Blue Angel vs. Scuba Club Cozumel

[jwilson05]

We've stayed and dived at both places and all the comments are pretty accurate. If the price of the "lite" option at SCC was closer to the same deal at Blue Angel, I would look favorably at SCC just because of the location (easier walk to town).
I do hope the folks at Blue Angel will read Rajun Cajun's concerns about the briefing at the dive shop for first time visitors. It would be a shame for the new folks have a less than comfortable first experience.
We keep going back to Blue Angel because of the price, the awesome view, and the really nice people that work there.

 

[DandyDon]

We've stayed and dived at both places and all the comments are pretty accurate. If the price of the "lite" option at SCC was closer to the same deal at Blue Angel, I would look favorably at SCC just because of the location (easier walk to town).
I do hope the folks at Blue Angel will read Rajun Cajun's concerns about the briefing at the dive shop for first time visitors. It would be a shame for the new folks have a less than comfortable first experience.
We keep going back to Blue Angel because of the price, the awesome view, and the really nice people that work there.

Both are difficult to shop for prices, more of a "ask us" deal - and hotel with diving packages are challenging to break down too.* How much are you being quoted for each, for what exactly, if you don't mind? BA is a great place with wonderful view and staff, but if SCC is much higher - wow!

* I figure $60/2-tank trip on diving as that's easy to find.​

I guess you were checking the Sept-Oct SCC special. A quick check for Sept 16-23 shows air @ $414 vs air & Hotel Cozumel for $554 double occupancy after Orbitz $200/room discount = $140 each for hotel including taxes or $123 each aside from 14% room tax. 7 other popular hotels are less, as little as $436 including taxes and 2 more are maybes for the O-discount. It still amazes me that one can get a nice room for $22/week each including taxes over the cost of the plane, $37/week for private rooms. :shocked2:

BA seems to be about $350 each plus taxes

 

[herbdb]

We stayed at SCC in April and loved it. One comment I would like to add concerns the boats. Comments were made about SCC's boats being slower. While true, the larger slower boats usually have toilet facilities, shade, more room for gear, larger sturdier dive ladders, and rinse tanks and tables for cameras.

I saw a lot of dive operators operating out of open boats. Some appeared to be just large speed boats.

I will take a large stable boat that is designed for diving any day. The distance to the reefs is not that far anyway.

 

[ggunn]

We stayed at SCC in April and loved it. One comment I would like to add concerns the boats. Comments were made about SCC's boats being slower. While true, the larger slower boats usually have toilet facilities, shade, more room for gear, larger sturdier dive ladders, and rinses tanks and tables for cameras.

I saw a lot of dive operators operating out of open boats. Some appeared to be just large speed boats.

I will take a large stable boat that is designed for diving any day. The distance to the reefs is not that far anyway.

To each his own. I prefer the small fast boats. BTW, those larger boats are not designed for diving any more than the small ones are. It's about 25 miles from the central hotel zone to the sites at the south end.

 

[cvchief]

Gordo,

Its only maybe 8-9 to the common sites as far south as say the Ibero though from the middle of town. Of course on the Maximus, it seems closer..... :cheerleader::cheerleader:

 

[jwilson05]

A couple of months ago the quote from SCC was $615 for five nights, four days diving, two meals a day. BA had $430 for five nights, three days diving, two meals a day. Add a day of diving for $60 to total $490. Difference of $125. Enough to start a fund for the next flight south.
We'll be watching for a report on your experience with Villablanca and Scuba Mau since it looks like you can get pretty good deals there.

 

[lucidblue]

Hoping to go on my yearly trip to Cozumel in September/October. Tough to plan this year because I'm trying to sell my house and move to another city this fall too. Also flights to Cozumel this year are pretty high. I want to fly right into Cozumel, so I'm looking at $630 from Philly or $450 out of Newark (probably worth the effort/hassle to go to Newark).

I'll probably go back to SCC this time.

 

[robint]

To each his own. I prefer the small fast boats. BTW, those larger boats are not designed for diving any more than the small ones are. It's about 25 miles from the central hotel zone to the sites at the south end.

since we have done both - small fast boats and the SCC bigger boats, I have to agree with herbdb, we are a big fan of the bigger boats now. The smaller boats do get you there and back faster, but there is no bathroom and no camera table on those boats. We have 2 huge camera rigs, so a table and rinse tanks are important. I can't tell you how many times my camera got kicked, sitting on the floor of a 6-pack boat! It wasn't on purpose, but it could have caused damage and that was just a smaller point-and-shoot rig. We now have much more expensive stuff so we need a stable table.
We also like standing up and walking around, or sitting up top under the shady canopy on the ride out and back. We can chat with others on the boat, and relax.

another factor - when we stayed elsewhere, we got back on boat quicker but had to rinse gear, put in rental car and drive back to hotel, put it in shower to dry while we drove to a restaurant to eat lunch. Then we had to sit and wait for food. At SCC, you walk off boat, dip gear in large rinse tanks and shower off at shower, put gear in your locker, and walk right into restuarant and sit down. Order off the menu and food is in front of you within 5 minutes. So even though the boats get back later than those fast 6-packs, we are eating lunch around same time. Time wise, it works out about the same. Plus at SCC, since it is all-inclusive, you just sign your ticket when done eating, and no need to get money out. Then you are right back in water on an afternoon boat dive or shore dive or walk to town. Easy peasy! We just found the whole experience at SCC to be more relaxing than doing it the ala carte way with other dive ops and hotels.

Just my 2 cents.
robin

 

[DandyDon]

Hoping to go on my yearly trip to Cozumel in September/October. Tough to plan this year because I'm trying to sell my house and move to another city this fall too. Also flights to Cozumel this year are pretty high. I want to fly right into Cozumel, so I'm looking at $630 from Philly or $450 out of Newark (probably worth the effort/hassle to go to Newark).

I'll probably go back to SCC this time.

It is pricey to get there form PHL isn't it! The best I can find involves multi-airlines @ $547 or same airline @ $649. $454 on Continental out of EWR is probly worth it.

Neither of these properties participate in the Orbitz $200 discount program. I see several that do and two would give a couple air out of PHL (one airline, only one stop/connection) and hotel for a week for as little as $695 each including taxes, several others air & hotel for less than $816 - only $167 or less over air alone.

 

[A2K]

I have a question for all of you that have stayed at BA. I haven't heard this mentioned in any of the previous posts. How's their rental equipment? I haven't taught in a while and sold my gear a couple years back and my wife is new to diving and hasn't gotten any gear yet. I'm going to try to get as much as I can before we leave. I already have wetsuits, and the next purchase is computers.