Recomendation or stay away...?

[nuts4corals]

Hello all,
This will be a multi directional post...

Havent been scuba diving in a while and recently found out that I may have an opportunity to get some diving in with Dressel divers over at Iberostar Paraiso Lindo, riviera maya MX. The last time I dove Cazumel which was pretty good. Most recent was some 12 free dives in Israel but since I only had a day and was flying the same day I skipped diving.

so here is a basic question,
is it worth the $ and dive to do some diving off the mainland ucatan? or am I going to be disapointed having been to cozumel. Also, will Dressel boat over to cozumel or is it just too far from mainland? General consencus on Dressel Divers would be cool also.

On equipment,
I def. need to service my regulator. should I also service my BCD? I never did that yet. what am I looking to spend to get these serviced? Trying to get an idea if budget is realistic or not?

certification,
I have about 125-150 dives and am an open water diver with my own equipment. should i take a refresher here in NY or wait to get into a pool at the resort?

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

 

[Pkishino]

Mainland is all about the caves (well, about 80% caves) and are way more awesome than crowded, American overflow, cozumel
Service costs should be quite cheap or learn how to service yourself, quite easy if your handy.
Depending on how comfortable you are I would suggest a refresher with a competent instructor who will focus on getting your buoyancy dialed in so you enjoy the diving again right away

 

[nuts4corals]

Thanks for the advice and suggestion pkishino... im not into wreaks or cave diving... own a reef tank at home and into seeing the fish and corals.

Could you suggest a dive opperator? dressel is right atvthe resor i am staying at but i dont mind making my way to a better dive opperator is dressel is not the one on this side of the island. i did dive with them on cozumel and kid you not saved the divemasters life there. took a half empty bottle of air and he ran out of 02 at 90 feet.

 

[rjgiddings]

You say its been a while since diving...how long exactly ? Wholeheartedly recommend getting the regs and BCD serviced. Can you take a pool refresher course before you go ? It's one evening. Totally worth it to run thru some critical skills.

 

[oly5050user]

Hello all,
This will be a multi directional post...

Havent been scuba diving in a while and recently found out that I may have an opportunity to get some diving in with Dressel divers over at Iberostar Paraiso Lindo, riviera maya MX. The last time I dove Cazumel which was pretty good. Most recent was some 12 free dives in Israel but since I only had a day and was flying the same day I skipped diving.

so here is a basic question,
is it worth the $ and dive to do some diving off the mainland ucatan? or am I going to be disapointed having been to cozumel. Also, will Dressel boat over to cozumel or is it just too far from mainland? General consencus on Dressel Divers would be cool also.

On equipment,
I def. need to service my regulator. should I also service my BCD? I never did that yet. what am I looking to spend to get these serviced? Trying to get an idea if budget is realistic or not?

certification,
I have about 125-150 dives and am an open water diver with my own equipment. should i take a refresher here in NY or wait to get into a pool at the resort?

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

Where in NY are you located? We can service your gear here at Scuba NY ..quite a few LDS in NY area send their customers gear to us for service. Once it is serviced you can use our in house pool if you like at no charge. Want a refresher with an instructor? We can do that as well, for a nomina l fee. Bring bcd in as well. Scuba NY located at 2037 Central Park Ave, Yonkers NY. Call 914 779 2966 or email info@scubanewyork.com for any additional information.

 

[jonhall]

so here is a basic question,
is it worth the $ and dive to do some diving off the mainland ucatan?

Dove with the Dressel at Iberostar Paraiso Lindo in fall 2016. Was staying at resort next door (still a good distance) and chose Dressel for the free transportation to their location. I booked an 11 dive package online and got a discount. So first of all the $$ part was a good deal. Not sure how they charge if you're staying at the resort. The dives from the resort are short boat rides out to the sites. The staff is great, there are many DM's/instructors who go out on each dive if there are several levels of divers on the boat, and they store your gear. There is no pier so you wade out to the boat. Being a resort dive op, they stay on a schedule, basically 8 am, 10 am, and 1 pm. Dives are usually set at 45 minutes and if there are several groups on the boat, you may surface and have to wait for other groups to be picked up before you. You return to shore between all dives. In Oct./Nov. when we were there, the visibility wasn't great, the reefs so-so, and the water slightly choppy. Having said that if I were staying at the Iberostar, I would most likely dive with them for convenience if the diving conditions were opposite what I just described. If, in the future, I were staying at the resort I sometimes go to next door to Iberostar, I would probably go back (by taxi) to Puerto Morelos, which would be about a 15-20 minute ride from the Iberostar. The diving is in a protected marine area with more varied diving than what there was by the Iberostar.

or am I going to be disapointed having been to cozumel. Also, will Dressel boat over to cozumel or is it just too far from mainland?

Yes, IMO you will be disappointed if diving the sites the resort op takes you to, having been to Coz. They are nothing like the sites and depths in Coz. BUT, Dressel does take a boat over. You will shuttle to PDC, walk (carrying your gear) to the ferry, take the Dressel boat (nice boat) from the Coz pier to the Iberostar resort. You get the all-inclusive benefits while there, but there isn't much time to enjoy it as you are diving. It is a day trip as you leave your resort mid-morning, as I recall, and are in the Coz waters for the afternoon (1-1:30ish) dives. Surface interval is on the boat. On the trip back to the ferry, they provide drinks; we also took hamburgers from the buffet before leaving.

Dressel will also take you for cenote dives and for a night dive at a different location from their resort.

should i take a refresher here in NY or wait to get into a pool at the resort?

Dressel does a nice job of working with students (my observation) and those who want a refresher. My buddy was pleased (a funny story in itself regarding his situation) as he had to do some refresher work even though he had about 85 dives in at the time. Think the answer to taking a refresher lies in whether you want to spend vacation time in the pool at the resort or if it's convenient for you to do so in NY.

I def. need to service my regulator. should I also service my BCD? I never did that yet. what am I looking to spend to get these serviced?

Get it serviced. Prices vary. My last service was from a Diver's Supply - rebuild of 1st stage and reg, pressure test of BC, and inspection of Airsource - was $177.

 

[nuts4corals]

Jonhall... thank you for all of the valuble info you provided... may i ask which dive opperator on puerto morelos you reccomend? i may just do this because the few vids i watched about mainland ucatan from the resort was not impressed. Dont get me wrong i love scuba and that alone puts a smile on my face but i do go down there to see the wildlife. Anyway... thanks again for the detailed info.

 

[jonhall]

Jonhall... thank you for all of the valuble info you provided... may i ask which dive opperator on puerto morelos you reccomend? i may just do this because the few vids i watched about mainland ucatan from the resort was not impressed. Dont get me wrong i love scuba and that alone puts a smile on my face but i do go down there to see the wildlife. Anyway... thanks again for the detailed info.

Dive In Puerto Morelos Welcome to Dive in Puerto Morelos

I've only been once with them and I was satisfied. Have seen someone else on SB recommend them also. There are other dive ops in PM, but they were easy to deal with and book online. Dove a wreck that was a swim through and saw a group of 6 spotted eagle rays swimming around the outside. Think you'll enjoy it more so than by your resort.