Trip to Coz 1st week of March--lots of questions?

[SubNavigator]

Hello all,

Wife and I are co-opting our college daughter's spring break to watch the siblings. First time in Cozumel and we have reservations at Casa Del Mar. I'm a diver, my wife is not. I figure the three or four days I get to dive, she gets an extended visit to the local day spa.....

Qualified (but out of practise) Rescue Diver. Last time diving was 10 years ago, I plan on getting a refresher course/bouancy check before we leave but I doubt I will get an OW dive in my new home of Michigan before we fly. I will bring own gear short of tanks.

As an aside, I would like to hear comments on SE Michigan Dive shops/clubs...

My COZ problems/questions/opinions requested:

• I'll be without a buddy but am comfortable with other groups, does that present any pitfalls? How easy to find a buddy?
• How much cash do I take for the week? How much to exchange?
• Are there problems with using MasterCard? Visa?
• What are the comparisons between Dive Palancar and Del Mar Aquatics which are both affiliated with Casa Del Mar?
• Currently have room reservations only, is there a better approach to picking a dive shop?
• Are dive shop reservations necessary, is it a better deal?
• Any other thoughts prompted by my questions?

Thank you for your time.

SubNavigator
keep it out of the dirt.....

 

[Firerescueguy]

1st of all I hope your reservations at Casa Del MAr will work out. I was supposed to stay there the middle of February and they have moved there reopening date back several times since Hurricane Wilma. One the Dive shop question I love diving with Del Mar Aquatics, The convieance alone makes it good but there dive staff was really good last time I dove with them. Finding a buddy should not be a problem semms like there are always people looking for a buddy or you can group up into a group of 3.

 

[loudives]

Mastercard and visa no problem, everyone takes them but they have started placing a surcharge for conversion. Some places will also put their own surcharge at time of purchase so you get hit twice. Call your card company to see what if any the charges are.
You can change your money at many places around the island was 10.3 last week. Most places will take our cash. I just move the decimal point over to convert since the rate is so close to 10. Before you come home get rid of the peso that rate was 8! You can find another guest at your hotel and offer them to exchange at 10 and not loose.
I bring 100's to exchange for peso's for shopping and restaurants. Only exchange one at a time. Small bills for tips and street vendors.

Cozumel has a 6 to 1 rule for divers to divemasters so budding up is no problem, if you're the odd man the divemaster becomes you buddy. All divers are asked to stay in sight of the divemaster.

March, spring break can be busy you might want to make reservations. If you gear is 10 years old better go to dive shop and get it checked out before you go! Also get in a pool and work on you're skills.

If your doing multi days of diving ask the operator if they keep, rinse, dry, and bring back on the boat. It sure beats hauling it back and forth even if dive shop is on site.
I like the small fast boats, they get you back between 12-1 so you have the rest of the day for other things, and also you're sure there won't be more than 6 divers.
I like www.bottomtimedivers.net Raul has a 6 pack and our dives are slow and relaxed. He finds the little things that others swim right over because they are going so fast. At the slower pace you don't spook the fish and other larger critters.

 

[ggunn]

Mastercard and visa no problem, everyone takes them but they have started placing a surcharge for conversion. Some places will also put their own surcharge at time of purchase so you get hit twice. Call your card company to see what if any the charges are.
You can change your money at many places around the island was 10.3 last week. Most places will take our cash. I just move the decimal point over to convert since the rate is so close to 10. Before you come home get rid of the peso that rate was 8! You can find another guest at your hotel and offer them to exchange at 10 and not loose.
I bring 100's to exchange for peso's for shopping and restaurants. Only exchange one at a time. Small bills for tips and street vendors.

Cozumel has a 6 to 1 rule for divers to divemasters so budding up is no problem, if you're the odd man the divemaster becomes you buddy. All divers are asked to stay in sight of the divemaster.

March, spring break can be busy you might want to make reservations.

A couple of things...

If the exchange rate is 8 pesos to the dollar in the States, then bring back a ton of pesos that you bought at 10 or 11 to the dollar; you'll make a nice profit! ;^) I don't think that this is the case, though; international currency exchange rates are globally set.

There is no 6 to 1 rule, at least not a hard and fast one. I have frequently gone out with 7 or 8 divers on a fast boat with one DM. But buddying up on the boat is generally not a problem.

And yes, Spring Break can be crowded on Cozumel, though not nearly so as Cancun.

 

[amport]

I could not use my credit cards in many restaurants.
The car rental people and dive opp did not want to take payment on credit card.
There is a cash machine at the supermarket.
I could only get $200 worth of pesos a day.
Take more cash then you need.

