Dive with martin or aldoras

[DjDiverDan]

I have been diving with both Dive with Martin and Aldora, and while I think both are great, they really are different kinds of operations, and which is best for you depends entirely on your needs and preferences. I love Aldora for the steel 120 tanks, the very long bottom times, the long SI at the beach club, and the first-class valet service. BUT if you are the kind of diver that gets cold after 45 minutes or so (very likely if you are not wearing a wetsuit of some sort), that last 45 minutes of a 90 minute dive, with your lips turning blue and shivering so bad that you have trouble biting on your mouthpiece, might be pure hell. Do you need a wetsuit to dive Cozumel in June? Depends. No, not for one or two 45 minute dives a day for no more than one or two days in a row, unless you are particularly sensitive to cold (some people are). But heat loss is cumulative, and if you are doing two 90 minute dives every day for a week, you are going to be cold without a wetsuit. If you really only want to dive on two or three days out of the week, you don't want to bring a wetsuit, need rental equipment, and won't really benefit from 90-minute dives, go with DWM. And if you are worried about air consumption, pay the extra charge for AL 100 tanks; maybe just having the extra air will help you relax, and being relaxed is the biggest key to improving your air consumption.

 

[Diver Dave1]

I suggest using a wetsuit in June. I like a full suit even in warm water. You should not be fighting the current during your drift diving there so little need to burn energy and air. I like the full body protection in case a jellyfish happens by or in shallow water, I touch down in the sand. Have seen too many people with abrasions, jelly stings, etc on trips to want any part of those. They were not critical in nature but sure put a down side to an otherwise great trip for those divers.

Related to the money difference, 3 months after the trip will you remember the money you saved or the great time you had diving? If one option provides greater chance for a better time and you can pay the cost, you will be happier with the better time over the lower cost. At least this is my experience.

I did Aldora divers once and will never consider another option. It was great with them.

 

[NDL_Diver]

I'm not rich but scrounged enough for trip to cozumel. Who should I go with. Dive with martin has great reviews and much much cheaper. But aldoras claims to have much bigger tanks. Opinions on who I should go with. More dives versus less longer dives (assuming Thier tanks really make longer dives)

Do Both! June is low, slow season. There should be no problem just booking each for one day and on the 3rd day go with what you like. June you should be able to book with just about anyone the day before.

Question, you are doing 1 tank dive per day? How? Afternoons?

Be aware they may have a min for afternoon dives.

I am not aware of 1 tank morning dives, but I never thought to ask.

 

[Fin59]

A couple of things........


I don't think I've ever heard DWM described as a "cattle boat." You may have up to 8 divers on the boat.

They do have free rental gear. All I have ever used from them is a wetsuit, but have seen many others that did.

Surface interval is usually drifting on the boat, sometimes on a beach or pier down south. I'm good with either. Water, fruit, cookies for snacks. We leave our gear with them all week and they take care of it all.

We've never had anyone from a cruise ship diving with us, probably because we leave so early. When we stay at Hotel Cozumel they pick us up at 7:20. Their shop is located at the International Pier so they may run a later boat for any cruise ship divers if they have availability, but their priority is for their land based divers.

You have a lot of great dive shops to choose from in Cozumel. Just decide what you want from one and go from there, don't stress over it!

We've been using Dive With Martin for many years, love the dive masters and rest of the crew.

FYI....you can request 100 cf tanks for $4 more

 

[NDL_Diver]

FYI....you can request 100 cf tanks for $4 more

Issue with 100 cf tanks are the are not filled to rated pressure of 3442 psi to give you 100 cf. This issue has been discussed to death that 100 cf tanks on Cozumel ard only filled to 3000 psi. Thus they are only slightly larger than an 80 cf tank.

Aldora has there own fill station and they always fill the HP steel 120 cf to the rated pressure to give you 120 cf.

 

[mmmbelows]

Businesses don't arbitrarily make up the prices they charge, they are based on expenses they incur to provide the services they sell to their customers, if you give more to your customers you typically have to charge more. So what's that mean? It means the old adage "you get what you pay for" isn't just an old adage, it's the truth. Aldora will provide more and charges more as a result. DWM will provide less and charges less as a result. When someone goes to get another automobile, some people want the new car and some people say a used one is good enough for them, it all depends on what is important for you.

You said

More dives versus less longer dives (assuming

But it doesn't sound like that's really one of the factors, you said later you would dive 7 dives with either one, so one of your criteria isn't really valid. If you're doing 7 dives with either you will have much longer bottom times with Aldora, you'll also benefit from the services they provide that DWM doesn't which have been mentioned, and you possibly would benefit from some services that you may or may not be able to take advantage of - diving the east side, getting out to dive when everyone else is stuck on the island, diving dive sights not dived by DWM... you have to decide are you a new car guy or a used car guy? Do you want the bells and whistles or are you okay with just good enough? It's going to come down to bottom time for you I believe. In 7 dives with each you're going to essentially get what amounts to probably 2 more dives in when it comes to adding up the bottom time.

Personally if it was me I'd say go with DWM, why? Two things - #1 you're a brand new diver, just getting underwater is 90% of your wow factor, you're not even going to be aware of what you're getting with Aldora besides the bottom time. #2 You brought up this question over price. If you brought it up it probably means price really is a big factor in your decision or you wouldn't even be asking about all this, it's kind of like "if you have to ask, then it probably means you should be going with the cheaper outfit" so just go with DWM this time.

