Mimi Coz trip report

[Jim Baldwin]

Pilot fish,

Had the same experience when I first started diving Cozumel. Didn't like the slow boat, big groups and limited bottom time.

You can now see where operations like Blue XT Sea, Liquid Blue and Living Underwater
get their business.

The personal service these type operations provide make the diving extremely enjoyable. New divers can certainly benefit from more hands on attention with smaller groups. Buoyancy, air, and diving skills are much improved after a few days of diving with operators like these. You normally can do deeper profiles, computer diving, and use bigger tanks and do longer surface intervals on a beach not floating on a boat for 45 minutes.

These folks all have fast boats with twin 100 to 150's. They routinely dive all the southern dive sites and it doesn't take long to get there. They are also prompt on pickup times. They may cost slightly more but when you figure in the hour plus dives, the sites you want to dive and the handling of all your gear before and after the dives it is money well spent.

After 14 trips I've just got a strong opinion of what I like.

 

[lawofgravity]

I dove with them because I was diving with a friend that was not that experienced and they had an operation at the hotel. I thought it would be easier. I thought if we went to better sites I would be responsible for my dive buddy but those sites were not made available to us. I did dive the Santa Rosa Wall, at least that's what they told us it was, but I didn't think it was as special as I heard it was - 84 ft 41 minutes. Is it possible they took us to a different site and told us it was Santa Rosa Wall?

I doubt it. If there were regular Coz divers on the boat with you, they would know right away. I looked at my logbook again and that's a similar profile for my dive at Santa Rosa. Didn't see a lot of life, but there was a strong current. I just remembered being absolutely amazed at all the colours on the wall as I drifted by. It was like watching a moving Jackson Pollack painting.

Columbia Deep was definitely the highlight dive for me. The biggest eagle ray I've ever seen.

 

[RonFrank]

I'm going back to Coz in March and I'm going to try Aqua Safari. They are a bit cheaper and have a $9 afternoon dive special.

Mark

Can you explain what that is? I just can not imagine that they could run a boat for Nine $$$ a diver, that would hardly cover gas, much less anything else. So is it $9 for the dive, and $50 for air

What's are the details?

 

[pilot fish]

I doubt it. If there were regular Coz divers on the boat with you, they would know right away. I looked at my logbook again and that's a similar profile for my dive at Santa Rosa. Didn't see a lot of life, but there was a strong current. I just remembered being absolutely amazed at all the colours on the wall as I drifted by. It was like watching a moving Jackson Pollack painting.

Columbia Deep was definitely the highlight dive for me. The biggest eagle ray I've ever seen.

Not sure there were any regular Coz divers on my boat. My impression was that only one other diver had more experience than I. Who knows if he would have known if that was Santa Rosa Wall? I checked with another Coz person and they told me that the Rosa Wall had 3 swim thrus. We went thru NO swim thrus on that wall. I also asked if it was possible if the boat crew could/would tell us it was one site, like Santa Rosa Wall, and it was not that wall but another. This person said, not only is that possible but it happened frequently.


I had heard Santa Rosa was a great wall dive but I did not come away with the feeling it was anything out of the ordinary. I really can't say for sure but my gut tells me it was not SR Wall.

Columbia Deep is still a highpoint dive for me as well, as was the Palacar Horshoe.

 

[RonFrank]

I have read that the Nitrox (maybe even air) for COZ is done at just a couple locations. Do they fill bigger tanks like AL100/120, and R those available from many of the Dive Ops?

Pilot fish,

They may cost slightly more but when you figure in the hour plus dives, the sites you want to dive and the handling of all your gear before and after the dives it is money well spent.

I hear that!! I'm about as cheap (OK frugal) as they come, but when one is on vacation why try to save $100 in diving expense, and than look back and wish for something more while sitting in your cube at work.

I get four weeks a year vacation, and THAT is valuable to me. I'll skimp on some things, like I do NOT need a five star hotel, just a clean room and comfortable bed. However when it comes to things like charters, diving, tours, ect, I never understand why people would skimp? Life is just too short.

 

[pilot fish]

I have read that the Nitrox (maybe even air) for COZ is done at just a couple locations. Do they fill bigger tanks like AL100/120, and R those available from many of the Dive Ops?



I hear that!! I'm about as cheap (OK frugal) as they come, but when one is on vacation why try to save $100 in diving expense, and than look back and wish for something more while sitting in your cube at work.

I get four weeks a year vacation, and THAT is valuable to me. I'll skimp on some things, like I do NOT need a five star hotel, just a clean room and comfortable bed. However when it comes to things like charters, diving, tours, ect, I never understand why people would skimp? Life is just too short.

In short, if you go with better dive ops you will be treated better, get to better dive sites and be able to dive your own profiles, according to your experience level. I've heard that nitox all comes from one source. Not sure if that's accurate.

It would stand to reason that if you get on a slow, crowded boat [Dive Paradise fleet] you will not get to any of the dives sites ahead of the faster boats. As you said Ron, you get what you pay for.

 

[ggunn]

In short, if you go with better dive ops you will be treated better, get to better dive sites and be able to dive your own profiles, according to your experience level. I've heard that nitox all comes from one source. Not sure if that's accurate.

It would stand to reason that if you get on a slow, crowded boat [Dive Paradise fleet] you will not get to any of the dives sites ahead of the faster boats. As you said Ron, you get what you pay for.

I agree with part of that. Certainly, diiving with the better dive ops will yield a better experience, but higher cost is not necessarily the definitive indicator of a better dive op. For example, I have been diving lately with Blue Angel, who are among the least expensive ops on the island, and they are excellent.

 

[pilot fish]

I agree with part of that. Certainly, diiving with the better dive ops will yield a better experience, but higher cost is not necessarily the definitive indicator of a better dive op. For example, I have been diving lately with Blue Angel, who are among the least expensive ops on the island, and they are excellent.

You are absolutely correct, higher prices does not necessarily indicate that you will have better service, or sites. In some instances, I would think, higher prices just means higher prices. If you find a good dive op, with good, fast boats and lower prices, you should stick with them.

 

[Fin59]

That must have been a real pain. I don't like to have to demand stuff I'm supposed to get since I paid for it. That is not fun. Since they are so big they tend to overlook some important details. Did you stay at the Hotel Cozumel?

By the way, those lockers by the dock do not belong to Dive Paradise, they belong to Hotel Cozumel. I saw them ask for $25 key deposit. huh?

The lockers do belong to the hotel, but we have never had to put down a deposit for a key. They just had us sign a card that we would pay the $25 if we lost it.

 

[Fin59]

I'll tell you, it looked and sounded so weird under water.

Ok, just have to tell this one....a few years ago we were diving and saw the sub. My husband, his brother in-law and another guy we had met from Chicago all mooned it. I could see people inside the sub taking their pictures.