Travel Agents steering away from Coz

[ggunn]

Originally Posted by ggunn
If a cruise ship comes in and puts an extra 1000 divers in the water, I want to know about it so I'm not diving that day. ;^)

What an exageration!
It's not possible with Carnival Corperation, At most there will only be 5-7 Carnival Corp ships in that area at any given time and the excurion limits are like 20 peeps. So like, at most you would only be surrounded by a couple hundred. Now does that not sound much more appealing

Of course it was an exaggeration. My comment was directed toward SteveDiver who was disagreeing (I think) with the assertion that relatively few cruisers dive. 20 divers per BUB is relatively few.

 

[diveborg]

I would have to disagree.. I have met MANY divers on the cruise ship from all over...It has increased. I never use the cruise ship dive package because I want to get three dives and not be on a crowded boat...

That is certainly your right, but I stand by my opinion. On a Voyager class ship with 3000 passengers, even if all the dive excursions sell out, say 25 people, that is still a very small minority. Then if another 75 divers go out with there operators, you are up to 100 divers. That is still only 3%. I think that most people would agree, 3% is a very small minority.

Seriously, it is cheap from Houston to take a cruise and have three dive destinations set up before you even leave land. Much cheaper to take a cruise then fly pay for a hotel food etc... My cruise only cost 360.00 per person cheaper then a flight only to Cozumel...I have been taking 5-7 day cruises at the least twice a year for the last 7 years. It is cheap and a nice little get away.

Good for you for getting such a good deal on a cruise. My biggest cost in traveling is air fare for a family of 4. I can fly to Cozumel for just a little more than I can fly to a port of departure for a cruise. After that, Cozumel is definitely less expensive for my family of 4. Cruises are fun, but they aren't cheap, at least for me.

 

[Ron Brandt]

That is certainly your right, but I stand by my opinion. On a Voyager class ship with 3000 passengers, even if all the dive excursions sell out, say 25 people, that is still a very small minority. Then if another 75 divers go out with there operators, you are up to 100 divers. That is still only 3%. I think that most people would agree, 3% is a very small minority.
.

Divers also make up a very small percentage of the world population as well,That also must be taken into account.

Ron

 

[scubasherry]

My travel agent did not steer me away from coz... infact she knows what kind of travelers we are becoming and what we are looking for in our vacation so she reccomended some smaller places to us to check into. She also tried to help get me airfare. But the flight we found I could sign up with NWA and get bonus points for travel so she told me to do it. (she helped me plan and then backed off so I could get the best deal) She is a sweet heart. She just asked that I give her a report when we get back! :admin:

Ever since Willma I have just been gathering as much info as possible from the internet about Cozumel. I really appreciate Antonio's pictures and info he has provided! And all the info this forum and others have provided. I do not post much - but I read every thread trying to learn as much as I can about Cozumel. And diving there. First time in the ocean and looking forward to it.

There was no sunshine officially measured in Grand Rapids again today. This makes 14 days in a row and we may tie the record tomorrow at 15. No sunshine is expected in the next few day just clouds and snow flurries. 15 days without a glimps of sun. I feel like a vampire I am afraid the sun will burn my eyes the next time I am blessed to see it.

3 weeks and 2 days untill Cozumel!!!

 

[Nevis Diver]

The reef regeneration HAS begun and this is just one illustration of how resiliant the coral reefs are and on the same hand, how fragle thye are. I've been trying to find the silver linings everyday, and thatwas one I found today!

I am really glad to hear Christi say this because it dove tails in to how I feel.

As a new diver (74 dives) it with nice to be around experienced divers that have been diving Coz for 13+ years. But, I was really getting tired of hearing them all moan and groan about how devastated the reefs were. And oh, BTW, most of this took place when they sat in the Hotel Coz lobby for hours on end at night instead of getting out in town.....brutal.

Anyway, while I did see some sandy areas it was nothing less than emotionally moving to me to be part of the wonderful environment under and top of Cozumel. I have seen devastation around the world while in the military and I have seen how people respond as well. The people of Cozumel performed nothing short of miracles in their rebuilding after the hurricanes this year. Anyway, I digress....

