Presidente Hotel/Dive Paradise April 15-20 Trip Report Part 1 of 3

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

gbrandon

Contributor
Messages
166
Reaction score
0
Location
Humboldt
Part 1 of 3


I booked a quick 5 night/6 day stay through Apple vacations for a quick getaway after my plans to Roatan fell through. Here is my experience.
Flying out of Sacramento, Ca on Sunday morning was uneventful, although I did have to pay $50 ($25x2)for 2 bags that were over 50lbs. I knew one was going to be over, as it had my tanks, and 2 jugs of sofnolime, as well as a few clothes. but for some reason I didn’t know why my rebreather was over, as its ALWAYS 47 or 48lbs. Only later did I lrealize that I forgot to take out 2x 2lb soft weights that I use for trim weights that are on the back of my bc jacket. That lesson cost me $25. I was surprised at how easy my gear went through TSA. I dive a rebreather, so its not uncommon to have your name called out over the pa in the airport because they have a question about sofnolime or your tanks in your checked luggage. I didn’t hear a peep out of them, although when I arrived at the hotel Presidente in Cozumel and opened it up, I did find that the TSA had no problem trashing my suitcase and then just zipping it up. In case they didn’t notice, there was a reason why I had both tanks wrapped up in my wetsuit. Now I have a few more paint chips and new rust marks thanks the the TSA repack job.
I should also note that the evening before we left sacramento, I started coming down with a cold. Im not one that ever gets sick, but for some reason I kept sneezing and had a runny nose. My diving plans for this trip were fairly busy. I needed o2 fills for my rebreather, so I found a dive shop called Dive Cozumel that could do 100% o2 fills and where I could rent a 40cft bailout bottle. I planned on diving with the hotel operator Scuba Du, on Monday since they were right at the hotel, and then Dive paradise (they were recommended by a friend I tech dive with, so I figured they must be ok) on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then with Dive Cozumel on thrusday. I figured id dive with dive cozumel since not only was he providing fills for me, but I knew my gf wouldn’t want to dive 4 days in a row and I could get a good dive in with the owner of dive cozumel. (he dives a rebreather as well) Also, by diving with 3 ops, it would give me a more varied diving experience with the local operators if I ever came back.
Arriving at the airport in cozumel was nice. From the time I stepped off the plane onto the tramac until I was seated in my cab was about 15 minutes tops. The airport was well organized and simple. I got a good laugh out of the stoplight you push the button on to see if you are going to have to put your bags through the xray machine (red light) or if you get to bypass the machine and go straight outside. (green light). I got the green light, but the guy there wanted me to stick the plastic box my rebreather was in through the xray machine anyway. It was no big deal, It went through the machine and I was on my way outside in less than a minute. When I got outside, there were a lot of people standing around but none approached me. I kept waiting for the time share salesman to start hawking to me and my gf but they never did. Almost as soon as I got outside I saw my vacation rep from apple vacation waiting for me and directed me to a cab. We loaded up and after a few stops dropping off others that were in the cab, we made it to the Hotel Presidente. Now, if you are not familiar with cozumel, you should know that the hotel is a bit out of town. Not too far, maybe 4 kilometers or so (2 miles) but be aware that if you are going to go into town, the cab fare will be $5 each way. Some locals told me it should be 40 pesos, (about $4) but $4, $5, whatever. Whats a few bucks? Arriving at the hotel , I tipped the cab driver $5 and as we stepped out of the cab we were greeted by a very friendly staff from the hotel. After checking in and receiving a welcome cocktail, we made our way to the room. As we left the lobby area, we were approached by someone that wanted 5 minutes of our time to talk about the hotel. I thought, here we go, timeshare salesman. But it wasn’t. It was simply a employee of the hotel that wanted to go over the hotel grounds and services that were available to us. He was extremely nice and went out of his way to answer any questions we had. I was very impressed. After that, we went to our room. After ab out 10 minutes, our bags showed up. I went to tip the bellboy but the smallest bill I had was a $20, and he didn’t have change. I told him id catch up to him later and gave him $2 my gf had in her purse. He didn’t seem too upset but I could tell he was not happy either. The room itself was very nice. myself, Im not one for comfort. As long as its bug/insect free, im