Another sad scam........

[gbrandon]

Where did I say you were? I made a general statement, and you took it personally. A little too close for comfort? At any rate, your quote:

says it better than I can. It sure comes off as rude, arrogant, and obnoxious.

Wrong again. I'm nowhere near bent out of shape.

See above, which also goes along with my previous statement:

Im not going to spend any more time arguing about this. Ill write a trip report up when Im done and then you can make judgement. Im really hoping its a great experience that wants me to go back again. Maybe I am putting coz in with the rest of mexico and its not that way there at all. Regardless, how you come to the conclusion of how im rude and arrogant is beyond my grasp. My post didnt say ONE thing that came out of my mouth to to them to warrant such treatment back, nor did all the posts reflect MY experience. How one comes to label me when I never even spoke to them has me shaking my head. You were implying that I deserved the way I was treated because of the way I acted or something I said. That sir, is completely off the mark.

As far as some of the other posters concerns, yes, I have had people try things in other countries and it happens all over. Last time I was in the Philipines, I called ahead to find out how much it would cost to ship some stuff home on the plane that I had bought there. The airline quoted me $250.US. When I got to the airport, the clerk told me $500. I argued with him and we agreed at $350. Im sure he pocketed $100 but it was either pay or miss my flight or leave my stuff there. And since I spent more than that on the items I picked pay the guy. I My point was I seem to hear and experience more stories regarding mexico than other countries. Maybe I am grouping cozumel in with the rest of mexico and its not that way at all. Maybe its because FAR more people vacation in mexico than all the other countries combined (at least here on the west coast) and im getting the majorities opinion. Regardless, In 2 weeks time I will find out for myself and be sure to post on here. Thanks everyone for the suggestions and feedback.

 

[ggunn]

...how you come to the conclusion of how im rude and arrogant is beyond my grasp. My post didnt say ONE thing that came out of my mouth to to them to warrant such treatment back, nor did all the posts reflect MY experience. How one comes to label me when I never even spoke to them has me shaking my head. You were implying that I deserved the way I was treated because of the way I acted or something I said. That sir, is completely off the mark.

I'm pretty sure it was when you said:

The last 2 times I was there were both horrible experiences from dealing with the locals. You cant trust any of them. I am going to Cozumel in a few weeks and im sure it will be the same idiots trying to sell me timeshares, their little sister, chicklets, or charging me unsuspectingly. Im really hoping that this time after I go I realize that when I leave there that the diving is not so great that its worth getting treated like I owe everyone in mexico something and I wont return again.

Especially the "You cant trust any of them" and the stuff about the "idiots" trying to sell you their little sister. I've never experienced anyone trying to hook me up with their sister in all my trips to Cozumel since I started going there in 1978, or anything even remotely like it. Also, you say that you hope that you finally get it this time that Cozumel isn't worth going to; why bother going at all?

A lot of the way one is treated (or perceives they are treated) depends on their attitude, and it can be inferred from your comments that yours may be less than charitable. I apologize if I got it wrong, but Firefyter is not the only one who saw it that way.

 

[cheesehead]

It seems to be the automatic internet reaction to blame a bad experience on the person reporting it. Lost in the shuffle is the fact that the Cozumel experience for those of us who have years of visits is not the experience of the (relative)novice. While some of us have earned a great time, maybe Cozumel isn't as friendly to a newcomer as it was when I was first finding the island.

I would be interested in getting specifics from Brandon on what disappointed him. Hopefully he does post a trip report after his next and again hoepfully better trip.

Tim

 

[ggunn]

It seems to be the automatic internet reaction to blame a bad experience on the person reporting it. Lost in the shuffle is the fact that the Cozumel experience for those of us who have years of visits is not the experience of the (relative)novice. While some of us have earned a great time, maybe Cozumel isn't as friendly to a newcomer as it was when I was first finding the island.

I would be interested in getting specifics from Brandon on what disappointed him. Hopefully he does post a trip report after his next and again hoepfully better trip.

