As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been a long time lurker, but just recently joined and started posting. I've picked up so much info from this board, I feel the time has come to try to give back, so here is a review of my 6 day cozumel trip (12/2-12/7), with three days of diving with deep blue.
By way of background, this is my third trip to cozumel and I started the trip having 35 or so dives completed. I've previously stayed at all-inclusives on the south end of the island and dove with scuba tony. This trip was a solo trip for the primary purpose of diving, so I decided to try staying downtown at Casa Mexicana. I've grown somewhat loyal to scuba tony, but it seemed I'd need a taxi ride to the pier to use them this time, which was a deal breaker for me. After much research, I boiled it down to tres pelicanos or deep blue, based in large part, on proximity of the pier to my hotel. Ultimately I settled on deep blue because I thought the 9:00 departure would let me sleep in a little (I was up at 6:00 every day anyway, lol) and, traveling alone, I thought the later start would eat up more of the day, whereas I usually want to rush back for lunch and an afternoon with my partner.
Deep blue uses the fairly standard cozumel small boat, meaning doing a back roll entry and small groups of 5-6 divers. They claim they have the fastest boats and several of their loyal following who I dove with supported that claim. The boats seemed plenty fast, but I think saying they're "among the fastest" is probably more accurate. The main pick up point is at the bigger of the two piers just north of Punta Langosta. On my trips, they also picked up divers at another pier just south of Punta Langosta. We didn't pick up any other divers from any other piers south of town, so I don't know if they will do that or not. We did our surface intervals at the popular beach spot by the dive sites. I don't know the name of that beach, but it's where many of the small boats dock for surface intervals. As we started later in the day, the pier was always packed with boats by the time we got there. Not really a big deal for me as I'll generally sit in the boat anyway. It just meant getting out of the boat into the water or climbing through another boat to get onto the pier, if you wanted to get out.
As for the diving, I was concerned that a 9:00 start meant that they cater to cruisers and so we'd be on a strict schedule with conservative dives. That was not the case at all. We were allowed to dive to our computers or to 700psi. I logged my deepest dive ever at 95ft (I'm only open water certified) and one of my longest dives at 71 minutes. We were given plenty of independence to explore and look around, but the dive master also made sure we were together and towards the end of the dives, checked on our air. I rented my bcd and regulator from them, and the equipment seemed to be in good condition. On all three days we went right out to palancar sites and did plenty of swim throughs, overheads, etc. On the second dives, the dive masters had their eyes out for life, and we saw nurse sharks, eels, eagle rays, etc. Much less turtles than I've seen on other trips, but not a fault of deep blue, I'm sure. I'll be working on putting together a video log this weekend of everything we saw and will post when it's complete.
My criticism of deep blue would be customer service issues. They had 3 or 4 boats docked at the pier in the morning with plenty of staff working to get the boats ready, but no one greeted me or directed me to my boat. I basically had to walk around to each boat, figure out the DM in charge, then figure out if that was my boat. Also, on the first day, there was little to no discussion about the dive, the conditions, or to make sure we were all on the same page as far as signals. If I hadn't been somewhat accustomed to cozumel dives, the current in particular, and how to get in and out of their little boats, I would have been a bit lost and anxious. There was some more direction on the other days, but overall and as compared to many other operators I've dove with across the Caribbean, I thought the pre-dive planning and discussion was weak. There were some other I suppose picky things unrelated to diving and that go towards a customer service experience that I noted, but I won't detail them here.
Overall, though, I had some of the best dives I've ever had. However, I attribute that more to me personally reaching the point where I'm more confident in myself and more experienced with my skills, notably buoyancy and air consumption. I thought deep blue was perfectly fine as a dive shop. There is no reason I wouldn't use them again, but there is also nothing particularly exceptional that I feel drawn to use them again, especially knowing that there are so many excellent dive shops on the island. Some others divers I was with couldn't stop raving about how great deep blue is in general and about how great the DM's were that we had. I just didn't get it, but maybe it's an entirely personal thing.
Just a quick report on the other parts of my trip-
Casa Mexicana was great for my purposes - mainly diving, eating, drinking, sleeping, repeat. The included breakfast was convenient, the beds were comfortable, it was was close to all the restaurants and bars I wanted to walk to, and the pool area was perfect to read at in the afternoons and take a quick plunge to cool off (although the pool was closed and drained one day, which was frustrating, but I guess maintenance has to be done sometime). The small pool is certainly not ideal for families or groups that like to hang out at a swim up bar all day. I stocked up on beers from the Mega which is just down the block, to enjoy from my balcony which was kept cool in the room's fridge.
