Iberostar Coz Dressel ?

[Luv2dive]

I am going to Coz in July and staying at Iberostar. We stayed there in Aug of 2000 (before we were OWC) This will be our first first ocean diving and was wondering if the dive center on site (Dressel) is a good outfit for newbies with only nine logged quarry dives. I love the Iberostar but know nothing about Dressel. Any comments for newbie Coz divers?

 

[Dee]

I'd look for an off-site dive op.

I've never used Dressel but they don't fare well in the reviews I've read. I'd suggest Papa Hogs . Margaret is known for her patience and attention to new divers and their DM's have very good recommendations. Their small boats will insure you a small group and faster travel times.

You're gonna love Coz!

 

[barb]

My husband and I stayed on the Mayan Riviera and dove with Dressel Divers there. We did one Cozumel excursion with them and found them to be quite good. The excursion took us to Iberostar and we used their Op. while there. Compared to other Dive Ops we've used they came out quite well. I found the boats to be roomy and comfortable. There were only approx. 10 divers on the boat and we split up into smaller groups - each with their own DM (groups of approx. 4 divers + 1 DM) The boats were fast and most important they were still there when we surfaced. Now I don't know how it would be staying on Cozumel and diving with them every day - they were good at the Barcelo Maya, where we stayed. It seems to make sence to use the Operator out of your hotel, unless they have a really bad reputation.
I'm jealous - I wish I was going When you come back please let us all know how much fun you had and which Dive Op you end up using.

 

[scottbeach]

Luv2Dive-

We will also be at the Iberostar in July, from the 20th through the 28th. This will be our first Carib trip since getting our OW certification. When will you be there?

 

[GaryGWood]

My wife and I stayed at Iberostar and used Aldora Divers. These guys are simply the best. You drop off your gear and they pick you up at the Iberostart dock with everything ready to go. In between dives, they change everything out and get it ready for the next dive.

The best part was the requirement of dive computers for all divers. If you don't have one, no problem - they will provide one. Dive times routinely excedded 60 minutes with some of the shallower dives as long as 75 minutes.

This was my wife's first open water dive and the dive master, Omar, was FANTASTIC! The biggest crowd was six divers with 4 being common.

Anytime I dive Cozumel, I dive Aldora. Check them out at www.aldora.com.

 

[spanky]

I was there in febuary used deep blue they were excellent.Fast boats no more than six divers incredable dives. good luck

 

[ednedfred]

We just returned from the Iberostar yesterday (7/7/02). The resort is outstanding (request a water view room) and I dove with two different dive operators. I dove with Dressel on Friday afternoon--my wife and boys wanted to snorkel and I wanted to dive. The expereince was pretty bad. The boats were cattle cars and you had to suit up your own tanks, our dive instructor didn't lead us through the currents he just did his own thing and to top it off two Dressel boats ran into each other--nothing serious but really, really disorganized and expensive $185.00 for a 3 hour two-tank dive and three snorkelers (we all had our own gear). On the other days I dove with Blue Angel based on recommendations from this website. What a difference! Small groups, excellent dive masters, a truely great experience. If you get a chance the Columbia reef (+90 feet) and the Santa Rosa Wall (79 feet) are unbelievable. I'm somewhat new to scuba but never felt threatened because our dive master(s) were such hard ass_s (in a good way). I booked the trip with Blue Angel with a lady named Jeanie in St. Louis who handles reservations in the states. You can find their website by typing Blue+Angel+Cozumel in your search engine. Hope you have a great trip. I don't know if there will be any Margarita's left at the Iberostar--I think I drank them all.

 

[barb]

Wow Frededned
I'm sorry for your experience with Dressel. I had a much better experience. However, I was coming as a day trip from the Mayan Riviera.
Actually, I prefer suiting up my own tank.
So the big question is - how much did Blue Angel ops cost?
since Dressel was so expensive. I'm probably going back some day (this winter hopefully!) and pay less = more dives for me
I'm glad you enjoyed yourself eventually.
I'd love to see Santa Rosa wall - I've heard its beautiful

 

[ednedfred]

Blue Angel was $53.00 for 2 tanks. I think it breaks out: $25.00 per dive plus an additional $3.00 per day fee. So for two days of diving it was $106.00.

 

[barb]

Frededned:
That's a better price than I paid on the Mayan Riviera. I bought a package of 15 dives so I supposedly got a better deal. Instead of paying $38.00/tank I paid $30.00/tank.
I surely did'nt get the service you seemed to get either.
I still had fun and am not unhappy with what I paid. That said, I will definitely shop around next time.
Thanks Barb