Tim

I'm not blaming anyone. It's just when he refers to the Cozumel residents as uniformly untrustworthy and "idiots" hawking Chicklets and pimping their sisters, it reveals an attitude which is, to me, a bit suspect. Mexico as a vacation spot is not for everyone, and attitude has a tremendous impact on the experience one has in going there, or anywhere else for that matter.

But I really am not being judgemental. It is possible that he ran into the wrong bunch of people there who made his visit miserable. That's unfortunate if true, but it doesn't reflect the experiences that I or anyone else whom I personally know has had there, be they novice or veteran Cozumel visitors.

 

[scubawife]

gbrandon, there are so many places you can go on a dive vacation for less then 7 days. Why go to a place that you are already hoping you won't like before you even get there? I've been traveling to the Yucatan up to 3 times a year for almost 18 yrs. Where I go has changed since I got addicted to diving. I learned very early on that Cancun and Playa del Carmen are not for me. If I want big resorts, malls and all the same chain stores and restaurants that I can get at home, well, I'll stay home.

My vacation is what I make of it. The timeshare hawkers, cruise ship passengers, tshirt shops and jewelry stores don't effect my enjoyment of Cozumel one bit. From about 8am-2pm I'm diving or on the boat. After getting back to the hotel and cleaning up, I'm spending a couple hours enjoying a cold drink and a snack either at a small beach bar or a place that at home could be called a dive (no pun intended). Sometimes we just walk around a neighborhood in town and walk into a really great smelling bakery, or pick up a roasted chicken, or just follow the interesting sites, sounds and smells and see what we find. I've got a list of favorite restaurants and try to get to them for dinners. We tend to find at least one new spot each trip.

Yeah, like almost every tourist destination in the world that's easily accesible to the American market, the Mexican beach resorts have changed in the last 10-15 yrs. And like other places, some changes are good and some bad. Not every destination is going to appeal to every person. Lumping all of Mexico into one is like basing an opinion of CA on your experience in FL, just because they both have beaches and are in the US.

By the way, where are you staying and who are you diving with? Those choices will have a big impact on what your Cozumel vacation and dive experience are like.

If you like Roatan the way it is, enjoy it now because it will be changing quite a bit in the near future. On 3/23, Carnival Corp announced that Roatan will be their next cruise port development project. Construction will begin this fall and their vision is a port that exceeds their newest facilities in Costa Maya and Grand Turk. Carnival Corp owns Carnival, Holland America, Princess, Seabourn, Windstar, Cunard and Costa. Tens of thousands of passenger every week. And on average, recent studies have shown that about 1 in every 3 cruise passengers will return with 12-18 months for a land-based vacation to at least one of the ports they first visited on a cruise.

 

[DandyDon]

I think Gbrandon's comments have been dealt with - we don't need to gang up on him, do we...?

If you like Roatan the way it is, enjoy it now because it will be changing quite a bit in the near future. On 3/23, Carnival Corp announced that Roatan will be their next cruise port development project. Construction will begin this fall and their vision is a port that exceeds their newest facilities in Costa Maya and Grand Turk. Carnival Corp owns Carnival, Holland America, Princess, Seabourn, Windstar, Cunard and Costa. Tens of thousands of passenger every week. And on average, recent studies have shown that about 1 in every 3 cruise passengers will return with 12-18 months for a land-based vacation to at least one of the ports they first visited on a cruise.

I hate that, but I guess it's expcted.

 

[driftin' by]

Lets all remember that TIP is an acronym for "To Insure Promptness". It's certainly evolved into something else.... something else sometimes quite aggravating. Nevertheless, the notion of "auto grat" or "tip included" is no more than a simple scam that happens everyday, everywhere especially in the grand ole US of A. So let's all climb down off our high horses and not frown down on our good neighbors to the south for what is obviously an isolated incident. At one time, I worked in the industry and I know restaurants do this all the time and occasionally, some poor folks with good intentions get taken advantage of. The hope of the wait staff is that what's already been automatically added to the bill as a Tip will go unseen and therefore the customer will add an additional tip unsuspectingly. I'm sorry but no tip is automatic or required! I know that for people in the service industry, a majority of their salary is reliant upon tips. However the resultant tip is solely based upon the customer's perceive level of service received. Anyone in the industry that expects a tip from everyone should retire. Anyone that always tips the same percentage or amount regardless of the total is doing an injustice to the person receiving the tip because they'll never have a fair basis for comparison of their performance. Finally, anyone that doesn't budget an adequate tip (regardless of the amount) into the price of doing something SHOULD NOT DO IT.

