For the fun of it. Who's your dive op?...

[sharky60]

... & how long have you been diving with them? & why if you so choose...(cheerleading allowed, what the heck, it's the holidays :-D)

"Dive op Sharky" is Blue Angel, we started diving with them in 2006...whew! time flies!

Before that we dove with Dive with Martin, we like those guys very much also. The only reason we changed is that El Cid bought the old Casa Sharky, La Ceiba and priced us out of the place, (& the time share salesman pretty much told us in no uncertain terms that we would have to find another place if we weren't going to buy into the time-share points system they have there)...(tried to bluff the wrong person). So we moved up the road to BA (thanks ggunn & the Mrs. for the reco!) & took advantage of the hotel/dive packages. Turns out, we like the dive op very much & have stayed with them all these years.

although, if we could afford to do it, there are a couple other dive ops I'd like to dive with on an off day from BA for various reasons.

My first dive op was Blue Bubble, (they still around?), they changed hands at one point in the late '90's and were getting bad reviews and the dive master we liked best left them, so we moved to Martin.

 

[pjhansman]

First couple trips we dove with Blue Magic.....

Then we stayed and dove with Blue Angel for a couple trips (and enjoyed it very much)...

Then it was on to SCC for a trip (2 thumbs up on them as well)....

And this Christmas we're renting Casa Suzanna for a couple weeks so we're trying Jeremy at Living Underwater for the diving

Equal opportunity

 

[Sideways]

Blue Angel since '08

For the first 3 years it was from Playa coming across on the Ferry for their 10am boat. Now, we just love staying there for the following reasons...in order

1. Fast Boats - I'm pretty sure on their smaller boats, I've never seen another dive boat pass us while we were moving at full speed. We seem to blow by everyone else. Some of those are spending at LEAST double the travel time.
2. Location - Right on the water,not to close to town, but not too far away. Juuuuuust right. Great view from the balconies and restaurant.
3. Size - We don't like big hotels, 20 rooms or smaller is the most desirable for us.
4. Staff - Awesome staff, Owner, and dive shop/DM's

The cons (really minimal to us and don't discourage us from the BA)

1. The restaurant is just OK. For example, breakfast last time they had some kind of turkey bacon or something like it, no bueno for us...LOL
2. Better wifi would be great, better yet, ethernet plug in the room. Yeah... might be a pipe dream, but one could wish!!

 

[gopbroek]

Tres Pelicanos, I was diving with BA last November and saw them at the Palancar pier on their inaugural run with the Skinny Shark. An experienced couple I respected mentioned that the boat had one of the best DM’s on the island and the best captain they knew of. The next trip in December I decided to try them out for a few dives, I haven’t looked back. Since last December I have gotten in about 125 dives with them. Every dive I have done with Servando has been a joy and he has shown enthusiasm about diving, never bored, he is a great DM. Great boat, fast and comfortable and the captain, Chan Fran is not only cheerful, he is knowledgeable. Hitting the correct point when you drop is often the key to a fun and long dive, he drops you at the right point so you are not burning air traveling to the reef he also is always near for a pickup. Long dives, if you have air and a SMB you can dive out your tank, I often get 75-80 minutes at Palancar on an AL80. Everyone associated with the shop is nice. I’ll be heading back down next weekend.
Was that enough cheerleading????
Oh and Steve is loaning me his house next trip to keep my costs down, can't beat that
.

 

[Tunaman68]

Blue Angel since '88. IIRC, Pam was the owner, at the shop was down under where Papa Hogs is now. I think this is the current Papa Hog's Villa Blacna pier as well. Some one may know better.

 

[Midge907]

I'm heading back to Cozumel in January to dive again with Tres Pelicanos myself. The entire crew both at the shop, and then on the boat are great, and the boat is fantastic for its style. I am a friend of Steves in his home town, as I meet him while doing some work on his house a couple years ago so their might be some bias, however I think all the positive reports on trip advisor proves that my bias is justified. They offer morning, afternoon, and night dives, nitrox, instruction, etc. I did 14 dives with them last February and had no dive less then :60+ minutes, all the way up to :80 minutes. And like most dive trips your always come home with a list of new friends, and Tres makes this easy as they have a nice picnic table in their lobby that seems to attract small talk about where were from and where were going

 

[cicopo]

My list is based on a lot of different experiences with quite a few ops over the years & I've been trying to split my time the last couple of trips & on my trip this winter so I can constantly renew the friendships made with specific people, some of whom work at different ops than when we first met. The list has nothing to do with prices & everything to do with how well I was treated by either individual DM's or the entire operation. No particular order just how they come to mind.
Scuba Tony, great guy, always watching his divers so he can suggest things that will improve their skill set or make their equipment more comfortable etc. I also enjoy spending time with his boat captain Carlos who is one awesome guy.
Blue Angel. Like most of the staff there & they treat me right, well run & safe.
Pelagic Ventures. Same as above
Blue XT Sea, same as above but really enjoy my time with Pedro.
Dive with Martin. Only spent 2 days with them to re unite with Miguel who worked at Pelagic Ventures way back & was another person I just liked from the get go. Wouldn't hesitate to use them again based on my observations of how well it was run & how they treated the other divers.
Challenge Diving, again because of one specific DM I met years earlier when he worked for Scuba Tony. That person is Eric Perez who is always a pleasure dive with or to bump into when doing an SI at Palancar Pier.

