AOW wants fast 6packs, down town pick up, nitrox

[beth_castroll]

Greetings-

Haven't been to Cozumel since 2014 and haven't found my "shop" yet. We have dove with BlueXTC, Tres pelicanos and Scuba Mau (pre opal...)

We are AOW with Nitrox and own gear. 120odd dives each. Not "advanced" by any means but competent divers. Most recent dives were Gordo Banks blue dives last month. We will be living in Playa del Carmen for the month of March and will ferry over a few days here and there to dive in Cozumel.

I'm looking for a fast 6 pack that will pick us up in town and has reasonable prices for the nitrox upgrade.
I don't need a head on board or snacks. I want to be able to dive my tank (60 minutes). I want them to rinse and store my gear over night. I don't need a shore SI but its nice. I'd like someone who doesn't have 7:30am dive times as we are more the 9am on the boat types. I have a little back problem at times so I'd like someone who will be there to help me with my gear into the boat rather than climb up a 6pk ladder.

I've searched the threads but there seems to be a lot of noise in them.

Thanks

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

Aldora is close to everything you have asked for.....but they are 7:30-7:45 departure times from the Aldora pier downtown. We stay at Casa Mexicana so it is about a short block away and works great for us. They use 120cf tanks so we often get 90 minute dives. The only dive we have ever done less than 60 minutes was on Barracuda when the current was ripping and we were deep....not to mention sucking air like it was unlimited.

They do surface together, but with the extended dive times it's never mattered to us. Should you get with an air hog, they will share air with the DM to extend the dive. I've been on the hose of shame a few times and never minded it. On one dive, the DM even carried a pony for a diver. We were only on that boat once for our "check out" dives. Once they know your skill level, they group you accordingly to the best of their ability.

I have a wrecked shoulder and we always take our gear off in the water and the DM hands it up.

They have always accommodated any reasonable request, if there were other divers that wanted a later pickup, that might be an option. @Dave Dillehay is on this site regularly, shoot them an email and see what they can do. they also give a 10% cash discount.

Another option would be Blue Magic. They leave from their shop and provide transportation to the marina and back. It's a smaller operation and excellent service. We would usually be at their shop around 8:30 if I remember correctly. It is close to Zermatt Bakery for breakfast pastries and coffee, and Crazy King Burritos or Burritos Gorditos when you get back for lunch. Great service, if I remember correctly you surfaced with your buddy when you hit 500 psi. They only drawback was they did not have the steel 120's.

Good luck, safe travels.
Jay

 

[nodakdive]

Deep Blue might work for you. They leave from downtown and I think they still leave at 9am. As to the nitrox, they were charging what seemed pretty common, $10 per tank. They SI on land, fruit and water, usually at the conch pier or at Playa Paradise.

Let them know what you'd like, and they should be able to accommodate you. Also, if you ask for help with gear on the boat, they will. I usually climb on with my bc/tank, but I've seen people take them off in the water many times.


www.deepbluecozumel.com

 

[Trailboss123]

OK-- Before everyone does what they always seem to do when it comes to Cozumel Dive Op threads and recommendations, let's be clear on what the Original Poster is asking for and put away or biases

1. Downtown pick up - I am not sure if that means picked up downtown by the boat or picked up downtown and transported to the boat?

2. Reasonable Nitrox cost: "This is pretty standard on the island"

3. Later than normal dive departure time: Prefers 9am "on the boat" departure. Which also begs the question for a need to answer #1 above. Getting on the boat at 9am downtown is one thing. Getting shuttled to the caleta and getting on a boat at 9am is another thing.

4. Wants to try someone new

5. Fast 6 pack boat

 

[gopbroek]

The 9AM departure is probably the most problematic. The mid-morning slot means that the boat, most likely, will only be available for the single trip on that day this tends to limit the availability operators willing to commit the scarce resource of a boat to a single trip for the day. This also means that it is a high probability of predominantly catering to the day tripper / cruise trip trade. That does not mean cruise ship or day trip divers are are substandard but it increases the probability of 'first dive of trip' divers which often causes the operators to tend to be cautious in dive site selection which may limit it to less difficult sites.

