I dove with Ecologic Divers for a two week period this August and want to provide some feedback on my experience. Since this is a slower part of the year for the Caribbean, I decided not to prebook my dives, but rather see the shop first and decide how I felt. I did e-mail Ecologic beforehand to learn a little more about their shop. Since the reviews for them had generally been favorable, I didnt have any concerns.
Ecologic Divers was very flexible with me. I made my decision to dive on a day-by-day basis. I opened up a tab by leaving a credit card imprint which I then settled at the end of my stay. I dove mostly two-tank morning dives. I was asked to show up at 8:30am so that we could get our gear set up for the 9am dive. Ecologics boats are equipped with first aid kits, oxygen, and camera tanks. If you have a camera and let them know, they will fill the camera tank with water for you. After we boarded the boat, the divemaster gave a safety briefing about the safety features of the boat. We then proceeded to the reef. Before we passed through the reef channel, we were asked to get our fins and masks ready. One of the assistants on the boat then offered to rinse our masks for us. They had defogger on board for those who needed it. We then went out to the dive site.
The divemaster then gave a briefing of the dive site. In general the dives were 35-40 minutes plus a safety stop. The divemaster repeatedly told us to not touch any sea life and to watch our fins. The emphasis was on preserving the dive sites for the future. We then entered the water via a backroll entry. We then descended and waited at the mooring line until everyone was in the water. We then followed the lead of the divemaster until the end of the dive. The divemaster pointed out various creatures on the way. There is a lionfish problem in Belize so the divemaster would carry a spearing kind of device to kill them if they appeared. They emphasized that the lionfish is not native to the waters and it this breed is threatening the survival of the other fish.
At the end of the dive, we surfaced. Since the dives were drift dives, the boat would come to pick us up. The boat captain threw a line into the water to make it easier to approach the boat in the presence of current. After we boarded the boat, the boat captain handed us hot towels a nice treat!
We then returned to the dock for the surface interval. Ecologic provided fruit, chips, salsa, and lemonade or a similar beverage. After the interval, we repeated the process for the second dive. We were usually back by 12:30pm.
All of the divemasters and boat captains were extremely friendly. The front desk staff was extremely helpful in arranging things. They even arranged an all day trip up to the northern part of Ambergris Caye where we did two dives, had lunch, and a third dive.
The overall diving was good. Visibility was good (70 feet or so). The fish life was the standard Caribbean types of fish with one notable exception .I saw my first Manta Ray!
Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Ecologic. The only shortfall from my perspective is the short dive times. I believe 35-40 minutes is just too short. Ecologic was very upfront about the dive times. There was no surprise per se. They did work with me and got me into the water early so I could get a few minutes more bottom time. Nevertheless, I came up with a lot of air. When you combine that with a shorter surface interval, the second dive can be a bit tricky. I felt I had to really manage my first dive more aggressively so I could get more bottom time during the second dive. Ecologic does offer Nitrox which would have enabled me to stay deeper for the second dive but 35-40 minutes for a standard dive is still too short. I believe the average dive should be at least 50 minutes. It is for this reason alone that I did not give them the highest rating possible.
Would I dive with Ecologic again? Probably. Overall they were very fun to dive with and very environmentally conscious. The only thing that would keep me from diving with them again is the short dive times.
Ecologic Divers was very flexible with me. I made my decision to dive on a day-by-day basis. I opened up a tab by leaving a credit card imprint which I then settled at the end of my stay. I dove mostly two-tank morning dives. I was asked to show up at 8:30am so that we could get our gear set up for the 9am dive. Ecologics boats are equipped with first aid kits, oxygen, and camera tanks. If you have a camera and let them know, they will fill the camera tank with water for you. After we boarded the boat, the divemaster gave a safety briefing about the safety features of the boat. We then proceeded to the reef. Before we passed through the reef channel, we were asked to get our fins and masks ready. One of the assistants on the boat then offered to rinse our masks for us. They had defogger on board for those who needed it. We then went out to the dive site.
The divemaster then gave a briefing of the dive site. In general the dives were 35-40 minutes plus a safety stop. The divemaster repeatedly told us to not touch any sea life and to watch our fins. The emphasis was on preserving the dive sites for the future. We then entered the water via a backroll entry. We then descended and waited at the mooring line until everyone was in the water. We then followed the lead of the divemaster until the end of the dive. The divemaster pointed out various creatures on the way. There is a lionfish problem in Belize so the divemaster would carry a spearing kind of device to kill them if they appeared. They emphasized that the lionfish is not native to the waters and it this breed is threatening the survival of the other fish.
At the end of the dive, we surfaced. Since the dives were drift dives, the boat would come to pick us up. The boat captain threw a line into the water to make it easier to approach the boat in the presence of current. After we boarded the boat, the boat captain handed us hot towels a nice treat!
We then returned to the dock for the surface interval. Ecologic provided fruit, chips, salsa, and lemonade or a similar beverage. After the interval, we repeated the process for the second dive. We were usually back by 12:30pm.
All of the divemasters and boat captains were extremely friendly. The front desk staff was extremely helpful in arranging things. They even arranged an all day trip up to the northern part of Ambergris Caye where we did two dives, had lunch, and a third dive.
The overall diving was good. Visibility was good (70 feet or so). The fish life was the standard Caribbean types of fish with one notable exception .I saw my first Manta Ray!
Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Ecologic. The only shortfall from my perspective is the short dive times. I believe 35-40 minutes is just too short. Ecologic was very upfront about the dive times. There was no surprise per se. They did work with me and got me into the water early so I could get a few minutes more bottom time. Nevertheless, I came up with a lot of air. When you combine that with a shorter surface interval, the second dive can be a bit tricky. I felt I had to really manage my first dive more aggressively so I could get more bottom time during the second dive. Ecologic does offer Nitrox which would have enabled me to stay deeper for the second dive but 35-40 minutes for a standard dive is still too short. I believe the average dive should be at least 50 minutes. It is for this reason alone that I did not give them the highest rating possible.
Would I dive with Ecologic again? Probably. Overall they were very fun to dive with and very environmentally conscious. The only thing that would keep me from diving with them again is the short dive times.
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If there is a section of reef to explore during the safety stop, then the safety stop is also "fun time". But if the reef is at 60', then the safety stop is just that - for safety and not "fun time". Maybe the administrator wasn't making any distinction - just how long has the computer said the diver was in the water?
