nodakdive
Contributor
I should also mention that Deep Blue leaves from a downtown pier, and leaves a little later (9am) than other ops. One of the reasons I think they do this is to accommodate cruise ships divers.
Cozumel for a day
- Thread starter WickedWeasel
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Blue Angel often has a 10AM boat as well.
nodakdive
Contributor
If you've never been to Cozumel before, and if you really have done fewer than 25 dives, then any site is going to be impressive to you. Pick a decent operator--any of the five or six that get mentioned over and over on SB should be fine--let them know this is your first visit, and put yourself in their hands. It is not in their interest to give divers a poor impression of Coz--they are the experts in choosing the best dive sites given whatever conditions and limitations there may be, and they're going to do everything in their power to show you a good time.
It all depends on who they have wanting to go out.
I think that 10:00 boat is specifically designed and scheduled for cruise ship folks. Pretty sure they go back to BA for lunch and then get them back up to their ship. Bigger boat and probably doesn't go too far south, but I can't confirm that.
Just to try to consolidate what others have said and my own $0.02. Find an dive op who can accommodate your arrival departure schedule and can pick you up where your cruise ship docks. Depending upon when your ship is scheduled to arrive, it may be lots and lots of operators.
Let them know in advance you'd like to be on a boat that goes to the southern sites because you'd like to dive a wall dive. (be prepared with suggested sites to call out when the DM asks, "Where do you want to go today?") If the DM says to you, "No not today..." referencing your site, then that likely means the conditions are not good for that site that day. If the other divers balk at the site, it is likely they just dove there recently. That being said, I've repeated sites at the DM's request and it totally paid off. (Saw at least one spotted eagle ray at San Francisco twice in one day and then again later in the week-- glad I repeated that dive 3x). Last bit of advice going to your preferred site(s) is: don't be so adamant about it on the boat. The DM and other divers will cue in on that and honestly might get a bit nervous about you, thus decreasing your chances of going where you want.
Get the paper work filled out in advance and send it in to the dive op so you don't need to deal with it that day. Have the dive op's phone number in your cell so you can call if there is confusion or delay with pick up. Know that because you will be new to the dive op, they may be hesitant to take you to certain sites, especially if the current is ripping. You need to be OK with this and defer to their judgement. Then just have fun. I'd say no matter where you go, you'll be happy you did. Then go back to Coz for a week and hit all of the sites on your checklist.
This.
Perfect concise advice
"Let's pick the least impressive sites and give them a crappy time" said no dive shop ever - haha
This is good advice. In fact, a "wall dive" might be a disappointment. I remember about 10 years ago the group I was with opted for a site called Palancar Caves. The DM we had did it as a wall dive, having us swim along the outside of the wall the entire way and then ascending. I was thinking "WTF?" the whole time--why were we not weaving through those beautiful formations? After the dive, I asked the DM what was up with that, and he mumbled something that made no sense to me. Later on, I decided to let the operator know I was unhappy and sent an email describing what happened. (The second dive was really bad as well.) The operator replied that the DM we had was a substitute and not a regular employee, that dive decision was inexcusable, and I was going to be refunded for my day of diving.
