Cancun diving

[dive pro]

Hola Chris, thanks for your nice comment about me, I am not with Manta anymore, they are a great dive shop and Mimi is a good friend and I care for their kids and get to visit with them etc. all in great terms, I just wanted to grow and be independent, so I built my site and am an INSTRUCTOR - DIVE MASTER that provides private services on other shops boats,
I do mention that on my site, I am not a PADI DIVE CENTER and do have several friends and divers that dive with me, email me or are referred to me. As mentioned here it is hard when you do not have deep pockets so I also work at SCUBA CANCUN for a year now and I was promoted in January to Manager of Operations, I am very happy with them and have a great relationship with the owners and just to clarify Scuba Cancun owns several dive boats 4 operating 2 in cancun 2 at our maroma operation close to playa del carmen, 3 on repair and a couple of fishing boats, and the premises we work form are privately owned by the dive shop. I know Ben Mooney for a very long time and all I can say about him is that he is a great friend and one of the best dive service providers I have met,
I know for a fact it has taken him a very long time to build a reputation here on scuba board and it is my believe that scuba board and trip advisor are not fooled easy because of IP ADDRESSES emails, etc, it is not just like lets do a fake email and a fake post. Call me naive or maybe I am a better diver than wise on internet matters.
Alvaro from Always Diving is also one of the best in cancun and he is also a great singer and guitar player, bet no one knew that one, we had the chance to work together, he provides excellent dive services! Leif is one of the best cavern divers and guides in the world. Octavio at Nautilus divers has been a great ally an awesome friend and we have had the chance of working with and for each other, he has taken my divers I have taken his. AND ALL THIS PEOPLE MENTIONED AND THE DIVE SHOPS OR OPERATIONS THEY WORK AT HAVE AIDED AND HELPED EACH OTHER ALWAYS AND I DO NOT THINK ANYTHING WILL AFFECT THAT NOT EVEN COMPETITION WITH EACH OTHER, ALL THESE AMAZING DIVERS I TRUST WITH MY LIFE, MY DIVERS AND WILL CONTINUE TO HELP EACH OTHER NO MATTER THE NAME OF THE DIVE SHOP, I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THEY HAVE HELPED ME WHEN I WAS AT MANTA, AND NOW AT SCUBA CANCUN, WHEN A DIVE LIGHT IS NEEDED, OR A REGULATOR, OR TOWING A BOAT ETC. All these guys, myself and others that do not interact on the boards nor internet are the cancun divers, there are many dive shops, but like you mentioned wisely it is not the dive shop it is the one that takes you diving.
every one is entitled to their opinions, and to share and express their views. I guess it is always important to learn from every situation, and what I learned from this one is that it is important for people to know who they are dealing with when they do not know me and it also reinforces the trust and friendship I have with my fellow divers from cancun.......and it is time we all got together again for a beer......

 

[socaljarhead]

Good morning, all

I'm a new member here and also just finished my open water cert last week in Cancun.

I wanted to say thank you to Karl from Mayan Aqua Dive for his help and taking me diving for two days.

Anyone who is looking for a good guy and qualified instructor can't go wrong with him. We chatted quite a bit over two days and I learned a bit about him. He has many years of diving experience which are very diverse. Karl is from Alaska but has lived in Cancun for some time and really knows the area.

I was staying at the Royal Sands resort and hooked up with him out of there but he does have his own website as well.

My dives were a lot of fun and actually pretty challenging on the second day, as there was a really heavy current. Although a little disconcerting, I never felt too worried since Karl was always right there watching over me. I do think that, for now, I'd rather dive without the current..

At any rate, I finished, I'm certified, and I was happy with my Cancun dive instructor so I would recommend him if anyone is looking.

 

[Spratman]

First, Congratulations on getting certified!

Second, I know Karl and Karla both. Good people and good dive op.

Hope you have a lot of disposable income for your new addiction....

 

[DiveDVM]

I wanted to respond to the comments about subcontracting and sharing of resources. It seems that some people understand (certainly those of us in the business!) and some people may have misconceptions about it. There are advantages to subcontracting to other companies: we are able to keep a low ratio of divers per instructor which enhances safety and personal attention and can tailor the dive excursions; and if the port is closed due to weather, we always have a plan B to go to other sites (for example, cenotes); and it has its financial advantages too in terms of costs related to managing the boat.