 

[TSandM]

We just got back from my first trip to Cozumel, with side trips to the mainland, and overall, I was very pleased. People were friendly, and although almost all the shops had shills, they were polite about being refused. The taxis, whether it was a $3 one or an $8 one, were cheap and pleasant. In fact, on our adventure trip to the cenotes, we had a taxi driver connect with us in Playa del Carmen, and he was so pleased to make the long drive to Tulum that he gave Danny his phone number and came and picked us up that afternoon, and met us the next morning, and sent a friend for us that afternoon. I don't recall the price, but I believe it was around $20 for two of us, for a 30 minute or more drive, and I sure can't go anywhere in the US or Europe in a taxi for that much money.

We didn't scrutinize our bills, though, and we may have been charged extra. We're so used to sales tax that I'm not sure any of us would have registered it. Prices were pretty reasonable everywhere we went for food, anyway.

Africa was much more aggressively aggravating -- having six people descend on the car at every intersection with window washers, demanding money and looking angry and scary when we refused it was WAY worse than the sidewalk criers in Cozumel.

 

[cowboyneal]

How about we look at it this way - the average masero makes what, 36 pesos/day (which is what, about $3.50?). Now add to that that an average meal is probably about no more than 100 pesos (depending, maybe 150) and that's what, $8-$12? Your measly extra 10% or 15% is what, a $1 or $2? Cabbies make nothing, except for the tips.

If you can't afford to leave an extra buck or two on the table or in the hands of the cab driver, perhaps the whole trip is just simply out of your price range and you should stay in Alabama or Mississippi or whatever other backwater hole people crawl out of that detract from, and defame, the rest of us on this board and other people from the US as well that are friendly, NOT BIGOTS, generous and willing to share our gratitude with our neighbors. If anything, I over tip, and feel great doing it. The next time you go to a ball game and spend $15 on a hot dog and a beer, think about how you just ate and drank that maseros weekly salary...(but you wouldn't do that, because it costs too much - ok, think about it the next time you buy a case of "Iron City Light")...

The problem with Mexico is not the Mexican people or anything to do with the Mexican people, its usually the trailer trash from our country that shows up there thinking that they have all of a sudden attained some class because they managed to scrape together some money for a vacation, and then go about making Azzez out of themselves proving that they also think that everyone in Mexico owes them something...

Unbelievable if you ask me...gives all of us a bad name, all over the world..."the face of America"...yeesh...

"TIP" does not mean "To Insure Promptness." Actually, if you wrote in English, the phrase would be "To Ensure Promptness" so, TEP is not TIP. 'Tip' is an old word, and it has nothing to do with either acronyms or the act of attempting to influence quality of service. Although the word has many meanings, both as a verb and as a noun, the use of the term as it applies to monetary rewards to servants dates to the 1700s. It first appeared in this context as a verb ("Then I, Sir, tips me the Verger with half a Crown" from the 1706 George Farquhar play The Beaux Stratagem) and was first recorded as a noun in 1755. However, the use of 'tip' to describe the act of giving something to another (where that list of possible 'somethings' could include small sums of money, intelligence on horse races or the latest silly joke) goes back to 1610. 'Tip' slipped into the language as underworld slang, with the verb 'to tip' (meaning 'to give to or share with') being used by shady characters as part of the then-current argot of petty criminals. Nowadays this use of 'tip' has become entirely respectable, but it is amusing that the usage began its linguistic life as tough guy jargon. One wonders if future generations will similarly discover that some of their everyday terms sprang from scenes in The Godfather or were first voiced in episodes of The Sopranos.

 

[DandyDon]

I'll take exception on the Coz cabbies, their strong union, and the few who try to con passengers. Lots of those stories here, maybe different on the mainland.