staying in iberostar : using onsite op vs other boutique op ?

[Charred]

You know, if you ask the DM they will let you backroll. My wife prefers to backroll and I stride off the back. They are very accomidating if you strike up a pleasant conversation.

I dove 21 dives last week with 3 different DMs. Half the dives were with the same DM.

Again, I feel the negativity towards Dressel is undeserved. If you personally prefer a small boat, thats fine but that doesnt mean Dressel is doing anything wrong or unsafe.

 

[ReefHound]

I don't think it's Dressel as much as it is a "cattle" boat and that they are the "house" op for a resort.

There seems to be a certain pressure in the dive community, intended or not, direct or not, to be a certain kind of diver. I felt it as I gained experience. Some of it was good. A serious diver improves their skills, respects other divers, appreciates and preserves the marine environment. But also a serious diver doesn't use split fins, wear a snorkel, or dive from a "cattle" boat. And if you drift near the realm of DIR, forget it. Thou shalt wear thy bungee-mounted computer on thy left wrist, thou shalt use a bare spg on a 24" hose, a backplate/wing, and paddle fins. Your gear can be any color you want, as long as it's black.

First, an op must provide safety. Second, an op must provide fun diving. Any op that can provide that, little boat or big boat, is a good op. Any op that can't, little boat or big boat, is not a good op.

 

[Carlos Diver]

You know, if you ask the DM they will let you backroll. My wife prefers to backroll and I stride off the back. They are very accomidating if you strike up a pleasant conversation.

I dove 21 dives last week with 3 different DMs. Half the dives were with the same DM.

Again, I feel the negativity towards Dressel is undeserved. If you personally prefer a small boat, thats fine but that doesnt mean Dressel is doing anything wrong or unsafe.

I didnt say anything negative about them, I stated facts about how they operate and compared that to another operation I now use in Cozumel. Having big boats isnt always a negative. Having a giant stride is not always a negative. They are just different from I prefer. Others (my friend and dive buddy for that trip) prefer the big boat and giant stride.

Here is what I could have said:
I could say that I was promised, pre-arrival, that I would have a larger tank. Upon arrival, I was told I could not. Lying to your costumers is a negative, but also a fact. I could say the boat broke down while we were underwater, which is a huge negative and also a fact. I could say they left my bag on the broke-down boat, which contained my glasses. Another negative, but also a fact. Lastly, I could say they made it a priority to get to the boat and get my glasses, but that would be a lie. It took them nearly six hours to be bothered to go to the marina and get my bag off the boat so I have my glasses and I could see again.

I do not think Dressels is unsafe. I never felt unsafe while diving with them. Convenience is a major plus if you are staying at Iberostar. It is also cheaper, if that is a priority.

However, I do think they are an inferior operation to Living Underwater, for all the reasons listed before.

 

[ggunn]

There seems to be a certain pressure in the dive community, intended or not, direct or not, to be a certain kind of diver. I felt it as I gained experience. Some of it was good. A serious diver improves their skills, respects other divers, appreciates and preserves the marine environment. But also a serious diver doesn't use split fins, wear a snorkel, or dive from a "cattle" boat. And if you drift near the realm of DIR, forget it. Thou shalt wear thy bungee-mounted computer on thy left wrist, thou shalt use a bare spg on a 24" hose, a backplate/wing, and paddle fins. Your gear can be any color you want, as long as it's black.

I have been diving Cozumel for over 20 years and have never felt any pressure from other divers or ops like that of which you speak. I don't care if you dive with split fins, or if you wear your computer on your right wrist, or if your gear is all fire engine red. The only problem I have with DIR diving is that its proponents often look down on others as DIW, which, ironically, seems to me to be the same sort of pressure you are protesting.

I have my own preferences built on my own experiences. I don't dive on big boats with large numbers of divers because I tried it and I didn't like it as much as I like diving from small boats. YMMV and DSFDF.

 

[ReefHound]

I have been diving Cozumel for over 20 years and have never felt any pressure from other divers or ops like that of which you speak. I don't care if you dive with split fins, or if you wear your computer on your right wrist, or if your gear is all fire engine red. The only problem I have with DIR diving is that its proponents often look down on others as DIW, which, ironically, seems to me to be the same sort of pressure you are protesting.

Ironic? That is what I'm speaking of and used it as a rather extreme example of pressure. But the "pressure" I was mainly alluding to an unspoken attitude, not borne by everyone, not directed to anyone. It comes from the community not any particular shop or op or place. If you don't think it exists then you're entitled to your opinion.

 

[jonhall]

Did 2 afternoon dives last year with Dressel at the Iberostar in Cozumel as part of a package as we were staying on the mainland. They picked us up in their boat from the ferry pier in Coz and took us to their resort. They provided us with an AI wristband (unknown to us, it was included in our package of 11 dives) so although we didn't have a lot of time, we were able to eat before our dives and grab a burger to take with us on the boat ride back to catch the ferry to PDC.

Will say that in our brief visit, we found the resort to be pretty nice from what we could see and the food we had was very good. The dive boat is big and we only had 6 divers with 1 DM, boat captain, and an extra deckhand on board for our dives. Went to sites I'd been to before when staying on the island, but that's okay with me.
The staff was friendly, and like their shops on the mainland, they would store your personal items in their office and they will keep your gear to dry after each day of diving. They have a dry erase board that shows (or would have shown if there had been more divers) who is in each dive group on the boat, the DM for each group, dive site, and dive plan. The surface interval was spent on the boat. They are well organized. The only drawback, to me, is that being a resort op, they pretty much stay on a schedule, so dive times are limited. My 2 dives were 50 and 45 minutes. AS already mentioned by others, the Iberostar is fight there by the marine park and sites are close by. On the boat ride back to the ferry, we were also provided with a cooler of drinks, including beer.

If I were staying at the Iberostar in Coz, I wouldn't have any problem diving with Dressel.

 

[ggunn]

Ironic? That is what I'm speaking of and used it as a rather extreme example of pressure. But the "pressure" I was mainly alluding to an unspoken attitude, not borne by everyone, not directed to anyone. It comes from the community not any particular shop or op or place. If you don't think it exists then you're entitled to your opinion.

I'm just saying that I have never felt any pressure to wear (or to not wear) any particular fins, snorkel, wetsuit, computer, etc. from the dive community on Cozumel. The DIR guys can get a bit annoying at times, but I ignore them.

 

[AdivingBel]

I think @ReefHound is referring to the sometimes SB mentality not so much Coz's. Hey, we all know there are times SB & reality barely share air, but it's still a fun place to hang out.
Headed back to Coz in November.

 

[regina55]

thank you so much for sharing your experience and giving advice !! I really appriciate it. my concerns got resolved after reading all the replies here... I've decided to go for Dressel. just got excited to flying into cozumel !!!!

 

[Charles2]

thank you so much for sharing your experience and giving advice !! I really appriciate it. my concerns got resolved after reading all the replies here... I've decided to go for Dressel. just got excited to flying into cozumel !!!!

Be sure you e-mail communicate with Dressel before your trip. They will quote pricing that will include a 20% discount if paid before you arrive.