Thoughts on Tres Pelicanos vs Aldora

[Lorenzoid]

I'm sure it's great for VA people, but really annoying for divers who've been told they must be at the Aldora pier by 7:30am. We rush through breakfast to get there, only to spend 10+ minutes going north and back to pickup up VA divers. And then dropping those same divers off first.

We were in the same boat, so to speak. My wife and I had exactly the same complaints. I hate rushing breakfast.

That treatment doesn't encourage us to stay at VA. We're more inclined to tell Aldora to EABODADIAF.

I’m sure it doesn’t have the same effect on everyone, and maybe now and then it will cost them a customer. As I said, it indeed encouraged us to stay at the Villa. The Villa isn’t lacking in bookings as far as I know.

 

[uncfnp]

Ok I’ll jump in again.

The fruit on the surface interval is a nice touch to help cut the saltwater taste and dry mouth you can have after a dive.

@stuartv has a very valid point. Island Al 100’s are not filled to working pressure. At the typical 3000 fill its about 90 cf as someone else pointed out before me. I should have mentioned this in my post on their 100’s. The owner of Tres Pelicanos was trying to setup his own fill station to correct the issue with fills and have a ready supply of tanks. It didn’t pan out so he like many other ops on Cozumel depend on fill stations. Since Aldora does their own fills, Aldora has the advantage here.

Yes, 3P’s has a lot of repeat business and “regulars” for good reason. And yes they often have their favorite boat and DM. I guess it is an unintended side effect of that family feeling I mentioned. But oddly the favorite is not always the Skinny. The Skinny is wider than average and the boat the owner dives. So yes, his friends often like to dive with him and Jorge on the Skinny. But I know others that prefer the Loan Shark with Edgar or Julio. In fact, both guides are very popular with the photographers since they love pointing out the critters.

 

[Janie88]

Leave it to you, Lisa, to bring the conversation back around to a salient point and actually draw a comparison that might prove helpful to people
I haven't read the last 2 pages of this thread yet, so this may be redundant, but since there has been little to no comments on Blue XT Sea to this point (my point of reading), I thought I would mention the following, by way of comparisons:

1. Blue XT Sea departs and returns from/to downtown from the same pier as Aldora (usually referred to as the Aldora Pier). This is about a 3 block walk from Casa Mexicana. Call it 5-6 minutes, leisurely.
2. Departure times are 8am for Blue XT Sea.
3. Like 3P's, you do not have to surface as a group at the end of the dive. If you are the one in the group that is low on air, you can indicate that to the DM and he will shoot his surface marker buoy and you can follow it up to safety stop depth and then surface next to it where the boat will be there for you. If you are good on air, you can continue diving with the DM and any others in the group and surface later. We usually average 70-75 minutes on AL 80's. AL 100's are available for a $5 upcharge.

4. Based on everyone else's comments on how well Aldora does at grouping together similar experience levels and air consumption, I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt and just assume that my personal experience was an anomaly or outlier. I really mean that and don't want to offend anyone.

I communicated quite clearly ahead of time the experience level of me and my dive buddy (an instructor with similar experience on Cozumel and worldwide). I communicated that due to the cost premium we were paying for those high capacity tanks and that we were only doing 2 dives that day, we anticipated being grouped with similar experienced divers on the boat, given that surfacing as a group was our only option.

We showed up promptly at 7:30am at the Aldora Pier. The boat then cruised up north to the Aldora Villas to pick up our dive companions for the morning. We then cruised back south and right past where we were picked up 25 minutes earlier and then to our dive sites down south. During the cruise down south, I engaged our other 4 dive companions in conversation.

I learned that this lovely family, (Mom, Dad and 2 teenage boys), were vacation divers with limited experience and this morning was going to be their first time diving in 2 years and that they had some apprehensions and anxieties. After my talk with them and helping them sort out some gear issues, I made my way over to our dive guide. Confident that I was out of ear shot of anyone, I let our dive guide know about my conversation with the family and wanted to give her a heads up.

I was cavalierly told not to worry about it. We ended up having 2 enjoyable, but very short, 40 minute dives that morning. All 4 of the family members had issues throughout the two dives. No need to discuss here.

5. Blue XT Sea also doesn't handle wetsuits- so, if that is an issue, definitely factor it in.

6. If cost is an issue or factor, definitely read the fine print and ask questions about whether the daily marine park fee, and the 16% government tax is included or not in your price quote for diving. Not to mention larger tanks and nitrox- it can all add up.

@Trailboss123 : Can you provide more feedback on Blue XT Sea? You mention that they pick up/drop off at the same pier (Aldora) as Aldora, but at 8:00 instead of 7:30. What do they do for SI?

My husband and I don't usually eat a big breakfast, but it sounds like we wouldn't get anything at CM if staying there and diving with Aldora. I also hate rushing. When we stayed for a few days with friends last year in Coz, we ate around 6:30 (our friends rented a house just outside town) and then had a leisurely drive to go meet Aldora.

I had forgotten, but now that it's been mentioned here I do remember getting on Aldora's boat at the pier, then going another 10min out to pick up Villa divers, then past the pier again. Same thing in reverse coming back, dropping off Villa divers and then back to the pier.

