Albatros Charters???

[kj kleveno]

You are correct tipping is a personal thing, and these people (captain and mate) depend on tips, just like a waitress or waiter, or a great example is a bartender. Try tipping a bartender right away and see if they don't remember your drink more often and pick you out of a crowd faster. I'm not saying service would not be good to everyone at the bar, just you like someone more if you know they tip. I tip at the end of dives also with everyone else, I guess I just waste my money, but it is mine and i'm on vacation, it will leave my pocket anyhow.

Nice try. ........... No Sale......what is that comment? uncalled for and off base. Just letting my feelings known.

good luck and i hope someone has a good vacation it could be forever for me as i tipped all my money away:lol: :lol:

 

[kj kleveno]

i think i remember you, weren't you having ear troubles? and they told you to stay above? Not blasting you just think you were there this year when i was on vacation

 

[scubasherry]

i think i remember you, weren't you having ear troubles? and they told you to stay above? Not blasting you just think you were there this year when i was on vacation

if you are asking me this question. No. I only dove with my husband and our friends from our LDS who were on vacation at the same time as us. The only other people on the boat were the crew.

I have never had ear problems. I am thankful for that. I feel bad for the people it happens to because it really does cause alot of pain.

 

[caribdiver]

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.

jpdunc I don't think he was referring to your post. He is referring to the glowing reviews that read like ads from people that made their first posts to sell for this outfit. The post count is not what is suspicious but kj, judy and sancho all registered on the same day they posted these glowing reviews. interesting. I've been fishing with Albatros but I didn't know they had diving. Nice people but I prefer to dive with shops that specialize in diving and fish with operators that specialize in fishing.

scubawife I can think of more ops that don't do beach SI's than do. some also claim to do them but its nothing more than a bathroom break at the beach then they rush you back on the boat and plop you back in the water with less than an hour out of the water. there is a big difference. Beach SI's with sufficient time are important to me so it is a deciding factor for me when I choose. I dive with Liquid Blue, LU, or Blue XT. Alison offers a really nice personal service too.

 

[scubasherry]

You are correct tipping is a personal thing, and these people (captain and mate) depend on tips, just like a waitress or waiter, or a great example is a bartender. QUOTE]

I agree, tipping is personal. We tipped at the end of each dive. Even on the day I did not dive (I snorkeled) I tipped just as if I were tipping for a dive. It wasn't the crews fault.
They worked very hard. I can't possibly fathom how the service could be any better if I had tipped beforehand. (Unless I would have got a foot massage or something.) Ha!:lol2:

I see some people say that they tip at the end of the week. I am not sure how that would work. Even over our 3 days of diving we had different people on the boat on different days. Had I not personally tipped each person how would I know if that person would really ever receive what I intended to give them. And for the person who went out of their way to help me? I had to give her a hug, a tip and say thanks! I just can't see handing over a lump sum at the end of the week and saying here disperses it....

 

[kj kleveno]

foot massage would be nice...
I have a comment on SI on the beach also tho, since the hurricane there are not many piers left and the ones that are there were protected by operators using them. We tried to drop a person who got freaked out and nearly were drawn and quartered, and some areas have no place to moor. Depending on the location of your next dive it would be a hassle to move long distances to go. Not defending them but stating facts (as I know them). And we can all appreciate the cost of fuel here, which is a pittance compared to what people pay on the island. Now I also like the beach SI and would prefer it, last time got a little european beach wear to oogle, and once they get more sand back on the beaches it would be nice to lay out, although i usually burn to a crisp riding out the first day.
I am glad i was recomended to this site, seems like alot of good people and fun also.
Maybe new locales will come up, but I still plan on retiring in cozumel

kj

 

[scubawife]

foot massage would be nice...
I have a comment on SI on the beach also tho, since the hurricane there are not many piers left and the ones that are there were protected by operators using them. We tried to drop a person who got freaked out and nearly were drawn and quartered, and some areas have no place to moor. Depending on the location of your next dive it would be a hassle to move long distances to go. Not defending them but stating facts (as I know them). And we can all appreciate the cost of fuel here, which is a pittance compared to what people pay on the island. Now I also like the beach SI and would prefer it, last time got a little european beach wear to oogle, and once they get more sand back on the beaches it would be nice to lay out, although i usually burn to a crisp riding out the first day.
I am glad i was recomended to this site, seems like alot of good people and fun also.
Maybe new locales will come up, but I still plan on retiring in cozumel

kj

In early December we had to meet the boat at the Caleta and do SI's on the boat because there were no piers. In Feb, we still had to meet the boat at the Caleta but there were beach club piers and in May/June it was also not an issue. We had a few clubs to choose from and with only a few exceptions, all hotel piers were operational.

 

[scubawife]

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 know the cattle boats don't go to the beach. Good to know that not all the small operators do either. Anyone I know who has been has used a dive op that did go to the beach. They weren't all $80+ or offer extra service like gear storage. For places that I go regularly I usually find a couple shops I like and then only change if they aren't available or if I have some other reason to. Now I know that if I use a new shop in Cozumel I need to ask about the SI's and not just assume that it's a 6-8 diver boat so it will go to the beach.

 

[scubasherry]

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!

Thanks for the vote of confidence! I am proud of myself for not giving up and every situation good or bad has been a learning exprience. I hope my story continues to get as good as yours did for you!
I will let you all know how it goes! But ya'll have to wait till December!

 

[TheRedHead]

The last trip we used an operator that sometimes went to the beach when there was a spot open at the old pier on Palancar Beach. We were deco diving and the boat was a much larger diesel-engine type rather than the fast 6-packs we normally use. I couldn't eat with the diesel fumes and didn't enjoy the SIs. On a positive note, I lost 4 pounds.