happy, but the main reason I booked the presidente was that my gf is not a hardcore diver and I wanted to make sure she was comfortable, as well as safe, while I was away diving. The room had a tv, free wireless internet, king size bed with very nice sheets. There was a minibar in the room, and the a/c almost worked too well. There were candles on the counter in glass jars filled with sand, and it gave the room a nice romantic touch. The floor and counters were made of tile and stone. The room had a small outdoor balcony that had a table, loveswing, and a few chairs. It also faced the adult pool. (there are 2 pools at the resort, and we were told the adult only pool allowed topless sunbathing.) They also put out new bottled water for you everymorning in your room when they make the bed.
We were tired from the trip , so we layed down for a few minutes. After our short nap, I called dive cozumel but the number I had from their website kept giving me a recording in spanish I couldn’t understand, but it was not a recording from a answering machine, but from the local telephone company. I grabbed my 2 bottles and we went into town to track down Dive Cozumel. Now to be fair, the owner Roly called me a few days before my trip and gave me a number to call when I got to town to get my fills. Unfortunately, I somehow lost the number and didn’t have it when I got to cozumel. I didn’t think it would be a big deal, but it turns out it was. When we got to Dive Cozumel, the doors were locked and from looking in, it didn’t even look like a dive op really. More like a storage are for a dive op. There were tanks on the floor, a few rental bc’s on hangars on the wall and a blending station in the corner for fills. I started to get nervous. I went to pro-dive next door and asked them if dive cozumel is open on Sundays. They didn’t know but did walk me down to the store and found out it was closed just as I had said to them. At this point , I was nervous. We asked pro dive if they could do 100% o2 fills but they said no. We went back to the hotel and I emailed dive cozumel and explained the situation and gave them the hotel and room number I was in. I was feeling worse by this point and had a heck of a headache, so we decided to eat dinner. At the hotel there are 2 restraunts. One is italian and the other american. We choose the american one and my gf had cocunut shrimp and I had the lobster. Her food was overcooked and it looked like they needed to change the oil in the fryer. She hated her dinner and was not impressed in the least. Mine was absolutely mouthwatering. I eat lobster a few times a month and I can honestly say that lobster was in the top 5-10 of any lobster Ive had in the world. Simply outstanding. The rest of the meal consisted of mixed rice and some vegatables. We decided the place had potential (even after our $85 before tip bill) and we would try it again. After dinner we went back to our rooms and went to bed. I knew that no mater how good I felt when I woke up, I still didn’t get my tanks filled so there would be no diving Monday morning for me. Best case scenario was getting up Monday morning and if I felt good and if I could get my tanks filled id make the afternoon dive. Unfortunately, after waking up Monday morning, I had the worst sinus headache of my life and was congested so bad I knew there was no diving for me. I laid in bed for a bit and then decided we needed to find some cold medicine. We found some at the small store in the hotel (only $6, which I thought was a good price really) and then ate breakfast in the american restraunt. We both had fruit plates and 2 waters and the bill was $35. Ouch. After breakfast, we decided to lay at the pool since we werent diving. My girlfriend wanted to lay out topless, but there were kids in the adult pool. I guess they don’t enforce the adults only pool rule. Also, the resort was very dead. I would guess that the time we were there it was about 25% capacity at best. From talking to others on the island, business has been very slow everywhere in cozumel. They say its been that way since the Hurricane. On the plus side there is never a wait in line for a restraunt and you get exceptional service at your hotel. You could see the ocean from the pool area, and the wind had kicked up pretty well and the ocean had some good chop to it. Later we found out the harbor was closed and there was no boats going out diving anyway so I guess I didn’t miss anything, although I wished I still didn’t have this damn cold. Coming from my regular diving in Monterey, Ca where there really is swells and waves, it was kind of funny hearing people talk about how rough the ocean was. I had to chuckle and wondered what they would think if they ever went out on the ocean on a bad day off the coast of california. Anyway, by afternoon I started feeling a bit better so we decided to go to town. (continued)
 