 

[nodakdive]

For the years I've been diving with Deep Blue, anyhow, the op will be put on the "easy" boat for the first trip to size them up and after that, if they're doing OK and want to go on the "advanced" boat, they should be able to do that. I've done many, many 4 tank days with Deep Blue. They drop us off at Playa Paradise or Money Bar for lunch and pick us up for the afternoons. I've also been on boats with them where there are some non-advanced divers and some more advanced divers and there's been a dm for each group, doing different profiles.

Years ago I did some diving with Blue Magic. It's been so long I can't be sure, but it rings a bell that they leave a little later too. I remember getting picked up by car in front of CDM around 8:30am or so.

 

[Christi]

Greetings-

Haven't been to Cozumel since 2014 and haven't found my "shop" yet. We have dove with BlueXTC, Tres pelicanos and Scuba Mau (pre opal...)

We are AOW with Nitrox and own gear. 120odd dives each. Not "advanced" by any means but competent divers. Most recent dives were Gordo Banks blue dives last month. We will be living in Playa del Carmen for the month of March and will ferry over a few days here and there to dive in Cozumel.

I'm looking for a fast 6 pack that will pick us up in town and has reasonable prices for the nitrox upgrade.
I don't need a head on board or snacks. I want to be able to dive my tank (60 minutes). I want them to rinse and store my gear over night. I don't need a shore SI but its nice. I'd like someone who doesn't have 7:30am dive times as we are more the 9am on the boat types. I have a little back problem at times so I'd like someone who will be there to help me with my gear into the boat rather than climb up a 6pk ladder.

I've searched the threads but there seems to be a lot of noise in them.

Thanks

Hi Beth - good to see you're coming back to Cozumel. A lot has changed and improved with our shop (Blue XT~Sea) since Jan 2012 when you last dove with us - and I'll admit, 2011/2012 were rough years. We have 2 recently rebuilt boats with new engines, additional staff, and can often schedule an 8:30 or 9:00 departures - many other improvements as well. Shoot me an e-mail if you'd like to give us another try and I can customize a package for you

 

[Sloeber]

Greetings-

Haven't been to Cozumel since 2014 and haven't found my "shop" yet. We have dove with BlueXTC, Tres pelicanos and Scuba Mau (pre opal...)

We are AOW with Nitrox and own gear. 120odd dives each. Not "advanced" by any means but competent divers. Most recent dives were Gordo Banks blue dives last month. We will be living in Playa del Carmen for the month of March and will ferry over a few days here and there to dive in Cozumel.

I'm looking for a fast 6 pack that will pick us up in town and has reasonable prices for the nitrox upgrade.
I don't need a head on board or snacks. I want to be able to dive my tank (60 minutes). I want them to rinse and store my gear over night. I don't need a shore SI but its nice. I'd like someone who doesn't have 7:30am dive times as we are more the 9am on the boat types. I have a little back problem at times so I'd like someone who will be there to help me with my gear into the boat rather than climb up a 6pk ladder.

I've searched the threads but there seems to be a lot of noise in them.

Thanks

Hi Beth,

We can meet all of your requirements. We advertise an 8am departure, but this is flexible depending on the day's schedule, oftentimes departing at 9 or 10am. Otherwise we have you fully covered. I'd love the chance to earn your business. Let me know if you have any questions. Links below in my signature

 

[Dan G]

Blue Project is a valet op (keep, rinse, set up your gear) that I had a very good experience with in December. Most ops will accommodate divers who wish to doff their gear and have it hauled onboard for them before climbing the ladder back onto the boat. I would check out Blue Project's website and contact them about pick up times and locations. Paco is very responsive. Nitrox upgrade prices are all pretty close to the same among the Coz ops. A larger consideration over Nx cost difference IMHO is whether or not the op has an analyzer on every boat for you to use or for the DM to use while you witness the FO2 reading.

 

[Zman96]

Beth, Christi is right a lot has changed for the better with her op in the last couple of years. Boats are great now again and the crew is top notch. Her Nitrox is 10 bucks a tank iirc which is pretty standard.