Should I check out other dive ops?

[rjmd]

I am heading to Cozumel in June and am staying at the InterContinental Presidente. Wondering if there is any need to venture out any try other dive operators or should the hotel's dive shop cover all my needs? I purchased a package with the hotel, so most the diving is included, but if there is anything - must see - I might miss then let me know.

The big hotels love to keep you in their walled garden but I am more than happy to go out and explore.

 

[divingjd]

It would depend very much on what you are looking for in a dive operation. Scuba Du, the operation at the Presidente, has been around for a long time, is reputable, and convenient, but other operations can pick you up at the Presidente. I dove with Scuba Du once years ago and it was OK. They have a schedule for dive sites, so they go to the same sites on the same days. It’s a “If it’s Tuesday, this must be Palancar Gardens” kind of thing. Other operations choose sites based on what the weather and currents are doing that day, where the divers want to go, and what’s crowded that day. Scuba Du is going to have a more limited choice of sites and you won’t see sites other operations visit. There are basic sites that are very busy and other sites that are less-frequently visited, and often more interesting. The operation I dive with, Aldora Divers, groups divers by experience and skill, but they need to see you in the water for a day or two to be able to choose a group. That means you may not get the advantage of better groups unless you dive with them for several days, so if you are talking about staying with your package deal and the branching out for a day or two, you may not get the full benefit of another operation, but you may get to see sites you wouldn’t see with Scuba Du. If you really have 24 dives or less (sometimes people don’t update their profiles, so you never really know), Scuba Du may be just fine. If you have more experience, you may want to look around.

 

[rick00001967]

divingjd posted a great answer.
my only comment would be that there also may be another down side to trying another shop for a day or two.
with the on site shop, if they have a pre set schedule for sites as was suggested, you may end up diving the same site twice if you use a second shop.
if the second shop chooses their site each morning based on other factors rather than a preset schedule, you wont know until that morning where you will be diving. then it will be too late to bow out if you have already been there.
so although a preset schedule may have limitations, it does give you some peace of mind knowing where you will be going each day.
imho i am not sure why you would pay for a package deal and then use another shop. if you dont think the on site shop will suit your needs, maybe you should consider staying elsewhere. seems like a waste of hard earned money.

 

[NDL_Diver]

rjmd, being a newly certified diver (0-24 dives just certified this year) you may need a little more help. I am going to buck the trend. I suggest a smaller dive op and hire a private dive master the 1 dive. It cost about $60 more but diving Cozumel the 1st time, especially new diver, has some challanges with current. I suspect you will blow through a AL 80 very quickly.

So for the 1st day you would be better off with Aldora and a private DM. They have big Steel 120 (119) tanks and small groups. They group boat to skill level. I have over 800 dives with about half in Cozumel (I am a Aldora fan). You will need to learn how to handle current, not kick (hard for a newbe), duck behind coral heads to stop.... NEUTRAL boyancy and most importantly TRIM. If your trim is off with every kick you are wasting energy, throwing you neural boyancy off and that translates to air use.

 

[Mrwhiskers]

I had my first ocean dives back in January with Scubadu and I thought there were fantastic. I hired a private DM since it was only my 8th dive and he was very patient and thorough. On the boat I was on there were 5 other people. Each couple and the two singles including me had their own DM. I am not sure if that is standard for them or if they all booked private. They tailored each groups dives to their experience levels and their rental gear was way better than what I used for my training dives. I should clarify their regs were great but they use weight belts instead of weight integrated BCD's. Was my first time with a weight belt and I had to wear it under my arm pits to get my trim right.

 

[NDL_Diver]

I had my first ocean dives back in January with Scubadu and I thought there were fantastic. I hired a private DM since it was only my 8th dive and he was very patient and thorough. On the boat I was on there were 5 other people. Each couple and the two singles including me had their own DM. I am not sure if that is standard for them or if they all booked private. They tailored each groups dives to their experience levels and their rental gear was way better than what I used for my training dives. I should clarify their regs were great but they use weight belts instead of weight integrated BCD's. Was my first time with a weight belt and I had to wear it under my arm pits to get my trim right.