Based on the extensive food thread on this board, I tried Los Seras, Cielito Lindo, and Los Otates which all lived up to the hype. I ate at Los Otates for lunch twice, I liked it so much. I also enjoyed a sunday pork sandwich at the Pub and had to try a Nando's hot dog, which was also very tasty. I don't recall seeing much discussion on these, but I thought the food at Woody's was very good (chimichangas) and I had enchiladas at Kelley's which I enjoyed.
A couple of other trip highlights which I didn't see much discussion of on the internet before the trip-
Dick's Dive Bar- The island seemed very quiet while I was there, and I was certainly not looking for a party, but was looking for something a little more lively than what I had encountered. Dicks fit the bill. Good music but not too loud, and friendly staff. Didn't try the food.
Cuatro Tacos- near the Lobster Shack and Cielito Lindo, for $7USD you pick four of what I'd describe as a list of 6 or 7 "gourmet" tacos. They bring a tray of various sauces to put on them. I really enjoyed this place and recommend the braised rib taco, which was my favorite of the ones I had. Certainly more expensive than Los Otates, but still reasonably priced by US standards and very good and different.
Nachi Cocom- On my last day, I just wanted to relax. Before I left home, I researched the various beach clubs. Nachi Cocom seemed to be least talked about, but when I learned it has a maximum capacity and that the other clubs can be loud and packed, it was a no brainer for me and I booked it. This was, by Cozumel standards, a beautiful beach. The facilities were clean, the staff was friendly and attentive, the hot tub was actually hot, and the food was adequate, but maybe a little bland. Also, the bar looked like it stocked name brand liquor, not the no-frills stuff most all inclusive hotels use by the beach. They served beer in bottles, even in and near the pool. After the cab ride there and back and the $55 USD all inclusive entrance fee, I'm not sure I feel like I got my money's worth, but it was a great day nonetheless and I'd probably do it again, although seeing how empty the island was when I was there, I likely could have gone to any other beach club and it would have been just as quiet as Nachi.
Hope this info is useful. Feel free to send me any questions.
By way of background, this is my third trip to cozumel and I started the trip having 35 or so dives completed. I've previously stayed at all-inclusives on the south end of the island and dove with scuba tony. This trip was a solo trip for the primary purpose of diving, so I decided to try staying downtown at Casa Mexicana. I've grown somewhat loyal to scuba tony, but it seemed I'd need a taxi ride to the pier to use them this time, which was a deal breaker for me. After much research, I boiled it down to tres pelicanos or deep blue, based in large part, on proximity of the pier to my hotel. Ultimately I settled on deep blue because I thought the 9:00 departure would let me sleep in a little (I was up at 6:00 every day anyway, lol) and, traveling alone, I thought the later start would eat up more of the day, whereas I usually want to rush back for lunch and an afternoon with my partner.
Deep blue uses the fairly standard cozumel small boat, meaning doing a back roll entry and small groups of 5-6 divers. They claim they have the fastest boats and several of their loyal following who I dove with supported that claim. The boats seemed plenty fast, but I think saying they're "among the fastest" is probably more accurate. The main pick up point is at the bigger of the two piers just north of Punta Langosta. On my trips, they also picked up divers at another pier just south of Punta Langosta. We didn't pick up any other divers from any other piers south of town, so I don't know if they will do that or not. We did our surface intervals at the popular beach spot by the dive sites. I don't know the name of that beach, but it's where many of the small boats dock for surface intervals. As we started later in the day, the pier was always packed with boats by the time we got there. Not really a big deal for me as I'll generally sit in the boat anyway. It just meant getting out of the boat into the water or climbing through another boat to get onto the pier, if you wanted to get out.
As for the diving, I was concerned that a 9:00 start meant that they cater to cruisers and so we'd be on a strict schedule with conservative dives. That was not the case at all. We were allowed to dive to our computers or to 700psi. I logged my deepest dive ever at 95ft (I'm only open water certified) and one of my longest dives at 71 minutes. We were given plenty of independence to explore and look around, but the dive master also made sure we were together and towards the end of the dives, checked on our air. I rented my bcd and regulator from them, and the equipment seemed to be in good condition. On all three days we went right out to palancar sites and did plenty of swim throughs, overheads, etc. On the second dives, the dive masters had their eyes out for life, and we saw nurse sharks, eels, eagle rays, etc. Much less turtles than I've seen on other trips, but not a fault of deep blue, I'm sure. I'll be working on putting together a video log this weekend of everything we saw and will post when it's complete.
