Aruba-Mermaid Divers critiques

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getwet2

Contributor
Messages
668
Reaction score
1
Location
Ontario, Canada
# of dives
200 - 499
This ended up being longer then I first thought it would be so my apologies but I wanted to be thorough.

Just returned from 2 weeks in Aruba where after checking with and talking to a couple of different shops I decided to go with Mermaid Divers for 11 dives......wrong choice, I would NOT recommend them to anyone.

First off I'd like to say that it was not the DM's on the boat, Bero, Tito and Hubert were great, it is the owner Carlos and the way he runs the shop and treats his customers. It's too bad the DM's work for him.

Day 1, Tuesday
I was told to be out front of my hotel for pickup at 7:50. At 8:15 I went to the front desk to call them and see where they were, while at the desk Carlos pulled up. He apologized for being late so I was going to let it slide because things happen. We made 2 other stops to pick more people up who I found out later were also told to be out front of their hotel at 7:50. We got to the shop and filled out 5 pages of release forms, paid for my package and we left for the harbour at around 9:15 pulling a trailer full of gear. The shop is not located near the water, it's about a 10 minute drive away in good traffic right through town. We got to the pier and had to wait while the boat was loaded up and at about 9:45 we departed for our 8:30 dive with 18 people on a boat, that I was told before I paid, never had more then 16 on it.

After our briefing we did our first dive at 10:12 for 47mins. A short SI and on to the second dive at 11:44 another 49mins. Back to the harbour and again we all stand around while the boat is unloaded and then it's back to the shop to stand around more. I got back to my hotel at 3:15.

Day 2, Wednesday
Today Carlos is only 15 minutes late. Same routine, go to shop and watch them load the trailer and it's off to the pier at about 9:00. Stand around on pier and leave for our 8:30 dive at 9:35 today. We were supposed to dive the Antilla on Wednesday but they said the vis was poor, there were lots of Jellyfish in the area and that it was even leaking oil so the Antilla was out. OK we'll go somewhere else....whatever. First dive at 10:07 for 44mins, second dive at 11:25 for 45mins. Back to harbour, wait, back to shop, wait some more.

My dive buddy had a golf game at 3:00 so at 2:35 he actually had to go and ask Carlos to speed things up.

Day 3, Monday, following week.
Carlos late once again, at 8:20 I went to the front desk and called, says he'll be there in 5 mins, at 8:30 he pulls up. He's happy and shaking hands and asks me how it's going. I'm pretty pissed by this time but there are 2 other divers in the truck so I just tell him that we'll talk later about it but he starts in with excuses and more apologies that really don't mean anything at this point. I proceed to tell him that it's unacceptable, this is the third time but he just seems to let it slide with more excuses and that it's just the way it is.

Monday was a holiday for Aruba and it's like he's doing us a favour by working, if it was going to be a bother he should have just taken the day off.

We get to the shop and they are still loading the trailer. Carlos asks me if I will be diving on Tuesday, I ask him for a refund and tell him I won't even dive today, he just chuckles, turns his back on me and walks away, so of course I'll be diving on Tuesday. Same routine at the pier again and leave around 9:25 for the 8:30 dive. First dive at 9:58 for 42mins, second dive at 11:22 for 45mins.

Day 4, Tuesday
3 dives today because "You always get a free dive with any package"
Carlos is close enough to be considered on time today but it just translates into a longer wait at the dive shop. Careful what you ask for I guess. Another full (+) boat today, so full that the student that was supposed to do training had to get off the boat and wait for the afternoon dive. Leave harbour at about 9:30 for the 8:30 dive, first dive at 10:05 for 51mins, second dive at 11:29 for 46mins, back at the harbour for around 12:45. Afternoon dive is supposed to be at 2:30, people go for lunch and are back at pier around 2:00-2:15. By the time they get the extra tanks loaded on the boat it's 3:30 when we leave the harbour. I get back to my hotel at 5:45 today. I'm sorry but a 46 minute dive should not take 3+ hours of your time.

