Scuba Club Review

[diverokc]

Stay at the Park Royal, pick your own dive op and enjoy a TRUE all inclusive lol.

I think he just means a real all inclusive compared to what scuba club calls there AI. scuba club bills themselves AI- but no drinks included and from what I understand meals are brought in everyday. So hardly an AI when it comes to Cozumel.

 

[ccannon707]

It seems like you have some valid points to pass on to SCC. The meal timing and the maid service timing for sure. I hope you edit your report - to things they can actually answer to - and submit it to them. Nothing may change, but maybe it will. The tipping chart is absurd. I give what I give for good service - period. If it's required it's not a tip, it's a fee. They are making a "suggestion." Duly noted folks... then I tip what I think is merited & to who.

 

[DeputyDan]

Having stayed at SCC for a Week.
I really enjoyed it.
My wife said it was like staying with the Flintstones.
My adult daughters hated the boats and would not care to stay there again.

If I return it would be with a dive group and not with the family.

 

[robint]

Different strokes for different folks.
As far as why SCC vs Hotel Coz right next door.... for us it is about the clientele. At SCC there are nothing but divers. At Hotel Coz there are families, lots of non-divers, and lots more people. At SCC the staff knows your name from Day 1. At Hotel Coz that would be impossible. We don't hate kids, but we don't want to trip over them running around the dock or the pool or the locker areas. No problem with that at SCC.

Ditto at meal time. There are only the people staying at SCC who are there for meals. I don't know what the big deal is... Breakfast is buffet and yes everyone lines up, but the line goes fast as it is just the people staying there eating. Lunch is served around the time boats get back, and is off a menu, so food is not buffet or cold. You get hot food. You don't have to rush to get lunch, you have time to rinse off gear and go shower and change if you want, as we always do.

Rooms... yes, our first time there we got stuck in a not-so-perfect room towards the street, but the resort was full. Every trip after that we got a good room, and last trip we got an oceanfront one. Maids are wonderful and room is always spotless. What more could you want? No tv, was that the real problem?

Dive op.... yes, they have a system and our first trip it took us the whole week to figure it out. But it works well. Boats... we have big camera gear and like the big slow boats with the huge camera tables. I also like the head on every boat. That way I don't have to pee in my wetsuit. I've done the smaller boats in Coz and it is hard on cameras. Trust me, I know.

Shore diving... just the best in Cozumel. That is all.

We had stayed at 6 different places before we tried SCC. Some big and fancy, some tiny and rustic. SCC fits right in the middle and suits us just fine.

 

[cicopo]

Well since there is no difference in the shore diving at Hotel Cozumel vs SCC & Hotel Cozumel also has an easy entry / exit area I don't think one can be rated better than the other. As for staying at one vs the other they are indeed very different properties with different clients hopefully doing their homework before picking one over the other, and with the internet that should be relatively easy compared to years ago. One really big difference (in my thinking) is what guests can do when the waterfront areas are not usable because of the angry sea & winds. Hotel Cozumel's large pool area is one of the more protected ones of any of the resorts I've stayed at or toured & so is the Park Royal's. This can be an important part of choosing where to stay in the winter months.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Those long boat rides out don't sound fun. Wonder how long the ride is on one of the 'big beautiful boats?'
Did many others complain about the pacing/scheduling of the meals? I would've thought at older crowd might be fussier about pressure to hurry & get places fast.

Richard.

I was there in December and thought the boat rides were just fine, but then I'm not an anxious kind of guy and enjoy being on the ocean. They need to do a surface interval of one hour so I figure you may as well spend the time cruising to the next site.

I'm old and grumpy and thought the meal times were well arranged and timed. Breakfast is served beginning at 7:00 and the boat is scheduled to leave at 8:30. I dove five days and the boat always left by 8:10 because everyone was ready to go! I didn't experience any rush whatsoever for lunch and the menu is fairly extensive. I even had a burger and fries one time and it was better than most. Dinner usually has only three choices but everything I had was good. By about the third day I started asking for two tacos for lunch instead of three as the portions were accumulating on my belly. We opted for dinners which were extra (about $20/night pp) and that was fine but we might just walk to town the next time we stay there.

The tips, OTOH, I thought were a bit much and the DM who wasn't all that friendly the first few days was suddenly my best buddy on the last day. I don't know for sure but I suspect the boat crew and DMs don't get paid other than the tips. I give $10/day which is the same as I give in Hawai'i or wherever. Someone was doing some math and was adding it up as though they are getting tips from numerous people every day but I think it's a bit sketchier than that. In any case I do think they are making quite a bit more than the average worker on Cozumel. I did not tip the boat captain because they hired him. I tipped the cleaning woman for two days because I used her two times. We did not tip everyone else twice just because there are two of us--there is only one room. My girlfriend doesn't dive (yet) so the dive related tips were for only one person. The waiters were all great and deserved their tips. I never even saw the Maitre D until the last night so I didn't tip him and he never served us in any way.

The only problem that we encountered was that the on-site dive shop was saying I dove six days, not five. I pointed out that miercoles only occurs once per week where I come from Just a dumb mistake. My biggest complaint is no coffee maker in the room. You have to go to the restaurant and get it. I am incapable of going and getting coffee until I've had my coffee. I suppose I could have tipped someone to bring it to me but my girlfriend was kind enough to do it.

I gave them five stars on TripAdvisor and right now I'm booking their 542 Special for next month. It's difficult for me to imagine how diving could be any more convenient on Cozumel.

 

[JamesBon92007]

If I had been on the Reef Star all week like the VIP clients, this would not have been an issue.
.

I was under the impression that they grouped divers by experience level and not by "VIP" criteria, whatever that is. It sure seemed to me that everyone I talked to on the Reef Star was very experienced outside of one young woman who was with an instructor and finishing up her AOW course. I get VIP seating when I go to my local dog rescue benefit but that's about it

 

[gkrane]

You can't please all the people all the time. If alcohol were included, people who don't drink it would resent paying higher prices to subsidize those who do.

I agree, most dive resorts I've dealt with don't book your airfare for you. If you want to go that route, maybe consider booked through Maduro, Caradonna or another travel agency?

Those long boat rides out don't sound fun. Wonder how long the ride is on one of the 'big beautiful boats?'



Richard.

Those must have been very slow boats. At Blue Angel our rides were maybe 25 mins max and very enjoyable. SCC isnt that much further away than BA. We were able to do the c53 twice at BA for no upcharge. As far as alcohol, I would have just walked to Mega from SCC and loaded up on soft drinks, liquor or whatever and that problem would have been solved for little money at all. They tip sheet would have put me off quite a bit, although I do tend to tip the DM and boat crew well.

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

I have to agree with everything the op reviewed , I love Cozumel but rate Scuba Club as the worst deal I ever have experienced at any dive resort ... they only care about their large groups ... plus I got food poisoning from salad bar

It really does fall into the love it or hate it catagory

 

[JamesBon92007]

I have to agree with everything the op reviewed , I love Cozumel but rate Scuba Club as the worst deal I ever have experienced at any dive resort ... they only care about their large groups ... plus I got food poisoning from salad bar

Oh my, that's the second time I've heard about someone getting food poisoning there. Maybe I should re-think my plans....

I looked at Blue Angel's web site and they have prices for dive trips but I didn't see any room prices. Are any meals included? What are their room prices like? SCC works out to about $108 per day which includes breakfast, lunch, and a two-tank dive on a big boat plus all the shore diving you want. Where are the better deals? If you figure only $60 per dive trip that leaves about $60 per night for room and meals.