Once again Scubawife, you've explained things very well 
I didn't mean to offend you, I apologize if that is how you took it. Everyone has their own definition of "new" and that is a discussion in its own right. However, by most standards, you would be considered a new diver. "New" doesn't necessarily mean unskilled or freshly certified, it means new in that you don't have that many dives under your belt yet...and there's nothing at all wrong with that as long as you recognize that and are honest with yourself and those you dive with about your actual experience (different environments, situations you've had to deal with underwater, etc.)
FWIW, I’ve often seen newly certified divers that can dive circles around some I’ve seen with DM rankings. Certification level is only a card.
Even as an instructor with 2000+ dives under my belt, I am a new diver in some conditions. For example, I know the Cozumel waters like the back of my hand but I would never go to a completely new environment for the first time and assume I can handle it at the same level I handle advanced dives in Cozumel. It's not my environment, so I need to acclimate, get a local DM to orient me and take me on a few dives (or more), etc. Another example, I just got back from Cocos Island, which has some pretty extreme diving conditions. Despite my certification level and 2000+ logged dives, there were times I was VERY challenged. I handled those dives, but I didn't take my "credentials" for granted and get arrogant about the rankings and label. Each diving environment is different and needs to be taken seriously and respected for what it is, especially the first time.
It CAN happen, I just wanted to give you the reality so that you can prepare before you get here. In otherwords, contact a few, or several dive operations and communicate what you want to do and make arrangements before you arrive rather than just showing up and hoping to get all these dives in that you aim for (and maybe that is what you were planning to do anyway).
October is LOW season, so most operations aren't going to be running full morning and afternoon schedules as in high season. Even in high season, Saturday afternoon through Sunday night is very quiet with not many boats out...which is a great thing if you are out diving
As Scubawife said...the big high volume, large boat ops are more likely to have scheduled afternoon dives on Saturday (possibly Sunday) because they have more people diving with them at any given time so it is easier for them to assemble the minimum numbers needed to make the additional trips. The trade off is typically (not always) less bottom time, more divers, less choice in site selection (often prescheduled by the operation), etc.
You could also get lucky and find a small boat operation with some scheduled afternoon/night dives for those dates...and/or other people who also want to do additioanl dives, which brings me back to my point of contacting a few operations and making your arrangements before you arrive. If they know ahead of time what you want to do, they can try to make it happen for you.
Your hotel location will require you to spend more time in taxi's getting to and from the better shore diving and boat pick-up locations.
I hope you enjoy Cozumel as much as the rest of us and that you continue coming back for more
Have a great time and be safe!
vegeta82:
I didn't mean to offend you, I apologize if that is how you took it. Everyone has their own definition of "new" and that is a discussion in its own right. However, by most standards, you would be considered a new diver. "New" doesn't necessarily mean unskilled or freshly certified, it means new in that you don't have that many dives under your belt yet...and there's nothing at all wrong with that as long as you recognize that and are honest with yourself and those you dive with about your actual experience (different environments, situations you've had to deal with underwater, etc.)
FWIW, I’ve often seen newly certified divers that can dive circles around some I’ve seen with DM rankings. Certification level is only a card.
Even as an instructor with 2000+ dives under my belt, I am a new diver in some conditions. For example, I know the Cozumel waters like the back of my hand but I would never go to a completely new environment for the first time and assume I can handle it at the same level I handle advanced dives in Cozumel. It's not my environment, so I need to acclimate, get a local DM to orient me and take me on a few dives (or more), etc. Another example, I just got back from Cocos Island, which has some pretty extreme diving conditions. Despite my certification level and 2000+ logged dives, there were times I was VERY challenged. I handled those dives, but I didn't take my "credentials" for granted and get arrogant about the rankings and label. Each diving environment is different and needs to be taken seriously and respected for what it is, especially the first time.
vegeta82:
It CAN happen, I just wanted to give you the reality so that you can prepare before you get here. In otherwords, contact a few, or several dive operations and communicate what you want to do and make arrangements before you arrive rather than just showing up and hoping to get all these dives in that you aim for (and maybe that is what you were planning to do anyway).
October is LOW season, so most operations aren't going to be running full morning and afternoon schedules as in high season. Even in high season, Saturday afternoon through Sunday night is very quiet with not many boats out...which is a great thing if you are out diving
As Scubawife said...the big high volume, large boat ops are more likely to have scheduled afternoon dives on Saturday (possibly Sunday) because they have more people diving with them at any given time so it is easier for them to assemble the minimum numbers needed to make the additional trips. The trade off is typically (not always) less bottom time, more divers, less choice in site selection (often prescheduled by the operation), etc.
You could also get lucky and find a small boat operation with some scheduled afternoon/night dives for those dates...and/or other people who also want to do additioanl dives, which brings me back to my point of contacting a few operations and making your arrangements before you arrive. If they know ahead of time what you want to do, they can try to make it happen for you.
Your hotel location will require you to spend more time in taxi's getting to and from the better shore diving and boat pick-up locations.
I hope you enjoy Cozumel as much as the rest of us and that you continue coming back for more
Have a great time and be safe!