On the way to the room, we went by the lobby and the woman at the front desk said someone called about diving and that the message was on our phone in the room. I was stoked, as I figured it was dive cozumel regarding getting my tanks filled. I got back to my room and the light was flashing on the phone but I couldn’t figure out how to get the message. I called the front desk and the girl told me the code to check the messages. When I checked them, there was nothing there, so I called back and the girl at the front desk said she accidently erased them. (???). I was NOT a happy camper at this point and asked her how she could retrieve them since I was expecting a very important call. She said it wasn’t possible so I said goodbye and hung up in disbelief. I then decided to go back to town and hope maybe Dive cozumel was open now. I grabbed my tanks and as we walked by the lobby, I stopped by the desk for the dive op, scuba-du. I talked to him and he mentioned he left me a message on my phone. AHAH!, well, at least I know who called. He said he called to tell me they wouldn’t be going diving that morning. Somehow I must have missed the call but im not sure how if he called that early. Regardless, it wasn’t the call I was hoping for. We took a cab to town and again went by dive cozumel and again they were closed. We then started asking around about where I could get a 100% o2 fill. We were told by a guy at a dive shop to go to this place on 30th ave and they could fill it. He told me just walk up a few blocks and then take a left at the wide intersection. Another guy there said to take a cab, but since Im in good shape and don’t mind walking, I figured no big deal. Now, this dive shop was right by Pro dive on ave 5. We walked to ave 30, which was a good 6 blocks, then another 6 blocks down ave 30 to this place, only to find out they said it would be until Friday before they could get to it. How it takes 5 days to fill a small 2 litre bottle with o2 is beyond me, but after that walk (yeah, a few blocks my ***) I was hot, tired and still feeling like crap from my cold. We caught a cab and went to option 2, which was the hyperbaric chamber that supposedly can fill o2. We get to the hospital and they tell me wrong chamber, go to the other hospital. (there are 2 chambers in cozumel??) so we get another cab and go there. The lady at the desk looks at my bottles, and says she doesent have a adapter that can fill it. At this point I was thinking It would have been a good idea to bring a fill whip. Feeling worse by the minute by my cold, I surrender and take a cab back to the hotel room. It was not 4pm and I decided I was screwed and there was nothing left I could do. About a hour later the phone rings in my room and its Roly, the owner of Dive Cozumel. He told me he tried calling earlier in the day and the phone just rang and rang and he couldn’t leave a message. I told him I was sick anyway so no biggie, but wanted to get a fill anyway. I went down to his shop and got my bottles filled and while I wasn’t feeling any better, at least now if I did I could actually dive. After getting the bottles filled,and getting some great advice for where to eat (as well as were to stay, which he recommended casa de mexicana, which he felt was comparable to Hotel Presidente for half the price) I went by Dive paradise and we filled out all our paperwork and I paid for diving for tue and wed for 2 tank morning boat trips. Blanca is the one the went over the paperwork for me as well as found some soft weights for me and my gf. They told me to be at the dock at my hotel at 8:15 am tue morning for pick up. I went back to the hotel and after dropping off the bottles, went back to town and had dinner at primo’s. Had filet mignon with blackened shrimp and my gf had (hmmm..cant remember) We both agreed it was a excellent dinner and would be back there again. Dinner was reasonable at $100 with tip. (she bought a bottle of wine as well). On Tuesday morning I woke up feeling quite a bit better, at least good enough to dive…or so I thought. We had room service for breakfast , 2 more fruit plates and waters, but this time it was $40, since there is a $5 room service fee. We were on the dock at 8:15 but the boat didn’t show up till 8:45. No biggie, but I was getting concerned they forgot about us. Had a great divemaster named loco that ran around in a speedo that my gf kept laughing about. I told her if we had the same dm the next day Id buy a speedo and run around with loco on the boat. We met some great people on the boat, and a few that came from the midwest the recently got certified. Its always nice to see new divers enjoying diving and having a good time. Loco was a very attentive divemaster, in fact, he helped my gf on her descent on the first dive when she was having problems clearing. I was playing with my air2 since it was leaking and not paying attention much to her on the descent so I didn’t notice she was having problems. When