briankinley2004
Contributor
Finally back to semi-normal from a great trip to Scuba Club Cozumel. Wife, son and myself went. We are all new divers. DW and I had logged 10 dives prior to this trip and now have 21. Son is 14 and just got certified in March. He had only done his certification dives so his first true open water dive was off the shore at SC. We all have traveled alot but this was our first vacation soley dedicated to diving. And dive we did. Eat, dive, sleep, repeat. Ok on with the report.
We flew directly out of MLU to CZM via Houston. This was the cheapest route for us inspite of what our local press says about flying from here and what alot of people have said about going thru Cancun. Gas being what it is just that alone would have cost the difference to drive to another airport. I suggest just searching and finding the best deal for you but before you do an airport shuffle take in to consideration how tired you will be when you arrive due to lack of sleep, costs of shuttles, taxis, ferries, hotels, etc to leave or arrive at a different destination. We arrived on time, bought our tickets and arrived at SCC around noon. Room was not ready so we left our luggage with the porter and ate lunch. Went to the dive shop and signed up, got our gear and by then room was ready.
Our room was a triple and right above the dive shop. It had two full size beds and a daybed. The shower was large enough for getting into with your wetsuit on and washing off your gear. The patio was large enough for a small table with 2 chairs and basically overlooked the area you see on the webcam. There were 2 rails for hanging gear on but bring your own hangers. The room also had a small table with two chairs, a dorm refrigerator, 2 wardrobes, ceiling fan and tons of storage space for all our gear and empty luggage. Tile floors are slippery when wet but nice not to have to worry about water dripping. There are no safes in the room but we left our laptop semi-hidden each day with no problems. There is a safety deposit box at the front desk but large objects will not fit and there is a large fee if you lose the key. Our alarm every morning at 6:30 was the clanging of scuba tanks. It was perfect for a diver and was the call to dive. A non dive who likes to sleep late may have a problem with this. The only other "complaint" with the room was the hard beds. We got used to them soon enough and it is our understanding that most all beds in Coz are very hard.
After unloading in the room and getting situated we hobbled down to the sea wall with our tanks, gear, etc. This got easier as the week went on and we got in our routine. Plus we did not have to carry our tanks for the boat dives. Checked our our weighting in the little pond inside the swim thru. After we got comfortable we swam on thru the coral and out into the ocean. This was our sons first ocean dive! Saw alot of smaller fish and swam against the current (South) until 1500#. There are some Aztec replicas out in the sand but saw most of the fish next to the coral drop offs and pier pilings. Not a dive worth coming to Coz for but a good dive to check everything out before you bail off the boat with a group. If we go back will try this at night.
After diving we went to supper. The food here is good and the service is good but a little slow in classic Mexican style. Make sure to sign your ticket when you leave (even though the food is free) or they will come to your room and interrupt your siesta to get it signed. Breakfast buffet was alot the same every day but with a different twist. There was always something new to try each day but the old standby's where there too. Plenty of fruit, juice, cereal, coffe, etc as well. Lunch each day was a special (usually Mexican or Mayan) or you could order from the menu. Dinner each night had 3 entrees, a soup or salad and 2 desserts. You placed your order for dinner and lunch each morning as a guide for the cooks so they prepared the correct amounts. We ate all meals at the resort except our last night we went down town and ate while shopping. The meals were in portions large enough for the average person but not excessive. Always left full. Also the meals are timed around the diving with the only rush being if you do a night dive. They leave at 7pm and the restauraunt opens at 6pm and closes at 10pm. You are rushed a little on the night dives if you eat before or after the dive. All drinks including tea are an additional charge except at breakfast. We drank alot of water at meals just to keep hydrated and our total bill for 5 days was about 40 bucks. We did go down to the Chedraui (short walk) and buy drinks and snacks for the room keeping them in the room fridge.
