First Time in Cozumel - suggestions for dive ops

[alam555]

Hello,
I am headed down to Cozumel last week of December for the first time. Staying at Allegro, which I picked partially, due to the onsite dive shop, but after reading the reviews, I am considering diving with an outside shop primarily due to two reasons:
1. I always dive with the resort operator, and while I have never had a bad experience, I would like to try the "boutique" for a change.
2. My 13 yr old, OW, who has 12 dives(a couple in Fiji, and the rest in Turks & Caicos) is going to be with me and, again, after reading some not so fun posts from other beginners, I would really like for him to have a good time.

I have over 300 dives and AOW with Nitrox.

Respectfully, I don't want to reopen the debate on the merits or lack thereof of the onsite dive operators, instead I am looking for some recommendations on the offsite operators who..
1. Can pick us up at Allegro
2. Small boat.. 6 diver
3. Full service, change my tank pls (while I snack on some fruit in between, and not think about dragging my own equipment diving with a drysuit in BC, ; -) )
4. Offer us both a combination of easy fun dives for my son and some fun advanced stuff so I don't accidentally burn his padi card(just kidding)
5. Willing to take us to distant locations for preferred diving spots.
6. maximum down time
7. 120 tanks - I love breathing air, lots of it.

thank you in advance.

 

[cicopo]

Isn't this a "catch 22" situation? Your 13 year old can't go deep which would cause problems for other divers sharing YOUR boat unless they knew in advance it was a shallow dive ONLY trip. As for big tanks there are a few ops supplying them but not many.

 

[Ron Lee]

Aldora. Liquid Blue. Living Underwater.

 

[mediumone]

Isn't this a "catch 22" situation? Your 13 year old can't go deep which would cause problems for other divers sharing YOUR boat unless they knew in advance it was a shallow dive ONLY trip. As for big tanks there are a few ops supplying them but not many.

Why not?

 

[Roman_66]

Why not?

If I remember correct, young diver OW has deep limitation 60 ft or less.

 

[mediumone]

If I remember correct, young diver OW has deep limitation 60 ft or less.

Not if they're with a parent or DM. (PADI). I am not familiar with any other certifying agency.

 

[KenGordon]

In September I dived with the on site shop (ProDiveMexico) at the occidental grand next to the allegro. The allegro was shut at the time and I believe that the same staff work both dive ops. Our tanks were being filled at the allegro.

We got very good service. I would certainly recommend them. I don't know how busy it is in December but when we were there it was very quiet. In the afternoon the boat was often going out with only four or six divers. In the morning we (10 divers) always had a boat to ourselves.

The guides were good at pointing stuff out and so forth, but also were genuinely interested in talking about the wildlife with those who are interested.

They had no clue about diving a wreck though.

Before going I was quite concerned about cylinder capacity. The 80cft cylinders are only two thirds of the size of the ones we use locally (15l steels). Thus the choice of this operator was a compromise. In fact it was ok. We were getting 50 to 60 minute dives. They are almost all drifts along reefs so have a natural end.

Your hotel is located by a whole lot of the sites. We were keen to avoid long boat trips for sea sickness reasons and that was a factor with choosing the operator and hotel.

We paid ahead of travelling, overhearing what people turning up and paying on the day were being charged I would really recommend doing the same.

Another plus point is they have a membrane system compressor to make nitrox and it is free. And yes, I would use nitrox for an 18m dive.

---------- Post added November 29th, 2014 at 07:28 AM ----------

Not if they're with a parent or DM. (PADI). I am not familiar with any other certifying agency.

Who cares about the agency? Think of the bones...

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

I would recommend either ScubaTony Scuba Diving Instruction, Cozumel Mexico or Living Underwater offers a personalized, fun and safe Cozumel diving experience!

 

[gopbroek]

Aldora. Liquid Blue. Living Underwater.

The 120 requirement limits your options. The above listed shops run 120's plus I thought Christi has some at Blue XTSea. Most operators use AL80’s and have access to 100's but only a few run 120's. Remember that Cozumel means drift diving so typically there is not a lot of swimming and heavy physical activity (there are exceptions) and many folks can get 70-80 minutes on an AL80, on a 'typical' dive. I am not bad mouthing 120’s, just pointing out that there are a limited number of Op’s that have them.

---------- Post added November 29th, 2014 at 04:19 PM ----------

Now if 120's are not a hard requirement then I would recommend Tres Pelicanos. They will take care of your gear, including the abused wetsuit and they will let you 'dive your tank', conditions permitting they do not force a group 'up and out together' policy.

 

[Christi]

Another issue you will find at this point is that the top tier operators that would meet your list are most likely booked full for that week already. I know I have been booked for the last week of December already for close to 2 months and I am running 3 boats.

Aldora may still have space since they have so many boats.