Whether it is a large dive operation with their own boats, or a smaller dive company that subcontracts, I agree with Chris: it's about the relationship and quality of the instructor that has a lot to do with the overall dive experience. In Cancun, I have found the instructors with the various dive companies (big or small) to be very collegial and supportive. From my time working with Nautilus, I have noticed how the instructors at the various companies are keen to see the success of the diving industry in Mexico as a whole, not just as individuals.

I can also confirm that *none* of our posts are fake on the TripAdvisor site. I would think in this day the TripAdvisor IT people are far smarter than I am and could recognize similar IP addresses. I use it as a tool to gauge how we are doing, and what we can be doing differently for our divers to further enhance their experience and ensure they are having/have had a great time diving, because at the end of the day, that's what's it's all about.

 

[DIVEMUCH]

Who says Trip Advisor checks IP addresses anyway or it not written by friends? I have already been burned by fake post saying how great of their so called shop was just to find out the shop didn’t exist, but none of their post seem to state that fact. Then if you look at the Cancun businesses on Trip Advisor they seem to mention and correctly spell everyone's name except the dog’s. Lets see a couple of Nautilus’ quotes on Trip Advisor “I was provided good equipment for my dives all at a fair price” or “They are a small operator but so much better with attention to detail and personal service and care than some of the big operators. Excellent attention to safety, and our enjoyment” Sounds like a sales pitch to me! Maybe when you write your next original post you could spell your name a couple of times Sherry like most people would have spell it on a real candid Trip Advisor report.

 

[JBRES1]

Divemuch,
I'm not too sure where you are coming from with yor post, but it sounds like you have a hard on for Scorpio divers.
Please tell me what they did so wrong to you that you are coming at them in this manner.

I , Jim Breslin and my family have dove with Ben and Jorge on our past 2 trips to Cancun.
We have nothing but good things to say about how they ran their business or the gear we used or the boats were on.
Yes, I know they are a small company just starting out. Yes , I know they don't own their own boat. Yes, I know they don't have a dive shop.

What does having your own boat or having a full dive shop have to do with providing divers with a great dive trip ? Nothing !
Ben and Jorge love to dive and it shows in the service they provide to their customers.

And Divemuch , I don't put a whole lot of value on your post. You have been a member here for the past 7 years, but you don't tell us anything about yourself or your location.
Who are you, where are you , and what do you have to share with the rest of us other than venom. So what is your end game here ?
8 of your 10 posts were to slam Scorpio divers.

I have not put up a post on trip advisor, but I will as soon as I log of of Scubaboard.

Take note that I use my real name here, I have freinds on the board, I have dove with other members here, and I list where I am from. Can you say or do the same ?
People who hide behind screen names to slam others are not people I trust or care to be associated with.

Jim Breslin aka JBRES1

 

[Scorpio Divers]

Who says Trip Advisor checks IP addresses anyway or it not written by friends? I have already been burned by fake post saying how great of their so called shop was just to find out the shop didn’t exist, but none of their post seem to state that fact. Then if you look at the Cancun businesses on Trip Advisor they seem to mention and correctly spell everyone's name except the dog’s. Lets see a couple of Nautilus’ quotes on Trip Advisor “I was provided good equipment for my dives all at a fair price” or “They are a small operator but so much better with attention to detail and personal service and care than some of the big operators. Excellent attention to safety, and our enjoyment” Sounds like a sales pitch to me! Maybe when you write your next original post you could spell your name a couple of times Sherry like most people would have spell it on a real candid Trip Advisor report.

DIVEMUCH:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mexico/384014-scorpio-divers-cancun-who-they.html#post5909717

 

[Mike]

Just curious how Scorpio Divers says it's a PADI shop and offers PADI courses but PADI doesn't recognize them?

 

[Scorpio Divers]

Just curious how Scorpio Divers says it's a PADI shop and offers PADI courses but PADI doesn't recognize them?

We offer the courses but dont want to pay the yearly fee just yet.

Also I am wanting to have another agency there, maybe GUE (DIR) in the close future (reserching), so I dont want to become married to only one agency as I personally think theres a lot out there that offers good quality courses and PADI sometimes they dont allow to have other agencies together.

Our business decision.

Buen dia!

Jorge Tapia

 

[Mike]

You should delete the Padi link on your site then so as to remove the confusion of anybody mistakingly thinking you're a PADI dive shop. I'm sure you don't want to mislead anybody.

It also may be obvious to others but not to me, but how do you offer a PADI course to a customer, such as AOW? If you're not PADI qualified, how would I for instance take a PADI AOW course with you and recieve a certification?