I looked up and saw him holding her hand and helping her down I was impressed, and back on the boat she was quick to point out how helpful HE was. Upon surfacing after the first dive, I took off my mask and the look on my girlfriends face said it all. I looked like I was attacked by a shark. Blood was in my hair, and all over my face. She thought I cracked my head open.lol. Anyway, after I assured her It was my nose, she settled down. Ive seen plenty of other people have bloody noses, but this was the first for me in hundreds of dives. I knew at that point I probably shouldn’t have been diving, since my cold was still in full swing. We dove San francisco and tormentos, with the former being a good dive, and the latter being quite boring. So far, cozumel diving was not impressing me, although I agreed with my gf when she said it was better than when we went to maui and dove there. I tipped the DM $20 for both of us, and we got dropped off back at the dock around 1:30 or 2. We then went to town and got my bottles filled and then ate lunch at La Choza, which is some really really good mexican food. I had sauteed shrimp and she had chicken mole, and 2 waters, and she also had a sol beer. Both dishes were very good. Lunch came in around $45, which I thought was a bit expensive, but the spicy cheese dip they have with the chips was the cats meow and we agreed it was worth it. After lunch we went around town shopping, and if there is one thing I learned, its don’t go along main street when the cruise ships are in town, its like a damn cattle run. And I mean that literally. I have never in my life seen so many big people at the same time. It was almost surreal. Americans really do know how to eat. I think ill start telling people im from canada, as there is no reason to be that overweight. I can see 10, 20, 30 lbs overweight, but when I have to step off the sidewalk when one person is walking by, now that may be a sign you should look at your diet. Anyway, we went back to the room, then back to town again for dinner. We were going to have dinner at the italian restraunt in the hotel, but after looking at the menu, my gf didn’t think I would like it. (too many fancy sounding dishes for my taste) We ended up going to eat at the hard rock café, and it was by far the worst food I ever had while in cozumel. I had pork ribs (not exactly heathy choice, I know) and she had shrimp, and both were horrible beyond words. Overcooked, bland and just generally bad. The water was the best part of the whole meal. After paying $60 for that swine, we walked around town a bit, then back to the hotel and went to bed. On Wednesday, I awoke to the worst congestion yet, so I called Dive Paradise and cancelled the dive. We ordered room serviced, me getting the fruit plate and my gf getting waffles, some toast and yogurt. Bill was around $39. Food was average. I started feeling better that afternoon, so I called Dive Paradise back and asked if we could dive the 2 tank afternoon dive. She told me they needed 4 people to make the dive, and she had 2 others from the mainland that were supposed to dive, but she wasn’t sure yet. She asked me to call back at 12:30 to see if they were going to go or not. We decided to go eat lunch, and since my gf loved the spicy cheese dip at La Choza so much, we went back there. Lunch got over about 1:00 so I called Dive Paradise only to be informed that there was no more spots on the boat as it had filled up. I was like ????. Lucy explained that I was supposed to call at 12:30, and I didn’t so they sold the spots to other people. Now, I maybe asking too much here, but earlier the boat might not even go out since they didn’t have enough people. I explicitly stated I wanted to go out with my gf and do the dives. Why is it my responsiblility to call them to see if they are going out? Its my vacation. Shouldn’t they call me? Im commited to go out and dive with them. Now its in their court whether or not there are enough people to make the dive and make their decision. Regardless, I was a bit pissed off about the whole thing so I asked if I could get a refund since I planned to dive with scuba –du now on Thursday since I didn’t get to go out with them on Monday. She said to call back later that evening and she would have a answer. I decided I needed better cold medicne so we walked around town until I found a pharmacy and asked for some sudafed. The clerk found some but it was a bottle and not pills. She rang it up on the register and said it was $85. I was like..uh..85 pesos? And she says “no, us dollar”. I about crapped myself. Luckily, there was a local there that spoke english and told me not to buy it (I wasn’t going to anyway) and to go see a doctor for $20 and then come back and you can get a prescription and pay only $10 or $15. I thanked him profusely for the advice and left the pharmacy. I ended up going to another pharmacy and found some sudafed in tablet form for $7.50. (continued)
 
