Where to do open water dives to finish cert.inCozumel close to shore, and how much ?

[Jillandtheboys]

We are going on a cruise from Tampa to Grand Cayman, and then to Cozumel. We just finished our class room and pool dives and tests.The trick is we also have a 6 year old who won't be diving w/ mom,dad, and 11 year old brother. We wanted to find a place close to shore,or shore diving, and also to find out what we can count on spending. Thanks! The Peterson Family from Cary Il.

 

[realdiver7]

I would check with Blue Angel Dive Shop at the Caribe Blu Hotel in Cozumel. I just returned from there, and courses are taught right in front of the dive shop and hotel. The water is clear, there is a small rock ledge with lots of tropical marine life, and the water goes from ankle deep to around 23 ft. deep. The training platform is around 16 ft. deep. Two-tank boat trips for certified divers are $53 per person, per day, when staying at the hotel. Also, when staying at the Caribe Blu shores dives are unlimited, at no additional charge. Prices for everything were very reasonable, and the shore dives were great, including 3 night dives.

There were a couple of courses being taught while I was there, and I even finished certifying some of my own Advanced OW students that were on the trip with me during our stay. I do not know how much Blue Angel charges for referrals to finish courses, but I remember hearing that they do accept some referrals. If you do a search online for Caribe Blu, Cozumel, Mexico, then you will see all of the info regarding the hotel/dive shop/restaurant.

Jeanie (your online contact owner) is wonderful to deal with, and the entire staff was extremely pleasant to deal with. We thoroughly enjoyed an entire week staying with them, and diving with them. Please tell Jeanie that Barry and company referred you to them.

The cruise ships we saw that came and went every day only stayed in Cozumel for 10-12 hours (I think), so you should probably check and see how long your ship will actually be staying. When most people get there, they wish they had a couple of more days to stay because it is so beautiful, and the climate is so mild this time of the year. Air temp was 78-80, water temp was 74-78 depending on depth, and the humidity was low. There was always a slight to moderate breeze blowing to make the comfort level even better.

There was always a current everywhere we went that ranged from slight to strong, but it was mostly moderate and tolerable, so almost all open water diving is drift diving. Safety stops are made without reference (no anchor line or buoy line) while hanging in the current at 15 ft., so buoyancy control and proper weighting is of utmost importance. We did our dives with a little extra weight because of this due to all tanks being aluminum and, as you know, they become more buoyant near the end of the dive. Current for our shores dives was slight to moderate, and very tolerable.

I hope this helps some.

 

[jbd]

We are going on a cruise from Tampa to Grand Cayman, and then to Cozumel. We just finished our class room and pool dives and tests.The trick is we also have a 6 year old who won't be diving w/ mom,dad, and 11 year old brother. We wanted to find a place close to shore,or shore diving, and also to find out what we can count on spending. Thanks! The Peterson Family from Cary Il.

I was on a similar cruise from Tampa to Grand Cayman to Cozumel. We were there long enough to get in a two tank drift dive. Most agencies limit you to two maybe three certification dives per day and require at least four dives which means two days. I doubt you will be able to complete your certification during the cruise.

If you can get the first few dives done before your cruise and then finish the last two while in Cozumel you might have a chance.

Also consider sending a PM to Christi here on scubaboard. She can probably give you more specific information.

 

[jbisjim]

We have sent students to DeepBlue.
http://www.deepbluecozumel.com

 

[SteveDiver]

We are going on a cruise from Tampa to Grand Cayman, and then to Cozumel. We just finished our class room and pool dives and tests.The trick is we also have a 6 year old who won't be diving w/ mom,dad, and 11 year old brother. We wanted to find a place close to shore,or shore diving, and also to find out what we can count on spending. Thanks! The Peterson Family from Cary Il.

Try www.scubawithalison.com she is great and runs small trips. When we were diving with her she was checking off on skills for another diver that booked from the cruise ship. We had excellent customer service and Alison goes above and beyond to make sure that you are satisfied. She is originally from California. I was happy to have an American (that speaks English) to take us diving...Email her from her website, she answers fairly quickly, she does not require a deposit to book either. Tell her Steve Stan sent you hello for us..You will not be disappointed. If anyone can accomodate the needs of your family it will be her..

 

[NOVIZWHIZ]

I was at Coz in September (same cruise)...there is a national park a 5 min taxi ride from the boat. The cruise pushed the park for kayaking, snorkeling, swim with the dolphins, etc - never mentioned diving. When I got there and the guide was going thru all the things they offered he talked about the dive shop. I walked down the beach 100 yds and found a little dive shop, rented gear and a guide for 45 bucks. Just me and the guide. Easy walk-in right there at the shop. Did about a 45 min dive and it was BEAU-TEE-FUL! No hassle, no crowds. 40-60 ft depth, lotsa fish, HUGE Tarpon, turtles, lobsters, coral head....did a short cave penetration (horseshoe)...non-diving wife sat on beach and guzzled margueritas. They take credit cards and the guide was great, pointed out things along the way. We had initially gone there for the dolphin encounter and the taxi there and back was set up by the cruise line as part of the deal.

 

[BigboyDan]

Talk to Christi Courtney:

http://www.bluextseadiving.com/