Denise at Aldora did mention a Hotel Colonial, sister hotel to Casa Mexicana, that has a small kitchen, has anyone stayed here?

 

[ReefHound]

I had forgotten, but now that it's been mentioned here I do remember getting on Aldora's boat at the pier, then going another 10min out to pick up Villa divers, then past the pier again. Same thing in reverse coming back, dropping off Villa divers and then back to the pier.

Did any of you specifically request Aldora to pick you up as they pass going south and drop you off as they pass going north? If so, what was the specific response? If not, you can't really complain about it. They might even think they are doing you a favor.

 

[stuartv]

Did any of you specifically request Aldora to pick you up as they pass going south and drop you off as they pass going north? If so, what was the specific response? If not, you can't really complain about it. They might even think they are doing you a favor.

That's an interesting concept. What possible rationale do you think they could have that would make them think they're doing someone a favor by picking up earlier and dropping off later?

I guess picking you up first could be a "favor" if it lets you pick your seat/bench before others get on. Of course, that's assuming they don't set people's gear up for them ahead of time, so everyone's spot is sort of pre-assigned. I do always try to get to my boat early and get on first, to get myself a "good" seat. But, I'm usually getting on boats that do not have any kind of concierge service. It's first come, first served, and everyone carries their own gear on and sets it up themselves.

But, I can't think of a reason it could be seen as a benefit to keep someone on the boat longer, by driving past their stop, then coming back to it later.

 

[scubadada]

That's an interesting concept. What possible rationale do you think they could have that would make them think they're doing someone a favor by picking up earlier and dropping off later?

I guess picking you up first could be a "favor" if it lets you pick your seat/bench before others get on. Of course, that's assuming they don't set people's gear up for them ahead of time, so everyone's spot is sort of pre-assigned. I do always try to get to my boat early and get on first, to get myself a "good" seat. But, I'm usually getting on boats that do not have any kind of concierge service. It's first come, first served, and everyone carries their own gear on and sets it up themselves.

But, I can't think of a reason it could be seen as a benefit to keep someone on the boat longer, by driving past their stop, then coming back to it later.

Aldora boats take a maximum of 6 divers, seating position and set up are not important

 

[Lorenzoid]

That's an interesting concept. What possible rationale do you think they could have that would make them think they're doing someone a favor by picking up earlier and dropping off later? . . .

If I recall, Aldora loads and unloads tanks and divers' gear at the pier. On the way out, divers board after the tanks and gear have been loaded, and the boat proceeds to the Villa to pick up more divers and turns back, passing the pier, and heads out. On the way back, after dropping off the Villa divers, the boat turns back to the pier and drops off divers, tanks, and gear. Although I kind of like my cynical rationale that it's at least partly a marketing ploy to encourage people to stay at the Villa, it could also be that they choose not to stop TWICE at the pier each way, once for divers and once for tanks/gear. I don't know what difference it could make, other than adding three minutes each way to the schedule, but maybe there's something else to it that we're not aware of.

 

[stuartv]

If I recall, Aldora loads and unloads tanks and divers' gear at the pier. On the way out, divers board after the tanks and gear have been loaded, and the boat proceeds to the Villa to pick up more divers and turns back, passing the pier, and heads out. On the way back, after dropping off the Villa divers, the boat turns back to the pier and drops off divers, tanks, and gear. Although I kind of like my cynical rationale that it's at least partly a marketing ploy to encourage people to stay at the Villa, it could also be that they choose not to stop TWICE at the pier each way, once for divers and once for tanks/gear. I don't know what difference it could make, other than adding three minutes each way to the schedule, but maybe there's something else to it that we're not aware of.

"Marketing ploy"? Prioritizing their VIP customers first? Whatever you want to call it...

 

[Trailboss123]

@Trailboss123 : Can you provide more feedback on Blue XT Sea? You mention that they pick up/drop off at the same pier (Aldora) as Aldora, but at 8:00 instead of 7:30. What do they do for SI?

My husband and I don't usually eat a big breakfast, but it sounds like we wouldn't get anything at CM if staying there and diving with Aldora. I also hate rushing. When we stayed for a few days with friends last year in Coz, we ate around 6:30 (our friends rented a house just outside town) and then had a leisurely drive to go meet Aldora.

I had forgotten, but now that it's been mentioned here I do remember getting on Aldora's boat at the pier, then going another 10min out to pick up Villa divers, then past the pier again. Same thing in reverse coming back, dropping off Villa divers and then back to the pier.

Denise at Aldora did mention a Hotel Colonial, sister hotel to Casa Mexicana, that has a small kitchen, has anyone stayed here?

Suites Colonial does have 2 types of rooms some that have kitchenette's and some that don't. Suites Colonial is my normal place to stay and I enjoy it very much and always get a room with kitchenette. Those rooms also come with a living room/dining room. It is clean, quiet, inexpensive and wonderfully located.

Surface intervals for Blue XT Sea are never done on the boat. You head to shore at one of a few different locations where you can relieve yourself, if needed and hang out for an hour or so with fresh fruit, some baked goods and cold water on offer.

 

[NDL_Diver]

Dave owns VA and no longer owns any of the Aldora dive operation. The dive operation owners have no ownership in VA. There relationship seems to still work.