Poll - Will this partial closure of marine park affect your future plans to visit Cozumel?

[Astran]

It's a Catch-22.

Let's say the reefs are doing noticeably better in 6 months. Could be related to the closure, could be total coincidence and due to natural climate variation or whatever. But if so, then the Coz Govt could easily say "Well that worked great, let's do this more often and close more sites!"

So we don't actually WANT it to work. We WANT the reefs to continue to show damage. The whole thing is twisted.

 

[drrich2]

I voted 'Other,' as my situation is a little different. Several years ago did 2 dives in Coz. on a cruise stop; weather blocked me 2 other stops. Wanted to go back and 'really' do Coz. Finally got to do that Sept. 2018; really liked that 26-dive 8-day trip a lot. Would love to go back, though shore diving is my 1st scuba love and Bonaire my favorite destination.

If I'm blessed with retirement and diving in years to come, the overall budget trip cost Coz. is famous for would put it 1st in line for my traveling dive dollar.

But if there's closure of a number of the main sites, and more divers concentrating on what's left, the value proposition drops. I might go, but I'd look harder at value alternatives where one can still rack up a high dive count.

Options that leap to mind include the Juliet out of Florida, the Bahamas Aggressor when Aggressor Fleet runs their big annual sale, Key Largo was pretty economical on a cost/dive basis, and I see Turquoise Bay Resort in Roatan offered by local dive groups at a good price. CocoView Resort in Roatan doesn't look too expensive if you add up 2 'real' boat dives, 2 drop off dives (headed back in) and optional onsite shore diving. Maybe shore diving Curacao if airfare's not too bad.

If the Cozumel 'product' gets handicapped a bit, I (and some others) will be looking harder at alternatives.

Richard.

 

[flyboy08]

This may finally cause me to hit up little corn island....always wanted too!

 

[Christi]

Just a little perspective for those who are not familiar. Yes, the Palancar and Columbia sites are famous and for good reason - they are majestic. With that said, we have over 30 wonderful dive sites to choose from. So 8 reefs of 30+ will be temporarily closed for a bigger picture scenario. I am anticipating a staggered closure schedule in the future for all reefs - a rotation if you will. This is what is being discussed but NOT OFFICIAL - it's being proposed and discussed among other options.

As hard of an economic hit this may be to the island, specifically to dive operators already operating on small margins, protecting the reef - whether this is an effective measure or not - is paramount. Not getting to dive our favorite sites on our vacation (yes I know, it was hard earned in most cases) falls into the category of "luxury problems." But if we don't do SOMETHING, there may not be reefs to dive in the future. I don't like that it has come to this, but I'm willing to see how it all pans out. If declaring a state of emergency gets more funding back to Cozumel parks so that the authorities that be have more resources, then I think it is a win for everyone.

So rather than stomping our feet and taking our balls and going home - look at this from a different lens and understand that this may be your opportunity to start enjoying Cozumel's macro life instead of the towering formations (although there will still be opportunities for those). You may have an entirely different Cozumel diving experience. As a photographer, some of my personal favorite sites are Chankanaab Bolones, La Francesa, Cedral Wall and Tormentos - but I'm also someone who is just happy to be in the water with a scuba kit on and camera in hand.

So, are you a glass half full or a glass half empty kind of person? You DO have a choice in how you look at this. I choose to be in acceptance and to be willing to see what happens.

Stay tuned.

 

[Scott]

Other locations planned so it will be a year or so before I return.
There are still other dive sites that are just as enjoyable.

 

[uncfnp]

I had to vote other. There are many factors that play a role in my Cozumel vacations. As I mentioned in the other thread, on island cruiser congestion, street hawkers, airline costs are more a factor than reef closures.

The change in my diving that this may affect is length of stay and number of dives a trip. With fewer sites it means more repetitive diving. And yes, every day is different on the reef but I still appreciate diversity.

 

[drrich2]

So rather than stomping our feet and taking our balls and going home -

So, are you a glass half full or a glass half empty kind of person?

I hope neither I nor anyone else comes across as trying to snub Cozumel or insult anyone. It's not about stomping our feet in some sort of protest and taking our balls and going home...but rather which ball court we should take the ball to. It's not so much glass half empty/half full; it's which glass offers me the most bang for the buck.

For some, I imagine that'll still be Cozumel, especially if these closures are a short duration, temporary thing, or intermittent enough to work around easily.

Some Caribbean destinations are household words in the regional dive culture - Cozumel, Roatan, the Caymans and Bonaire leap to mind. Cozumel has long offered a compelling overall package to the U.S.-based diver. Hope it remains so.

Richard.

 

[divingjd]

I’m booked in March and won’t change, even if the closure is extended. There is a lot more that goes into the decision. I can get there in one hop from Detroit, the cost is reasonable, the food is good, I really enjoy the diving and the dive op I use. Going someplace familiar has become a big advantage, too. It helps me relax more quickly, so I can make better use of my vacation time. Do I have favorite dive sites? Of course. Are some of them going to be closed? Yes. But there are plenty of other great sites and I hope to see some new ones. Christi’s suggestion to focus more on macro life is also good. I’ve been more and more interested in the little critters the last few trips.

I am looking forward to another great trip. I would miss Columbia Deep, Punta Sur, and Maracaibo if we could not dive there, but we haven’t been diving the Palancar sites much anyway. Sometimes the weather doesn’t let us get that far south, so this may not be much different.

 

[RockiesFan]

If you truly want to give the reefs a chance to stay healthy, then the cruise traffic must cease and desist, and that isn't going to happen.

 

[jonhall]

Selected the option "other, of course" for "No, it won't affect my plans to visit Coz." My situation is that I would go through a timeshare deal - definitely not letting the fact that a few sites may be closed when there are so many I haven't seen. By the time I can fit in a possible trip there (winter 2020-21) things will most likely be different anyway.