richhagelin
Contributor
Flew into Cancun from Seattle (on Alaska Airlines) with 2 of my "kids" (aged 26 and 30). Collectivo from Cancun airport to Playa Del Carmen ($18US/person). Took a total of 1 hour (15 min waiting for the van to "fill up" and 45 min enroute).
Walked 2 blocks from where the van lets you off (right next to bus station). To the ferry. Got to the dock just in time to catch the 6PM ferry to Coz. Taxi to Fiesta Americana (charged $10, later, found out that I should have only paid $7US)
Checked in. Had room on second floor (which is the floor the lobby is on). Room was fairly nice (last trip stayed at Occidental Grand so may have been a little spoiled). Bathroom was VERY cramped. Had to straddle the toilet then sit down and reverse getting up.
Had dinner at the buffet. As reported here, the buffet food is not great, but edible. We were doing to AI, so ate at the hotel all but one dinner (ate that at Casa Dennis).
Had dinner one night at the "specialty restaurant". Food there was substantially better than the buffet (but limited to one dinner there per week).
Dove with Dive House (on-site dive op). I was very pleased with the quality of their operation. That boats are larger than the "small/fast" boats that I have used the past couple of trips (Alison Dennis and Blue XT Sea). They are not as fast, but the service was similar to what I had seen on the small boats.
We were fairly lucky, number of divers varied from 12 to 6 on different days, so it didn't turn into a "cattle boat". Divers were polled on which dives they wanted to do and then discussed conditions with the dive master. Those with computers were allowed to dive them and non-computer divers were limited by the tables. Buddy pairs ascended when reaching 700psi for a 15 ft safety stop. Boat pick-up was always reliable and relatively easy.
Dives: Palancar Bricks, Palancar Caves, Columbia Shallows, Dahlia, Tormentos, Mexican Navy Ship (C-53, I believe), and Santa Rosa. All dives were very nice. Saw all the standard stuff: turtles, nurse sharks, barracuda, lobsters, toad fish, etc, etc). Water temp was very moderate. I dove with a shorty and my kids dove with no thermal protection and were comfortable.
Apple representative on site at the FA was very helpful and good source of how much to pay for taxis, etc.
Dinner at Casa Dennis was very enjoyable.
Rich Hagelin
Walked 2 blocks from where the van lets you off (right next to bus station). To the ferry. Got to the dock just in time to catch the 6PM ferry to Coz. Taxi to Fiesta Americana (charged $10, later, found out that I should have only paid $7US)
Checked in. Had room on second floor (which is the floor the lobby is on). Room was fairly nice (last trip stayed at Occidental Grand so may have been a little spoiled). Bathroom was VERY cramped. Had to straddle the toilet then sit down and reverse getting up.
Had dinner at the buffet. As reported here, the buffet food is not great, but edible. We were doing to AI, so ate at the hotel all but one dinner (ate that at Casa Dennis).
Had dinner one night at the "specialty restaurant". Food there was substantially better than the buffet (but limited to one dinner there per week).
Dove with Dive House (on-site dive op). I was very pleased with the quality of their operation. That boats are larger than the "small/fast" boats that I have used the past couple of trips (Alison Dennis and Blue XT Sea). They are not as fast, but the service was similar to what I had seen on the small boats.
We were fairly lucky, number of divers varied from 12 to 6 on different days, so it didn't turn into a "cattle boat". Divers were polled on which dives they wanted to do and then discussed conditions with the dive master. Those with computers were allowed to dive them and non-computer divers were limited by the tables. Buddy pairs ascended when reaching 700psi for a 15 ft safety stop. Boat pick-up was always reliable and relatively easy.
Dives: Palancar Bricks, Palancar Caves, Columbia Shallows, Dahlia, Tormentos, Mexican Navy Ship (C-53, I believe), and Santa Rosa. All dives were very nice. Saw all the standard stuff: turtles, nurse sharks, barracuda, lobsters, toad fish, etc, etc). Water temp was very moderate. I dove with a shorty and my kids dove with no thermal protection and were comfortable.
Apple representative on site at the FA was very helpful and good source of how much to pay for taxis, etc.
Dinner at Casa Dennis was very enjoyable.
Rich Hagelin