After that, we went back to the hotel to see about making the afternoon dive with Scuba-Du. That conversation went down hill from the start.I asked about diving the afternoon and they said there was not enough people interested but we could do a single tank dive. I asked where and when I read the description it said it was a good night dive sight. I asked how the dive was there during the day and he said so-so. I told him I wasn’t interested in a so-so dive. I was interested in a good dive, especially since it’s a single tank dive. At that point I gave up on scuba-du. I think a previous poster was right when they said they are a safe, conservative operation. They cater to the “I dive once a year when I go on vacation” type more than the more active diver. I went back to my room and called back to Dive Paradise at 5pm to talk to lucy but she wasn’t there but I explained the situation to another guy there and he told me to go on the thrusday morning boat, and to be at the dock at 8:30am. I said okay, and on Thursday morning we got picked up around 8:35 and went diving. The divemaster this time was a guy named george (or something like that but not the georgio that wears white socks, as I asked him about that and while he knew who I was talking about, it wasn’t him). He was funnier than Loco and we had a great time on the boat. After the first dive he stuffed a bannana down his wetsuit then came up to me and put his arm around me and then asked my gf if she noticed anything about us. We all had a good laugh and while the people on the boat for the second dive werent as lively as the first group a few days earlier, we had a great time. We dove columbia for the first dive and then columbia shallows for the second. Both were great dives and better than the first day of diving I did. The surface interval was only 10 minutes, which was better yet. George was a great divemaster as well. He pointed out quite a bit of stuff and always was looking around to make sure we didn’t have anyone that wandered off. After the dives, We got dropped off back at the hotel and then went to town and had lunch. I did inquire to George about diving the afternoon dives as well as the morning dives but he told me you have to sign up for the fast boat. The fast boat? Nobody mentioned a fast boat to us. I told him when I filled out the paperwork Blanca never mentioned a fast boat. Maybe its because I never mentioned I wanted to do any afternoon dives, but I think that even if a customer doesent inquire about it, it wouldn’t have hurt her to try to upsell us to a 4 tank dive with both the morning and afternoon trips on the fast boat. At the very least , she should have told us about the fast boat for the morning trip. It was no big deal to me to be on the slow boat, but if they were more organized they would have made those options clear to us. Another thing I wasn’t too happy about with Dive Paradise is that when I emailed them 3 weeks before my trip about if it was ok to bring my rebreather, they took over 2 weeks to get back to me about it. Im not sure what the hold up was, but if they are as a organized dive op and the biggest op on the island as earlier posters have said, this should be a no brainer question to them. And even if it wasn’t, they should have got back to me sooner. Not a big deal, but its kind of tiring to read on here what a fabulous op they are on here and how they have no faults. I would dive with them again, and my emails between myself and Brian were great. He was actually out of town and answering my emails better (and faster) than some of the workers at Dive Paradise that I spoke to on the phone. For a dive op, I give them a 7/10. I didn’t think the dive breifing with loco was very good, although hes a great divemaster in the water. They really need to upgrade some of the boats. I don’t understand how I can go to places like Palau, Fiji, Philipines, etc, places that are more remote than Cozumel, and they have nicer , newere, faster boats, that are more enviormentally friendly. It really makes no sense. The only thing I can think of is that the ops in Cozumel are not reinvesting back into the business as much as these other destinations. I know there isnt much money to be made in the dive charter industry, but I do know that if you’re the largest op in the island with 3 stores and 10 boats, your probably in a better position to upgrade your boats that the next guy. Just my 2 cents.
Regardless, after we got dropped off back at the hotel dock, we went back into town and I returned the 40cft bottle I had rented from Dive Cozumel. Roly was very helpful as usual and I really feel bad I didn’t get the chance to dive with him. I don’t think hes the right op for the average vacation diver, but if you are a active diver and like long dives with liberal profiles, hes your man. Hes also extremely helpful about stuff on the island. After squaring up with him, ($60, and that was for 2 100% o2 fills and 2 air fills, as well as the 40cft bailout bottle rental) we had lunch in town at a place he recommended called Guido’s. Guidos is a great restraunt to have lunch. Had a fettechine alfredo and my girlfriend had the stuffed chicken breast with spinach and a bread crust. We both had waters as well. Both dishes were very good but the stuffed chicken breast is hands down the best chicken dish I have ever tasted. Its highly recommended. After lunch we wandered around town a bit, then went to Jimmy buffets and had a magarita. I only drank about half mine, and it reminded me why I never drink. Don’t like the taste and it was way too sweet (had the rasberry magarita). We had a small appetizer there of Quesadias and they were ok, but nothing to write home about. After that we went and got a hour massage right off the main strip and then my gf god a facial from some beauty salon a ways off the main tourist area. The massage was great, although I did have to grind on her to give us both 1 hour massages for $100 instead of the $120 they were asking. The facial we paid what she was asking since you could tell it was not geared towards the tourists. Our spanish was about as good as her english and it was a challenge just to try to ask her what time it was when we left. For dinner we went to a place called the french quarter and the staff there were the nicest people we met the whole trip. Outstanding friendliness and at one point in our meal the owner came out and talked to each table about their meals. Very very good service. Since it was a bit slow (early in the evening) our waiter talked to us for over 15 minutes about his family as well as questions he had for my girlfriend and myself. I really enjoyed his company and found him to be very genuine. I had the filet mignon there and shrimp, while my gf had the seafood platter, and 2 waters. Both were very good, but the service and friendly staff was better than the food. Id go there again, but I liked primos better for the food. After dinner ($100) we went back to the hotel and went to bed. We got up the next day and after breakfast, (I had waffles, she had the breakfast buffet, $47 w/tip) we packed our bags and called for a cab. We got the airport, and the line was horrendous. Fortunatley for us, it was for the people flying Delta, and we were on Continental. We had no line, checked our bags, and after paying another $25 for my one bag being over 50lbs, we went to the terminal. Painless and ever easier than when we arrived. A far cry from the TSA nazi from Cancun that wouldn’t let me take my laptop charger on my carry on a few years ago. (she claimed I could strangle someone with it. I guess she overlooked the fact that people have SHOELACES!) The flight home was uneventful, and now that im home my cold is still with me, but im a heck of a lot better than when I was there. All in all, Id probably go back to Cozumel, but only if some friends were going or I had some other reason. I didn’t have a bad time there, and ever though I only got to make 4 dives, I don’t blame anyone for that but myself for having a cold. I would not stay at the hotel Presidente, as I think its overpriced. It’s a very nice hotel, with very nice staff, but I think the restraunt is overpriced and the other charges as well ($5 per minute international calls, $1 for local calls, etc.etc. Heck , for a 50 minute massage they wanted $140.) We paid almost $400 a night there, and that’s not inclusive. You still have all your meals and diving to pay for. I think If I saw some great airfare from San Fran to Cozumel and could book somewhere like casa de mexicana and do it all for less than $3,000 for both of us, food, diving included, for a week, Id do it again. On this trip it ended up at $4600. (that’s rental car, gas, etc) But then again, there are so many other places in the world to go to that you could get equal or better diving, for the same price. But I also know that some people live inside the box and like what they are familiar with, so they continue to return to the same place over and over, like creatures of habit. Myself, I encourage people to try some other places, especially since you need a passport now anyway to go to mexico, so you don’t have a excuse to not go anywhere besides the carribean or mexico. I guess this is longer that most trip reports, but the whole point of a trip report is to let other know your experiences so they can make decisions they feel are best for them, and I think I did that. Ciao..
Geoff
 
