Staying at Iberostar - Want to dive Colombia Reef & Santa Rosa Wall

[Abidon]

I stayed at the Iberostar a few weeks ago, and I'm one of the "least common denominator" divers that Christi speaks of . She is right, though. The dive op (Dressel) suited this "vacation diver" needs to a "T". Their staff, boat crews, and DM's were all first rate in my book. The divers were divided into groups of up to 8 and led by DM's. However, everyone was assigned a buddy if they didn't already have one. It never felt like we were all bunched up during the dives. There was one couple (probably in their early 60's) who were always permitted to dive on their own, apart from the rest of the DM-led group. They were obviously regulars with Dressel, so much so, that all the DM's knew they could let them go on their merry way at the beginning of every dive. I never asked them how deep they would go, but the times I did notice them during a dive, they were much deeper than me; probably pushing the 100' mark.

Looking back at my logbook, I did two dives at the Santa Rosa Wall (Monday afternoon & Thursday morning), both to a maximum of 65'. There was a very strong current on the Monday afternoon dive, and I would easily classify this as my least favorite dive of the week. The Thursday morning dive might have been my favorite of the week. Same depth, same reef, but so much less current that I was able to take in lots more of the scenery.

The depths stated on Dressel's website are subject to change due to the conditions, so I'm guessing that even if you find a dive op that says they will let you dive deeper than 100', they may change their minds if the conditions aren't suitable that particular day. Most of the "2nd dives" I did each day were slightly deeper than the depths listed on their website.

Hopefully, you don't get any resistance from other dive ops about picking you up from Iberostar's pier. I'm not sure how that works logistically, since I never saw one diver get picked-up by another dive op the entire week I was there. As for the resort itself, this was the first All-Inclusive for my family and I, and we absolutely loved the place. We'll probably stay there again if we ever make it back to Cozumel.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

I agree with everything that has been mentioned above. Rather than fixating on a particular divesite..unless you just have to do Devils throat, I just tell the DM what I'm in the mood for. Swim throughs, pillars, wall, lots of pretty fish, etc. about the only reef I will request by name is Barracuda, but it's on the North end and not everybody wants to ride the roller coaster. What ever boat your on, there will be others who need to be part of the decision as well...unless it's your last diving day and we usually allow that person to decide.

Regardless which reef you end up on, the diving is going to be great, if not world class. We have dove all over the Carribbean, but return to Cozumel at least once a year, if not twice, because the diving, people, cost, and food simply can't be beat anywhere we have been.

Get ready to have a great time!!!!

Jay

 

[Addicted2H2O]

If you like Santa Rosa Wall, maybe consider San Francisco wall, too. It's another great wall dive and honestly I've seen just as may great things there as I have at Santa Rosa. I also agree with Palancar Caves. It's probably my favorite dive in Cozumel so far because all of the swim throughs are just fun. And you come out of them literally on the edge of the wall so you can get pretty deep in a hurry.

If you haven't done it before, consider the C-53 Wreck near Chankanaab. It's an old WWII Mine Sweeper that was retired after two years of duty in the 1940's and sold to the Mexican Navy in 1962. They converted it to a gun boat and used it to patrol the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean until it was retired in 1999. From there it was donated to the Cozumel underwater park and sunk as an artificial reef just off the coast of Chankanaab Park. It measures 154 ft long, 30 ft wide and 40 ft tall and sits on the Caribbean floor with the bottom at about 72 ft. Lots of life teeming around it and a really neat site to dive. If you go at the right time, you may even come across the Atlantis submarine that takes passengers for a dive along the reef. Here's a video I took during my dive last year if you want to see what it looks like. The GoPro splits videos at about 17:30 so there are actually two parts since it was about a 30 minute dive. Also, the video is completely unedited and I'm not the best videographer as of yet. But check it out and see what you think and if it seems like something you'd like to dive, maybe go to either of the walls and then hit the C-53 on the way back.

 

[Brules]

I would avoid Dressel like the plague.

