Would you dive with this op?

[jd950]

Not defending the dive op; they should have been upfront with you. I don't dive with them so have nothing more to say about that. Cozumel diving is deep (relatively) drift followed by shallow-mid drift. That's pretty much how it is done. Some Coz dive sites can be a bit much for many newish divers. New diver or diver with issues either should go elsewhere for awhile, or hire private DM for a custom profile or at a minimum go with a small op, small boat, after full disclosure of the requested dive style and a commitment from the op that they can accommodate your needs on those days.

We learn more from the bad stuff than the good stuff. Your friend got a valuable lesson. Don't worry about blame and fault; no one died; move forward. So there isn't a permanent bad taste associated with Coz, you both need to go back to Coz and hire a private DM or go with a small op that is able to accommodate you (probably will need the private DM). you will have fun and it will all be good again.

If you need the names of a couple operators well-suited to your situation including one or two that take a lot of newer divers, PM me and I will share my thoughts with you.

Oh, and maybe avoid Spring...I think you can more easily get wonky currents then.

PS: I don't mean to trivialize the blown eardrum. It is a bad thing to have happen, but it does happen and it will heal with hopefully no serious long-term harm.

 

[flots am]

Arrive at the dive site, first group of six drops in the water and the boat moves off to our drop spot. STOP... as we move to the stern to drop, our guide says that we are not at the site that we briefed and were at the wall. This is where I have to accept fault because we went into the water; kind of like deer in headlights. I knew that I could watch my buddy, but I was pissed.

If it's not a good spot, don't get off the boat. It's not just in Coz, though. I've had this happen in Coz, and Grand Cayman and several others. It took me years before I figured out that it was just fine if I refused to get off the boat in an inappropriate location or conditions. "

In fact, when you refuse to get off the boat, they'll probably bag the location and go where you want. The other divers would probably have been happy with the shallow dive too.

It's not much help now, but might be in the future.

flots.

 

[Zman96]

Why reckless? They were certified and apparently independent enough to do their own shore dives. Good for them, they sound competent and well-trained as certified divers should be.

85' depth + wall dive + new to currents + overhead environment for a new diver is a lot of task loading. Santa Rosa can be a relatively easy dive and it can also be quite challenging, for a new diver making their first open ocean dives after certification I think it was reckless. I am hardly a rule hound, but that seems reckless to me.

 

[Christi]

85' depth + wall dive + new to currents + overhead environment for a new diver is a lot of task loading. Santa Rosa can be a relatively easy dive and it can also be quite challenging, for a new diver making their first open ocean dives after certification I think it was reckless. I am hardly a rule hound, but that seems reckless to me.

Agreed!

 

[flots am]

85' depth + wall dive + new to currents + overhead environment for a new diver is a lot of task loading. Santa Rosa can be a relatively easy dive and it can also be quite challenging, for a new diver making their first open ocean dives after certification I think it was reckless. I am hardly a rule hound, but that seems reckless to me.

If you look out and think "Yaay! We're here!" it's probably OK.

If you think "Crap. This this is going to be bad." It's time to stay on the boat.

 

[Rhodesaz]

Thanks to the OP for this thread. I've been planning this years trip and not sure where to go. I've been to the Grand many times in the last few years. But after Ricardo (front desk) treated us poorly last year, never again. I did like the previous on-site dive shop Dive Palancar! I did not have information about Pro Dive, now I do!

 

[cb5150]

I'm sorry your trip was ruined - but we all have choices every day - and one of those choices it to move on and make the best of whatever situation we're in.

Many points i would like to address, but I'll just stick with this one.

I hate to break it to you - but if she is allowing ONE dive from ONE dive op at ONE resort to paint all of Cozumel and all of the dive shops here with the same brush, after you yourself have had 3 previous SUCCESSFUL trips here - then you probably have much bigger issues to deal with than this one messed up day that you made the choice to be angry over and allow to ruin your trip.

I will go ahead and add - that unless you were chartering a private boat - the crew on the boat has to take everyone into consideration - just because YOU wanted to stay shallow doesn't mean they should hold the whole group back. If your needs to stay shallow were that important, and your friend is that new of a diver and nervous to begin with - YOU should have hired a private dive master for her at minimum. I'm sorry, but with less than 100 dives yourself, you are still considered a novice diver as well by most standards.

I am not making excuses for the dive op - BUT - You were diving with a large resort op, not a small boutique shop that offers more personalized level of service. No, I would not dive with that op before or after your report - but if I did find myself diving with a large run of the mill resort op catering to all levels desires, etc. I would keep my expectations and personal responsibility in line with that. I think your expectations were too high - you wanted caviar and paid for anchovies - and that's what you got!

Good luck, best wishes and I hope that you will both be back to Cozumel with an open mind and willingness to give the island and another op and resort a chance to show you some excellent and safe diving.

And I do mean this with the best of intentions and simple honesty so you can maybe make more informed choices in dive ops next time

Christi nailed it!

 

[Zman96]

If you look out and think "Yaay! We're here!" it's probably OK.

If you think "Crap. This this is going to be bad." It's time to stay on the boat.

Problem at times is the person jumping in doesn't always know that it could be bad (more than any other dive that could go bad). You wonder what the predive brief was. Did they know what they were getting into as far as depth, currents, swim throughts etc...? For me I am a research nut and researched the dive sites before I arrived for the first time on Cozumel, but how many people really do that? The dive op I first used was also very aware of my experience level (and so is my subsequent dive op) and would not have taken me as a newly certified diver to Santa Rosa and I did have a private DM. If this persons dive op knew this was their first boat dives ever and took them to Santa Rosa they have reckless employees or ownership.

PS sorry to the OP for the slight veering off from their original subject, even though they are closely related.

 

[jazz_fan1]

Wow what an overwhelming read. My wife and I are going to be staying at the Grand starting next weekend (May 3 -9). I have been in contact with Pro-Dive and was offered the 10% discount, but haven't booked anything. We are rookie divers, certified several years ago but with only a few cold lake dives under our weight belts. This will be our first ocean diving and my wife is already showing some major nervousness. After reading this I too am getting butterflies. I chose Cozumel for the deep sea fishing and because the internet is loaded with folks saying that it is a good place for scuba beginners. Lots of cruise ship passengers trying scuba for the first time, that sort of thing. The dive maps show novice dive sites. Did I make a mistake?

 

[Zman96]

Wow what an overwhelming read. My wife and I are going to be staying at the Grand starting next weekend (May 3 -9). I have been in contact with Pro-Dive and was offered the 10% discount, but haven't booked anything. We are rookie divers, certified several years ago but with only a few cold lake dives under our weight belts. This will be our first ocean diving and my wife is already showing some major nervousness. After reading this I too am getting butterflies. I chose Cozumel for the deep sea fishing and because the internet is loaded with folks saying that it is a good place for scuba beginners. Lots of cruise ship passengers trying scuba for the first time, that sort of thing. The dive maps show novice dive sites. Did I make a mistake?

Cozumel can be great for new divers, many here were certified there including me. I would look at a number of OPs and let them know what you are looking for and your experience. I would strongly recommend getting a private DM for at least your first day or two to watch over only you and your wife. They will help you and mostly likely give you valuable advice to help and relax in the water more. You will be amazed how much better the diving is versus the northern cold water lakes. Being cautious and a little nervous is good, it means you will ask more questions and go in with your eyes wide open.