- Messages
- 602
- Reaction score
- 0
Yes, Sir! (In my experience you can't slip anything by Rick...LOL).
Dive Paradise/Park Royal report...
- Thread starter desmo900rider
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
scubajim
Contributor
Maybe you did have what you called bad service from DP. I've had about 50 dives with them over the last 4 years and the only bad experience was a night dive on a cattleboat. It wasn't their fault though....It was a bad experience from the uneducated newbies taking pictures getting in everyones way. Since you booked through their website, If you weren't happy with their service you should have contacted Apple, the owner. She really cares about her divers being satified with DP. You never indicated that you contacted management regarding your dissatisfation
UnderwaterBumbleBee
Contributor
I think people can take entirely different experiences away from the same situation, I think it was Christi who said DP may not be the type of experience for everyone. I still don't understand what the OP expected and did not get with the services or lack of coordination aside from not getting a price break.
We went on a group trip of about 15 divers in Jan with Dive Paradise, we stayed at Hotel Cozumel and had an entire boat and our own crew for the week. I was shocked when they moved and set up our bc's and equipment onto a new tank after our morning dives, we never had this service on our last dive trip. They always had tons of beverages, variety of fruit and the ABSOLUTE BEST pastries to snack on in between dives. The DiveMasters were very friendly and know our local dive shop very well, we even had dinner with a couple of them at the end of our trip. Gregario (sp?) was my favorite, he was excellent at pointing out sleeping sharks (even if it meant pulling me through a massive current), seahorses, etc... He held the hand of a newbie through most of our dives that had just been certified to make her comfortable. They were always really careful with my brand new camera and strobe. They helped us load and unload all our gear.
Even though we had 15 people and our own boat, we still had to pay for light rentals and the night dive that we opted to go on. We didn't expect or get any type of break and we were pretty happy with the rates they charged us. We were on a regular boat with people who weren't in our group on the night dive. I definitly saw how they split people up into groups depending on experience and I agreed with how they did it. While mistakes/accidents can happen, I wouldn't say loosing a weight is a minor issue. I read about all these "minor" accidents that have ended up costing someone their life.
I've been to other parts of Mexico where I've haggled but I really didn't get that vibe in CZ. We went to a bunch of stores, bought several things and paid the listed prices which weren't unreasonable.
It drives me crazy that people expect other countries to emulate the U.S. Why do people travel to other countries/cultures if they just get irritated that it's different than home? That's the entire reason why I love to travel. I work in sales and have to deal with so many people on a daily basis who have these entitiled attitudes, they should get everything for free if they complain enough. Even worse is when people think they spent enough money that I should give them a discount, well I don't have the authority for one to do that plus it eats into our profitability.
How can I count the hours I have dreamed about being there right now instead, slowing life back down to mexican time, not a worry or complaint in the world...
We went on a group trip of about 15 divers in Jan with Dive Paradise, we stayed at Hotel Cozumel and had an entire boat and our own crew for the week. I was shocked when they moved and set up our bc's and equipment onto a new tank after our morning dives, we never had this service on our last dive trip. They always had tons of beverages, variety of fruit and the ABSOLUTE BEST pastries to snack on in between dives. The DiveMasters were very friendly and know our local dive shop very well, we even had dinner with a couple of them at the end of our trip. Gregario (sp?) was my favorite, he was excellent at pointing out sleeping sharks (even if it meant pulling me through a massive current), seahorses, etc... He held the hand of a newbie through most of our dives that had just been certified to make her comfortable. They were always really careful with my brand new camera and strobe. They helped us load and unload all our gear.
Even though we had 15 people and our own boat, we still had to pay for light rentals and the night dive that we opted to go on. We didn't expect or get any type of break and we were pretty happy with the rates they charged us. We were on a regular boat with people who weren't in our group on the night dive. I definitly saw how they split people up into groups depending on experience and I agreed with how they did it. While mistakes/accidents can happen, I wouldn't say loosing a weight is a minor issue. I read about all these "minor" accidents that have ended up costing someone their life.
I've been to other parts of Mexico where I've haggled but I really didn't get that vibe in CZ. We went to a bunch of stores, bought several things and paid the listed prices which weren't unreasonable.
It drives me crazy that people expect other countries to emulate the U.S. Why do people travel to other countries/cultures if they just get irritated that it's different than home? That's the entire reason why I love to travel. I work in sales and have to deal with so many people on a daily basis who have these entitiled attitudes, they should get everything for free if they complain enough. Even worse is when people think they spent enough money that I should give them a discount, well I don't have the authority for one to do that plus it eats into our profitability.
