Dive Op that picks up from Coz Palace for 6-8 divers?

[gopbroek]

6-9 divers means you can rent your own boat as a charter and dive when you want, where you want and how you want. Try Tres Pelicanos I know they have arranged private boats for large groups in the past and now that they have two of the best DM's on the island full time, you should be able to have a great time.

 

[Skittl1321]

I take my suit off immediately after the dive.

Well there you go. I don't and it dries and I don't drip all over the place.
Clearly your wetsuit needs are different but you are being a bit ridiculous to insist that people who dive with the vast majority of ops in Cozumel is walking around with a hazardous dripping wetsuit.

I don't consider a wetsuit to be "gear" anymore than I consider my swimsuit to be it- don't dive without either thing but I wouldn't expect a dive op to launder that for me between dives either. And I agree with the person who said they prefer to put their wetsuit on before they get on the boat. I find it to be much easier to get to the dock with it both on. It's personal preference. Clearly you prefer one thing but the way you harp on it is just silly.

especially on my last trip when I didn't even have a bathtub

Cozumel Palace doesn't have tubs? That's surprising for a high end property.

 

[Mossman]

Well there you go. I don't and it dries and I don't drip all over the place.

My dive op hands me a dry towel when I get up from the dive. Leaving the wetsuit on invites hypothermia.

Clearly your wetsuit needs are different but you are being a bit ridiculous to insist that people who dive with the vast majority of ops in Cozumel is walking around with a hazardous dripping wetsuit.

Actually, you'll note that I was directing my comments to the OP who is staying at Cozumel Palace. Cozumel Palace has marble floors and marble floors can indeed be hazardous when wet.

I don't consider a wetsuit to be "gear" anymore than I consider my swimsuit to be it- don't dive without either thing but I wouldn't expect a dive op to launder that for me between dives either. And I agree with the person who said they prefer to put their wetsuit on before they get on the boat. I find it to be much easier to get to the dock with it both on. It's personal preference. Clearly you prefer one thing but the way you harp on it is just silly.

Not harping, just clarifying. Clearly the term "dive gear" encompasses the diving suit aka exposure protection, i.e. the wet or dry suit. There's an entire chapter on it in my open water manual. When one rents a complete set of dive gear, that includes wetsuit rental because wetsuits are commonly considered dive gear.

Most dive ops around the world, in my experience, store wetsuits when they say store dive gear. Cozumel is rather unique in this area, with some dive ops claiming they store dive gear yet they don't store wet suits. Since the OP may not have known about this particular quirk of Cozumel diving and because he is staying at a hotel with known hazardous marble flooring, I was happy to make sure the OP understood that not all dive ops that claim to store dive gear actually store all of the dive gear.

Cozumel Palace doesn't have tubs? That's surprising for a high end property.

Secrets didn't have a tub, at least not in my room. And it was a long walk from the bathroom, where I could have rinsed my dive gear in the shower, to the balcony where I could have dried my gear. Also, the wind whipping up on the balcony was enough to blow the cushions off the recliner and would have been strong enough to blow stuff hanging to dry off the balcony, not to mention there was nowhere to hang stuff to dry except over the railing, something considered rather gauche or even expressly forbidden at the finer establishments.

Cozumel Palace does have a tub. It's a big hot tub that takes a while to fill up. Then the process, which I did before I was smart enough to find a dive op that stored wetsuits, involved lots of water on the dangerous marble floors followed by lots of towels to mop up the water and make the room safe again. Besides the time and effort and mess involved, it is also (1) a big waste of fresh water, and (2) a big waste of fresh towels.

Did anyone ever take into account the additional water and towel laundry required of those divers who selfishly insist on rinsing their own gear in their hotel rooms?

 

[Skittl1321]

Leaving the wetsuit on invites hypothermia.

Whew! Glad I dodged that bullet....
Of course, I was there in December, and it was nice and mostly warm, so hypothermia was not a concern for me. Not sure when the cool season is. We were there in April also, and it was even warmer.

Then the process, which I did before I was smart enough to find a dive op that stored wetsuits, involved lots of water on the dangerous marble floors followed by lots of towels to mop up the water and make the room safe again. Besides the time and effort and mess involved, it is also (1) a big waste of fresh water, and (2) a big waste of fresh towels.

For anyone looking for something easier- I just took the wetsuit in the shower with me and rinsed it while also waiting for my hair to get wet enough to wash it. Took just a few minutes, didn't require filling a giant tub. Didn't use much water or any towels. Hung it over the shower curtain rod, so I didn't have to treck it dangerously across the room to the balcony, nor be gauche about hanging it. Had my husband's there too, and there was plenty of room for both. Plus, I've heard it is bad to dry neoprene in the sun.

Sabor did have a tub though, surprised Secrets doesn't since Sabor is the low rent neighbor, just didn't need it.