Find another op who will/can pick up at their pier (who pays their stupid fees) and dive with them.

 

[Christi]

There was one couple (probably in their early 60's) who were always permitted to dive on their own, apart from the rest of the DM-led group. They were obviously regulars with Dressel, so much so, that all the DM's knew they could let them go on their merry way at the beginning of every dive. I never asked them how deep they would go, but the times I did notice them during a dive, they were much deeper than me; probably pushing the 100' mark.

Just FYI - this is not a good thing. Aside from violating local laws, it's not a good practice to let people go off totally on their own when on a group charter. If they want to dive on their own away from the group, they should at minimum be with a private DM and even better, a private charter.

Dressel is a large corporation and they import foreign DM's and Instructors. If you thought the staff there was good, then you really don't know what you're missing in Cozumel with many other shops. There are world class DM's and Instructors here who have been diving Cozumel (and other places) for a decade or two or three.

 

[Addicted2H2O]

Just FYI - this is not a good thing. Aside from violating local laws, it's not a good practice to let people go off totally on their own when on a group charter. If they want to dive on their own away from the group, they should at minimum be with a private DM and even better, a private charter.

I assume the legality of this only comes into play when inside the marine park? Maybe it's different here in the US but once you're a certified OW diver, you have the freedom to dive as you please with no DM presence required. So is a DM only required in the marine park because it's a protected location or is all diving in Cozumel/Cancun to be led only by a DM?

 

[Christi]

I assume the legality of this only comes into play when inside the marine park? Maybe it's different here in the US but once you're a certified OW diver, you have the freedom to dive as you please with no DM presence required. So is a DM only required in the marine park because it's a protected location or is all diving in Cozumel/Cancun to be led only by a DM?

AS I said it violates LOCAL LAWS - and Dressel only dives within the Marine park which requires a Local DM who has his/her Marine park credentials.

 

[lamby66]

I have dove Dressle divers from the Iberostar in cozumel and I have dove those dives on BOTH trips. I am not sure where the OP got his info from but you can definitely dive, and go deeper than 100' at those sites.

My more recent trip there was last month. Great hotel, and an even better dive operation!!

The only time you wont be allowed deep is if their is a concern of vortex currents which can suck you deep.

 

[Charred]

I was at the Iberostar this April and I dove mornings with Tres Pelicanos and afternoons with Dressel.

First I will say is that the Dressel bashing is unwarranted particularly from people that have likely never stayed at the resort or are competitors. People can have opinions but now I am starting to see dubious advice given. This forum is very hostile towards Dressel. If you actual dove with Dressel and chatted with the repeat visitors, you would find people that have dove with all the ops that were recommended in this thread but for various reasons have come back to Dressel.

Second I will say that diving with both ops, while staying at the Iberostar, has pros/cons for diving with both ops. I dove with both ops for various reasons in order to take advantage of the pros both offer. If you don't think Dressel has any pros you are being closed-minded.

Lastly, and I will admit this is atypical because I have visited Iberostar/Dressel before, they are more flexible than this forum would have you believe. On my last dive as we were walking off the boat, we bumped into our favorite DM who we did not get to dive with. He immediately said no way one more dive with me. We said we were done AND didnt want to go to the site they were headed too. He asked where we wanted to go, I named a site they never go on their schedule. Guess what, we went. With a group of 6...

I dove this same non-scheduled site with Dressel on my previous trip...and it wasnt me that asked.

So let's stop the Dressel bashing because it's unprofessional and its triggering my fairness gene to defend them when I see dubious claims being made against them.

 

[sefuchs]

I have dove with Dressel many times when I was first certified, actually did my open water cert dives with them on the mainland many years ago. They are just okay IMHO. I would never recommend them to anybody I know but I would dive with them if I couldn't get on any of the 'local' boats. The only 'pro' I would give them would be maybe due to convenience/cost if I was staying at Iberostar (which I won't be staying there b/c I love the vibe/food of Cozumel too much).