Albatros Charters???

[cxg31s]

If you ask nice, they may even drop a line and let you bring in a fish or two during your surface interval. We did catch a nice tune our last trip there, Burak cleaned it and we cooked it over the grill that night.

WHOA, what?! Well I sure hope you're doing your dives on the east side or north end because fishing is NOT allowed in the marine park where the majority of the diving is!

 

[scubasherry]

OK, now we have three glowing reports for a dive op from id's with post count = 1 in response to a question from someone else with a low post count. One, OK. Two, well, coincidences do happen. Three....

For the record, I have absolutely nothing negative to say about Albatross Charters, nor have I heard anything that would put me off them. I'm confident that they are yet another fine Cozumel dive op.

Ok. I have been posting for almost a year. Reading a lot more than posting so I don’t have a ton of posts but...Yes, they are a fine dive opp. We dove with them in January. Their crew is great. Javier, Peggy, Fabian... they all were super...Their boat is very nice. They picked us up from where we stayed in the morning and took us to the marina...They worked with us on pick up times as our friends came from the mainland on the 9 am ferry for 3 days of diving. Thus we left the marina about 9:45 and then picked them up at the ferry dock. For some reason even though we brought it up several times… and we were not taken to a beach club for SI. I think they prefer to stay out on the water. A reason was not given, we suggested it… it just didn’t happen. They did not hold on to our gear for us. So friends coming on the ferry did the bag drag every time. They did not have a problem with that though. Maybe they did not ask? Not sure… I didn’t ask.
They provided pineapple, oreo cookies and plain croissants, water and juice on the days we dove. One day Rita brought a cake for the group to celebrate our friend’s anniversary.

Note: I had bad issues with diving. I had 10 dives under my weight belt. Yes I did pre-discuss all my concerns at length before hand with Rita. Yes I did suggest having my own DM and was willing to pay for it. She said she thought I would be fine without one, they would take good care of me and nothing would happen. But once out on the boat the plan was an 80 ft dive with swimthru's and that was not my idea of a novice dive site for my first dive in the ocean. I freaked out after I got in the water. I didn't dive at all the first day and waited till the second day, second dive (shallower) to finally take the plunge.

So do I think they are a good dive opp. Yes.
Do I think they were right for me as a newbie who was scared? No.
Would I recommend them to a friend/fellow diver? Leaning more toward yes.. depending on the person and what they are looking for in a dive opp.
Would I use them again in the future? Maybe... After I get some more dives under my belt and don’t need to be babysat. I know what my problems are and I am working on them. They are my problems, not Albatross’s…

On a side note I had a very successful dive on a shallow shipwreck up in Traverse City Michigan this last weekend. Things are coming around for me. And I am very happy about that. I almost quit diving after that first day in Coz...
We are heading back in November to give it another go. Scuba Tony is going to work with me on improving my comfort level and we seem to have a good game plan worked out. His goal is to get me to take the "chicken of the sea" off my signature.

Please, these are just my opinions and my take on Albatross Charters. Of course there is more to the story so please don’t flame me for saying something negative about them. There was lots of good and I pointed that out as well.

 

[ggunn]

Ok. I have been posting for almost a year. Reading a lot more than posting so I don’t have a ton of posts but...

I wasn't talking about you at all. You didn't think I was, did you? Sorry if I said anything that gave you that impression.

 

[scubasherry]

I wasn't talking about you at all. You didn't think I was, did you? Sorry if I said anything that gave you that impression.

Nope. Not at all. Sorry I didn't realize that I would make you think that untill after the fact. Not my intention at all. I didn't even think that....Just trying to say that I been around the boards for a bit. Give a review from someone who wasn't brand spankin new to the boards...tell my little story! No problem

 

[judydivescoz]

well gordon with 2,279 posts (thats almost 57 a month!), I just responded to a question that I know something about. Nothing devious or suspicious

 

[jpdunc]

OK, now we have three glowing reports for a dive op from id's with post count = 1 in response to a question from someone else with a low post count. One, OK. Two, well, coincidences do happen. Three....

For the record, I have absolutely nothing negative to say about Albatross Charters, nor have I heard anything that would put me off them. I'm confident that they are yet another fine Cozumel dive op.

