Thoughts on Tres Pelicanos vs Aldora

[Illini_Fan]

If you choose 3P, have Jeanie make your reservations at CM. She gets a great rate

Is that current? When I reserved this trip, I'm currently in CZM now, back in August 2019, Jeanie specifically emailed me that I should check booking independently as her rate from CM was not always the best available.

I did a limited amount of checking, but then decided to try AirBnB at less than $40 per night. Yes, I doesn't get me breakfast, but I have been buying 2 bananas each night in the square for 14 Pesos and that has been plenty of breakfast for me.

 

[uncfnp]

I would never ask anyone else to "manage" my pissy wetsuit. I carry my one mil jumpsuit in a mesh tote bag, rinse in my shower, hang it there to dry, then carry it to the boat the next morning. Last winter I did get chilled the first day of diving in my one mil so added my 3 mil shorty over that, stored in a cotton tote bag, and left it with my Op to store with my other gear, but with instructions that they didn't need to do anything to it.

I understand but it is nice to have that choice or at least to know if it is an option. We have 2 pc open cell suits so manage our own suits as well but did not hesitate to let 3P’s dip and hang our suits when we had the more traditional suits.

 

[uncfnp]

Is that current? When I reserved this trip, I'm currently in CZM now, back in August 2019, Jeanie specifically emailed me that I should check booking independently as her rate from CM was not always the best available.

I did a limited amount of checking, but then decided to try AirBnB at less than $40 per night. Yes, I doesn't get me breakfast, but I have been buying 2 bananas each night in the square for 14 Pesos and that has been plenty of breakfast for me.

I always double check but Jeanie at least matches but usually beats the discount rates available and we can ask and often get the specific room we want if available. In my experience this isn’t an option with the discount travel sites or even the CM site.

 

[divingjd]

But those extra few minutes come at a premium. So far this trip I have completed 10 dives for an average of 69 minutes a dive. Of course others milage on 80’s will vary. Plus shorter surface intervals means more time to spend enjoying the island.

And has anyone mentioned 3P’s will manage your wetsuits where Aldora will not? This is a big factor for some staying in town without adequate facilities to clean and hang suits. Much less having to shlep the suits to and from the boat.

There are pluses and minuses to almost everything. I like the extra time, and it’s not a few minutes. 70 minutes is a fairly short dive for us (although I confess I am not looking at my logs right now). I stay at Villa Aldora, so the wetsuit thing is not a big deal. It would probably be different if I stayed at Casa Mexicana. My point is just to provide some relevant data. People have different preferences and priorities, but facts are relevant. My point was that I have not been herded and get freedom, within the limits of descending and surfacing together. I admitted that 3Ps might be a better choice for those with different priorities.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I hated dealing with a wetsuit in a hotel/guesthouse room and dragging it to the boat the couple of trips we did that. Last trip was Villa Aldora, where we could rinse and hang the suits in a designated area, and that was by far the best trip. It is sort of a dilemma. Unless staying at the Villa, sounds like 3Ps has the advantage on that one.

 

[ReefHound]

Agreed on the taxi thing. I'm amazed at how difficult in can sometimes be to get a taxi when they have been following this routine for 5 plus years. I've seen Jeannie walk down to Melgar because no taxi had responded to her call 15 minutes earlier. I'd think some taxi drivers would be happy to go to a certain place at a fixed time and grab a guaranteed fare.

Jeannie gets a great CM rate and sounds like telling you to check on your own is just good customer service, to make sure you get the best rate. She can't control what flash sales or coupons someone like orbitz might run. She probably doesn't wnt you unhappy because she gets you $75/nt and then you discover you could have had it for $65/nt.

I wasn't there to know the context, but sounded to me like they were confirming to you they had enough divers for the afternoon trip to make and verifying you wanted to be one of them. Wouldn't the alternative to making you go through that be to say nothing and leave you wondering if that trip was going to make or not? If you're in the shop, they seem pretty good about having the whiteboard filled out for the next day, too.

3P is about $20/trip less than Aldora and one of the lower-priced ops. One could say that is significant because it is 25% higher and would cover dinner, or one could say that is insignificant because it's just $100 more on a $1500+ trip. DWM can be $10-15 less per trip.

