Cozumel water update and Dressel diving update

[Bookworm11]

Right now the water is 84 degrees or higher. I found it comfortable enough to dive without my full 3mm wetsuit and dive in just a rashguard shirt and board shorts, even when staying 80-85 feet for over 30 minutes. I only switched back because I was having issues with my BCD shifting around. I tend to get cold in the water.
On another note, anyone diving with Dressel should know the hurricane took out one of the boat docks. So they can only dock one boat at a time instead of two. I was there Monday, and they were super busy. They had 8 morning boats, and at least 6 afternoon boats. My 2 morning dives came back at 1, and my 2 afternoon dives started at 1:30, leaving me no time for lunch as I was not staying at the Iberostar. So if you are a daytripper doing 3 or 4 dives, bring a lunch!

 

[Scratch_Monkey]

I just got back from Iberostar and they had, at most, three boats going out at one time and could dock two at one time. I wonder if this is an indication of how much more crowded the resort is in November vs. June?

Also, I wonder if you would be able to walk to the outdoor snack bar and just grab a burger at lunch? They just have them sitting out to grab (they are behind a sliding door so not just out in the open) and water is self-serve as well.

 

[DivingLane]

Curious as to why Dressel is so popular? I've only dove in Cozumel once, so really don't know jack. But being part of a huge operation doesn't sound fun to me. Is it because it is so big that more people flock to it thinking it must be better? Just a perpetuating feedback loop?

 

[jameseg]

I've been to Iberostar twice and will definitely return. The big draws for me: 1.) Love the Iberostar layout and feel, 2.) Like the short trip out to dive locations and the fact that you can come back between first and second dives for a bathroom break or coke, and 3.) haven't had any real issues with the large size of the Dressel operation as they're really well organized and they have large boats. I've been on plenty of smaller boats with fewer passengers but far less personal space.

 

[Scratch_Monkey]

Curious as to why Dressel is so popular? I've only dove in Cozumel once, so really don't know jack. But being part of a huge operation doesn't sound fun to me. Is it because it is so big that more people flock to it thinking it must be better? Just a perpetuating feedback loop?

I suspect Dressel is popular mainly because it's convenient to the Iberostar resort. It's a fine dive shop and they have a good system in place to manage the volume of people that use them.

But if you aren't staying at the Iberostar or somewhere VERY close, it's probably not the best choice.

But again, they are a good shop with good people so if it works out, why not?

 

[tursiops]

I suspect Dressel is popular mainly because it's convenient to the Iberostar resort. It's a fine dive shop and they have a good system in place to manage the volume of people that use them.

But if you aren't staying at the Iberostar or somewhere VERY close, it's probably not the best choice.

But again, they are a good shop with good people so if it works out, why not?

Exactly. Iberostar is a very good resort; Dressel is on site. People are not really choosing Dressel; they are choosing Iberostar.

 

[quietlife4me]

IAlso, I wonder if you would be able to walk to the outdoor snack bar and just grab a burger at lunch? They just have them sitting out to grab (they are behind a sliding door so not just out in the open) and water is self-serve as well.

Yes you can. That’s exactly what I did between dive 1 and dive 2. We even offered to bring a couple back to the boat crew

 

[Shawn C]

Doesn't Dressel employ quite a few foreign DMs? I'd rather dive with locals but maybe that's just me.

 

[Scratch_Monkey]

Doesn't Dressel employ quite a few foreign DMs? I'd rather dive with locals but maybe that's just me.

I believe all the DMs we dove with (or at least most of them) were not locals. We met folks from France and Argentina. I think the boat crew, however, were all locals.

 

[Shawn C]

I believe all the DMs we dove with (or at least most of them) were not locals. We met folks from France and Argentina. I think the boat crew, however, were all locals.

Marine park rules require a local captain. Not sure about the mates.