OK...I guess I wasn't aware of the rules. How many posts are required before it's OK to ask a question? I apologize if my inquiry was offensive, but it was/is a sincere request for information prior to a return visit to Cozumel and I appreciate the responses regardless of how few posts the responders have.

I guess going forward I'll just have to reply to everything to pad my count.

 

[TheRedHead]

For some reason even though we brought it up several times… and we were not taken to a beach club for SI. I think they prefer to stay out on the water. A reason was not given, we suggested it… it just didn’t happen. They did not hold on to our gear for us.

I really do not like eating on boats and one of the reasons I enjoy diving in Cozumel is that I can go to the beach for a long SI. I also like dive operators that will store you gear for the week. Otherwise they might be a contenda.

 

[scubasherry]

I really do not like eating on boats and one of the reasons I enjoy diving in Cozumel is that I can go to the beach for a long SI. I also like dive operators that will store you gear for the week. Otherwise they might be a contenda.

Neither does my husband. He tends to get seasick. It’s unfortunate that they would not honor our request for beach club interval. And with 6 to 8 people on a small fast boat it’s not like you can stretch out and relax, lay down warm up in the sun. Yea.. That would be nice.

See my friends were completely satisfied with what we got. They were and will continue to be repeat customers to Albatross Charters. They will go back. We on the other hand were not completely satisfied and have researched other options... That is the beauty of it. There are a lot of good dive opps on Cozumel and once people find the one that matches their needs they seem to stick with them and become repeat customers and even good friends.

 

[scubawife]

Neither does my husband. He tends to get seasick. It’s unfortunate that they would not honor our request for beach club interval. And with 6 to 8 people on a small fast boat it’s not like you can stretch out and relax, lay down warm up in the sun. Yea.. That would be nice.

See my friends were completely satisfied with what we got. They were and will continue to be repeat customers to Albatross Charters. They will go back. We on the other hand were not completely satisfied and have researched other options... That is the beauty of it. There are a lot of good dive opps on Cozumel and once people find the one that matches their needs they seem to stick with them and become repeat customers and even good friends.

Sherry, THAT is one of the things that makes Cozumel unique. In several dive vacation destinations you are pretty much stuck with the dive op at the hotel you choose or you will have lots of hassle working out the logistics. In Cozumel I do believe that there is a dive operator and accommodation choice for every budget and taste. It can be very overwhelming the first trip (or first trip that you venture past the on-site resort dive op for some).

I guess everyone I've met has just been lucky or selected well because this is the first dive operator I've heard of that does not spend SI's at a beach club.

It's worth it to me to spend a few extra bucks and use an operator that rinses and stores my gear for me. I don't want to spend the time and effort (and mess in the hotel room or condo) rinsing and hanging everything daily.

On a side note, I hope your next trip to Cozumel is more successful for you with your diving then the first one was. Don't feel bad. My first trip post-cert I didn't get off the boat on the first dive.... I was a 5 time resort course drop out before I did the full cert course. My check out dives were a nightmare in the Bahamas between fronts in the winter with an instructor who is a hardcore NE wreck diver and trains West Point cadets in SCUBA. I really wondered if I was EVER going to dive again. But, happy to say that 4yrs and getting close to 200 dives later, I am a better diver for having the really rough experiences starting out. I am not the least bit shy about calling a dive, saying no to a suggested dive, or not diving if it really just doesn't feel right for me. (and I have said no or stayed on the boat when a new divers is really not comfortable and is shy about saying so.) But at the same time, because of what I got past early on, there's not much that I won't give a go. Don't ever let anyone push you past your own comfort zone. Sounds like you will do well with Tony. Please let us know how it all works out for you. I'll be cheering for you Sherry!

 

[MMM]

Actually, I can think of lots. At the very least, it's the ones on a schedule. It's a whole lot easier to keep your divers on the boat and pop them off at the next spot an hour later. Disembarking and reloading means helping clients off, helping them get out on rocks, passing them things they forgot, waiting for stragglers, etc. etc. The ops that take you to a beach club and give you a good, long, SI tend to be the premium ops.

I guess everyone I've met has just been lucky or selected well because this is the first dive operator I've heard of that does not spend SI's at a beach club.