Thank you for taking the effort to put together such a richly detailed report. I've never been to Coz, but read this board every day and intend to dive there someday. I'm sorry you were sick, and that there were some frustrations, but it sounds like you had fun anyway and frankly were probably a better sport than I would have been in some of those same situations.
 
Holy crap dude. For what you paid for breakfast, that's what my husband and I spend for food in a day (usually less). We could easily live for a month on what you spent for a week. Email me privately and we can talk some more.
 
ggunn:
One word: paragraphs.

I had typed the whole thing up in word but when I pasted into scuba board the paragraphs were screwed up. After i went through and fixed them all, I submitted the post and then it came back and said it couldnt be submitted because of too many characters. I then said screw it and cut paste from word and made my 3 posts. So no paragraphs..
 
gbrandon:
So no paragraphs..
Aye Carumba! While I appreciate the effort it's really hard to read.

Ummm, you booked cattle boat operators with a rebreather? I've got to think (check that... I KNOW) there were much better options for you. Not to come down too hard but I have to ask... did you research this trip at all? I know you said this was a back-up to a failed Roatan trip but jeez, booking 3 dive ops for 4 days (or was it 3?) of diving was a bit overambitious.

Coz has a lot to offer and with better planning you could have had a great trip. I hope you'll consider giving it another shot. I don't know Dive Cozumel but I think you would have just been better off with them.

Anyways, thanks for the report
 
Moodiejeff:
Aye Carumba! While I appreciate the effort it's really hard to read.

Ummm, you booked cattle boat operators with a rebreather? I've got to think (check that... I KNOW) there were much better options for you. Not to come down too hard but I have to ask... did you research this trip at all? I know you said this was a back-up to a failed Roatan trip but jeez, booking 3 dive ops for 4 days (or was it 3?) of diving was a bit overambitious.

Coz has a lot to offer and with better planning you could have had a great trip. I hope you'll consider giving it another shot. I don't know Dive Cozumel but I think you would have just been better off with them.

Anyways, thanks for the report

I would have been absolutley, but my gf has less than 10 open water dives under her belt and while shes a very good diver, Im not going to put her in a situation where shes diving over her ability. I was fine diving with the cattle boat. When she gets more experience, we can book more individualized ops. I could have just taken my oc gear with me, but i didnt spend 10k so I can have the rebreather in the closet. Besides, I like diving it and dont miss OC at all.
 
MMM:
Holy crap dude. For what you paid for breakfast, that's what my husband and I spend for food in a day (usually less). We could easily live for a month on what you spent for a week. Email me privately and we can talk some more.

lol, i dont need to pm you. Thats what I spent, im not mad about it or upset, just letting others know the prices so they can decide if the presidente is worth it for them. For me, its not but its over and ill move on. My gf is my first priority, and I wanted to make sure she was happy and felt safe since I thought id be out diving most of the day for a few days and shed be at the resort.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

Back
Top Bottom