Diving--What can we say but awesome. Visibility was as far as these old eyes could see. Currents varied from almost none to pretty swift. Worse current at the time we were there was at C-53, Punta Tunich, La Francesa & Villa Blanca. Dove Santa Rosa wall our last day and it was one of the milder dives as far as current went. Our first dive was Palancar Caves and it was awesome to look over the wall for the first time. Being new divers we never got deeper than 80' and the dive op was good about pairing us up with other divers who did not go deep. We also did a night dive on Paradise Reef and a day dive there as well. Other dives included Plancar Gardens& Yucab. Saw alot of fish, turtles, smaller rays, huge lobster & crab, octopus, sea cucumber, brain coral, fans, anemones, toad fish, sea horses, eel, banded shrimp, etc. We did not see any sharks or large rays but some groups did. All dives were drift dives (except wreck which we used the mooring line). There was sand on alot of the reefs but we have nothing to compare it with except Jamaica. One DM and some guests who dove pre-Wilma said there was alot less sand then.
Dive Op- Again what can we say but awesome. The boats ranged from small boats which took out 6-7 divers and larger boats where we were with groups of about 20 divers divided into 3 or 4 groups by DM. The bigger boats were not crowded and had ample deck space. All the boats were "slow" but we enjoyed the sight seeing on the way and our surface interval was usually the boat ride to a shallow reef closer to the resort. One day when it was raining and cold we were glad we were on a slow boat with a roof while those on the smaller fast boats were getting drenched. Some of the boats used a back roll entry while others used the giant stride. We were offered to use the giant stride on the smaller boat (Observer) but everyone was good with the back roll. The rental equipment we used was Scuba Pro and in fairly good shape. My reg went out when they turned the tank on once but they quickly replaced it with another. The DM's were all good taking time to give us a detailed dive briefing as well as show us stuff underwater. They kept a good eye on us and caught my son once diving down close to 80' looking under rocks and quickly made him come back up. There was usually an adequate amount of juice & water on the boats and all had a head. The crew were very good about changing your tanks, helping you get gear on, getting everyone in and out of the water, etc. The boat was always in site when we surfaced. Each buddy team came up on their own when they reached the low on air point (usually 700psi but varied by dive site and never lower than 700)Did a 3 minute safety stop and sufaced. The DM would deploy his sausage from below when the first group was going to the safety stop. The rest of the group continued to dive until air was low. We found the staff patient and attentive to our needs. Not a pamper you type operation but very efficient and safety minded.
Other than diving, sleeping and eating we did not do much else. We had been to Coz before and really did not site see or anything this trip. We did walk all the way to the airport runway from the resort one evening following the sea walk. There are ATM's at the Chedraui and we were charged 50 pesos to withdraw money from it. We also brougnt some DVD's and watched them on the lap top in the evenings as there are no TV's or phones in the room. Our Alltell phones worked fine but have not got the bill yet. We did take our laptop to the bar area a few times to check email. Also went to the Mexican Fiesta night and it was great. Lots of good food with a pinata for the kids at the end.
Checked out on Sunday. Our total charge from the hotel side for drinks, etc was 40 bucks. We spent about 330 dollars at the dive shop on rentals and the wreck dive. This was 3 people for the dive and BC's/Regs for 2. We tipped based on how we felt we were served but it wound up being very close to their suggested guidelines. Was about 10% of the cost of the resort package plus small gifts. No problems getting to the airport and checking in. Only problem with our return was a fiasco in the Houston airport that was "weather related" but handled poorly in our opinon by the airline. It is a trip report in itself and wound up we spent the night in Houston at our expense and returned a day late. This would have been OK had we been in COZ but really was a stressfull way to end a perfect trip. Next time we may swim or hitch a ride on a freightliner.
In conclusion we highly recommend this resort for those who want to primarily dive while in Cozumel. Those who are non-divers would be fine here with a diving spouse, etc. but this resort, as its name implies, is all about diving. It is not a plush palace to anyone except a diver and would probably be a 3-4 star resort sans diving. It is a safe, clean, comfortable and quaint place to come dive. We also think it is a great place for new divers, such as us, to come get alot of underwater time and try new dives, etc. I went from 16# on my first ocean dive in Jamaica (and still had trouble) to 8# with no trouble at the conclusion of this trip. We all learned alot about diving on this trip from the DM's, other experienced divers and practice. Seasoned divers may have a different opinion on the resort but we never heard any of them complain while we were there and many were repeaters. We are already planning on returning and can't imagine a place any better in Cozumel as far as a package deal, all inclusive dive resort.