My point is that while at first I was a bit saddened by all of the years lost when I could have been diving, especially at Cozumel, the way I look at it now, as a new" diver seeing Cozumel for the first time after the hurricanes, I am luckier than most. I will be able to "grow with the reef!" Every dive I do for the rest of my like in Cozumel will be better than the last....wow, a lifetime of new experiences...what more could one ask?

...and don't burst my bubble and mention that there could be more h*^@##()@'s....

 

[Christi]

My point is that while at first I was a bit saddened by all of the years lost when I could have been diving, especially at Cozumel, the way I look at it now, as a new" diver seeing Cozumel for the first time after the hurricanes, I am luckier than most. I will be able to "grow with the reef!" Every dive I do for the rest of my like in Cozumel will be better than the last....wow, a lifetime of new experiences...what more could one ask?

...and don't burst my bubble and mention that there could be more ....

WOW...what an awesome attitude! I wish every diver that came to Cozumel thought like you You WILL grow with the reef and you'll appreciate it that much more with every diveand with every year you come back and see the reef flourish...because you are right...there will be NO MORE h*^@##()@'s for many years to come...we paid our dues this year

And today's silver lining is this:

We were blown out by a norte, BUT...norte's bring sand back to the beaches So that's worth missing a day or two of diving for...right?

I can't wait to get back in the water when I get rid of this cold and I'll be getting my camera back next week...so I will start documenting some of the reefs for you all as well and add the pictures to my gallery as I take them

EDIT: The norte is over and we are getting the divers out for an afternoon dive ! Yeh!

 

[pilot fish]

I am really glad to hear Christi say this because it dove tails in to how I feel.

As a new diver (74 dives) it with nice to be around experienced divers that have been diving Coz for 13+ years. But, I was really getting tired of hearing them all moan and groan about how devastated the reefs were. And oh, BTW, most of this took place when they sat in the Hotel Coz lobby for hours on end at night instead of getting out in town.....brutal.

Anyway, while I did see some sandy areas it was nothing less than emotionally moving to me to be part of the wonderful environment under and top of Cozumel. I have seen devastation around the world while in the military and I have seen how people respond as well. The people of Cozumel performed nothing short of miracles in their rebuilding after the hurricanes this year. Anyway, I digress....

My point is that while at first I was a bit saddened by all of the years lost when I could have been diving, especially at Cozumel, the way I look at it now, as a new" diver seeing Cozumel for the first time after the hurricanes, I am luckier than most. I will be able to "grow with the reef!" Every dive I do for the rest of my like in Cozumel will be better than the last....wow, a lifetime of new experiences...what more could one ask?

...and don't burst my bubble and mention that there could be more h*^@##()@'s....

Nevis, that a great way to look at things. Cozumel will rebound to what it once was and in a year or so you'll hardly notice the storms devestation. People that live and own businesses there are fighting hard to bring things back to normal and I think they will succeed soon.

 

[DiverG]

I sure wish I could go to Cozumel right now. It would be great to get a sense of what it was like 10 years ago. It would even be nicer see the way Cozumel was 20 or 25 years ago.

So do you think the cruise crowds will be back to pre hurricane levels by summer? I hope not. I know it's being selfish, but I like Cozumel alot more at night when most of the cruisers are gone.

 

[Nevis Diver]

It would even be nicer see the way Cozumel was 20 or 25 years ago.

A question for the dive ops.

Before the hurricane and a majority of the time, are the "better" dive ops booked to capacity?

 

[kuip]

It would even be nicer see the way Cozumel was 20 or 25 years ago.

A question for the dive ops.

Before the hurricane and a majority of the time, are the "better" dive ops booked to capacity?

I'm not a dive op. I would think the good ones will have a good business but you may be able to get in as a single or possibly a couple. Don't try to book six for a sixpack boat 2 weeks before arrrival.
Some not so good dive ops may also be full because of heavy advertising or deals with timeshare hawks or motel guests thinking they are the only game in town.
But also some very good small ops may have room. Just because they may be small and have room does not make them a bad operation.