Secrets Resort Again Charging For Pier Use... BEWARE

[CajunDiva]

I plan to

AHEM!!!! The Cajuns are pretty fun to dive with...and we're goin' back!!!

 

[morecowbells]

What is the pier fee used for? Pier maintenance or something else, extortion? $12/week is nothing relative to your vacation price. Cozumel folks must be the most budget motivated divers on SB.

I think I made it clear in my post that this was not about coughing the extra $2 daily fee. It is the point that even guests staying at the resort have to pay to use the pier if using an outside dive op. Implementing this charge(extortion), the motivation and purpose have been vague. It is like all the taxes on your phone bill. They add up and no one seems to provide a clear description of where these funds are allocated. I can handle paying the fee since I stay at a neighboring condo resort; if the fee is to provide maintenance of the pier. What makes this practice suspect, is that it is not a matter of simply paying the fee and boarding the boat; but constant rule changes and making the system so complex that day to day, nobody knows who or where to pay.

 

[tridacna]

We were contemplating a shoptrip to Secrets next year. Bugger them.

 

[ChuckP]

Stupid question, why not just get on the boat and screw the 2 bucks? Don't pay it. We stayed at Secrets a few months ago, lots of traffic on that dock - one guy with a clipboard can't stop everyone....

 

[CajunDiva]

Atta boy! (Gettin on board!)

 

[CajunDiva]

Stupid question, why not just get on the boat and screw the 2 bucks? Don't pay it. We stayed at Secrets a few months ago, lots of traffic on that dock - one guy with a clipboard can't stop everyone....

But then you're still supporting these people at the resort who are practicing unethical business tactics, even if it ends up working out for you

 

[ChuckP]

But then you're still supporting these people at the resort who are practicing unethical business tactics, even if it ends up working out for you

Absolutely agree, just saying if you didn't know in advance, and an operator told me about it, I'd walk right past the clipboard guy.

There's a zillion places to stay on this island, they can pack sand. I don't know if I'd every do a resort again after this condo experience - marina doesn't charge for parking...

 

[StefinSB]

Who owns and maintains the pier?

 

[scubafanatic]

Per a post on FB Cozumel4You Aug 7 by Melody Hodges Raby, who always goes with Challenge Divers, Secrets is AGAIN hassling dive companies who come to pick up clients at their pier. It's not the $2, it's the hoops they are making the Ops go thru to pay it. And it's not to be confused with the Marine Park fee (also $2). I was on a boat in March and when we picked up divers at Secrets pier and asked about it ... " oh that's over." was the answer. Evidently not. Many shops have banded together and are now refusing to pick up at Secrets due to this unreasonable behavior. Christi please chime in. This place has lost their marbles... and many potential guests.

When I get annoyed, my inclination to tip the staff drops to zero, if the staff feels your pain, the resulting 'labor troubles' may help get the owners attention.

 

[scubafanatic]

What is the pier fee used for? Pier maintenance or something else, extortion? $12/week is nothing relative to your vacation price. Cozumel folks must be the most budget motivated divers on SB.

Not directly applicable to THIS particular issue, but some folks consider getting the best deal as a competitive sport. For example, not to pick on Dandy Don, but I always wonder how many hours of worth of CRAY supercomputing time goes into planning/plotting his trips.