Feedback on the Presidente/Scuba Du please.

[Brules]

That stinks......

 

[Mossman]

If they sucked or had issues, the Presidente would boot them in a second.......top hotel has a top op.

So why does Cozumel Palace have Aquaworld on-site?

 

[iluvcozumel]

So why does Cozumel Palace have Aquaworld on-site?

What does that have to do with the Presidente? I got stuck on a Scuba Du dive once. Would'nt use or recomend them.

 

[mstevens]

What does that have to do with the Presidente?

As the quote shows, it was a response to the earlier "top hotel has a top op" comment. That poster was pointing out that Cozumel Palace is seen as a "top hotel" but that their on-site dive shop Aquaworld didn't meet his definition of a top dive operator. Overall this can be taken as commentary that merely because a hotel as regarded as good, as in the case of the Presidente, that does not necessarily mean that every service associated with it is necessarily of equal caliber.

 

[Mossman]

Thank you, mstevens. That's exactly what I meant. Also, dive ops can change. My previous visit to the Palace, they were using Aqua Safari, which is at least supposed to be better than Aquaworld. OTOH, when I stayed at the President many years ago (in 2000, I think) we tried Scuba Du once and were very underwhelmed by their one-profile-fits-all cattle boat diving, though I understand that Scuba Du has evolved since and can better tailor dives toward individual divers now that they have more boats.

In fact, I've gleaned the opposite relationship between top hotels and their onsite dive ops. Here are some more examples: The Palau Pacific Resort is considered the top hotel in Palau, yet almost no one (or at least no one who speaks English) uses their on-site op, with the vast majority of Western divers using an outside op like Sam's, Neco Marine, or Fish&Fins. Red Sail is a large company that operates hotel dive ops at many nice hotels, including an on-site shop at the Westin Casuarina on Grand Cayman's 7-mile beach, a top hotel on the island (or at least they did when I stayed there in 2002 or thereabouts), and Red Sail gets plenty of complaints about its cattle-like operation. I would also say the same about top resorts in Hawaii that have on-site shops.

The reason is, most top hotels don't want to deal with having their own small operation, they tend to sub-contract the dive op to someone else. In many cases, especially when hotels are members of a large chain, their corporate heads would prefer to deal with a "professional" dive op, i.e. one that's established and big and has plenty of insurance. I'd say the Presidente is more unique in that it didn't simply add yet another Aqua Safari or Dive Paradise outlet, but instead let an independent shop flourish there. Still, the priority of a place like the Presidente is not diving, but providing a luxury hotel experience to its guests. Like other hotels/resorts with on-site ops, Scuba Du is meant to be a convenience for guests who don't want the hassle of leaving the hotel (and aren't aware that other dive ops will pick up there just as easily). But just as hotel restaurants can often be easily beat in price and/or quality, so can hotel dive ops in general. So my experience is that it's better to stay away from the house ops at top hotels and instead just research and find the best dive op period and use them unless the convenience of using the house dive op is a deciding factor - on Cozumel, at least for the southern hotels with their own docks where any dive op can pick up, convenience shouldn't factor in at all.

 

[Mike]

All true. Also the type of guest a hotel's op is serving is greatly dependent on the type of hotel. Let's face it while there are good divers who stay at the Presidente, for the most part divers there are typical of the type of guest who stays there. Lots of money but maybe not a whole lot of well rounded skills generated by a devotion to diving. Pampering and pandering to a family who wants to get in the water and dad wants junior and juniorette to see some fish and wifey is along for the ride but really isn't that into diving... skills are very suspect, dive masters who need to litterally hand hold their guests underwater, we've all seen it and I've seen a lot of them at the Presidente. I've seen their dive schedule for the week with their sites all pre-selected too, all based on a dumbing down of the dive experience in Cozumel because of their typical divers on their boat from the hotel.

 

[Ron Lee]

mossman and Mike, interesting views that I had not considered. The OP is apparently well experienced so I would suggest finding a dive op that is more likely to visit some of the more challenging sites...if that suits your diving needs.

 

[Darol]

Mossman said: So my experience is that it's better to stay away from the house ops at top hotels and instead just research and find the best dive op period and use them unless the convenience of using the house dive op is a deciding factor

I agree, and always stay at the Hotel Cozumel, and dive usually with Scuba-Du.

Mike said: I've seen their dive schedule for the week with their sites all pre-selected too, all based on a dumbing down of the dive experience in Cozumel because of their typical divers on their boat from the hotel.

As I highly respect Mike's opinion, I disagree with his statement. I've been diving Cozumel for seven
years or so, and have never felt the experience was, or even could be, "dumbed down". Having never stayed at the El Prez, I can't comment on that, other than the fact it has one of the best shore dives
in Cozumel, the barge. Love that dive. The set schedule is subject to change, due to conditions.
Conditions meaning, the Dive Guides will actually get in the water before the group, and check currents and conditions to minimize shall we say "surprises". Having well over a few hundred dives in Cozumel, not
many compared to some on the board, I really don't care about the dive site, I enjoy them all. Scuba-Du
has put me on fastboats, Devil's Throat dives, and used me to fill a boat when necessary, and I'm very cool with it. They pick me up at the Hotel Cozumel and always get me back in a timely fashion. Any dive op, or diver, can have a bad day or a bad dive, no matter what op they use.

 

[Mossman]

Yeah, I wasn't going to say it, but divers at the Presidente probably have more money than ability. While there may be a few well-off hardcore divers who stay at the P for the amenities, most will use their money to fly somewhere more exotic and do a liveaboard or fancy dive resort like Wakatobi. And the few hardcore divers that do stay at the Presidente probably do their research and select a dive op that tailors more to their experience and skill level or provides other bennies that AFAIK ScubaDu lacks (i.e. big-ass tanks).

---------- Post added April 15th, 2012 at 09:23 AM ----------

mossman and Mike, interesting views that I had not considered. The OP is apparently well experienced so I would suggest finding a dive op that is more likely to visit some of the more challenging sites...if that suits your diving needs.

Actually, another view that I'm just now considering. Besides convenience, one might be offered a package deal that includes lodging and diving. If there is such a package that combines a room at the Presidente and 2 tanks a day with ScubaDu that saves one significant money, that might be another reason to consider them. In the case of package deals, however, one may be limited to the cattleboats and not have the option of upgrading to fast boats or doing advanced sites (and if one can upgrade, there will usually be an extra cost).

 

[PeterNBiddle]

I have no idea if people here are great or crap divers - couldn't give a damn. We don't stay here to dive with the guests, we are here because it's a great hotel. We are diving Aldora because they are a great op. We eat at great restaurants too. Cozumel is just great!

Dove Delia today and it was a fantastic dive. Fast current (like last time) and lots of fish, just over an hour of dive time and Allie our DM was really good. She held my hand the entire dive!!! : )



And the snorkelling outside the Presidente is quite good.