multi day dive packages?

[DandyDon]

So do they have lockers for your stuff that you aren't taking on the boat or do you just have to trust your roommates?

Private rooms can be had for $34/night. That's about what I paid for a nice room at Suites Colonial last trip, but I did find a special. Well, I see Colonial @ $38 next month. I was happy to see that they added electronic room safes.

Don't expect the AC to work well. (Beds Friends Hostel (Cozumel, Mexico) - UPDATED 2016 Hostel Reviews - TripAdvisor) Dorm beds run $13-19/night. I am just not that sociable.

 

[WarrenZ]

As long as my bag is safe while I'm on the boat I'm not shy.

 

[rick00001967]

glad i saw this thread. i was going to start a similar one today.
we have been searching a number of web sites and emailing a bunch of operators. i am impressed at how fast the responses have been actually. it is a nice change from what i am used to. haha but i would like to add a few things from my point of view after trying to plan this trip.
we found a number of operators that do not offer multi day packages. a lot do. but we seemed to have found most of the ones that dont. this is something we are not accustom to.
we have traditionally paid 25 to 30 u.s. per dive (we usually buy a 5 day two tank package each) on just about every trip we have ever been on. and have never paid more than 38 u.s. and that was on a very expensive island.
i find that the over all cost to dive here is quite high considering that it is mexico. i may be wrong, but i was told the u.s. dollar is very strong against the peso this year. i would have thought that the pricing would reflect this. does it not make sense that if you were getting 13 pesos for every dollar last year but are getting 17 or 18 this year (was told it was as high as 20 recently) wouldnt the shops be adjusting prices to be more competitive ? there costs to run the operations would not change, but they are making quite a bit more money if we pay them in u.s. compared to past years.
the 15 or 16 % tax is also something that seems crazy to me. and i live in canada where we pay insane taxes on everything. add in the park fees and the total cost to dive here is similar or higher to countries we have been to with a much much higher cost of living.
we have decided to focus more on shore diving this trip to control our budget and will only be doing maybe a few days of boat diving.
i know coz is known as a great dive destination and we are very much looking forward to returning but it seems to me that the costs are way out of line compared against all the other costs to go there.

to the OP.....we found dive with martin seemed to have the best pricing. they even give a discount if you are kind enough to bring in some clothing for donation which i thought was pretty cool.

 

[DandyDon]

i find that the over all cost to dive here is quite high considering that it is mexico. i may be wrong, but i was told the u.s. dollar is very strong against the peso this year. i would have thought that the pricing would reflect this. does it not make sense that if you were getting 13 pesos for every dollar last year but are getting 17 or 18 this year (was told it was as high as 20 recently) wouldnt the shops be adjusting prices to be more competitive ?

I know. Several years ago when the Peso was so strong that there was talk of changing to 9:1 against the USD, subsequent talk about possible needs of raising prices was quick to follow. Now that the Ops, hotels, restaurants, etc. are raking in twice as many Pesos, it would see that they could give us a break, huh?

First, I don't think any of them are gaining instant riches. Times may be better than before, but in the big picture - it's still very competitive. Many of these businesses are giving more for the money, and/or charging less; you just have to shop for the best deals. They're going to charge as much as possible, that's natural, but competition keeps them in check.

Two, as some of them have explained, many of their expenses are in USD, so their costs went up with the devalue of the Peso. Well, some anyway. I'm sure business is rewarding or we wouldn't see the constant growths we do we in all of the tourists business and population migrations from the mainland - but some still suffer and some still go under.​

It's Cozumel, relatively easy to get to, very enjoyable, and business is always going to be brisk.

the 15 or 16 % tax is also something that seems crazy to me.

Well, short of offering a course on the Mexican government, patrone culture, and the majority religion - it's Mexico. Their federal government created Cancun from a coconut plantation 40 years ago to attract gringos, and this was so successful that it spread down the coast and across the channel. The government too is going to get as much as possible.

Pick what you like, leave the rest.

