Dive with Cruise operator vs Local Cozumel Op?

[Mike]

Why is everybody telling this guy to get his own boat? Unless you can get your own boat for 75% less then a cattle boat the guy ain't in.

We are in search of other local Cozumel (as well as Grand Cayman) operators who can/will accomodate cruise ship passengers' later timing, & who can offer a better price (savings x4 for us).

Also, using the ship's operator, we'll insure that we won't miss our ship departure time , usually not a problem in our previous diving excursions when we booked by ourselves previously, but the savings must be significant to offset that worry.

Any suggestions, pls?

Thanks,

The question he is asking is does anybody know a dirt cheap dive op?

 

[DandyDon]

Why is everybody telling this guy to get his own boat? Unless you can get your own boat for 75% less then a cattle boat the guy ain't in.



The question he is asking is does anybody know a dirt cheap dive op?

Good point. Kinda missed the focus there. The cheaper Ops seldom list prices on sites but it wouldn't be difficult to copy and paste the same email to several ops. Isn't November a slower month?

Ok I'm hesitant to suggest particular Ops, but I'm diving with Scuba Mau next week for $59/trip, altho I am not sure if that includes taxes and park fees vs whether the ship prices do? Might ask Blue Angel and others tho? Hard currency often gets better prices too...

 

[WestHoustonDiver]

Thanks for all your suggestions so far.
We're begining to start thinking about bringing our own equipment, store them in the kids' cabin, get on other chat boards to see if other cruise passengers are interested in joining us to charter our own private boat & start reseaching those operators recommended above. We love to support the local privately owned operators.
Carnival is requiring us to pay extra for another separate dive master for our 2 teenage Jr divers (guess it's for their legal reasons) & probably won't let us dive a normal 2 dives & limit them to 40'.
Since our teenage kids have already been spoiled by shark dives in Belize & experienced w/ other boat dives in Cozumel, we'll probably look for a private boat...

 

[Prop Joe]

Aldora Divers will hold a boat for cruise ship passengers. They also charter boats (six to choose from). There is the 42' boat Felicity (does 30 knots) that dives 12+ if you can round up enough people from the ship. You will get 120 cu/ft steel tanks. Free computer usage. Excellent rental gear. Great dive masters. They have already set up procedures for you to have a great day.

Diving from Cruise Ships

Call Memo at the shop. He can answer your questions, concerns and requests (US based phone number).
Aldora Divers of Cozumel

 

[cicopo]

With your trip being in Nov chances are very good that many of the smaller ops would be quite happy to consider 4 people enough to be a boat load since most use boats made for 6 plus a captain & DM. During high season they'll fill them but I'd bet you're good number wise already. With that option under control it would be up to you where to dive & what kind of SI you want (unless conditions are poor).

 

[kabal22]

For my 2 cents I would strongly suggest you seek out a smaller boat setup vs the cattleboat experience.

I just returned from Cozumel and our dive trips were $80 for each 2 tank trip.

• Using fast boats (we usually got back to our resort an hour ahead of the cattle boat divers)
  Never more than 6 divers on the boat
  Used larger steel tanks, dives were all over an hour down time and at 80 plus foot depths
  VERY personal experience and dove where consensus of boat wanted to
  water, towels, and snacks provided on the boat

For my money it's twice the experience you can get on a larger dive group.
We actually ran into a large group at 80 feet on a dive. Members of the group tried to integrate into our group twice because they were confused and couldn't find their group. Our divemaster kept reaquainting them with their group. Looked like a mess, and a big contrast from our small group that felt very safe and managed.

NOTE* I purposely left the name of our dive op off my post to minimize the "cheerleading" but will gladly provide it in a message if asked. We plan to use them next time we go to Cozumel, couldn't be happier. The dive master remembered day to day any issues we had with gear or dives and were wuick to help. The divemaster even met us at our hotel at the end and chatted about our experience and asked for critiques on his operation (we couldn't think of any).

 

[scubawife]

For my 2 cents I would strongly suggest you seek out a smaller boat setup vs the cattleboat experience.

I just returned from Cozumel and our dive trips were $80 for each 2 tank trip.

• Using fast boats (we usually got back to our resort an hour ahead of the cattle boat divers)
  Never more than 6 divers on the boat
  Used larger steel tanks, dives were all over an hour down time and at 80 plus foot depths
  VERY personal experience and dove where consensus of boat wanted to
  water, towels, and snacks provided on the boat

For my money it's twice the experience you can get on a larger dive group.
We actually ran into a large group at 80 feet on a dive. Members of the group tried to integrate into our group twice because they were confused and couldn't find their group. Our divemaster kept reaquainting them with their group. Looked like a mess, and a big contrast from our small group that felt very safe and managed.

NOTE* I purposely left the name of our dive op off my post to minimize the "cheerleading" but will gladly provide it in a message if asked. We plan to use them next time we go to Cozumel, couldn't be happier. The dive master remembered day to day any issues we had with gear or dives and were wuick to help. The divemaster even met us at our hotel at the end and chatted about our experience and asked for critiques on his operation (we couldn't think of any).

I dive with one of the few steel tank shops on the island and have gone out with another one of them too. Is there a new shop using steels now? I don't know of any that are $80 ($85-95, yes, but not $80).... and what you're describing sure sounds like the shop I've been using for years...

 

[WestHoustonDiver]

Thanks for all the suggestions.
I've emailed a few ops & awaiting their reply.

Mike: I've never said I'm looking for "a dirt cheap dive op" & "a 75% off discount"

I'm just looking for better service at a better price than the cruise ship's inflated $89 price. Not just $5 off, but maybe around $15 - $25 off would make it worthwhile. Multiply that times 4 for our family equates to "significant savings" for us. Plus, if we can do the same for Grand Cayman & maybe for Jamaica islands too...

 

[cruisediver69]

Thanks for all your suggestions so far.
Carnival is requiring us to pay extra for another separate dive master for our 2 teenage Jr divers (guess it's for their legal reasons) & probably won't let us dive a normal 2 dives & limit them to 40'.

I got my 14 year old son certified in Cozumel earlier this year. His cert dives were at 60 feet and once certified he dove with us the rest of the time at our normal profile which often was down to 85 or 90 feet on the first dive of the day. I don't know if this is the norm or not on the island so you might ask each of the dive ops that you are talking with to make sure they don't have a problem with it.

 

[WestHoustonDiver]

I got my 14 year old son certified in Cozumel earlier this year. His cert dives were at 60 feet and once certified he dove with us the rest of the time at our normal profile which often was down to 85 or 90 feet on the first dive of the day. I don't know if this is the norm or not on the island so you might ask each of the dive ops that you are talking with to make sure they don't have a problem with it.

Yep, that's been our experience w/ the local dive ops in Cozumel & Belize.
Our 2 Jr divers, now 17 & 14, have been swimming before they could even walk, & both have been PADI certified back in Houston when they were both 10 yrs old.
Our oldest is a cert life guard.
They both have better swimming & diving skills than us.

Once the dive masters see them excel during the check out dives, they usually let them dive with our adult group to the normal 80 - 90' dives thereafter.

We can see the cruise line's policy, probably from their lawyers to protect them legally. So maybe worthwhile to go back to search our records to check which Cozumel hotels & which dive ops we've used in the past yrs, who may have their records on file...