Surface Interval at beach club?

[Torontonian]

I understand some dive op have the SI on the boat while others take you to a beach club. Some beach club are free to get (e.g. Paradise Beach, with $8 fee to use kayaks and other facilities) in while others like Playa Mia have an entry fee ($12 for basic package and up), if entering through their door.

For diving SI, I suppose those beach clubs don't charge a fee as you're there only for 1-2 hr?

My wife and I are coming to Cozumel on a cruise ship. I'm thinking that while I dive, my wife can go to the beach club where we do the SI. Do dive boats take requests to go to specific beach club? Or do they usually have contracts with certain beach clubs that they have to go? After the dives I can go meet up with my wife at the beach club before heading back to the ship.

Any other things I should consider about the beach clubs?

 

[ggunn]

I understand some dive op have the SI on the boat while others take you to a beach club. Some beach club are free to get (e.g. Paradise Beach, with $8 fee to use kayaks and other facilities) in while others like Playa Mia have an entry fee ($12 for basic package and up), if entering through their door.

For diving SI, I suppose those beach clubs don't charge a fee as you're there only for 1-2 hr?

My wife and I are coming to Cozumel on a cruise ship. I'm thinking that while I dive, my wife can go to the beach club where we do the SI. Do dive boats take requests to go to specific beach club? Or do they usually have contracts with certain beach clubs that they have to go? After the dives I can go meet up with my wife at the beach club before heading back to the ship.

Any other things I should consider about the beach clubs?

I dive with Blue Angel, and the location they choose for SIT depends on where you are diving that day.

 

[Gdog]

yes, we dive with Deep Blue, and SI location is at shore, but depends on location of first and second dive. I suggest talking your plans over with whomever you are diving with.

 

[Christi]

If diving with an operation that does SI's at the beach (which translates to the same thing as beach club) you will not have to pay an entrance fee. However, if you get off the boat and use thier facilities, chairs, etc. please respect them and purchase something, whether it be a water, soft drink, chips and salsa or a full meal.

You can request a certain beach club, but you also have to keep in mind that there are others on the boat as well, so you may be outvoted if it's even an option. As gordon and gdog mentioned, most often the SI location depends on where the second dive will be.

 

[Cacia]

Dive with Martin (David) took us anywhere we wanted to go, everyday. We had five of us, a small boat. We were never hurried, they took care of our gear....really great. We would usually have a pretty long relaxing lunch at one of the hotels beaches, bar and restaurant. We had planned to dive with another operator but they did not want to pick us up at our dock and it was going to be a huge hassle to go downtown with all that stuff...so I called around and found them. We were on our own program each day and we were all very happy with our dives.

 

[Christi]

Dive with Martin (David) took us anywhere we wanted to go, everyday. We had five of us, a small boat. We were never hurried, they took care of our gear....really great. We would usually have a pretty long relaxing lunch at one of the hotels beaches, bar and restaurant. We had planned to dive with another operator but they did not want to pick us up at our dock and it was going to be a huge hassle to go downtown with all that stuff...so I called around and found them. We were on our own program each day and we were all very happy with our dives.

Catherine, where were you staying that an operator wouldn't pick you up? In the north?

The only piers that are ever an issue are the ones up north or Iberostar.

 

[Cacia]

that big orange hotel....fiesta?

The original operator, I cannot remember but they wanted us to come to town with our gear. It was one of the popular ones my bf searched it out here I think...

Dive with Martin was good we were all DM's and Instructors so they gave us lots of freedom. I am not sure how many boats they have but we had a nice little one. We thought the lunch situation was perfect....bathrooms, hot food, etc. Wish we had that in Palau. The food is a big deal for me because I get really hungry!

 

[Christi]

that big orange hotel....fiesta?

The original operator, I cannot remember but they wanted us to come to town with our gear. It was one of the popular ones my bf searched it out here I think...

Dive with Martin was good we were all DM's and Instructors so they gave us lots of freedom. I am not sure how many boats they have but we had a nice little one. We thought the lunch situation was perfect....bathrooms, hot food, etc. Wish we had that in Palau. The food is a big deal for me because I get really hungry!

Yeh, if they didn't want to pick you up at Fiesta Americana, I would have looked elsewhere too....that's just wierd! I've heard of other operators not wanting to pick up north of the marina, but Fiesta Americana is just south of the marina, which makes it super convenient for ops to pick up. I don't know what reason/excuse any operator would have not to pick up at Fiesta Americana. I actually love it when people stay at Fiesta Americana because it doesn't require us to go north for pick-ups (unless we have other pick-ups north of the marina).

I agree, it's very nice to give people the beach option so that if they are hungry and want more than the snacks we provide they can get something to eat. And we're always there long enough for them to have time for it as well.

BTW, I think DWM has 4 to 6 boats. When you have a group of five or six it's always in your best interest because you can have your own boat and don't have other divers' wishes and opinions to interfere with what your group wants to do.

Anyway, glad you had a great experience.

 

[Texas Diver]

My wife and I always dive with Christi. And she always gives us good surface intervals. But I usually spend my entire surface interval treading water. If you throw out the couple of times I almost drowned and had to be pulled to the beach semiconscious, I found it keeps me loose for the second dive and well hydrated from choking down sea water. But hey, that's just me. My way may not work for everybody.

 

[Christi]

My wife and I always dive with Christi. And she always gives us good surface intervals. But I usually spend my entire surface interval treading water. If you throw out the couple of times I almost drowned and had to be pulled to the beach semiconscious, I found it keeps me loose for the second dive and well hydrated from choking down sea water. But hey, that's just me. My way may not work for everybody.

You are such a clown