Day 5, Wednesday
Carlos is about 15 minutes late today and as an extra treat he is also on the boat. Same routine at shop & harbour. Wednesday means the Antilla.....or not. Carlos makes a great announcement once we are on the boat, almost exactly word for word as the one we got the week before about the Antilla conditions......sounds scripted to me. He goes on to say that if anyone wishes to not dive then it's OK for them to leave the boat and that diving today can be a reef & reef dive or a wreck & reef dive it's our choice but the wreck will be the "Pilot wreck", not too interesting of a dive. I ask about doing the "Jane C" and he says no because it's tomorrows dive so everyone chooses the wreck & reef option.

There are 2 brothers on the boat and they tell Carlos that they would like to get off the boat because they had already did the pilot wreck and found it boring, as most others who have done it. Carlos says that's fine but they are on their own for transportation. After a few words are exchanged about Carlos wasting their time and not telling them at the dive shop about this, Carlos says he'll call Wendy and "see" if he can get them a ride. While Carlos is on the phone I ask some of the divers that will be on the boat tomorrow if they would mind doing the "Jane C" twice and they said no because it's a large wreck and better then the "Pilot wreck". When Carlos gets off the phone I mention that nobody minds doing the "Jane C" twice so can we go there. He makes a big deal out of it and wants a show of hands, all hands go up including the 2 brothers. Carlos makes a comment about how he has already called for the ride, like it's a big problem for him to push redial and call Wendy back.

At about 9:45 we leave and shortly after Carlos starts with a briefing that any drill sergeant would be proud of and would have made any new divers think twice about getting in the water at all, 15 minutes later it's over. 2 good dives and it's back to the harbour and then the shop for stamps, free t-shirts and a ride to the hotel. Before leaving the boat I mentioned to one of the crew that I would be snorkelling at the Antilla and would find out if they were telling the truth or not. He just laughed and shook his head. I gotta say that there was no oil no Jellyfish and and you could see all the way to the bottom. Maybe it cleared up just for me but I don't think so, I asked the crew on the Catamaran and they said they have not had any problems at the Antilla......go figure. Also, if Carlos is on the boat then be aware that the camera rinse tank is now also a mask rinse tank.

While waiting at the shop I'm talking with the 2 brothers about Carlos and they tell me that the week before Carlos actually stopped at a grocery store in town to go shopping and left them waiting in the truck. It was 2:10 by my watch when we were on the way to the hotels, Carlos makes a comment about having to pick someone up at the airport for 2:00, I mention that he's already late. He says that's why his clock in the truck is 20 minutes fast, to try and help him be on time.

Ending.....
Carlos needs to learn how to treat his customers and people in general for that matter. We are your livelihood and you are not doing us a favour by diving, you are providing a service that a lot of other people also provide. I'd say that we are actually doing you a favour by using your dive shop.

Don't tell people to be ready for pickup if you are not can not be there on time, you can not be at 3 different hotels at the same time, if you are rushed then get up earlier. An 8:30 dive time should be 8:30 not 9:30 or 10:00 or 10:30.

Have the crew start earlier so the boat and gear is ready to go at the boat when we arrive.

Take your customers directly from the hotels to the pier, not to the shop to stand around for 30 - 45 minutes to watch the DM's work there and then work again at the pier.

Once the dives are over and the customers have rinsed their gear at the harbour let the DM's stay behind and clean up while someone takes the customers back to the hotels. Why do we need to stand around and watch them work more?

Carlos also needs to realize that, yes we are on vacation, but that our time on Aruba is very short, so by being late all the time and have us stand around watching the crew do things that most other reputable dive shops would have had done already before customers arrive is not a good thing. We all have other things to do while in Aruba, be it family that does not dive or other commitments.

I hope this review saves people some vacation time if they are heading to Aruba.
 