Feel free to email us with any questions. Pics to follow
We flew directly out of MLU to CZM via Houston. This was the cheapest route for us inspite of what our local press says about flying from here and what alot of people have said about going thru Cancun. Gas being what it is just that alone would have cost the difference to drive to another airport. I suggest just searching and finding the best deal for you but before you do an airport shuffle take in to consideration how tired you will be when you arrive due to lack of sleep, costs of shuttles, taxis, ferries, hotels, etc to leave or arrive at a different destination. We arrived on time, bought our tickets and arrived at SCC around noon. Room was not ready so we left our luggage with the porter and ate lunch. Went to the dive shop and signed up, got our gear and by then room was ready.
Our room was a triple and right above the dive shop. It had two full size beds and a daybed. The shower was large enough for getting into with your wetsuit on and washing off your gear. The patio was large enough for a small table with 2 chairs and basically overlooked the area you see on the webcam. There were 2 rails for hanging gear on but bring your own hangers. The room also had a small table with two chairs, a dorm refrigerator, 2 wardrobes, ceiling fan and tons of storage space for all our gear and empty luggage. Tile floors are slippery when wet but nice not to have to worry about water dripping. There are no safes in the room but we left our laptop semi-hidden each day with no problems. There is a safety deposit box at the front desk but large objects will not fit and there is a large fee if you lose the key. Our alarm every morning at 6:30 was the clanging of scuba tanks. It was perfect for a diver and was the call to dive. A non dive who likes to sleep late may have a problem with this. The only other "complaint" with the room was the hard beds. We got used to them soon enough and it is our understanding that most all beds in Coz are very hard.
After unloading in the room and getting situated we hobbled down to the sea wall with our tanks, gear, etc. This got easier as the week went on and we got in our routine. Plus we did not have to carry our tanks for the boat dives. Checked our our weighting in the little pond inside the swim thru. After we got comfortable we swam on thru the coral and out into the ocean. This was our sons first ocean dive! Saw alot of smaller fish and swam against the current (South) until 1500#. There are some Aztec replicas out in the sand but saw most of the fish next to the coral drop offs and pier pilings. Not a dive worth coming to Coz for but a good dive to check everything out before you bail off the boat with a group. If we go back will try this at night.
After diving we went to supper. The food here is good and the service is good but a little slow in classic Mexican style. Make sure to sign your ticket when you leave (even though the food is free) or they will come to your room and interrupt your siesta to get it signed. Breakfast buffet was alot the same every day but with a different twist. There was always something new to try each day but the old standby's where there too. Plenty of fruit, juice, cereal, coffe, etc as well. Lunch each day was a special (usually Mexican or Mayan) or you could order from the menu. Dinner each night had 3 entrees, a soup or salad and 2 desserts. You placed your order for dinner and lunch each morning as a guide for the cooks so they prepared the correct amounts. We ate all meals at the resort except our last night we went down town and ate while shopping. The meals were in portions large enough for the average person but not excessive. Always left full. Also the meals are timed around the diving with the only rush being if you do a night dive. They leave at 7pm and the restauraunt opens at 6pm and closes at 10pm. You are rushed a little on the night dives if you eat before or after the dive. All drinks including tea are an additional charge except at breakfast. We drank alot of water at meals just to keep hydrated and our total bill for 5 days was about 40 bucks. We did go down to the Chedraui (short walk) and buy drinks and snacks for the room keeping them in the room fridge.
Diving--What can we say but awesome. Visibility was as far as these old eyes could see. Currents varied from almost none to pretty swift. Worse current at the time we were there was at C-53, Punta Tunich, La Francesa & Villa Blanca. Dove Santa Rosa wall our last day and it was one of the milder dives as far as current went. Our first dive was Palancar Caves and it was awesome to look over the wall for the first time. Being new divers we never got deeper than 80' and the dive op was good about pairing us up with other divers who did not go deep. We also did a night dive on Paradise Reef and a day dive there as well. Other dives included Plancar Gardens& Yucab. Saw alot of fish, turtles, smaller rays, huge lobster & crab, octopus, sea cucumber, brain coral, fans, anemones, toad fish, sea horses, eel, banded shrimp, etc. We did not see any sharks or large rays but some groups did. All dives were drift dives (except wreck which we used the mooring line). There was sand on alot of the reefs but we have nothing to compare it with except Jamaica. One DM and some guests who dove pre-Wilma said there was alot less sand then.
