Aldora Divers Review: Two Tank Solo New Diver Experience Coming off a Cruise Ship

[Jayfarmlaw]

On the subject of cruise divers, our very first dives after openwater were in Cozumel and we arrived on a cruise ship. There were 4 of us including one jr diver limited to 60 feet. Since there were four of us and we were cruisers (we really didn't know any better) we chartered our own boat for not much more than 4 divers at the normal rate. The DWM boat was a short walk from the cruise ship pier and was waiting on us when we arrived. Getting off the ship was a lengthy process just trying to get 4000 people or so out one door and I'm an "on time" kind of guy so I was a little frazzled to begin with. In typical Cozumel style, the DWM crew was absolutely laid back and had expected us to be late getting off the boat. 10 minutes later, we were on our way.

The dive was a nightmare for the DM. One daughter wanted to cover about 8 feet on the bottom for the entire dive, one daughter wanted to cover the entire Carribbean in one dive, then did summersaults and lost her weights. I spent my dive trying to tell one daughter to hurry up and trying to chase the other down and bring her back...into a mild current. Surface interval was spent discussing the importance of staying together. The second dive went exactly the same. Lol. I tipped well.

i can laugh about it now. If we were typical cruise divers, I can't blame an op for running in the opposite direction. I'm sure our DM drank heavily that night! And for clarification, im not saying the OP was anywhere near as bad as we were...or even bad at all. I am saying that we were the stereotypical cruise ship divers. I hang my head in shame....

We found Aldora 2 trips later (we fly now) and haven't found a reason to change since. I can see both sides of this issue and can agree with both on some level. I have a high stress job and work hard for my vacation time. I consider it selling my soul and pieces of my life so my family can live a comfortable lifestyle and I can afford to go diving 2-4 times a year. What may be just another day at the office for service providers in Cozumel, is the one week I have before going back to work. In that light, I am more sensitive to issues like this, but have also found Aldora absolutely willing to resolve issues in my favor, usually not charged for dives or Nitrox. Jorge in the diveshop, has always been great, even staying an hour late to meet us the night before our dives due to travel delays. Whatever he is paid, it's not enough.

good luck to the OP, Aldora is not for everyone, Dive With Martin, Blue Magic, 3p's, Blue XTSea, and about 100 or so other dive ops are available. My standard comment when someone asks, "What's the best dive op" is that it takes time to find the best dive op FOR YOU. They all do something a little different. Cost, tank size, SI time and location, departure point, boat size, number of divers, departure time, surface strategy, entry style, services provided (valet or traditional) and all the variables that go with that, standard dive sites included, port closure alternatives, nude diving rules, warhammer procedures, and any other operational differences make each dive op uniquely perfect for someone and a disaster for others. I'm sure you will find the perfect one for you, it just takes lots of dive trips...which is a good thing!

OP, I'll happily buy you a Bohemia Obscura at the Thirsty Cougar should we find ourselves in Coz. If not, I'll drink one in your honor in October...then one for Dave....then you...then Dave...then me...then Big Bird...then Christian the bartender....the Sharif the DM....then Dario.... then I'll stumble back for a nights sleep to get ready to dive again!

Safe travels,
Jay

 

[outofofficebrb]

@DevilEyeDog Save your time and move on. It’s not worth the headache and there is nothing to be gained from the effort.

 

[DevilEyeDog]

Oh, and Dave...the discover scuba class was booked 3 months before.
I need to secure a private DM? Not to mention that the private DM was booked 6+ months before.
Oh wait... And both the Discover scuba, 2 tank dive along with the private DM we're confirmed two weeks before arrival.

Do you want me to post everything to scuba board??

Sorry folks... Aldora Divers is not perfect and it's okay. How the owner is handling this very small situation is ridiculous.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Jay, care to elaborate on dive op SOP on nude diving and especially warhammers?

