Asrael
Registered
Hi everyone-
Just returned home from a beautiful 2 weeks in Mexico, and a wonderful first experience on Cozumel.
I wanted to share a little bit about our experience with Blue XT Sea and the diving we enjoyed. Some of you may remember that I was asking for information on diving companies before our trip, as I have struggled with a safety stops and descents, and have never drift dove before. I was also a little nervous about swim throughs. My husband and I are relatively new divers (40 dives), and all of our experience has been in Hawaii. You were very helpful and recommended a few different companies. We had narrowed it down to Scuba With Alison, Tres Pelicanos and Blue XT Sea (in no particular order). Alison was out of town, Tres Pelicanos seemed great, but I think some of our emails got missed as we didn't get a response (we could have always written back- there was no worries/bad feelings about it) and Christi was very friendly, and quick to respond.
Christi was great, She answered all of our questions with great detail, didn't rush us into making a decision, and took time to speak with me on the phone about wet suits (my husband is a weird size), Private DM (whether we needed one or not- we decided to get one the first day), and any general questions we had.
It felt right, from our first email, so we decided to book with her- and are so happy we did. When we got to Cozumel she came to our guest house (Villa Escondido), and brought wet suits for us to try on- She even had one that fit my 6'6" thin husband, and brought skin suits for him to try for under the shorties just in case. The next morning she picked us up to drive us to the Marina- and gave us some candied ginger for sea sickness- just in case (my husband has had it once before).
Martin was to be our divemaster- and Pedro was with the 3 other divers on the boat. They were friendly, professional and got us out of the harbor early. Nevo was the captain that day. I shared with Martin my concerns, and fears and he made me feel very comfortable, and safe- in his demeanour, energy and in letting me know he would be there for me while underwater. The seas were a little choppy that day, so I was a little nervous- but also very excited.
Our first dive was great- I had no problem with the descent, and Martin was very aware of me- yet not "babysitting" me the entire dive. He would check back and make sure I was ok- check to see if I wanted to do any swim throughs (not that dive), and took us on a beautiful adventure. It was a little weird to drift.. but it was amazing to see the coral- and the sea life. My husband's air went out at about 60 minutes, so we ascended then with a nice long safety stop.. and I had no problems, again Martin was aware, checking in on me and I felt totally safe.
2nd dive- little faster current- Think it was Delilah... but felt more comfortable- even did a swim through
Amazing.. Martin pointed out lots of life for us, and it was like being on our own private tour.
We were scheduled to dive for 3 days.. At that time we decided to hire Martin for the next 2 days- not for safety, or nerves- but because we really enjoyed having our own private dive, (even with only 3-4 others on the boat), and each day was a magical experience... We did Palancar Caves, Columbia Deep, Delilah, Francesca, Palancar Gardens, The Mountains. All were amazing. And he pointed out so so so many things, that we would never have seen or known what they were. He also made sure I felt safe on the swim throughs.
So.. we ended up doing a 4th day- how could we not.. As there were only 2 other divers that day on the boat- we decided to go with the group and got to experience Pedro- just a note for anyone reading this that may be a newer diver.. Martin shared with Pedro my comfort zones (depth- current- swim throughs (I LOVE THEM)) . Pedro was amazing too- connected, in tune, aware with out babysitting- I felt very safe!
We would dive around 80ft for the first dive, and 60ft for the 2nd. All my dive times were 65+ minutes... My husband did go up a little earlier some times but he averaged 60 or so. I had air for longer- but did not need to stay down longer- I was ready to go up.
Nevo was our captain 3 days- so helpful, kind, and a great boat driver- really was part of the experience. I think Edwin was our other boat driver, and again was great!
What we saw- Amazing coral, Sharks (even saw 2 together swimming), turtles, scorpion fish, lobsters, crabs, toadfish, slipper lobsters, tons and tons of fish, amazing swim throughs, and so much more
What I learned- I really think with Martin's help, I learned how to be a more comfortable and confident diver. I felt at ease- and was able to let go and allow the current to take me. My buoyancy (which wasn't bad except for safety stops) improved and I learned I can enjoy swim throughs... I have done alot in Hawaii but never felt totally comfortable.