Dive Op- Again what can we say but awesome. The boats ranged from small boats which took out 6-7 divers and larger boats where we were with groups of about 20 divers divided into 3 or 4 groups by DM. The bigger boats were not crowded and had ample deck space. All the boats were "slow" but we enjoyed the sight seeing on the way and our surface interval was usually the boat ride to a shallow reef closer to the resort. One day when it was raining and cold we were glad we were on a slow boat with a roof while those on the smaller fast boats were getting drenched. Some of the boats used a back roll entry while others used the giant stride. We were offered to use the giant stride on the smaller boat (Observer) but everyone was good with the back roll. The rental equipment we used was Scuba Pro and in fairly good shape. My reg went out when they turned the tank on once but they quickly replaced it with another. The DM's were all good taking time to give us a detailed dive briefing as well as show us stuff underwater. They kept a good eye on us and caught my son once diving down close to 80' looking under rocks and quickly made him come back up. There was usually an adequate amount of juice & water on the boats and all had a head. The crew were very good about changing your tanks, helping you get gear on, getting everyone in and out of the water, etc. The boat was always in site when we surfaced. Each buddy team came up on their own when they reached the low on air point (usually 700psi but varied by dive site and never lower than 700)Did a 3 minute safety stop and sufaced. The DM would deploy his sausage from below when the first group was going to the safety stop. The rest of the group continued to dive until air was low. We found the staff patient and attentive to our needs. Not a pamper you type operation but very efficient and safety minded.
Other than diving, sleeping and eating we did not do much else. We had been to Coz before and really did not site see or anything this trip. We did walk all the way to the airport runway from the resort one evening following the sea walk. There are ATM's at the Chedraui and we were charged 50 pesos to withdraw money from it. We also brougnt some DVD's and watched them on the lap top in the evenings as there are no TV's or phones in the room. Our Alltell phones worked fine but have not got the bill yet. We did take our laptop to the bar area a few times to check email. Also went to the Mexican Fiesta night and it was great. Lots of good food with a pinata for the kids at the end.
Checked out on Sunday. Our total charge from the hotel side for drinks, etc was 40 bucks. We spent about 330 dollars at the dive shop on rentals and the wreck dive. This was 3 people for the dive and BC's/Regs for 2. We tipped based on how we felt we were served but it wound up being very close to their suggested guidelines. Was about 10% of the cost of the resort package plus small gifts. No problems getting to the airport and checking in. Only problem with our return was a fiasco in the Houston airport that was "weather related" but handled poorly in our opinon by the airline. It is a trip report in itself and wound up we spent the night in Houston at our expense and returned a day late. This would have been OK had we been in COZ but really was a stressfull way to end a perfect trip. Next time we may swim or hitch a ride on a freightliner.
In conclusion we highly recommend this resort for those who want to primarily dive while in Cozumel. Those who are non-divers would be fine here with a diving spouse, etc. but this resort, as its name implies, is all about diving. It is not a plush palace to anyone except a diver and would probably be a 3-4 star resort sans diving. It is a safe, clean, comfortable and quaint place to come dive. We also think it is a great place for new divers, such as us, to come get alot of underwater time and try new dives, etc. I went from 16# on my first ocean dive in Jamaica (and still had trouble) to 8# with no trouble at the conclusion of this trip. We all learned alot about diving on this trip from the DM's, other experienced divers and practice. Seasoned divers may have a different opinion on the resort but we never heard any of them complain while we were there and many were repeaters. We are already planning on returning and can't imagine a place any better in Cozumel as far as a package deal, all inclusive dive resort.
Feel free to email us with any questions. Pics to follow