 

[Dogbowl]

I'm going to go out on a limb as well. The best bet for novice cruise ship divers is Dive with Martin. They are on the Cruise ship pier, there is no need for a taxi and they are reputable and set up for cruisers. You will have no chance of going to the wrong dock or pier, miss the office or suffer many of the self inflicted wrongs.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

Respectfully, I'm going to disagree that Dive with Martin is the best bet for cruise ship divers. First, their trips leave at 7:30am, often too early for cruise ship divers to make. They do have an afternoon trip though. Second, they are located at the International Pier, so if your ship comes in on the Punta Langosta Pier (closest to downtown) or the Puerta Maya, you will have to take a taxi to their shop. Third and perhaps most important, is that they have a "strict" cruise ship policy, which effectively says your booking is not guaranteed unless you charter your own boat for $500, which will take you on a private charter for upto 4 people. That's how I read their website and have not contacted them for that reason.

Home Page

Since I only dive with my husband, and I usually end up docking at Punta Langosta, I find the in-town shops best for me. Having said this, diving off a cruise ship will no longer be a regular for me, unless I'm going with a bunch of non-diving friends or family. It really is a lot of logistical work and hassle.

I think dive shops should be free to set their own policy with respect to cruise ship divers, but if they decide they will take cruise ship divers and beginner divers, they should not be treated like second-class citizens.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

Jay, care to elaborate on dive op SOP on nude diving and especially warhammers?

Never really asked during the dive briefing, But immsure that there are different procedures. Most would probably be "nope." Just curious to see if anyone read through all that!! You passed the pop quiz...or would that be Poop Quiz?

Jay

 

[Wookie]

Never really asked during the dive briefing. Just curious to see if anyone read through all that!! You passed the pop quiz...or would that be Poop Quiz?

Jay

I actually pay attention when you write of Cozumel. You aren’t a fanboy or selling a trip. You go to Cozumel like I do, only more often.

 

[Efka76]

Today in the evening i had some time and read these posts. Yes, it seems that this is going to be another Anita's type thread. As a person, who is absolutely not related to OP, Dave and his dive shop, i can draw the following conclusions:

1) Customer ordered services, confirmed them before arrival, adn did not get them as he expected. Simple issue.
2) It is natural that you expect that appropriate dive shop person, politely apologise for such thing and explain the reason. Various unforeseen things (especially in scuba diving) can happen and this is normal. If this would be done, no issue would pop up in this forum.
3) Customer does not get appropriate explanation, does not get response to his emails for long time and, accordingly, slightyly complains about this situation in scubaboard. This is a very normal and understandable complain. Also, OP was really nice and mentioned about nice dives and all other good things.
4) Dave responds in a very inappropriate way, also it seems that he is quite well known in this community. OP gets various nasty comments.
5) It seems that Dave does not understand how customer relationship works. It takes many years to build good reputation and it takes one or few cases to ruin it. All his comments about cruise customers are not relevant. He does not have a clue how customer relationship works nowadays and that he ALREADY LOST many potential customers who are going to read such response / review and will choose another dive shop.
6) At the end of my post i would like to give a simple advice to Dave: everybody makes mistakes, it is not very hard to admit them and apologise. Now you showed yourself as arrogant person and lost many potential clients. If you do not have understanding how to handle such situations, hire someone who is able to properly handle it. If you do not do that and will have few more similar stories you will be out of this business. Internet is pretty powerful. It is time to understand this.

 

[Bubblesong]

@DevilEyeDog and @Dave Dillehay just to be clear, Did DevilEyeDog Request two (2) Divemasters and offer to pay for two (2) Divemasters? Or did he request one DM for his photography and expect the shop to just know he needed a second DM for the New Diver? Because I have 7 years of college, and I would have thought he was asking for that one (1) private DM for his group, unless he first asked the price of two (2) DMs and brought along tip money to compensate this duo of DM’s.

 

[Skittl1321]

@DevilEyeDog and @Dave Dillehay just to be clear, Did DevilEyeDog Request two (2) Divemasters and offer to pay for two (2) Divemasters? Or did he request one DM for his photography and expect the shop to just know he needed a second DM for the New Diver? Because I have 7 years of college, and I would have thought he was asking for that one (1) private DM for his group, unless he first asked the price of two (2) DMs and brought along tip money to compensate this duo of DM’s.

Well, I'm just bored now but...

A discover scuba diver is essentially a class, not a new diver; they aren't certified.
If someone asked for a private DM to help with photography and also wanted a discover scuba class; I'd expect the OP to say "you know that is two DMs right?" when booking. Because a discover scuba DM can't help someone find small things for photography.

But I'd also expect a discover scuba price to include the required DM if I was booking it.