Do any dive OPs besides Dive with Martin include equipment rental with dive packages?

[GR8FUL]

I'll be in Mexico for most of December & traveling to other places (PDC, Bacalar, Merida) in addition to Coz, so I don't think I'm going to bring my dive equipment with me. Dive with Martin appears to be the cheapest dive operator on the island, AND they include equipment in their 5 day package price. However, from what I've read it appears that they heavily court the cruise ship crowd, and I don't want to dive with newbies. (I'm stereotyping I know, but that's been my experience with the cruise ship-crowd)

Are there any other small boat dive operators that have include equipment rental with their 4-5 day package deals? Choosing where to stay and who to dive with is tough! Thanks to everyone who contributes to this forum btw, it's a wealth of info!

 

[Trailboss123]

It is a misrepresentation that they cater to cruise shippers.

 

[ReefHound]

Where exactly did you "read" that DWM courts cruise ship divers? Their 7:30am departures do not typically work for cruise ship divers. Maybe because their website is detailed and specifically mentions cruise ship divers, although they clearly make them second class. From the website:

"
Diving From Cruise Ships

Dive with Martin has had difficulty in providing a high level of service to both land based and cruise ship divers due to the conflict between needs and schedules. The problem is compounded by the variability of ship arrivals times (which can even be affected by weather) and coordination with land based divers. Our highest priority has been given to our land based divers who typically book multiple day dive packages. In order to accommodate our cruise ship divers, and provide the best possible service, we have two reservation options available: Confirmed or Standby.
"

The reservation options are basically you book the whole boat with other cruise ship divers

 

[GR8FUL]

I'm traveling to Cozumel solo & won't have a friend/dive buddy with me, and the last thing I want to happen is to be teamed-up w/ an inexperienced diver. I had read trip reports (on another online forum) from divers who had negative experiences with DWM due to inexperienced cruise ship divers on the same dive boat with them. Additionally, I was under the impression that DWM actively solicited cruise ship divers & perhaps even have a sales booth at the pier where the cruise ship passengers disembark--is that incorrect? That said, I'm aware that DWM enjoys a good reputation & has exponentially more positive reviews than negative. It sounds like my assumptions were incorrect, so I stand corrected.

But my original question still stands--are there any any other dive operations on the island that have promotions or deals where they include equipment rental with a pre-paid 4 or 5 day dive package?

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Bring your Reg and Mask and most high end shops will accommodate you with the other stuff for multiple dives. Contact them.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[ReefHound]

Just about any shop can provide rental gear for a fee. I don't know of any others that provide it free.

As a single traveler, you could end up with an inexperienced buddy on any boat anywhere. Truly experienced divers are not weighed down by this. I'd rather be paired with a newbie fresh out of OW than a yahoo who thinks he knows it all. A good DM will not have you cut your dive short when your buddy is low on air and you still have 1500psi, he'll send him up with another diver.

 

[fk2005]

When I did my research, granted over a year ago, I was also initially drawn to the free rentals (loans?) and didn't find anyone else who provided them.

However - with DWM you'll need to get to the pier on your own. The taxi fare (from downtown) is pretty close to the cost of rental gear if you're traveling solo... so if you plan to stay in town, you could also consider the ops that depart from downtown or provide transportation to the pier. I ended up doing that, and was glad to save the hassle of finding taxis.

 

[GR8FUL]

fk2005: Thx for reminding me that I'd likely need a taxi to take me to the pier. Factoring in taxi fares likely negates the cost-savings re: equipment rental, and totally agree that not having to deal with taxis is an added benefit.