 

[gopbroek]

The dive industry in Cozumel is USD based except for fuel. To the best of my knowledge most of the labor is Dollar based other than stipend for social security purposes. The other big cost driver is that most boats are doing up to a 20 - 25 miles round trip to the dive sites running extremely expensive low quality PEMEX gas

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Gopbroek, you are right on. Most all of our costs are in dollars and we have to pay ridiculous taxes on gross sales, whether we make a profit or not. In spite of the NAFTA claims, we have to pay at LEAST 16% tax on everything we get from the US, and even more on things considered clothing (can you believe that they consider BCs as clothing). Gasoline is more than twice what it costs in the US and of course we have to pay our crews in dollars. Perhaps worst now is that we are not allowed to import Yamaha motors at all and have to buy them through the Mexican company Imemsa at 50% more than we were paying in the US (even with transportation and taxes Yamaha engines were much cheaper and there is no viable substitute in outboards).

I have been to many other locations in the Caribbean and for like service you pay more just about everywhere. Try Hawaii for a change!

AS for as multi day discounts, it is a truism that many (usually cattle boats) offer packages that expect you NOT to dive some of the days you pay for in the package, and at most give you a voucher for a return trip. I guess about 25-50 % of our customers miss a few or many days because of illness, weariness etc and we find it fair to charge ONLY for what they actually dive. Once checked in they choose when and if to dive. At least that is MY philosophy.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[rick00001967]

as some one who does not pretend to know anything about mexican economics, i find it mind boggling that so many expenses are based in u.s. dollars. not reason to discuss further in this thread. i do find it interesting though that i had been told on our last trip that the u.s. dollar was going to be declared illegal in mexico and was not even to be used. guess that was far from the truth. dont even get me started on the credit card fees....OY

 

[Christi]

as some one who does not pretend to know anything about mexican economics, i find it mind boggling that so many expenses are based in u.s. dollars. not reason to discuss further in this thread. i do find it interesting though that i had been told on our last trip that the u.s. dollar was going to be declared illegal in mexico and was not even to be used. guess that was far from the truth. dont even get me started on the credit card fees....OY

It is an island and just about everything is imported - including our electricity.

Peso prices for local goods and services also increase and adjust based on the value of the dollar. So while the USD is valued high compared to the pesos on paper, that doesn't translate for business expenses because those prices in pesos are adjusted as well. It's not only the direct expenses and vendors we use, it's trickle down effect - basic economics.

The tax rate - well, we can't do anything about that either - it's 16% for most services and goods, with an added 3% for lodging.

 

[Dogbowl]

we have traditionally paid 25 to 30 u.s. per dive (we usually buy a 5 day two tank package each) on just about every trip we have ever been on. and have never paid more than 38 u.s. and that was on a very expensive island.

Please tell me where in the world you can get this kind of pricing. Do you mean USD 50 - 60 per two-tank boat trip? If that is true, I am headed there next!

 

[rick00001967]

Please tell me where in the world you can get this kind of pricing. Do you mean USD 50 - 60 per two-tank boat trip? If that is true, I am headed there next!

we have been to st lucia (full home made amazing plated lunch and various drinks included), st maarten, coz, playa del carmen, bahamas, dominican rep, antigua, jamiaca, etc etc......usually we pay $30 u.s. per dive when we buy a 10 dive package. dominican last time we were there (it has been quite awhile) was 25u.s. but the sites were very close. i am sure it is more now.
st maarten was the highest we have ever paid at 38u.s. (total - no hidden or extra fees) we have gone there a number of times. and last time we got 10% off that and i got nitrox on all ten dives for 50u.s. extra. you also can have a couple of beers on them after the day is over should you choose to.
btw.....charging 12 to 15u.s per tank extra for nitrox in mexico (which some shops do) is absurd. just sayin. we stopped at the fill station on one trip to coz and were told it was something like 3 bucks extra for nitrox tanks. maybe that has changed somewhat but it certainly is not as much as the shops make it sound.

btw OP.....pro dive offers nitrox at no extra charge if you like to use it. most shops on coz seem to charge 8 to 12 per tank. i was quoted as high as 15 last year. so this is a good savings if you were planing on paying the extra somewhere else.