Work on your air consumption on these dives. Being conscious of it is a powerful first step, being comfortable while you dive is a second big step in using less air. By the end of the week you will see an improvement in your air just from being more comfortable.

Work on your air consumption over the long term - lose weight/get in shape. A smaller body mass and a aerobically conditioned body both will contribute to less air consumption.

 

[Kyle done]

Do Both! June is low, slow season. There should be no problem just booking each for one day and on the 3rd day go with what you like. June you should be able to book with just about anyone the day before.

Question, you are doing 1 tank dive per day? How? Afternoons?

Be aware they may have a min for afternoon dives.

I am not aware of 1 tank morning dives, but I never thought to ask.

Night dive

 

[Kyle done]

A couple of things........


I don't think I've ever heard DWM described as a "cattle boat." You may have up to 8 divers on the boat.

They do have free rental gear. All I have ever used from them is a wetsuit, but have seen many others that did.

Surface interval is usually drifting on the boat, sometimes on a beach or pier down south. I'm good with either. Water, fruit, cookies for snacks. We leave our gear with them all week and they take care of it all.

We've never had anyone from a cruise ship diving with us, probably because we leave so early. When we stay at Hotel Cozumel they pick us up at 7:20. Their shop is located at the International Pier so they may run a later boat for any cruise ship divers if they have availability, but their priority is for their land based divers.

You have a lot of great dive shops to choose from in Cozumel. Just decide what you want from one and go from there, don't stress over it!

We've been using Dive With Martin for many years, love the dive masters and rest of the crew.

FYI....you can request 100 cf tanks for $4 more

That's a big draw to dive with martin aldoras charges 40$ a day for gear that adds up when you work for ten a hour..

 

[Kyle done]

Businesses don't arbitrarily make up the prices they charge, they are based on expenses they incur to provide the services they sell to their customers, if you give more to your customers you typically have to charge more. So what's that mean? It means the old adage "you get what you pay for" isn't just an old adage, it's the truth. Aldora will provide more and charges more as a result. DWM will provide less and charges less as a result. When someone goes to get another automobile, some people want the new car and some people say a used one is good enough for them, it all depends on what is important for you.

You said


But it doesn't sound like that's really one of the factors, you said later you would dive 7 dives with either one, so one of your criteria isn't really valid. If you're doing 7 dives with either you will have much longer bottom times with Aldora, you'll also benefit from the services they provide that DWM doesn't which have been mentioned, and you possibly would benefit from some services that you may or may not be able to take advantage of - diving the east side, getting out to dive when everyone else is stuck on the island, diving dive sights not dived by DWM... you have to decide are you a new car guy or a used car guy? Do you want the bells and whistles or are you okay with just good enough? It's going to come down to bottom time for you I believe. In 7 dives with each you're going to essentially get what amounts to probably 2 more dives in when it comes to adding up the bottom time.

Personally if it was me I'd say go with DWM, why? Two things - #1 you're a brand new diver, just getting underwater is 90% of your wow factor, you're not even going to be aware of what you're getting with Aldora besides the bottom time. #2 You brought up this question over price. If you brought it up it probably means price really is a big factor in your decision or you wouldn't even be asking about all this, it's kind of like "if you have to ask, then it probably means you should be going with the cheaper outfit" so just go with DWM this time.

Work on your air consumption on these dives. Being conscious of it is a powerful first step, being comfortable while you dive is a second big step in using less air. By the end of the week you will see an improvement in your air just from being more comfortable.

Work on your air consumption over the long term - lose weight/get in shape. A smaller body mass and a aerobically conditioned body both will contribute to less air consumption.

Ya price is a big issue for me. If I was more responsible. This trio would nevee happen and had to beg my fiancee to be ok with diving on honeymoon. Just when I dived in hawaii and being surrounded by life I felt peace I never had before. My many problems in life melted away and felt like everything is ok.

 

[Christi]

A couple of things........


I don't think I've ever heard DWM described as a "cattle boat." You may have up to 8 divers on the boat.

They do have free rental gear. All I have ever used from them is a wetsuit, but have seen many others that did.

Surface interval is usually drifting on the boat, sometimes on a beach or pier down south. I'm good with either. Water, fruit, cookies for snacks. We leave our gear with them all week and they take care of it all.

We've never had anyone from a cruise ship diving with us, probably because we leave so early. When we stay at Hotel Cozumel they pick us up at 7:20. Their shop is located at the International Pier so they may run a later boat for any cruise ship divers if they have availability, but their priority is for their land based divers.

You have a lot of great dive shops to choose from in Cozumel. Just decide what you want from one and go from there, don't stress over it!

We've been using Dive With Martin for many years, love the dive masters and rest of the crew.

FYI....you can request 100 cf tanks for $4 more

Just to clarify, the dives are 2 dives per trip - so you are paying for two dives, not one dive - I'm sure the OP meant 1 trip per day - but it could be misunderstood.

And no, DWM is definitley not a cattleoat op. They run 6 - 8 passenger boats. Cattle boats are 10+