What I loved- Everything- It was a wonderful experience- from Christy's wonderful communication, sharing and kind personality, to the great DM"s (Martin and Pedro), and Crew (Nevo and Edwin),the fast boats, long bottom times, long beach breaks, and good snacks. Also this is SLOW diving- no rush at all- just let the flow take you.
They also were great with the weights- the first dive we were a little heavier (but lighter than we dove with in Hawaii)- we weren't hanging on the bottom- and from there they adjusted the weights to our needs and as we got more comfortable- the weight got less and less.
I can't wait to come back. I have never thought about doing a dive vacation... but we talked about how we could easily come to Coz for a week and do it sometime again... With Blue XT Sea of course
Value- Great Value- I feel like the prices were very fair and reasonable for the service we got, worth every penny- the attention, the divemasters and crew, the customer service, the boats, the diving times, everything... Also- Christi did everything she could to make it work for us... including creating a package at the end that was lower priced than the original quote was with the full 3 days dive master, due to our extra day and extra dives with Martin. Thank you Christy!
Some other notes-
Loved Villa Escondido.. Magda was great- her breakfasts were divine, David was amazing with his recommendations, and the place was so calm and peaceful even in the centre of town.. Comfortable bed too!
Main Land- We really struggled with the mass tourism on the coast.. we rented a beautiful jungle home for 4 nights.. went to Coba one of the nights, and spent the days on a beautiful turtle beach... no buildings or beach clubs.. Don't know we would go back to the coast.. just have our water time on Coz.. BUT>.
we LOVED Vallidolid.. Stayed at an amazing guest house there Hotel Zentik, and stayed 4 nights.. The Cenotes that way are amazing... the city was great- and it made us want to explore inner Mexico more Ek Balam was amazing too!! Rented a car- safe and easy driving
Sorry this is so long- Probably so much more I could say- Hope I covered it all!
Thanks @Christi, Martin, Pedro, Nevo and Edwin for an amazing welcome and experience on Cozumel!
Just returned home from a beautiful 2 weeks in Mexico, and a wonderful first experience on Cozumel.
I wanted to share a little bit about our experience with Blue XT Sea and the diving we enjoyed. Some of you may remember that I was asking for information on diving companies before our trip, as I have struggled with a safety stops and descents, and have never drift dove before. I was also a little nervous about swim throughs. My husband and I are relatively new divers (40 dives), and all of our experience has been in Hawaii. You were very helpful and recommended a few different companies. We had narrowed it down to Scuba With Alison, Tres Pelicanos and Blue XT Sea (in no particular order). Alison was out of town, Tres Pelicanos seemed great, but I think some of our emails got missed as we didn't get a response (we could have always written back- there was no worries/bad feelings about it) and Christi was very friendly, and quick to respond.
Christi was great, She answered all of our questions with great detail, didn't rush us into making a decision, and took time to speak with me on the phone about wet suits (my husband is a weird size), Private DM (whether we needed one or not- we decided to get one the first day), and any general questions we had.
It felt right, from our first email, so we decided to book with her- and are so happy we did. When we got to Cozumel she came to our guest house (Villa Escondido), and brought wet suits for us to try on- She even had one that fit my 6'6" thin husband, and brought skin suits for him to try for under the shorties just in case. The next morning she picked us up to drive us to the Marina- and gave us some candied ginger for sea sickness- just in case (my husband has had it once before).
Martin was to be our divemaster- and Pedro was with the 3 other divers on the boat. They were friendly, professional and got us out of the harbor early. Nevo was the captain that day. I shared with Martin my concerns, and fears and he made me feel very comfortable, and safe- in his demeanour, energy and in letting me know he would be there for me while underwater. The seas were a little choppy that day, so I was a little nervous- but also very excited.
Our first dive was great- I had no problem with the descent, and Martin was very aware of me- yet not "babysitting" me the entire dive. He would check back and make sure I was ok- check to see if I wanted to do any swim throughs (not that dive), and took us on a beautiful adventure. It was a little weird to drift.. but it was amazing to see the coral- and the sea life. My husband's air went out at about 60 minutes, so we ascended then with a nice long safety stop.. and I had no problems, again Martin was aware, checking in on me and I felt totally safe.
