DjDiverDan
Contributor
I've only been diving with Aldora and Dive with Martin, so I can't speak to the others. But comparing Aldora to Dive with Martin is apples to oranges (or, more accurately, comparing a Mercedes to a Kia). Dive with Martin is a perfectly acceptable Dive Op, and the fact that it includes rental gear with the price of the dive does make it cheaper for those who don't bring their own gear. I think it does this because it gets a fair amount of business right off the Cruise Ships, since it's located right at the end of the International Pier. Now the only times I've ever been diving with Dive with Martin I've been part of a group trip where we were taking up the whole boat, and I have no complaints at all about those dives. I would readily recommend DWM to other divers. As a general matter, I try to avoid Dive Ops that take Cruise Ship divers, simply because you never know what you are going to get, you are likely to be on a boat with newbie divers who don't know what they are doing in drift diving, and you may well find yourself buddied up with a Cruise Ship Diver who was drunk as hell the night before, still has a hangover, who pays no attention at all to his buoyancy control, to kicking up silt, to destroying the coral, or even where he is in relation to the dive group. That hasn't been an issue with my dives with Dive with Martin, but it could be with a solo diver. Just comparing Aldora with DWM, Aldora prices include HP Steel 120 tanks, everybody diving computers, and diving your tank; that means very long bottom times, 65-90 minutes. DWM, on the other hand, the standard tank is the Aluminum 80. You can get AL 100s, but you'll pay extra, and you are still going to be limited by the first diver in the group to get low on air. Aldora has multiple boats and groups divers so that divers of similar ability and experience are together. DWM is more likely to have divers of mixed abilities on the boat, meaning your selection of dive sites might be limited by the least experienced diver on board. Aldora does long Surface Intervals on the beach at a beach club, where you can sit back, relax, get food if you want, and have plenty of time to outgas so your second dive is going to be as long as your first. DWM does a surface interval on a beach, but no beach club, and not nearly as long as Aldora. Your second dive is going to be more limited by residual nitrogen, as well as smaller tanks. I've never had a bad DM with DWM, but I've had some truly outstanding DMs with Aldora. And Aldora is definitely more of a "valet" operation, providing more in the way of service on the boat and in taking care of your equipment for multi-day dives. Is the price difference worth it? It is for me, and a lot of other divers on this board. Whether it is worth it for you is a question only you can answer.