So, my point of view and I've never dove with Aldora. I've used 3Ps for the last four years and before that I used many of them when they were at Blue Angel

Positives:
- they really do want to please and will make every effort to make sure you get what you expected.
- I love the freedom the DMs give me (and everyone else). Begin your ascent at 700 PSI, pretty much only rule. I'm not a "deep diver" so although I think they had a depth limit, it doesn't matter to me since i'm not going that deep
- accurate and easy payment - pretty much pay when you are done, don't worry about anything before then (outside of a $50 deposit)
- in general, very flexible on what sites to dive. typically boat decides.
- I like the timing of the morning dives, the long surface interval at Money Bar and then the afternoon dives.

Areas for improvement:
- I really dislike the whole "do we get a taxi", "can we squeeze everyone in the pickup", "anyone want to ride in back (that was today)" aspect of getting back to the shop. Since my only other experience was years of Blue Angel who have their own dock, I'm not sure how other shops handle this. Is just always seem to be a cluster *uck at the end of every dive.
- accuracy of afternoon divers -- I'm a solo diver and I get that afternoon divers are "when available" but the disconnect between Jeanie and either Pony (or the shop in general) hits me at least once a trip. But per point one, they do fix it, it just causes unnecessary anxiety for me. I'm down here right now and at the end of today's afternoon dive, the question was, "Tom did you want to dive the afternoon tomorrow? We are full". And my less than friendly response was "yes, I can forward you Jeanie's email, if you need it". Which was immediately followed by "don't worry you will be on the Loan Shark boat" -- why even make me go through that?

Unknowns:
- I have not checked pricing relative to other shops --

The areas for improvement aren't enough for me to shop around as I really like the comfort I have with the shop -- I'd just love to see those areas get better.

tom

 

[Christi]

I always double check but Jeanie at least matches but usually beats the discount rates available and we can ask and often get the specific room we want if available. In my experience this isn’t an option with the discount travel sites or even the CM site.

CAsa Mexicana has agency rates that they give the dive shops that work with them - these rates are per season and don’t change for us when they run promos or when the big wholesalers buy up the spots and offer lower rates - so Jeanie is right, sometimes the rates found online are better than the rates they give the local agencies which can cause problems for us - however, always read the fine print when booking with Expedia or booking. Com or hotels .com etc. - 99% of the time the rate they show does not include the tax and it is a 100% non refundable rate

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Since @Dave Dillehay stepped back from running Aldora, is quality control getting lax? Time will tell.

I don't think so.

Dave

 

[uncfnp]

Areas for improvement:
- I really dislike the whole "do we get a taxi", "can we squeeze everyone in the pickup", "anyone want to ride in back (that was today)" aspect of getting back to the shop. Since my only other experience was years of Blue Angel who have their own dock, I'm not sure how other shops handle this. Is just always seem to be a cluster *uck at the end of every dive.

It absolutely can be a bit chaotic especially at the shop when they have 3 boats running like the last 2 days. I am sure since we are outside looking in the logistics of all those divers at the shop plus the ones in route is not simple or straightforward. And coming back its each boat and different arrival times. Just be patient and it will all come together. You are diving on a beautiful caribbean island. Relax and enjoy the ambience. Let them handle the stress.

 

[Dan G]

We have been diving with both 3P and Aldora. I like the people at 3P. 3P always had great fruit and snacks on the boat for the SI. My main issue with 3P was that when I would ask for the oxygen analyzer, it was not always on the boat. Some days it was there for me to use and other days it was "on the other boat." It is quite possible that this was a glitch in the system for that one week or that 3P has since supplied every boat with an analyzer.

Staying at the Villa and diving with Aldora is a great experience. It gives us plenty of time to brew some coffee and eat a light breakfast before the AM dives. Every DM we have been with is excellent and the whole "descend and ascend as a group" is not a big deal at all. In fact, t is a good safety practice they believe in. Aldora is very good at grouping divers together of similar gas consumption in our experience. I really like that they access the northern sites, too. The eagle rays are amazing up there certain times of the year. We find the walk into town to be a nice one and the Villa is quiet and relaxing. I do wish Aldora would have some fresh fruit or snacks available for the SI. Divers need to bring their own or purchase food at the beach resort.