So what do I want in a Coz dive trip...

[underachiever]

Happy Birthday Don!! Great report on your first day. As far as the taxi rate goes, 70 peso is the official rate from the Villablanca to downtown for 1-4 people. 5+ you doubke te rate. I say give the coffemaker to the diveshop when you leave.

Folks with birthdays have been know to get cake from the dive shop on their special day. Most of the time "in the face". But that is just the when the staff has a birthday. And a few "special clients". All in good fun.

As a couple of others metioned the coffee maker will get good use. We left one with the dive shop a couple of years back. So it make be about worn out. Left one with one of the maids on another trip.

Hey Don, Take a look some of the signs behind the desk in the lobby. Next trip if you book through orbitz you can get the standard room/rate and upgrade for free.

Enjoy your week and dive safe.

 

[DandyDon]

Did the BD dives on Palancar Gardens I think, and Cedral Pass maybe? I am not good with names, much less spellings All went great except for my pissy camera battery, but at least enough good things to shoot to finally test it = fail.

Keep it coming DD! I was thinking as I read that Opal, Mau, and the DM's at Scuba Mau would make good use of the coffee maker too when you leave...Good idea DiverG! Happy Birthday DD, hope your special day 2 dives are extra special. I look forward to reading more. Who is your DM and what boat are you on? Safe bubbles to you!

The shop has one just like it but may give it to them anyway, unless I meet a cute employee or something? One of the Victors was skipper, neat dude, and a young man in swim trunks was DM but again me & names. Slow boat, 2 - 75 Yamahas, but ok still. One of our SB divers was late to the dock so oh well, lunch was late but it's all good.

Hey Don, keep us all posted on the ATM's. I was not aware you could change money at the resorts.

Change money at resorts? Some do in some places; I don't know about here. I think that's more business locales. I was talking about ATMs.

Time for new friends, Don. First class allows for THREE bags up to 70 lbs each. They guy got the seat, I'm guessing had his own 2 bags and didn't think to say your 2nd was also his so it would go for free?!?!?!

I've stayed in the room with the big table and sink. Used to have a toaster, coffee pot and microwave.

On previous trips where DH or I needed meds, Chedraui's farmacia has always been better stocked and a little cheaper then Mega. The ones back in town are usually pretty good too.

He wasn't even sure what I was doing when I put him in FC, but I didn't think to ask. Ooops. If I had had the generic name, Mega was probably cheaper than Doris, they were on the ear drops, but I was wrong - Doris was not twice as high as US - just about the same. I usually buy these overseas for so much less that I had to rethink US prices. Got 'em tho so good deal.

Folks with birthdays have been know to get cake from the dive shop on their special day. Most of the time "in the face". But that is just the when the staff has a birthday. And a few "special clients". All in good fun.

As a couple of others metioned the coffee maker will get good use. We left one with the dive shop a couple of years back. So it make be about worn out. Left one with one of the maids on another trip.

Hey Don, Take a look some of the signs behind the desk in the lobby. Next trip if you book through orbitz you can get the standard room/rate and upgrade for free.

Enjoy your week and dive safe.

I heard about the sign, have to take a look, but S-Mau can get you the Superior room so cheap that that is a good option too.

Just thot I'd check-in before siesta. Alarm set to get me to the SB dinner on time I think. Thanks for the kind replies...!

 

[WestHoustonDiver]

DD:
Great post.
Guess we've been pretty spoiled being in Houston.
We've taken over 20 trips to Cozumel & Cancun over the years, & have been very fortunate to have very cheap/great value rates from charters such as Funjet & Continental vacations. We usually wait for a good sale, mostly around $1200 - $2000 for family of 4 (although now the 2 teenage kids don't qualify for "kids fly/stay/eat free" promos anymore). That's covering flight, transfers, & 3 - 4 nights at an all-inclusive Cozumel hotel.
We get up at 4 am, drive to Houston IAH airport at 5 am, fly out at 7 am, non-stop usually on Continental, Aeromexico, Mexicana, or ATA (are they still around?), hour & half flight, & be at the hotel by 10 am.
We've stayed at most of the hotels on Cozumel, South of town, only stayed at one north & will never again, since we have to take a taxi to a southern dive shop anyways.
We always use the on site dive op & have been mostly very happy with them. Pretty convenient.
Wife loves the dive op at Presidente the best, being full service all they way.
I like Iberostar & the most southern hotels, being the closest to most of the dive sites.
Kids don't really care, as long as they can get unlimited virgin pina coladas at the hotel swim up bars.
So in summary, iaw your orig post "what we want in a Cozumel dive trip..." is:
Cheap, quick, convenient family vacation

 

[Christi]

First class allows for THREE bags up to 70 lbs each.