That's another good option. I forgot to ask about equipment. That adds upto $30 a day. Do you have a dive computer? If not, buy one and learn how it works. I can't tell you how many people I see have no clue what their computer is telling them. Several good inexpensive dive computers.

 

[Mrwhiskers]

That's another good option. I forgot to ask about equipment. That adds upto $30 a day. Do you have a dive computer? If not, buy one and learn how it works. I can't tell you how many people I see have no clue what their computer is telling them. Several good inexpensive dive computers.

I brought my own computer as well as mask, fins and wetsuit. If you rent a wetsuit they only had shorties when I was there and the lady from South Africa was quite chilly on the second dive.

 

[ggunn]

I brought my own computer as well as mask, fins and wetsuit. If you rent a wetsuit they only had shorties when I was there and the lady from South Africa was quite chilly on the second dive.

IMO the first two purchases a new diver should make are a good fitting mask and a dive computer, and when you buy the computer, RTFM thoroughly before getting into the water with it. Everything else can be rented.

 

[wlecyt40]

Our "go to" when we are in Cozumel is We-b-Divin'. The dive master will look at how many dives you have and will ask you how comfortable you are. He always drops into the water to check the current and if he feels like it might be too much for you skill/experience level, he will look for a different dive site.

Whoever you go with, don't be afraid to let them know that you are a little nervous/anxious. This is your dive trip, not their's. If you don't like the way the DM is talking to you or feel they are not listening to you, ask to speak to a different DM. Your safety and comfort level should be their main priority. And many of them work for the tips that augment their income. They will do want you need them to do.

 

[rjmd]

Thanks all for the feedback, great info here!

It would depend very much on what you are looking for in a dive operation. Scuba Du, the operation at the Presidente, has been around for a long time, is reputable, and convenient, but other operations can pick you up at the Presidente. ... If you really have 24 dives or less (sometimes people don’t update their profiles, so you never really know), Scuba Du may be just fine. If you have more experience, you may want to look around.

Good to know. I will likely only have 10 dives by the time I go on the holiday so sticking with Scuba Du might be the best option so I have consistency. I am there for 8 days so I will likely get ~20 more dives in the log while I am there.

divingjd posted a great answer.
my only comment would be that there also may be another down side to trying another shop for a day or two.
with the on site shop, if they have a pre set schedule for sites as was suggested, you may end up diving the same site twice if you use a second shop.
if the second shop chooses their site each morning based on other factors rather than a preset schedule, you wont know until that morning where you will be diving. then it will be too late to bow out if you have already been there.
so although a preset schedule may have limitations, it does give you some peace of mind knowing where you will be going each day.
imho i am not sure why you would pay for a package deal and then use another shop. if you dont think the on site shop will suit your needs, maybe you should consider staying elsewhere. seems like a waste of hard earned money.

Good point on the conflicting schedule. I assumed the onsite Scuba Du would go everywhere, but wanted to make sure they didn't just stick close to the hotel or something and missed out on key spots to see. 100% correct on the package deal, I ideally don't want to have to shop around having paid for it.

rjmd, being a newly certified diver (0-24 dives just certified this year) you may need a little more help. I am going to buck the trend. I suggest a smaller dive op and hire a private dive master the 1 dive. It cost about $60 more but diving Cozumel the 1st time, especially new diver, has some challanges with current. I suspect you will blow through a AL 80 very quickly.

So for the 1st day you would be better off with Aldora and a private DM. They have big Steel 120 (119) tanks and small groups. They group boat to skill level. I have over 800 dives with about half in Cozumel (I am a Aldora fan). You will need to learn how to handle current, not kick (hard for a newbe), duck behind coral heads to stop.... NEUTRAL boyancy and most importantly TRIM. If your trim is off with every kick you are wasting energy, throwing you neural boyancy off and that translates to air use.

Interesting, I hadn't considered that. I might call the dive shop and give them a background on my experience at a minimum to see what they think. I have been reading up allot on the current, but there's only so much you can gauge from theory.

IMO the first two purchases a new diver should make are a good fitting mask and a dive computer, and when you buy the computer, RTFM thoroughly before getting into the water with it. Everything else can be rented.

I already have my mask (went for DGX Frameless). Dive computer I will definitely get before I go, I don't want to rent one and have no idea what I am looking at or what buttons to press.