Iberostar Dressel or Aldora etc..

[stano]

I am at a crossroads having booked my trip tonight (diving November 6-13) I have to make a decision on who to dive with. A friend of mine recommended Aldora and from what I read on the SB a lot of people are very happy with them. I am sure there are many very good outfits on the island with out a doubt. Trouble for me is I am staying at the Iberostar far from town and am struggling with leaving my gear in town, versus the huge convenience of diving from my hotel. Its not that I don`t trust the ops in town, its just that if say I want to do a shore dive spur of the moment all my gear is town. I also like the idea of being close to the dive sites, including SI at the hotel.

I spoke to a very nice lady at Aldora and it sounds like I have to book ahead also. I don`t know if I would have to do that at Dressel. My family does not dive so I don`t know how well I can commit to a real schedule. I do understand that dive ops cannot run a business without a schedule.

I also read tons about Dressel and it is the same as on sites like trip advisor, one guy says it was the best ever and the next guy says they ruined his vacation. Need some help here as I have to make a decision very soon.

Thanks
Stano

 

[MMM]

Not much shore diving at Iberostar so I wouldn't let that factor into your decision....

 

[Colin Gray]

Stano,

I have been diving with Dressel Divers for the last 10 years both at Iberostar, Cancun and Coz. 3rd trip to Coz in the last year coming up Nov 28-Dec.10. Never had a problem with them. It is very convenient when staying at Iberostar. My diving partner from Canada and I always book our dives through their headquarters in Spain for a reduced rate. Nitrox is free Downside, no shore diving.

 

[KJHorton]

We stayed at Iberostar and dove with Alison, Scuba Tony and Dressell. Personally, I would dive with either of them or Aldora before diving with Dressell again. (FYI, we were originally diving with Alison, but she didn't have room for us everyday, so we chose Tony the other days. Decided we needed to squeeze in a few more dives and, thus, dove with Dressell as well.)

I believe I saw the Aldora boat picking up divers at the Iberostar pier, so there would not be a need to travel to town to get to their boat.

I'll compare Dressell to the other two smaller operators. From what I've read, I believe Aldora operates more like the other two.

Dressell wasn't horrible but there are several things to consider. You may dive with a different guide every day. Personally, I like diving with the same person every day and getting to know them.

Dressell has a set schedule so you have no choice where you are diving. On the other two boats, we were always asked where we'd like to dive and had some input on that decision.

Dressell may have two groups of 6 or 8 going out on the same boat. Although they try not to, sometimes those two groups can merge in the water. This can cause confusion for some divers (especially new ones) recognizing which group to stay with. On the other two boats, we had a maximum of 7 divers and never saw anyone else on any of our dives.

Iberostar is in the marine park and, thus, shore diving is not allowed so that is not an issue.

A big issue for me was that Dressell limits your dives to one hour. With the other two operators, we dove our computer/air limits.

You don't need reservations far ahead of time to dive with Dressell. They prefer you make arrangements at least the day before you want to dive.

I hope this information helps.

 

[stano]

I did speak to Aldora and it did not sound to me like it was too big a deal to dive with them from Iberostars pier. I do believe that i may have to pay a small daily fee, which is not a big deal for me. I have read all the rumblings on this and I can see it from both sides.

I am kind of bummed out that there is no shore diving. I guess I did not research that very well... I suppose its irrelevant anyway as I am sure the real diving is happening off the boats. I seen some nice snorkling around the pier so assumed that I could rent a tank and go out further, I guess thats where assumptions get you.

Where does the marine park end? If I wanted to stay somewhere next time who has good shore diving?

Thanks for the comments so far, if anyone else wants to chip in, I would appreciate all opinions on either side.

thanks
Stano

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Dear Stano,

If you are diving with Aldora, we offer free tanks and shore dives at our Villa Aldora which is just a short ways North of the town.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[cicopo]

I'll give my opinion based on the number of dives listed in your profile. For divers with a low count Dressel will put you with a DM & group of divers (generally) that are all relatively new divers, and you'll do timed dives based on anticipated depth & you'll all be required to surface when the first diver hits 700 PSI. I had a much higher count when I stayed there & dove with them and in all cases morning dives were "dive my tank" dives while afternoon dives were timed & had nothing to do with how much air we had left. When occupancy is high enough to split the groups properly the more advanced divers get grouped together & dive their tanks or computer, but newer divers get the timed dive treatment because it's the safest way for them to run the dive. Once you've proven better than average skills they may change who you get grouped up with & adjust how they treat you.
Re shore dives you need to stay in town or to the north of town because the marine park starts just south of the pier cutting into Paradise Reef. All resorts / hotels / condos to the south of & including the Presidenté are within the park.
Aldore or several other smaller ops may be a better value, plus meet your needs better, but Dressel can be convenient.

 

[MMM]

Re shore dives you need to stay in town or to the north of town because the marine park starts just south of the pier cutting into Paradise Reef. All resorts / hotels / condos to the south of & including the Presidenté are within the park.

Not quite right. Blue Angel, Papa Hog and Scuba Mau are south of town but still outside the marine park. I've done a LOT of free, solo shore diving in front of Blue Angel (swimming up to the Papa Hog pier and then back again).

Your real cut-off is caleta. Anything north of caleta is outside the park.

 

[cicopo]

I consider ANYTHING north of the International pier IN TOWN, although I don't actually know where a boundary exists so it might not translate well my way.

 

[jchance]

Go with Aldora if there is room. Been diving with them since their early days and they are hard to beat. Besides, i'm there at the same time.