everyone on the boat as if they were rookies. It helps to know your customers. One policy they tried to push was that the when one person in the group reached 700psi the dive was over for everyone and the entire group would surface together. Well, homie doesn’t play that so most times my wife and I just drifted on, popped a sausage, and came up when we were good and ready. The boat still managed to pick us up just fine. DM’s at times were not very attentive to divers exiting the water. Boats varied in size. None of them had room to carry on anything extra. Drinking water was provided in an igloo cooler and it was NEVER cold. The paper cups almost disintegrated before you could finish a drink. Snacks, such as fruit after a dive, I can only remember being offered once in a week. Boats did have soak buckets for cameras and masks.
PLAYA SHARK DIVE-
We booked a bull shark dive with Pro Dive’s sister operation in Playa Del Carman Catalonia. Getting there was all your responsibility.. The first dive was scheduled to leave at 10:00am. We boarded 45 minutes late. Unbeknownst to us there was no dock or marina. We dressed out, put all our gear on our back, crossed a wide beach, and entered 2 ½ foot waves to hop on a 20-foot boat designed for eight people with twelve on board that was bobbing uncontrollably in the water. The reef dive consisted of lots of sand with scattered coral humps with quite impressive schools of fish, and a heavily ripping current. Visibility was maybe 50 feet. We came back to the beach, off loaded the boat, they brought out new tanks, and we went back out again. No time for the lunch we were promised. The shark dive was an 80’ drop to a sandy bottom. We just swam until we spotted something and settled to the bottom in a group. At one point my wife was right behind me in safe position per our briefing but, the DM from the other half of the boat unexpectedly swam up behind her and grabbed her by the arm and attempted to physically move her which is completely unacceptable behavior, and my wife let him know it. It was quite apparent that this guy was doing nothing but showboating. We only saw three bulls who very briefly swam in and out, the most impressive of which was a 10-footer who came within a few feet. Visibility was maybe 20 feet. The DM said that was normal visibility for that dive. Overall it was rather anti climatic. Let’s just say it wasn’t like decompressing on a 40’ shelf in the great blue hole with ten bull sharks.
We were told lunch was included and it was also printed on our receipt. After two dives and it being two in the afternoon we were hungry. Dive Pro managers told us that people from the Allegro shop never get lunch at Playa and they refused to provide us lunch. I found this quite interesting because the very next day people we dove with from the Playa group came over to the Allegro to dive. All transportation was provided, a DM came with them, and all of them were provided lunch. Hmmm.
THE DIVING- Cozumel is a popular destination and there is reason for this. It’s easy to get to and the diving is great. The only thing I have come to not appreciate is the popularity. Now again, this was high season, this was our third trip to the island but, the first time during high season. The place crowed. One day I lost count at 42 dive boats operating in our proximity to ours and I was told that every day during high season there are 2,500 divers in the water daily. Overall, we did have great diving. It was fun despite the numerous shortfalls. We will be back, just not to the Allegro, and not with Pro Dive. Stay salty my friends.