Not anymore - as of a few months ago. First class is now two 50lb bags free of charge - that's it.

 

[scubawife]

Not anymore - as of a few months ago. First class is now two 50lb bags free of charge - that's it.

Well that blows! CO's website still says 3. Continental Airlines - Checked Baggage

For tickets purchased on or after October 19, 2009, the following customers are allowed to check up to 3 bags, with a maximum weight of 70 lbs.:

Customers ticketed and confirmed in BusinessFirst at time of baggage check-in
Star Gold members, including Continental Platinum and Gold Elite members
Active U.S. military personnel, whether or not or military orders
U.S. military dependents travelling with military personnel, and without military personnel when on military business.

For years we only checked one piece each (all my dive gear, clothes, etc) and it weight about 60 lbs. Then one big pelican type case for our camera gear (one fits both our gear). When they made it 50lb max I bought a new bag that clips apart to check in as 2 pieces, both well under the 50 lbs each, and we still have the camera gear case. We just about always use miles to upgrade so that's never been an issue with the 3 bags pp. Geez, it really is getting to be time to buy a place and just leave a set of gear and camera/video stuff there, or think about giving it up. It really is the photo & video gear that kills us traveling.

 

[DandyDon]

Haha I bet the Presidente is nice, and it should be - money talks, more money wins, but then I suppose it's worth the fare for those able and inclined. Sounds fun.

Scuba Mau is a nice, cheap Op, more my style and we are having fun. The boat made much better time today as someone wanted to dive Chun Chacab Reef way down at the sound end, so we went - no extra charge, and I guess I was wrong about those twin 75s. And it was smooth on the water mostly again today, a little bumpy at times, a good time to lean forward - but my bud didn't and may need a massage. Oh, they're cheap here too, and he enjoys them - surprised he hasn't called yet.

After Chun Chacab, we motored over to Columbia Shallows and dropped in with no need of a long SI since the deepest was 27 feet - just a one hour SS dive. :cool2: Then we came in, let the crew rinse & stow our basic kits, hit Hogtown Cafe for cheeseburgers in bikini paradise with $1 beers, and now I have my cameras & mask soaking and my other rinsed things drying in my huge private bathroom. I think I am learning how to Do Coz ok.

We are concerned about the CO readings we are getting altho it's no surprise really and not much can be done at any destination around the Latin American & Caribbean area or in particular here where most smaller Ops get their air at the main fill station. It's test, then Go or Not? We started out with 6 to 9 ppm readings but today got 11 to 14. See http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...349225-continued-carbon-monoxide-cozumel.html

So, we'll see how the week continues. We were going to get an earlier start for a crossing to Tortugas on the other side of the channel tomorrow to swim with the turtle herd there but one couple was not interested. Instead, we'll do Baracuda tomorrow and the channel crossing the next day. We still had the minimum 4 for the trip but don't mind accommodating them a little and keeping our boat with the same divers for their last day.

 

[underachiever]

I thought you may have been a little mistaken about the Flyin Fish being slow. El capitan Victor likes to take care of his babies and not push them to the limits all the time. But when he needs the speed those 2 little 75's can hold their own.

How did you like Chun Chakab? Have only been able to make it down that far once. But really enjoyed it. The time we made it we saw schools of trunk fish. A nice very gently sloping area. Never saw it before Wilma but do not think she damaged this area. And Columbia shallows is always nice. To me this a great combo for 2 dives.

 

[DandyDon]

It was a nice reef but I like almost all of them. I don't think Wilma touched it.

 

[ggunn]

It was a nice reef but I like almost all of them. I don't think Wilma touched it.

No Cozumel reef totally escaped the wrath of Wilma. The very deep, far south, and far north reefs fared the best, but there was damage to all of them. The piles of broken finger coral around the base of the larger heads are becoming less prominent with each passing year, but you can still see them just about everywhere.

The first time I dove Chun Chacab was only a couple of months after Wilma. It was in better shape than most of the reefs at that time, but you could see great swaths of scoured clean bottom even there.

 

[cruisediver69]

We are concerned about the CO readings we are getting altho it's no surprise really and not much can be done at any destination around the Latin American & Caribbean area or in particular here where most smaller Ops get their air at the main fill station. It's test, then Go or Not? We started out with 6 to 9 ppm readings but today got 11 to 14. See http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...349225-continued-carbon-monoxide-cozumel.html

What are you setting as your Go\No Go Threshold? Did you take the measurements while at the dock or after they had already started underway? A couple of weeks ago when I was there for a day (off a cruise ship) I got a 17. However I couldn't get any other readings after that and just assumed the device wasn't working correctly. I dove the tank with the 17 and aside from needing my post dive nap I didn't seem to have any other symptoms.