Sometimes the SI's turn into a reunion thanks to knowing so many DM's & boat captains.

 

[ColoDale]

Bottom time divers has been our Op for quite some time (8-10 years - can't remember). We started with Blue Bubble before they were sold and DM's scattered to the winds. We followed Raul Platas from Blue Bubble to another OP, then he started his own Dive Op (Bottom Time Divers). We started with Blue Bubble around 1998.

We dive with Raul since he knows exactly how we dive, always divers choice of sites, has a great eye for small stuff (and I mean tiny), can see sharks and eagle rays in the grey-blue distance before anyone, has a good relationship with other Ops (Dive with Allison and Jeremy at Living Underwater) so if I am the only diver I can get on a boat easily, we can dive our computer and air, and loves to dive.

I also like Living Underwater but my wife does not like the steel tanks (weight and length of dive = cold).

Not sure who you (Sharky60) dove with at Blue Bubble but I dive with Raul. Pedro Pablo is with BlueXtsea. Elvis sort of disappeared but we ran into him at a small shop back in town quite few years ago. Have not seen him lately. We mostly dove with those three.

I think Blue Bubble is still around as part of Roberta's Eco tank shack something. We tried to follow "Blue Bubble" but were not impressed and were treated rather shabbily. They wouldn't even tell us they were new management until we pried it from them. It could have been just transition problems - don't know but not going back.

I am editing photos from the Nov 2013 trip and post soon. Somehow turned into a Macro trip.

 

[morecowbells]

Started diving with Scuba Tony in 2007. A couple of years ago we visited the island with some friends who were veteran divers of another dive op. We ended up using their dive op(shall remain nameless). While they were safe, skilled, ran small boats and knowledgeable, it felt like they were simply going through the motions devoid of any passion or enthusiasm towards the sport, and seemed indifferent. I just returned from a dive vacation in early Nov. with Scuba Tony. Always an awesome experience. Never more than 6 divers on the boat. Helpful and friendly captains. Most of all, their dive masters are always amazing! Our DM Ray had an amazing eye for finding anything ranging from a shark to a pipe horse. I know that DM's are human and may have an off or a bad day, but it never shows with Scuba Tony. We always manage to have fun under water and above during our surface intervals. I like that my husband and I can dive our profile and not compromise length of dive due to other divers who may run low on air sooner than us.

 

[Mossman]

On my first Cozumel trip, we dove one day with Scuba Du and the rest with Aldora. At the time, Scuba Du was too restrictive (first dive 80' for 25 min, second dive 40' for 40 min). And we apparently had bad luck with Aldora, not enjoying the same experience that many divers report here.

Next trip was a large dive shop group, stayed at the Fiesta Inn and our group took up two of Dive Paradise's 14-packs. No issues with DP. They were good at handling a large group. $10 afternoon dives and we even utilized our free tank for a night shore dive. But I prefer smaller boats.

Came back for a quick stay during Carnival, only months after Wilma devastated the island. Met up with Bob Ling, who was diving with Adrian of Cabellito del Caribe. No frills, but Adrian was a great DM. We used Adrian again when we came over on the ferry from the mainland for an intense 4-dive day during the one and only time we tried staying in Cancun (also dove Cancun and Puerto Morelos on that trip, but weren't impressed).

Next trip, because of popular acclaim here, I tried Blue XT Sea. Great dive op, but even on an AL100, I found myself wishing for the larger tanks that I used with Aldora. Did some homework and discovered Living Underwater.

Our first day with LU was actually with Liquid Blue, when Michaela still owned it. Jeremy needed the day off and LB was able to accommodate the 5 divers scheduled with him that day. A good day of diving and I was especially impressed with the seamless gear transfers. We left all our stuff, including wetsuits, on the Liquid Blue boat and it was all set up for us the next morning when Jeremy picked us up and we headed to Devil's Throat for a deco dive. I was so impressed by Jeremy, that I booked the next two trips with him and now wouldn't consider diving with someone else even if the dives were free (thanks Dave Dillehay).

The boat is impressive enough. Fast, comfy (seat cushions when the ride gets bouncy, parkas handed out on cold days), and a liveaboard-sized camera tank that makes my housed SLR very happy. But my camera and I really appreciate Jeremy's style of diving: very slow. He's also an excellent spotter. Steel 120s for long dives, they handle wetsuits, and even haul up the gear that you doff in water so you don't have to climb the ladder with a huge chunk of steel on your back. Maybe the best boat dive op that I've experienced anywhere. I hope he never decides to retire while I'm still able to dive.