Staying at Allegro/Looking for Dive Op

[PARADISE HUNTER]

Hello everyone.

I know the subject of Cozumel dive ops has been talked to death on this site and I have spent a couple hours reading many threads on it. But I have a little bit different twist to it. My wife and I are going to Coz for the first time in January and staying for a week at Occidental Allegro. She is a novice diver (@40 dives) who isn't interested in deep dives, she is most comfortable at 80ft or less. She is gaining confidence and becoming more comfortable with every dive. She will probaly dive three or four days. I will dive everyday and looking forward to some of the dive sites that have deeper profiles. Punta Sur, Santa Rosa, Palancar Gardens.

I am looking for a dive operator that will accomodate both if possible and also willing to pick us up at the hotel pier (if Allegro permits?).

I have read on this board that the on sight operator Palancar Dive Center is a good operation and VERY safe. I have also read that they have hard bottom times, depth restrictions, and return psi requirments that can be excessive at times. That is fine with me when I am diving with my wife but I may want a bit more bottom time when she is taking the day off.

I have read great things about Blue XT, Blue Angel Divers, and Dive Paradise. Although I haven't found anything on the Board about them, a friend reccomended Aldora.

I need help from some of you Cozumel lifers. Any info or suggestions would be great.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ggunn]

Take her to Colombia Shallows.

 

[Cozdreamer]

In September, we dove with Dive with Martin. We picked up 3 divers by boat at the Allegro each AM before we started our 3 dives. We were always the first boats to arrive at the sites b/c he goes out earlier than the cattle boats. He has package rates for 2 or 3 dives per day. A night dive and a DVD are thrown in for 4 and 5 day packages. We were able to dive where we wanted and only had 5 divers on his fast small boats. David was our DM all week. check out the website. www.divewithmartin.com.

 

[loudives]

If you want to always be on the same boat you might consider to hire a private divemaster so you can do separate dives. An operator with multiple boats may be able to accommodate the 2 of you on separate boats. You may not always get what you want due to the dive profiles of the other people on the boat. Most try to group divers with the same request and skill level but you may have to compromise.

Punta Sur is a deep profile 100-130 but Santa Rosa is best at about 80-90 and Planacar Gardens is up to 80 so no problems.

Cozumel usually will have a slight current so relax on your dives and let it propel you. With the clear warm water you should be able to get nice long bottom times and enjoy the view.

I'LL be there 1-12 til 17th and diving with www.bottomtimedivers.net have a great trip. I will send a PM.

Lou

 

[mamanan]

If you want to always be on the same boat you might consider to hire a private divemaster so you can do separate dives. An operator with multiple boats may be able to accommodate the 2 of you on separate boats. You may not always get what you want due to the dive profiles of the other people on the boat. Most try to group divers with the same request and skill level but you may have to compromise.

Punta Sur is a deep profile 100-130 but Santa Rosa is best at about 80-90 and Planacar Gardens is up to 80 so no problems.

Cozumel usually will have a slight current so relax on your dives and let it propel you. With the clear warm water you should be able to get nice long bottom times and enjoy the view.

I'LL be there 1-12 til 17th and diving with www.bottomtimedivers.net have a great trip. I will send a PM.

Lou

I dove with Bottom Time when I was in Cozumel. Mr. Platas was such a great divemaster. I never was below 50' before I met him. He helped me and basicly held my hand and taught me better control and breathing. By the 5th dive I was able to do 100' and I was no longer the first one out of air.

He is the Greatest!

Nan

 

[decaturace_99]

My wife and I just returned from a cruise that had a very quick turnaround in Coz. I knew ahead of time that we wouldn't have much time but we have been there a couple times before and knew we couldn't pass up the chance for an hour paradise. We have tried 3 different ops on previous trips and all were adaquate. I read several threads on this board and I kept coming accross the name Ventura Nah. We scheduled a trip with him on his website, sent a deposit and boarded the cruise ship. After a whole day of first hand experience with "The Perfect Storm", we arrived 4 hours late at the dock where we supposed to meet him. Needless to say, the boat wasn't there but another op called him on the radio to say we were there. Within 10 minutes, Ventura's wife showed up and assured us that we would be diving within 20 minutes. Ventura pulled in about 10 minutes later, loaded our gear and we we off.

I'm not sure how many other ops would be willing to accomadate a group of 4 divers that show up 4 hours late and still have a smile but he did. Since the ship was leaving at 4:30, we only had time for 1 dive but it was great! We went to Paso Del Cedral.

I could go on but the bottom line is, if you want an experienced DM that will let you dive the profile that fits your desires, knows ALL the sites in COZ, has a small (6 pax max) fast, covered boat and sincerly loves diving as much as the business, Ventura Nah is the best!!!! http://gocozumel.com/ventura/

Decaturace

 

[Sirto]

Hello everyone.

She is a novice diver (@40 dives) who isn't interested in deep dives, she is most comfortable at 80ft or less.

As I remember the dives I've made in Cozumel, the first dives are often in the 85 - 100 ft region so if you want to stay at 80 or less you may want to discuss this with the dive operator before your trip.

I second the recommendation for Dive with Martin.

 

[scubawife]

Hello everyone.
Although I haven't found anything on the Board about them, a friend reccomended Aldora.

Did you do a search of the board for Aldora? You should find several positive posts. Or just start a thread with a title like, "Can you tell me about Aldora?" and you should get responses.

If you're interested in Aldora then you should also look at Living Underwater. Jeremy provides first-class service, max of 6-8 divers, steel tanks and all the little extras. He also takes care of all your gear (including wetsuit) if you're diving with him for multiple days.

 

[bnajdrovsky]

twist to it. My wife and I are going to Coz for the first time in January and staying for a week at Occidental Allegro. She is a novice diver (@40 dives) who isn't interested in deep dives, she is most comfortable at 80ft or less. She is gaining confidence and becoming more comfortable with every dive. She will probaly dive three or four days. I will dive everyday and looking forward to some of the dive sites that have deeper profiles. Punta Sur, Santa Rosa, Palancar Gardens.

You shouldn't have any problems with pickups at the Allegro dock. Dive Palancar, the on-site operator would be perfect for your wife, since she's a somewhat novice diver. I have gone with them on 4 different occasions previously, and I think they're great for novice to intermediate divers. They're not well suited for more advanced divers, because of their dive time restrictions, and selection of dive sites. They will take you to Santa Rosa and Palancar, but don't expect them to take you out to Punta Sur. Part of it is due to logistics, because they come back to the resort for a surface interval between each tank, so they tend to stay away from sites that are a bit further. On the other hand, it's kind of nice to be able to use a real bathroom during your break. ;-) Also, the last time I went out with them, they set hard time limits for bottom time (35 min. for deep and 40 min. for shallow) and I found myself getting back to the boat with 1100 PSI left in the tank, so I've been diving with Blue XT Sea Diving ever since. That said, I think they'd be a great operator for you to do some dives with your wife, because they tend to stress safety, the divemasters are generally helpful, and the convenience of having them on site can't be beat. Beyond that, you may consider booking some additional dives for yourself through one of the town operators if you want to go out to Punta Sur, or some of the more advanced sites. Any of them should be able to pick you up at the Allegro dock without much difficulty. The Iberostar resort a little further south used to be problematic for pickups by off site dive operators, but supposedly they've gotten better. None of the other resorts seem to cause any problems.

Have fun!

 

[Texas Diver]

My wife and I used Blue XT Sea on 7 trips to Cozumel and were very satisifed. You will get great service from a very professional and friendly dive operator and crew. We got our Nitrox and Advanced Open Water certifications from them. If you Christi and her crew you will be very happy with your decision.