High rated dive shops

[RhodeDiver]

So I was looking over TripAdvisor for dive shops to potentially use if a trip to Cozumel pans out. The one thing I noticed was that all of the dive shops had a 4.5 star rating or higher.

So this is the question... Is every shop on the island just amazing or does everyone just rubber stamp a 5 star rating?

 

[ReefHound]

Everone is amazing. Seriously. There is so much competition here that if you slack off at all you'll be out of business in no time. And the same applies to the crew. If you slack off as a captain or DM there are a hundred others who are hungry and happy to have their job.

P.S. - TripAdvisor is not the best source of information for dive ops.

 

[cicopo]

If you check the sticky at the top of T/A's Cozumel forum dated 2008 you will see me listed as a DE. I no longer serve as one for a lot of reasons including exactly what you've seen looking at reviews. Bad reviews seldom get published & if they do they get contested & removed. TA is not very fair in how they give out ratings nor will they explain exactly how they do it. Over the years Secrets has changed names several times & with each name change there were lots of great reviews posted within a few hours of the name change, and reviews for it under the old name were instantly gone. Explain things like that in a way I understand & maybe I'll rethink my position about it being fair & truthful all the time.
As for which dive shops are the best, that's easy. Follow along here, read back many pages, see who the majority of us use (we use several amongst the active members) & keep in mind just like there isn't one "Best" meal everyone can order on the island there isn't one best dive op, nor a way to set a standard by which to judge them all.

 

[Christi]

If you check the sticky at the top of T/A's Cozumel forum dated 2008 you will see me listed as a DE. I no longer serve as one for a lot of reasons including exactly what you've seen looking at reviews. Bad reviews seldom get published & if they do they get contested & removed. TA is not very fair in how they give out ratings nor will they explain exactly how they do it. Over the years Secrets has changed names several times & with each name change there were lots of great reviews posted within a few hours of the name change, and reviews for it under the old name were instantly gone. Explain things like that in a way I understand & maybe I'll rethink my position about it being fair & truthful all the time.
As for which dive shops are the best, that's easy. Follow along here, read back many pages, see who the majority of us use (we use several amongst the active members) & keep in mind just like there isn't one "Best" meal everyone can order on the island there isn't one best dive op, nor a way to set a standard by which to judge them all.

Unfortunately, Trip Advisor is NOT what people think - it's all a numbers algorithm and a lot of "fake" reviews on there - but the average tourist doesn't know that.

There are shops in the top 10 or 20 that aren't even legally registered businesses or who don't even own their own boats let alone have insurance or permits! People who throw up a website and facebook page and call themselves a dive operator and have been "open" for 2 years or less, without a boat and they've already got 100+ five star reviews - in some cases more? Please!!!! TA does absolutely no vetting of businesses and doesn't even verify if they are a legally operating business. Granted, there are shops rated highly on TA who have earned their rankings - but my point is, don't let it be your all knowing guide.

Trip Advisor wasn't a thing when I started my business 15+ years ago and it wasn't a marketing tool I even used until the past few years. We had less than 50 reviews and were really far down. Then it became evident that it was a necessary evil to play the TA game - soI put the TA link on my website - but I still hate asking for reviews - just seems really slimy to me. Everyone does it now though.

At one point, we were up to #12 and were in the top 15 for quite while until one punk wrote a 1 star review about Pedro relieving himself off the back of the boat - it dropped us immediately to #40 - overnight! That was over a year ago and we are still ranked in the high 30's most days - it's an impossible climb back up unless I start getting some fake reviews out there. The other problem is that people use it to extort and hold shops hostage - for example - no showing for dives and even though they have signed a cancellation policy threaten you with TA if you dont refund their deposit.

With that said, we appreciate those who take the time to share their experience.

 

[cicopo]

Good point about the cancellation thing. I remember one reviewer raking a dive op over hot coals because they couldn't get their deposit back while admitting they were shall I say hung over or maybe even still too drunk to dive from their night out. People use TA as a weapon.

 

[Christi]

Good point about the cancellation thing. I remember one reviewer raking a dive op over hot coals because they couldn't get their deposit back while admitting they were shall I say hung over or maybe even still too drunk to dive from their night out. People use TA as a weapon.

Exactly - and seriously - what is the point of guaranteeing a reservation and requiring a deposit to hold the spot (just like hotels and airlines) if you're not going to respect the policy?

 

[gopbroek]

Everyone knows who the best dive shop is, its the shop they dive with
Seriously there are multiple threads in this forum discussing the merits of various dive shops and unlike TA there is feedback on the validity of the claims by other divers. If you read through them and filter out some of the 'my shop is better than your shop ' stuff you will be able to get an idea of the consensus among the SB community on which shops are highly rated and why.

 

[flyboy08]

It has to be true, I read it on the net!

You like large tanks, then Aldora is for you.
You like free Nitrox, then ProDive is for you
You like......on and on.....

 

[nodakdive]

Just checked TA to see where the shop I use lands. They're at #23. Though I would sing their praises, I only tend to do that when it fits what the poster is looking for or needing. I agree with reefhound regarding competition and good shops. Lots of dive talent and seriously committed dive operators on Cozumel.

If you want a good recommendation here, be clear about what you'd like. Do the same when you contact the shops you've narrowed down.

Rhodediver, I've never been diving with Blue~XTC but as of about 5 minutes ago, they/she is rated at #38 on Tripadvisor. That's a joke and it illustrates what Tripadvisor is about. Another factor to consider regarding those ratings: Nachi Cocom, rated #20, is a beach club. I suppose you could arrange diving there or from there, or with them somehow, but nobody at all serious about diving Cozumel is contacting Nachi Cocom to arrange a dive trip. Why Nachi is listed under "boat tours and water sports" is beyond me. It's a beach club.

Tell the board what you're after, and you should get some good feedback.

 

[Dogbowl]

Some criteria you wanna consider...if you know what you want, SB will direct you to the right shop for you.

• size of tank - steel or aluminum
• free rental gear
• cheapest, no frills
• pick-up from downtown and transport you to marina or pick-up from downtown pier or pick-up from hotel pier
• what time do you want to leave in the morning or in the afternoon
• regularly scheduled night dives
• fast 6-pack boats or larger boats
• small intimate operation or bigger operation
• wash and store your gear or not
• water, fresh fruit, snacks on surface interval or not
• SI on beach or not
• boat coats or not
• etc.