Help w/ selecting dive op

[spdspappy]

My family and I are heading down to our first trip to Mexico very soon (4/28-5/5) and I'm still undecided btw Dive Paradise and BlueXTSea (please help!). I was finally able to convince my wife to go somewhere besides Maui (yay!), but that's the environment we're used to (Lahaina Divers - 3 vacations - ~10 dives total for me w/ them). I have 20 dives under my belt and my wife just finished her OW certification the last time we were in HI (Oct 06). We would prefer not to go more than ~70 ft and no long swim throughs. This will also be my second trip w/ underwater photo equipment. We'll be staying at the Melia Cozumel (long story) and will not have a vehicle most of the time, so that may have some impact on who we end up with; we can always take a cab if needed though. I'd rather keep a low diver/instructor ratio, but also want someone who is great at finding/pointing out things (what a HUGE difference this can make!!!). I'm willing to pay a little extra (as long as it's not out of control) for the low diver ratio. I'll have everything but wetsuit, tank & weights, but my wife will need almost everything (minus mask, fins, & snorkel). It would also be nice if my wife could rent a computer (extra piece of mind - not necessarily for special computer runs) , since she doesn't own one yet. Thank you for your help!!!

 

[stevenq99]

As someone who has used both Lahaina divers and Blue xt Sea the difference is night and day. With Blue xt Sea it is small fast boat with no more than 6 divers and great dive masters and captains. In Maui the dives seemed like a race but in Cozumel they go really slow and point out the neat stuff to see. Let the dive masters know your concerns and they will work with you.

As for cost diving and most everything else in cozumel is much less expensive.

From the Melia I think you would have to take a cab to downtown to catch the boat but cabs are quite reasonable.

Blue xt Sea has a great reputation and in my opinion is well deserved.

 

[diveborg]

From the Melia I think you would have to take a cab to downtown to catch the boat but cabs are quite reasonable.

Yep, you'll have to taxi to a meeting spot to catch the morning dive boat departure. The arrangements will be made with the dive OP you finally choose.

Blue xt Sea has a great reputation and in my opinion is well deserved.

Totally agree.

 

[Hooked4Life]

I have used BlueXT Sea multiple times and will be diving with them in June. My friend went with us last year and got OW certified with BlueXT Sea.

I believe that you get what you pay for. I think it is well worth it to be on smaller boats, get to the dive sites faster, great dive masters, great service, surface interval on land, snacks during the SI, and of course Christi!

 

[spdspappy]

Thanks for the info! Now I just need to see if there's availability...

 

[AggieDiver]

Check the "whats new" link on the Bluextsea website (bluextseadiving.com). Right now, it looks like she is booked up the 2nd through the 5th. I would give her a call or an email anyways to see if she has had any cancellations.

 

[scottyroz]

For what its worth my vote is Aquatic Sports Cozumel
http://www.scubacozumel.com/
Amazing people, even if you dont dive with them read about his history on the island, pretty cool stuff.

 

[Diver Kat]

If Christi can't squeeze you in, try Alison - from Scuba with Alison ... she gets rave reviews as well (we love her to pieces!!) .... the only problem with these guys being so great? - they get booked up solid all the time!!

 

[cowboyneal]

My usual mantra: As an instructor, I tell anyone who asks and my students that when going to Coz, decide what kind of diving you want to do first - then you'll be able to find any one or more excellent Cozumel dive operators to cater to it by using generally available information, this board, specific experience of your instructor, his or her friends, whichever...

Beware of people saying this one or that one is "the best" or "better than all" or "the worst" because most people don't really have a clue at all (sorry, but really it's true), and unless they have dove (dived? diven?) with every operation at least once in every conceivable set of conditions and then with every single crew member and dive master of that operation, again in every single set of conditions, and have done it regularly enough to make a valid comparison (now we are talking about the impossible - thousands of permutations and combinations) then they can't really say.

I also wouldn't go with the actual recommendation of the tourist diver, because chances are they have only dove (dived, diven?) with one operator, so what do they know? (no offense intended)...

In the end, again, the type of diving you want to do and whether or not the op meets all of the rest of your needs will define what will be good for you.

Just to say, you couldn't go wrong with any of the operations mentioned in this thread (or in your original post) IMHO.

CN

 

[spdspappy]

Thanks for the info! I understand that it's hard for someone who has only been there a couple times and dove w/ 1 or 2 operators to make an educated assessment. I was hoping one of the Coz people to chime in based on my desires (small diver to instructor ratio, preference to not go below 70', ability to show/find marine life).