Me and my gf were just there 3 weeks ago. I miss it!
The water taxi is no big deal. They will either be on your side ready to go or on the other side and take about 45 seconds to come over and get you. 24/7.
The dive boats are roomy and well set up. We had about 10-12 divers on our boat but getting in and out was never slow. We are well experienced divers so never needed or wanted any dm attention. They will do all the work changing out tanks after dives. The sites are close and the boats return to dock after each dive. They seem to group by experience as we had all experienced divers. I know some other boats were mostly beginners and one was full of students.
There is no gotcha bar tab. You don't use cash during the week. Give them your room number when you buy things at the bar, snack shop, gift shop, add nitrox, or any extra activities like dolphin dive, shark dive, or ziplines. Each time you will sign the receipt. When you check out at the end you'll be given an itemized printout of all your charges for the week with the receipts.
Sodas are $2. Local beers are $3 (Port Royal, Imperial, Barena, Salva Vida) and mixed drinks are $6 or $7. 2x1 happy hour most nights except Tuesday and Thursday from about 5-7pm. Certainly not gouging. Still we took a cab to Eldon's in Coxen Hole the first day to get a case of beer and diet soda and chips. Cost about $1/beer each that way but it was more for the convenience than the cost. We just wanted to be able to get out of the shower or back to our room after the last dive and plop into a hammock or patio chair with a cold one and not have to go to the bar. There's a pool bar on the key but it has limited hours, closes at 6pm most days.
I thought the shore dive was ok, worth doing once but we just didn't have the time to do more. We did 18 boat dives. Tanks are at a hut on the reef side of the key. Carry your dive gear there, add tank, and walk out. It's not as long walk as I had heard and about waist deep there's a rope to lead you through several cuts in the reef. Sand is about 55 feet. Most of the boat dive sites were better. When you reach the sand take a landmark or leave a marker. You have to be careful to exit the same path because the reef is very shallow and it would be hard to get back going over the top of it.
The food was good. Limited selection. You had a meat, chicken, or fish entree most lunches and dinners.