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your 'adventure' is yet another reminder as to why I GREATLY prefer liveaboards for all my scuba trips......jacked up/time consuming logistics (getting ready to dive time versus actually diving time ratio) is a strong incentive to go for 'efficient' diving modes....plus on vacation I want to BE on vacation, versus imitating a pack mule/dive sherpa, which is one reason why, although I dove Bonaire twice, I'm in no hurry to ever return there....the endless logistics really subtracted from the actual dive experience.
 
Just my $0.02, I've only been to Aruba once and found the diving marginal. I don't plan to return. There are better places to spend that kind of money.
 
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Reactions: Jax
Thanks for the dive report. Sorry to hear you had so many problems, but maybe you saved someone from enduring the same hassels.
 
Insta-Gator - you are correct.

fire diver - That is my intention.
 
I agree with the diving with mermaid divers. Tito, hubert, and Bero have been there for a while.

I caught on in ten minutes at dive shop. When they piled my gear in trailer I was a bit shocked.


After a long time in shop I started pushing to get going. After dive I was washing gear and bero pulled hose and I let him have it, He mouthed and well I put him in his place. we were washing our gear to put in trailer and then we had our truck at marina. After being with bero all day and dealing with him I said F#$$ this and Packed all of our gear up. I rented a House on the water in front of the antilla and just washed gear and put it to dry on second floor patio.

When you were diving the JC and you go for a drift after there is a ship at 200' tito points it out and you drop down to take a look at it while he stays with the group.

I Had great dives after that first. So yes they have no one in morning to have loaded up before hand.

Hubert had ear Infection, and fished on boat with father in law. last day in middle of dive hubert dropped in and all the other divers were out of air and we gave a show to the atlantis, Even me and my mermaid were five feet from window and pulled our regs out at same time there eyes grew as to not know what we were doing, we turned to each other and french kissed for a long time.



getwet2 what did boat look like, tito was building a big dive boat, sounds like the old one if you were crowded.









Happy Diving
 
VooDooGasMan
It was not Tito's boat.
The boat was the Mermaid 2, apparently there is a new one coming?????
 
Here is tito DSC00487.jpg, I always liked are first dive when he only had a tank, I wanted the freedom in the warm water, tito has a 63 al also. Now here is one of the dive ladder on the boat.DSC00573.jpg Here is the boat I was on with hubert on backDSC00577.jpg.

Im not sure if this is 1 or 2.




Happy Diving
 
That's the same boat.
 
Beware of Mermaid Dive Center...by far the worst dive operation I have ever dealt with.

To provide a brief summary (full story below)

- Dive boat supposed to leave daily at 8:30am...average time we left dock was 9:10am, 2 days leaving closer to 10am!
- "Short" dives...there was only one time I came up with less than 1000 PSI, avg was 1330, and peak at 1700 PSI we ended dive! Never were we even close to Deco...I'm a 280lb out of shape guy who didn't wear anything but shorts and I still came up with this much air...
- WAY overcrowded dive boat
- Not enough weight on boat for everyone!
- Dive Guide ratio was as much as 9:1 (9 divers, 1 guide)
- We were late one day because there were some girls at the shop at 8:15am wanting to dive (minded we are supposed to leave 8:30 and the shop is 15 mins away)...we finally left 10:09am.
- inexperienced divers allowed to do deep wreck dive (girl with 7 dives and just got certified allowed to do a 95ft+ dive), because it was an extra buck for Mermaid divers. Oh and this put the dive boat at 17 people...which it at max can hold 15...Even the DMs complained about this, but the boss told them to take the girls anyways...
- engines on boat are over 40 years old, left doc late on 2 occasions due to mechanic making last minute repairs...it's a slow boat that blows lots of nasty smoke
- wife's refresher course, the instructor didn't even get in the pool with them to ensure they were doing things right (clear mask, reg recovery, etc). Wife said it was worthless.
- Cancelled the only night dive I was scheduled for...2 hours in advance after I planned my entire day around it...
- Owner Flipping out in store, in front of customers, threating to call the cops on me...read on, it's a good story...

