Utilia-Trudy's Suites/Underwater Vision Dive Shop?

[Stout]

ummm yea, I saw that review and mentioned it on another thread. I know Deep Blue knows about it and I was expecting them to respond to it by now. What the reviewer says is true, there needs to be a certain amount of people on the boat before they'll spend the money on fuel to go to the north side.

On the upside, the north side is, IMO, over rated as you drop down those walls and start asking yourself, Where's all the critters ? Unless you're really really into fairy basslets then you won't find the north side any more inspiring that the south, east and west sides.

Earlier this year when I was diving with DB, we had several opportunities to spot whalesharks. Sometimes, the boat(s) approaches the "boil" but unless the whale shark can actually be seen by someone standing on the deck or cabin roof, there's no point in putting people in the water and having them blindly swim about in hopes of seeing something that, with a flick of it's tail, can be gone in a second.

Robert is right, treat the whale sharks as a bonus, like I said, if there's one around the captain will hightail it out to the area in hopes of getting himself a nice fat haul of tips ( same thing with dolphins only he gets half the money, $5 ) regardless of where the boat is diving at the time.

One of the possible whaleshark encounters we had was off the east side. I didn't get in the water as I've had pretty much the best whaleshark encounter you can have and unless one is actually swimming up to me and offering me a beer, I don't want to cloud that memory with one that's possibly inferior. Turns out, on that encounter it would have been as the returning snorklers reported a whaleshark shaped shadow diving quickly to avoid the unwanted attention.

 

[Pillpusher]

No worries, I'm not ruling DB out b/c of it... Just something I'm taking into consideration since the other shops had several reviews mentioning whale shark encounters. I can only assume it's because the other boats head up there more often. But, if the diving up there isn't as good, as you said, then it may not be worth the effort... I'll have to look more into that. Besides, I'm still waiting to hear back from DB to see if they offer Nitrox, and if so, what any applicable upgrade charge is. Also, do you happen to know if all three shops offer gear storage?

 

[Stout]

Yes, DB offers Nitrox. The in town shop fills the tanks for the resort and although I don't use Nitrox, I've seen plenty of tanks being ferried out to the resort. AS to gear storage, I know Db offers it and I think it would be a safe assumption to make that the others do too. Utila is kind of weird in that most people show up to use the shop gear, it's included in the dive prices and there's not much of a focus in catering to divers with their own gear.

I'm still suggesting not booking in advance with anyone. Most shops are open until 7pm, so assuming you land on the island at about 4, check into your hotel, you'll still have time to shop the dive shops and find one that clicks with your wants and needs. One thing about Utila and it's newly certified DMs is a lot of them tend to be rocket propelled, concentrating more on their watches/computers and not wanting to "screw things up". Some are inexperienced and nervous about dealing with experienced divers which is why I'm suggesting talking to them first, explaining what you want and asking whether they can accommodate you.

The last thing you want is 20 min out, 20 min back a three minute safety stop and back on the boat with 1200 PSI left in your tank.

 

[Pillpusher]

No doubt...lol. I tend to give DM's an underwater "WTF" look when they do an early ascent. I read several times that is commonly an issue with UDC, which I plan on asking them about. Alton's, on the other hand, uses their lengthy bottom times as a selling point. And since you mentioned it, I'm assuming it's not an issue w/ DB either. Yeah, I heard back from them. DB mixes their own Nitrox and charges $10/tank... A pretty significant upcharge considering that a dive is only $25, but still less than some of the other shops who don't mix their own. Does nitrogen cost more there than in other countries or something?...lol.

 

[Stout]

Alton's sure knows what they're doing with that whole one hour bottom time thing, it's what drew me to consider them as my secondary option if things hadn't worked out with DB this year. I don't know if bottom time is an issue with DB, now, it wasn't when I was with them earlier this year but, as far as i can tell, the staff has changed over. The DM I was with, Andrea, is now an instructor, such is life on Utila. Chances are when I go there in 2013, the staff will have completely turned over and I won't know anyone.


In 2011, OTOH, the DM was calling dives because she got cold, or had to pee. Of course I complained however the DM was on the stubborn side. Given what I was paying, I didn't complain too loudly however I was incessant. In a resort environment that DM would most likely be out of a job. On the upside, on that trip, for five days I was DB's only customer. Both the manager and owner ( Shirley ) said..the boat goes out only not to the north side. Just me, the DM and the captain. Management, however balked at the idea of renaming the boat Stout and simply handing me the keys with a promise that I'd be back.

 

[Pillpusher]

Nice...lol. Well, I asked them straight up what the deal is with the north side, so we'll see. I didn't think to ask about bottom times, so I'll have to do that as well.

 

[Robertcrockett]

I agree with Stout...and the North is a bit "over" rated...it's great diving but I wouldn't place it ahead of the South side and dives like Blackish Hills or even Aquarium. A couple years ago I stayed with Laguna Beach...even though there were only 3 of us at the entire resort we went to the North every day. Captain Morgans can also pretty much be counted on to go to the North sites because their dive location is located on the cays...basically the doorway to the north...btw you can stay on Utila and ride the morning Morgans boat to the Cays, pick up the divers staying out there then head to the North. The resort areas (Laguna etc...) generally have guest gear storage. (Laguna was also pretty good at allowing you to dive your own profile and just use the DM as a resource with long bottom times.) At the centers I have never had any trouble just keeping my gear... with, but separate from the rental gear...I still pack my Atomic reg kit and my transmitter back to the room with me though...it's like my security blanket lol. Yup Salva Vida is some of the local brew...also Port Royal...which I liken to a Heineken but not much lol.
I'm a rum or Salva fan.
It's always damn nice to talk about Utila...especially when I'm only one day away from being back on the rock myself!

 

[Pillpusher]

Leaning towards using Alton's, it they ever decide to reply to my email...lol. Also, I just noticed that flights from SAP to Utila are around $220 per person?!? $620 to fly the first 1100 miles (United from IAH), but $220 just for the last 50 or so? Is there a better option that I haven't figured out yet?

 

[Stout]

Strange...Alton's usually doesn't miss a beat. I'd shoot them off another one and maybe something went wrong.

To save money you could always do the chicken bus to La Cieba, taxi to the pier and take the ferry however this route will cost you a day on either side of your trip as you'll have to spend a night in either SPS or La Ceiba. IMO it's worth it for the airfare, especially on Saturdays when you can fly direct from SPS to Utila with CM airlines.

There's always a taxi from SPS to the La Ceiba boat pier but when you weigh the costs of that against flying, they come out pretty close.

 

[Pillpusher]

Actually, I did last night b/c I hadn't heard back, and b/c I thought of an additional question that I wanted to ask. Hope to hear back from them today. UDC has been good about responding to my emails, but dodged my question about bottom time... Not sure if it was intentional, but I eliminated them nevertheless since every review mentioning bottom time said it was only 40-45 minutes per dive... And, charging $85 for each night dive seems a bit absurd for Utila. Deep Blue responded fairly quickly at first, but when I asked a follow up question a couple nights ago about the north side, mentioning that they have no reviewers mentioning seeing whale sharks with them, only people wishing they had, I haven't heard back... I've never read of review of theirs that mentioned seeing a whale shark, so if I don't hear back today, I'll know the answer to my question as well...lol. I'm not saying I want to hit the north side every day... But I'm not looking to minimize my chances of seeing them either.

Yeah, I considered those SPS-Utila options, but, like you said, they're either not worth the time or effort. I was just surprised to see the price of a short puddle jumper so high... The Belize-San Pedro jumpers run half that price. Maybe I'm in the wrong business!