 

[ggunn]

I could not use my credit cards in many restaurants.
The car rental people and dive opp did not want to take payment on credit card.
There is a cash machine at the supermarket.
I could only get $200 worth of pesos a day.
Take more cash then you need.

The limit is 3000 pesos (about $280) per transaction, but the number of transactions and/or amount of money drawn out per day is limited only by your bank in the US. Last May I made two 3000 peso withdrawals without leaving the kiosk.

 

[jayjoans]

My COZ problems/questions/opinions requested:

* I'll be without a buddy but am comfortable with other groups, does that present any pitfalls? How easy to find a buddy?
No problem finding a buddy. Don't sweat this, you'll be fine, the divers in Cozumel are a pretty easygoing bunch, and GENERALLY the DM's are very accommodating and ready to help out so all have a good time.

* How much cash do I take for the week? How much to exchange?
I wouldn't exchange any money, you don't need to. Cozumel runs on the US dollar. Take more than you think though, I found that some places were not back online with their VISA providers since the hurricane. We were there in December. Luckily I had taken plenty of cash that I kept in the hotel safe. Tip well, the people and businesses in Cozumel are doing their best to recover, and I was amazed how far they had come in only a couple of months. You'll need tip $ for the DM, captain, hotel staff, etc. Watch the restaurant bills though, once they added the tip and failed to mention it. (when they did that to me, that's all I paid, I would have left them more if they had let me do it and not tried to sneak it in there. The guy flat out told me there was no tip in the bill, but there it was)

* Are there problems with using MasterCard? Visa?
see above. (maybe some places are a little "slow" in getting their VISA stuff working again, they save a little $)

* What are the comparisons between Dive Palancar and Del Mar Aquatics which are both affiliated with Casa Del Mar?
Can't help you here, we use BlueXTsea and have no reason to look elsewhere. Don't know about those ops. Run a search on the board and see what pops up with those op names.

* Currently have room reservations only, is there a better approach to picking a dive shop?
Look through the boards and see who people recommend. I used Diving Adventures a couple of times and they SUCK. I didn't know how good it could be until I looked on these boards and saw BlueXTsea recommended so often. I booked a week with Christi at BlueXTsea and now we won't go anywhere else. There are MANY recommended ops on the board, I would go with one you have first hand recommendations from. Some ops will package the hotel with their diving, we got a great deal staying at the Casa Mexicana and diving with the above op, which Christi set up for us. I'm sure many of the ops and hotels do this, check with the op you decide to use.

* Are dive shop reservations necessary, is it a better deal?
I wouldn't go down there over spring break without a reservation with a reputable op. Heck, I don't EVER dive without reservations and frequent contact before I get there. (That's one thing I look for, ability to communicate with me and answer questions/concerns in a timely manner during my planning phase) If you don't have a reservation and you show up on spring break, you may find yourself on a Diving Adventures boat...get off!

* Any other thoughts prompted by my questions?
Also book a massage for you and your wife from Sally at barefootincozumel.com You can't miss that!

And have fun, I'm dying to go back and I currently have my face pressed against the monitor on the airline sites.... just wish they'd make it a little cheaper to get there from CA!

 

[Coz Sally]

Thank you jayjoans! Subnavigator, if your wife was planning on a day at Acquaspa, the owner chose not to re-open after Wilma. I believe their website is still up and they are listed on other websites as well.

 

[Ron Brandt]

Hello all,


Qualified (but out of practise) Rescue Diver. Last time diving was 10 years ago, I plan on getting a refresher course/bouancy check before we leave but I doubt I will get an OW dive in my new home of Michigan before we fly. I will bring own gear short of tanks.

[*]Currently have room reservations only, is there a better approach to picking a dive shop?
[*]Are dive shop reservations necessary, is it a better deal?

Thank you for your time.

SubNavigator
keep it out of the dirt.....

I just finished a scuba review this evening with a rescue diver that has not been out diving for 5 or so years..if he is any indication ,you had better be prepared to do some work in the pool before you go.

As for choosing a dive op...I used to spend evenings going from "store to store" trying out a different shop every day..you can certainly read the posts here as to the choice of the "board" is, but one I have used for the last three years('cause I could not track him down sooner) does not even operate "store front",and has caused me lots of grief as to the people on here thinking it's my operation! Just look at where I live.
It's a lot of fun to go onto the island and also a real eye opener to go with a diffrerent dive op every day....

As for the Master Card..the only place I have used it was in Cancun a year ago at a Jimmy Buffett's Margarettaville....Banamex and other auto tellers work great!

Have fun...I'll be there latter next week...diving with PV.

Ron

 

[SubNavigator]

Ron,

Going to do my best to schedule the pool refresher today for mid-Feb. I'm recovering from a broken fibula (shoveling snow) and should be clear of the boot next Friday. Otherwise, I'd have it done already