Dive House at F.A. Questions

[durst]

How do they do the dives at Dive House as far as times go. I know they go out around 8:30, but after the two tank dives, how much time do you get before you go out on an afternoon dive if you go out again that day. Or on a night dive as the second dive that day?

Also, are there lockers only for people who use DiveHouse, or can anyone staying at F.A. use them? And are they located outside so that you can get to your gear anytime, or are they inside their shop locked at night?

And last, do you recommend doing night dives with them, or going with a different dive Op for the night dive. I would actually like to do a dusk, followed by a night dive.

Thanks for the help,
Have a nice day!

 

[Zagnut]

Dive house is a nice shop. I really like them. They are pretty adament about nobody going below 80' but I've always enjoyed diving with them.

They do 2 tank morning dive, return to the shop, about an hour to 1-1/2 hr. for lunch, then back out for a 2 tank afternoon dive. I can't remember when they do night dives. I believe it's twice a week with one of those days being Friday, but don't quote me on that. You could email the Dive house and they will answer any questions you might have. They are real good about responding to emails.

They do have lockers. they are sort of beside the dive shop and I believe they lock it up when they lock up the shop. as far as using the lockers, I think you might have to be diving with them to use one, but you may be able to get to use one if you do a dive or two with them. I always just schlep my gear back to my room(which is right across the street). I always soak my gear in warm bath water and then put it on the table and chairs on the balcony. I believe all their rooms have a balcony, and in my case I've always been at least three stories up so I didn't worry about my gear getting stolen.

They will rent you a tank for shore diving. I think it's $5 p/tank. The shore dives are very shallow(as in 10' or so) and at first glance the UW terrain looks pretty boring, but last time I stayed there, we did a shore dive and we saw urchins, starfish, spotted eels, scorpionfish, sea cucumbers..it was a pretty cool dive. You just have to go slow and look close at every little coral head you see.

 

[jbjclj]

Take your own lock and you can use their lockers for free. Otherwise it is $5 per day I believe.

 

[miked]

Hi durst,
Zagnut has it right on the money as far as Dive House / FA ( goes 3 trips, most recent in Aug. '01). If things are still the same, the "lockers" are really rectangular cubbyholes into which slides a laundry type plastic basket. the basket gets locked into place.
I have done about 15 "2- 2tank" days with them. Again Zagnut has the right info. There is usually a wait between the return of the a.m.dives, and the departure of the p.m., obviously longer if the same boat is used for both trips. I do recall some shorter intervals-in fact one day the p.m boat was waiting for the a.m.boat to return-with me! I grabbed my gear bag, hopped off one boat, walked across the dock (10 ft), and got on the other boat, which then took off. If you do a "4 a day" be sure to remind folks at the shop, when you leave in the morning, or they may think that you are a p.m. "no show", and take off without you.
Coz is great. Enjoy the diveing.
Mike

Edited to correct some of the typos.

 

[DocVikingo]

The others have given you the essential situation at Dive House, although strangely DH's experienced diver program has yet to be mentioned.

For a modest additional charge, qualifed computer divers go out together in a six-pack and dive some of the more challenging sites and are allowed greater profile freedom. Going below 80' is not an issue, although you generally will be expected to stay within recreational limits & avoid deco obligations. I'd say it's worth the premium as it avoids the least common denominator diving that can occur on a boat with a mixed bag of divers.

Also not yet addressed is your desire for a dusk, followed by a night dive. Very few Coz ops seem to do this, although I suspect that you could sell DH on it if you assembled the requisite number of divers. Aldora offers a "2 Tank Twilight Double Header" that fits the bill http://www.aldora.com/. They'll pick you up at the DH pier.

Let me know if you have further, specific questions.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[raviepoo]

Living Underwater and Dive With Martin. I know Dive With Martin would pick you up at the FA dock. I'm not so sure about Living Underwater. You can contact them to find out if you are interested.

By the way, the lockers at FA are located by Dive House, but hotel guests who do not dive with Dive House are free to use them.

 

[DocVikingo]

.... pick up at the DH pier.

However, LU has fallen into some financial & managerial disarray of late, and I can no longer in good faith recommend them.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[ggunn]

DocVikingo once bubbled...
...not yet addressed is your desire for a dusk, followed by a night dive. Very few Coz ops seem to do this, although I suspect that you could sell DH on it if you assembled the requisite number of divers. Aldora offers a "2 Tank Twilight Double Header" that fits the bill.

So does Cozumel Equalizers http://www.cozumelequalizers.com/

 

[davehicks]

I just came back from a dive trip in Cozumel where I stayed at FA and dove with Dive House. A few comments to answer your questions:

I did both the morning and afternoon dives on 4 of 6 diving days. There was very little time for the turn around. Bring your own lunch or pre-order a box lunch from the adjacent restaurant. You'll have just enough time to visit the restroom before you need to get back on the boat.

I didn't use the lockers, and just brought my gear back to the room to dry out. If you want to lock up, bring your own padlock.

I liked the Dive House folks quite a bit, but they do have to work with a huge number of "vacation divers" so they are pretty conservative. The "experienced" program may be a good deal, but I didn't see any evidence of it on my trip.

I did a night dive with them, no complaints. Do an afternoon dive and there will only be a couple of hours before the night excursion.

Bring some "Sink the Stink". After about 12 dives our wetsuits were pretty ripe. That stuff is great!

Overall I think that Dive House is a very good outfit, and extremely convienient if you stay at FA. But next trip I will try out some more shops. I heard some good things about Aqua Safari from some folks we dove with who tried both. I might look into doing some dives with them. They do pick up at the FA pier.

Enjoy your trip!!