How can I count the hours I have dreamed about being there right now instead, slowing life back down to mexican time, not a worry or complaint in the world...
Little fella? Wears long white socks on the outside of his wetsuit so you can see him easily? "One with the water?" Scar on right index finger from Moray bite in '95? Great sense of humor?UnderwaterBumbleBee:
Just wondering if my favorite Cozumel DM is still working for DP (I haven't been diving with them since '98).
Rick
OP
desmo900rider
Registered
Ok, last post and I'm done with this thread, it was just meant to be an account of my personal experience down there, nothing more...sorry Mods, for what it turned into.
We did have a good time. We did have great dives. Once we got on the boats, DP was pretty much fine, they did the job we paid them to do, and not much more. I said, "I would not dive with them again". Why? Because I found them to be very average in their level of service. With a million dive ops on the island, next time I'll try a new one, thats all. The problems that we had with them were on shore, trying to make sure that we were scheduled for what we signed up for prior to the trip, which was a challenge from the moment we got there. The reservations were made through the DP US office, and once we got there, nobody seemed to know what was planned, or that we were even signed up. It also seemed very hard to find, as so many have suggested "someone in charge". We actually found that to be a bit of an ongoing theme in Mexico, with the same thing happening at our resort. As far as the level of expected service, I guess some people want/expect/demand different things for their money.
What is amazing to me is the brutal defense of DP by the people on this board, like I said, its like some of them are on the payroll. I didn't love them, so what? If you did, say, "Wow, I've had great experiences with them, sorry you didn't". Not "You sir are an idiot and a newbie diver and should have no opinion on the matter". I'm sorry I shared my experiences and will know better next time.
Thanks to those who answered questions that I had prior to the trip, as I said, this seems to be a great board with a great collection of people for the most part.
Mike
We did have a good time. We did have great dives. Once we got on the boats, DP was pretty much fine, they did the job we paid them to do, and not much more. I said, "I would not dive with them again". Why? Because I found them to be very average in their level of service. With a million dive ops on the island, next time I'll try a new one, thats all. The problems that we had with them were on shore, trying to make sure that we were scheduled for what we signed up for prior to the trip, which was a challenge from the moment we got there. The reservations were made through the DP US office, and once we got there, nobody seemed to know what was planned, or that we were even signed up. It also seemed very hard to find, as so many have suggested "someone in charge". We actually found that to be a bit of an ongoing theme in Mexico, with the same thing happening at our resort. As far as the level of expected service, I guess some people want/expect/demand different things for their money.
What is amazing to me is the brutal defense of DP by the people on this board, like I said, its like some of them are on the payroll. I didn't love them, so what? If you did, say, "Wow, I've had great experiences with them, sorry you didn't". Not "You sir are an idiot and a newbie diver and should have no opinion on the matter". I'm sorry I shared my experiences and will know better next time.
Thanks to those who answered questions that I had prior to the trip, as I said, this seems to be a great board with a great collection of people for the most part.
Mike
OP
desmo900rider
Registered
Rick Murchison:
Yup, he's still there, seemed like a nice guy. One of the better DM's that we had on the trip.
OK, now I'm done
Mike - There are shops on the island that will give you a price break for multiple days of diving and/or multiple divers. Larger hotel based operations tend to give you a really cheap option on an afternoon tank, free tanks for shore dives, or if you book a hotel/dive package through one of the dive travel agencies you can find deals that include some afternoon or night dives. The discounts and deals are things that are normally clearly noted on the websites or brochures and something you need to look for and book accordingly.
With a group of 6 divers there's also the option of going with one of the smaller operations and chartering your own boat. In many cases you could work out a price for the boat instead of per person, or get a multi-day/mutli-diver discounts. Depending on what level or service you want, the dive op that offers what you're looking for could be a higher price range to start with.
I've never dived with Dive Paradise so I have nothing to base your report on. Your experience was your experience. One advantage that divers have in Cozumel over most other Caribbean destinations is that you aren't limited to the onsite hotel dive shops. With around 100 dive operators on the island it's near impossible not to find one that provides the service and/or price you're looking for.
It seems that other then the dive operation, you really enjoyed your trip. If you decide to go to Cozumel again, look for an operation that better matches your criteria. If everyone loved the same few shops then there wouldn't be around 100 of them on the island.
With a group of 6 divers there's also the option of going with one of the smaller operations and chartering your own boat. In many cases you could work out a price for the boat instead of per person, or get a multi-day/mutli-diver discounts. Depending on what level or service you want, the dive op that offers what you're looking for could be a higher price range to start with.