2nd dive- little faster current- Think it was Delilah... but felt more comfortable- even did a swim through
Amazing.. Martin pointed out lots of life for us, and it was like being on our own private tour.We were scheduled to dive for 3 days.. At that time we decided to hire Martin for the next 2 days- not for safety, or nerves- but because we really enjoyed having our own private dive, (even with only 3-4 others on the boat), and each day was a magical experience... We did Palancar Caves, Columbia Deep, Delilah, Francesca, Palancar Gardens, The Mountains. All were amazing. And he pointed out so so so many things, that we would never have seen or known what they were. He also made sure I felt safe on the swim throughs.
So.. we ended up doing a 4th day- how could we not.. As there were only 2 other divers that day on the boat- we decided to go with the group and got to experience Pedro- just a note for anyone reading this that may be a newer diver.. Martin shared with Pedro my comfort zones (depth- current- swim throughs (I LOVE THEM
)) . Pedro was amazing too- connected, in tune, aware with out babysitting- I felt very safe!We would dive around 80ft for the first dive, and 60ft for the 2nd. All my dive times were 65+ minutes... My husband did go up a little earlier some times but he averaged 60 or so. I had air for longer- but did not need to stay down longer- I was ready to go up.
Nevo was our captain 3 days- so helpful, kind, and a great boat driver- really was part of the experience. I think Edwin was our other boat driver, and again was great!
What we saw- Amazing coral, Sharks (even saw 2 together swimming), turtles, scorpion fish, lobsters, crabs, toadfish, slipper lobsters, tons and tons of fish, amazing swim throughs, and so much more
What I learned- I really think with Martin's help, I learned how to be a more comfortable and confident diver. I felt at ease- and was able to let go and allow the current to take me. My buoyancy (which wasn't bad except for safety stops) improved and I learned I can enjoy swim throughs... I have done alot in Hawaii but never felt totally comfortable.
What I loved- Everything- It was a wonderful experience- from Christy's wonderful communication, sharing and kind personality, to the great DM"s (Martin and Pedro), and Crew (Nevo and Edwin),the fast boats, long bottom times, long beach breaks, and good snacks. Also this is SLOW diving- no rush at all- just let the flow take you.
They also were great with the weights- the first dive we were a little heavier (but lighter than we dove with in Hawaii)- we weren't hanging on the bottom- and from there they adjusted the weights to our needs and as we got more comfortable- the weight got less and less.
I can't wait to come back. I have never thought about doing a dive vacation... but we talked about how we could easily come to Coz for a week and do it sometime again... With Blue XT Sea of course
Value- Great Value- I feel like the prices were very fair and reasonable for the service we got, worth every penny- the attention, the divemasters and crew, the customer service, the boats, the diving times, everything... Also- Christi did everything she could to make it work for us... including creating a package at the end that was lower priced than the original quote was with the full 3 days dive master, due to our extra day and extra dives with Martin. Thank you Christy!
Some other notes-
Loved Villa Escondido.. Magda was great- her breakfasts were divine, David was amazing with his recommendations, and the place was so calm and peaceful even in the centre of town.. Comfortable bed too!
Main Land- We really struggled with the mass tourism on the coast.. we rented a beautiful jungle home for 4 nights.. went to Coba one of the nights, and spent the days on a beautiful turtle beach... no buildings or beach clubs.. Don't know we would go back to the coast.. just have our water time on Coz.. BUT>.
we LOVED Vallidolid.. Stayed at an amazing guest house there Hotel Zentik, and stayed 4 nights.. The Cenotes that way are amazing... the city was great- and it made us want to explore inner Mexico more
Ek Balam was amazing too!! Rented a car- safe and easy drivingSorry this is so long- Probably so much more I could say- Hope I covered it all!
Thanks @Christi, Martin, Pedro, Nevo and Edwin for an amazing welcome and experience on Cozumel!
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