The full story

My dive experience started with Carlos, the owner, picking me up at my hotel, 15 mins passed the stated time. I thought no worries, it's "Island Time" and I'm going to be diving soon. This turned into one of the worst experiences I had in my life.

We arrived at the dive shop so I could sign all of the waivers (8 pages front and back worth). I signed everything, chose my dive package (and a refresher course+diving for my wife), and thought I was on my way to diving. As it was a large amount ~$450, I opted to use my credit card. On receiving the copy to sign, I noticed the ENTIRE card number was printed on the receipt, to which for the last 10 years, I always scribble out as there is no reason to have the entire card number printed (some banks do this instead of last 4 digits only, but it is never required). Carlos absolutely flipped his lid asking why I did it, to which I explained for my security, I don't want my credit card number to be stolen. He then ripped into a tirade about how he's never had a customer do this, that he has security cameras, dogs, etc. I replied that if some thief gets past all that security, that would still have my CC #. He then threatened to call the police on me to which I told him go ahead, which I think just set him off more. We spent nearly 45 mins going back and forth...I offered to pay with cash, and he finally refunded my card, ran it through another bank, which then only printed the last 4 digits...I'm still trying to figure out what his tantrum was for...and this was just the beginning!

I actually started keeping track of the average time we left dock. We're supposed to be out of dock at 8:30am...average time we actually left was 9:10am, with an extreme of 10:09am! (I was told by another set of divers they left at 10:30 on a day I did not dive)

My first dive, I was told by another diver that they only do half tank dives...I wasn't entirely sure what he meant, but shortly found out. First tank I came up with 1330 PSI after a 40 minute dive at no more than 60 ft! Second dive was shallower, and after almost no surface interval, we were off to our next dive site and back into the water. 50ft dive, 40 mins, we surfaced with 1200 PSI! I asked the dive guides why this was the case, and got a BS answer...that is until I pulled them to the side quietly at the end of my dives...I found out they are only paid for a half days work...and they have to be back at the dock by 1 or 1:30...this is the problem with having 1 guide to 8 or 9 divers...one person can ruin everyone else's experience having to surface so early...although that wasn't the case here...everyone this first day came up with over 1000 PSI or 100 bar...Essentially, I got half of what I paid for (almost coming up with half tank each time)...At no time were we anywhere near deco limits...

The dive boat was pretty crowded most days...on the day it was WAY overcrowded with 17 divers...they actually didn't have enough weight on the boat to accommodate everyone. By the time they got to me, they had 5 lbs...even without a wetsuit, I needed 12!

Another day they didn't have enough tanks and we had to wait for more from the dive shop...

Contrary to the dive guides advising against, they were told to bring along a girl with 7 dives total (remember you must do 5 in open water!) on a 95ft+ wreck dive. Yea, that's real responsible...Granted, the woman (who couldn't even put the equipment together) wanted to do it...isn't there a saying "never dive beyond your limits"...I see the training sank in...all the more reason she shouldn't have been allowed on this dive. She got stung by some fire coral...can we say Ironic?

ON the one day Mermaid does a night dive, I planned my whole day around it. I did not dive in the morning as the wife and I partied the previous night and slept in (all in the plan as I was only doing the night dive). Night dive scheduled for 6:00pm...I was at the boat, with no one around. Carlos showed up and said "didn't you get the message on your hotel phone"...obviously I had not. The message was left at 3:15pm, less than 3 hours before the dive...after I was explicitly told the day before it was a go. 6 divers needed, 7 were signed up. You can't give someone less than 3 hours notice when they plan their whole day around it! I did not get to do a night dive in Aruba...the only one to which I was REALLY looking forward to.

I will say the 2 dive guides, Bero and Tito were fantastic. They care greatly for the reefs/life in the water, joked around on the boat, and were a lot of fun. :no:
 
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