Dive Operator Suggestions

[Scubanomad]

Will be in town SM CZM looking for a good dive operator that will not go to pick up "resort holiday wanna be divers" Been looking at Aqua Safari, reading they used to be great, now they leave and pick up resort divers? And reviews on Trip Advisor have gone down.
Other suggestions? I did a search and the last Operator reviews are quite "old" from a few years ago. Thanks for suggestions.

 

[shardison]

Blue XT-Sea, Aldora Divers, Living Underwater, Blue Angel, Dive with Martin..... These are the most highly recommended dive ops on this board.

If my current AI op ever went out of business, I seriously would think about trying Blue XT-Sea, or Aldora Divers first.

Just my 2 cents....

 

[robint]

where are you staying? That may make a big difference in who to pick.

 

[Skittl1321]

Will be in town SM CZM looking for a good dive operator that will not go to pick up "resort holiday wanna be divers"

You'll be hard pressed to find an op that isn't going to pick up divers who stay at the many cozumel resorts, including the southern AIs. (And most also cater to -gasp- cruisers!)

Your best bet might be to go with someone like Aldora who has multiple boats and divides by ability level, but even they will take resort and cruise divers. We saw an Aldora boat everyday we were at the Sabor. (We dove with Scuba with Alison- but seeing as how we weren't the only beginners on her boat, and she often had cruise divers, she likely isn't for you, since you apparently want to stay away from them.)

Or perhaps a private DM for the opposite reason of the beginners (who generally want to stay above the group)- if you have your own DM, you can do the dive the two of you plan; not the dive everyone else does.

 

[macado]

I get/understand what you're asking but all dive operators will typically pick up "resort holiday wanna be divers." Dive operators need to pay bills so they will pick up anyone willing to pay.

Your best option is to pick a dive operator that has multiples boats that can split groups by experience level or one that typically caters to advanced divers. There are many threads listing dive operator choices.

Just to a name a few... Aldora Divers, Blue XTSea, Living Underwater, LiquidBlue, ScubaTony, Scuba with Alison.

In a nut shell, most operators mentioned above will let you dive your computer as long as your air lasts and will typically try to group you by experience when they can. Aldora Divers, Living Underwater, LiquidBlue have high capacity steel tanks which typically means longer divers if you're placed with a good group. All other operators in Cozumel can order AL100s if requested in advance if you wanted larger tanks.

 

[Midge907]

Check out Scuba Diving Cozumel -Dive Packages-Top Rated Cozumel Dive Shop also, they have a good following now, and let you dive your air. You won't be hindered if by chance they have divers of lower abilities on the boat with you. Both of their dive master are very well known, and popular. Jorge, and Servando. If you need high capacity tanks, not they I can figure out why you would with the amount of dives you have, they can get you those also.

 

[Mike]

Will be in town SM CZM looking for a good dive operator that will not go to pick up "resort holiday wanna be divers"

This is one of the big reasons we dive with Aldora, they have multiple boats and will work hard at grouping the same level of experience and diving ability on each boat, ensuring your diving won't be dumbed down to the weakest link on a mixed skilled boat like other ops have to put together. If you're a good diver by your 2nd day you will find yourself diving with similar divers and gaining access to the more advanced dive sites which Aldora loves to go to with appropriately skilled divers. Combine that with steel 120 tanks and you get maximum bottom times.

 

[macado]

All the dive operators mentioned in this thread are good ones; There is no right answer. I've yet to dive with Tres Pelicanos yet but they seem to have very good reviews and a loyal following.

 

[Skittl1321]

or is a dive operator making a futile attempt to diminish an obvious perk of the competition.

It isn't the ONLY perk available though. I'm still wondering- do all the small ops bring your gear to you while you sit on the side of the boat and help you put it on before you roll/jump in? Not having to ever carry my gear, except up the ladder at the end of the dive (and even then I didn't HAVE to) was a major bonus. I'd take that over more dive time, as I really start getting antsy around the 50 minute mark unless we are really shallow.

Or, why do I need a surface interval on the beach because I like sitting on a rocking boat?

Different ops do different things because people like different things. I'd pick a surface interval on a boat over sitting on the beach. I can sit on the beach in the afternoon. I love being out on the ocean. I honestly can't see any advantage to stopping at a beach unless you want to use a toilet (if you go to a beach club, and not just a beach.)

 

[Mossman]

---------- Post added May 8th, 2014 at 06:43 AM ----------

It isn't the ONLY perk available though. I'm still wondering- do all the small ops bring your gear to you while you sit on the side of the boat and help you put it on before you roll/jump in? Not having to ever carry my gear, except up the ladder at the end of the dive (and even then I didn't HAVE to) was a major bonus. I'd take that over more dive time, as I really start getting antsy around the 50 minute mark unless we are really shallow.

A lot of boats have area for all your gear right there. The BC is on the tank in the tank holder right behind you and all your other stuff under your seat so there's no reason to have to have it brought to you. You put it on, hop your butt onto the gunwale, and you're ready. That said, many dive ops will have crew to assist you getting it on. Many will take it out of the tank holder and hold the BC open so it's easier to don. That said, I have yet to ever experience a dive op that will put the mask on my head for me. Maybe that's a perk some shops need to explore.

With LU, just about everyone doffs their gear in the water and hands it up to the crew - there's a notch cut in the side of the boat specifically to help the crew pull gear out of the water. That's a good thing, since 120s are heavy and can be pretty tough on an old back climbing up the ladder.