My criticism of deep blue would be customer service issues. They had 3 or 4 boats docked at the pier in the morning with plenty of staff working to get the boats ready, but no one greeted me or directed me to my boat. I basically had to walk around to each boat, figure out the DM in charge, then figure out if that was my boat. Also, on the first day, there was little to no discussion about the dive, the conditions, or to make sure we were all on the same page as far as signals. If I hadn't been somewhat accustomed to cozumel dives, the current in particular, and how to get in and out of their little boats, I would have been a bit lost and anxious. There was some more direction on the other days, but overall and as compared to many other operators I've dove with across the Caribbean, I thought the pre-dive planning and discussion was weak. There were some other I suppose picky things unrelated to diving and that go towards a customer service experience that I noted, but I won't detail them here.
Overall, though, I had some of the best dives I've ever had. However, I attribute that more to me personally reaching the point where I'm more confident in myself and more experienced with my skills, notably buoyancy and air consumption. I thought deep blue was perfectly fine as a dive shop. There is no reason I wouldn't use them again, but there is also nothing particularly exceptional that I feel drawn to use them again, especially knowing that there are so many excellent dive shops on the island. Some others divers I was with couldn't stop raving about how great deep blue is in general and about how great the DM's were that we had. I just didn't get it, but maybe it's an entirely personal thing.
Just a quick report on the other parts of my trip-
Casa Mexicana was great for my purposes - mainly diving, eating, drinking, sleeping, repeat. The included breakfast was convenient, the beds were comfortable, it was was close to all the restaurants and bars I wanted to walk to, and the pool area was perfect to read at in the afternoons and take a quick plunge to cool off (although the pool was closed and drained one day, which was frustrating, but I guess maintenance has to be done sometime). The small pool is certainly not ideal for families or groups that like to hang out at a swim up bar all day. I stocked up on beers from the Mega which is just down the block, to enjoy from my balcony which was kept cool in the room's fridge.
Based on the extensive food thread on this board, I tried Los Seras, Cielito Lindo, and Los Otates which all lived up to the hype. I ate at Los Otates for lunch twice, I liked it so much. I also enjoyed a sunday pork sandwich at the Pub and had to try a Nando's hot dog, which was also very tasty. I don't recall seeing much discussion on these, but I thought the food at Woody's was very good (chimichangas) and I had enchiladas at Kelley's which I enjoyed.
A couple of other trip highlights which I didn't see much discussion of on the internet before the trip-
Dick's Dive Bar- The island seemed very quiet while I was there, and I was certainly not looking for a party, but was looking for something a little more lively than what I had encountered. Dicks fit the bill. Good music but not too loud, and friendly staff. Didn't try the food.
Cuatro Tacos- near the Lobster Shack and Cielito Lindo, for $7USD you pick four of what I'd describe as a list of 6 or 7 "gourmet" tacos. They bring a tray of various sauces to put on them. I really enjoyed this place and recommend the braised rib taco, which was my favorite of the ones I had. Certainly more expensive than Los Otates, but still reasonably priced by US standards and very good and different.
Nachi Cocom- On my last day, I just wanted to relax. Before I left home, I researched the various beach clubs. Nachi Cocom seemed to be least talked about, but when I learned it has a maximum capacity and that the other clubs can be loud and packed, it was a no brainer for me and I booked it. This was, by Cozumel standards, a beautiful beach. The facilities were clean, the staff was friendly and attentive, the hot tub was actually hot, and the food was adequate, but maybe a little bland. Also, the bar looked like it stocked name brand liquor, not the no-frills stuff most all inclusive hotels use by the beach. They served beer in bottles, even in and near the pool. After the cab ride there and back and the $55 USD all inclusive entrance fee, I'm not sure I feel like I got my money's worth, but it was a great day nonetheless and I'd probably do it again, although seeing how empty the island was when I was there, I likely could have gone to any other beach club and it would have been just as quiet as Nachi.
Hope this info is useful. Feel free to send me any questions.