I've never dived with Dive Paradise so I have nothing to base your report on. Your experience was your experience. One advantage that divers have in Cozumel over most other Caribbean destinations is that you aren't limited to the onsite hotel dive shops. With around 100 dive operators on the island it's near impossible not to find one that provides the service and/or price you're looking for.
It seems that other then the dive operation, you really enjoyed your trip. If you decide to go to Cozumel again, look for an operation that better matches your criteria. If everyone loved the same few shops then there wouldn't be around 100 of them on the island.
desmo900rider:
Hi Mike,
I'm definitely not on the payroll of Dive Paradise and my defense of them was from the perspective of an operator based solely on what you reported in your first post.
Unless I missed something, I didn't read any attacks on you or anyone calling you an "idiot newbie" and no one is discounting your personal experience (at least I wasn't) so I don't quite understand why you are so defensive. Of course none of us can read your mind nor can we know all of the events that occurred or didn't occur that caused you dissatisfaction. Maybe I missed some things?
It is great that you shared your experiences and of course you don't have to love the operation. Your opinion is yours and you are certainly entitled to it just as everyone is. I would like to make the point that people can disagree and have differing opinions without attacking one another. Unfortunately, some people read disagreement with their viewpoint as a personal attack. As Scubawife said, if everyone loved the same shop(s) there wouldn't be so many of them...and as I said, DP isn't a good match for everyone. You've discovered that they aren't a good match for you, so you can cross them off your list now...perfectly acceptable. I know that my shop is not a perfect match for everyone and I don't expect to be...all we can do is try our best. I've also learned (and I'm not saying you are one of these) that there are some people that you simply cannot please. They are either wound up so tight they can't relax and adapt to a different culture/environment/protocols, etc. and/or they have unrealistic expectations from the start OR they are just never happy. I am realistic if nothing else
I think the main point we were all trying to make is that when booking a dive operator, you need to know what is included in your package. We really are not all the same and we don't provide the same services. You read a lot of reports about "cattle boats", "small fast boats," and different services provided...but people need to realize that some of these services and amenities are not standard with all operators...so next time, decide what it is YOU need in a dive shop and seek one out that offers those services/amenities. As has been mentioned several times already, there are MANY to choose from.
I'm not trashing the big ops in any way here...but typically the larger the operation (not large just in boat sizes, I'm talking volume), typically the less personalized the service is...and the less authority the person you are dealing with has to make decisions on pricing, "freebies," etc. for obvious reasons. It's virtually impossible for the larger operations to provide the same personalized attention due to the sheer volume of divers they accommodate everyday. It's not a BAD thing...it's just not what everyone is looking for. And of course, different people will have different experiences with the same operation. Cowboyneal for example is good friends with Apple and has been diving with them for 20+/- years....his experience is obviously going to be a little different than the typical vacation diver...again, not a good or bad thing, just a fact.
Scram Bulleggs
Contributor
I don't know the OP but I almost posted early on in the thread in his defense because yes it did seem like he was being demeaned because of his dislike of his chosen op.
When someone is unhappy with a service they come here to let everyone know to help us not make the same mistakes etc. It seems to me almost everytime someone posts about a bad experience everyone tries to explain it away on here.
My first ever post on here was about a great time I had in mexico and I mentioned a bad experience with one part of it. It then became the theme of the thread all about the one bad aspect and not the good. I was told how I don't understand how it is in Cozumel etc. I have been going to mexico since I was 12. I am very used to island mentallity and love it. My complaint was about one place that was more like being in a manhatten shop then a Cozumel one.
Ok I am rambling but point was if we scare away anyone from making a report good or bad we will all lose out on valuble up to date information.
When someone is unhappy with a service they come here to let everyone know to help us not make the same mistakes etc. It seems to me almost everytime someone posts about a bad experience everyone tries to explain it away on here.
My first ever post on here was about a great time I had in mexico and I mentioned a bad experience with one part of it. It then became the theme of the thread all about the one bad aspect and not the good. I was told how I don't understand how it is in Cozumel etc. I have been going to mexico since I was 12. I am very used to island mentallity and love it. My complaint was about one place that was more like being in a manhatten shop then a Cozumel one.
Ok I am rambling but point was if we scare away anyone from making a report good or bad we will all lose out on valuble up to date information.
Christi:
Very good. I'll just add that if you want to negotiate for some sort of a deal (group rate, discount, whatever), the time to do that is before you plunk your money down and/or book your dives. Once you have locked yourself in, there is no incentive from the other side to give you any sort of a break.
Similar threads