 

[Mossman]

For anyone looking for something easier- I just took the wetsuit in the shower with me and rinsed it while also waiting for my hair to get wet enough to wash it. Took just a few minutes, didn't require filling a giant tub. Didn't use much water or any towels. Hung it over the shower curtain rod, so I didn't have to treck it dangerously across the room to the balcony, nor be gauche about hanging it. Had my husband's there too, and there was plenty of room for both. Plus, I've heard it is bad to dry neoprene in the sun.

That may work better for showers that have shower curtains instead of doors, but in my experience wetsuits don't dry so well hung up indoors in a damp environment like a shower and in the morning they're cold and still wet. Which again invites hypothermia.

Not all of us are from cold midwestern climes where the locals ice dive in their long johns. Sitting in a wet wetsuit exposed to the air on a swiftly moving dive boat after already substantially cooling our cores by spending over two hours underwater can chill those of us from more delicate climes. Lucky you.

 

[Skittl1321]

Not all of us are from cold midwestern climes where the locals ice dive in their long johns. Sitting in a wet wetsuit exposed to the air on a swiftly moving dive boat after already substantially cooling our cores by spending over two hours underwater can chill those of us from more delicate climes. Lucky you.

I spent most of my life living in Texas and only live in the midwest in a perpetual fleece covered state.

I do take the wetsuit off the top half of my body though, because I don't like feeling like I'm being choked.

 

[Mossman]

I spent most of my life living in Texas.

No comment.

I do take the wetsuit off the top half of my body though, because I don't like feeling like I'm being choked.

You just like the feeling of being choked underwater?

 

[Skittl1321]

You just like the feeling of being choked underwater?

It loosens up under water. You should see me when I have to put a hood on- not pretty, after breaking it, I have a thing about stuff around my neck. But once underwater I usually don't notice the hood anymore. The beanie still bothers me though.

 

[ScubaERDoc]

Wow thanks for all the awesome advice! I can always count to SB to really go into detail about all my questions. Still gonna be kinda a hard choice as there are so many well loved ops in the area.

Maybe we should ask the OP what he meant by "store gear". Are you going to bring waterproof bags to lug your dripping wetsuits back and forth over the pristine marble floors of the Palace or did you mean a dive op that stores all dive gear, including wetsuits?

Actually the whole wetsuit thing is kind of a non-factor for me as I have never had to wear a wetsuit in the tropics. I'm not sure if Cozumel in April is going to be much colder than Bonaire, Roatan, Belize, Cabo Pulmo or Thailand but I'll likely be pretty comfortable in a rash guard if water temps of 80-82 are to be believed. My girlfriend however is another story... BTW who does wash/store wetsuits?

The gear I really care about are our regs and BCs, which we really tend to take good care of. I would rather not lug that stuff back and forth and it would be cool to have the piece of mind to know that they are being rinsed and hung, not in a wet bag on the floor somewhere.

Besides the gear issue, or the boats, in general the service and friendliness of the dive op means far more to me than any other aspect of a dive trip...especially a longer one as I'll be there 10 nights . When I look back at the various trips I've been on, what I remember is not how good the vis was or how cold the beer was, but instead the awesome professionals I've met diving and still keep in contact with. Kinda hard to have that experience with a cattle boat. It seems like I am in luck as there are a number of ops here that seem pretty cool.

A SI on a beach club would be cool tho. And I have never dove with steel 120s so that might be an interesting experience. Only use 4 lbs with AL80s so it'll be awesome to have no weight at all!

 

[Mossman]

Actually the whole wetsuit thing is kind of a non-factor for me as I have never had to wear a wetsuit in the tropics. I'm not sure if Cozumel in April is going to be much colder than Bonaire, Roatan, Belize, Cabo Pulmo or Thailand but I'll likely be pretty comfortable in a rash guard if water temps of 80-82 are to be believed. My girlfriend however is another story... BTW who does wash/store wetsuits?

It's not about having to wear a wetsuit. As a ScubaERDoc, you should know that the human body needs to compensate when exposed to colder temperatures. The average naked human body gets "cold" when submerged in water around 93F. Less than that, and the average human body will compensate by shivering, shunting blood, and generally expending more energy.

In addition, there are all sorts of nasties in the water that can sting the uncovered diver: hydroids, jellies, and fire corals to name a few. But it's your choice.

Since you asked, Living Underwater is one dive op that stores all dive gear including wetsuits and also provides steel 120s and SIs at a beach club. That's not the only reason why it's my favorite dive op. Most often, you will dive with Jeremy, the owner. He is an excellent guide, the best I've ever followed, and that includes my experiences in Bonaire, Roatan, Belize, Cabo Pulmo, Thailand, and many other locales.[/QUOTE]