Headed to Cozumel in March, A couple of questions about Fiesta Americana

[handben]

I'm bringing my 2 diving kids to Cozumel for their spring break in mid March. I plan to use the Dive House (on site operator). A couple of questions that I could not tell from their website - What sort of attire is required at their restaurants? I'd like to pack light and not have to bring too many pants and long sleeves and so on. Would it be awkward to go to dinner there in shorts and short sleeve shirt? Second, I heard that they charge extra for internet access (even though it is "all inclusive") - anyone know what they charge. There is a point at which it isn't worth it to have internet. Thanks for the help. Ben

 

[Diver Kat]

We were there in November - when they had just switched over to AI - and they did not charge us for the internet. As for dinner, we dressed casual - shorts were fine. The DH wore short sleeved shirts, I mostly wore t's. We did not try the Italian restaurant upstairs, preferring to eat down by the water for dinner. Some nights it was all buffet, some nights there was a small menu to choose your entree, with the soups & salads still being buffet. In general, the food was pretty good, with a few duds here & there.

 

[ernbob]

I was there all last week and it's pretty inform. You can go shorts/t-shirt or get a dressed up as you want.

We ate at the italian place one night, and honestly wouldn't recommend it.

The other two places to eat are both good. The don't carry a menu anymore and have good, fresh buffet food. The Reef restaurant, by the beach, always has something grilling that is made fresh and to order.

I was there with my wife and 2 sons (19 & 21) and their only complaint was the lack of a party, night life. We were there to dive and did 8 dives over the week, so party/night life was not on my list when I was choosing a place.

As for Dive House, I did not dive with them but did watch them pack up the boats each day. When I looked they seemed a little more expensive than other places that I looked at. I went with Scuba Mau and they picked up/dropped off at the FA pier with no problems at all. It might be worth your time to send Opal at Scuba Mau a note to check out their offering. Also, they let us use 100cf tanks at no extra cost on most of our dives as my sons were doing their first open water dives and sucked air pretty hard core during their first dives.

 

[SeaFlea]

Favorites!

Greetings all, We've stayed at the FA many times over the years and have always enjoyed our stay. If you are there to dive the FA is a great choice. close to the best dive sites, one of the last to be picked-up and one of the first to be dropped off. The hotel staff, rooms and food have always been fine. Of course the swim-up bar in the pool is a major plus in our book. I'm sure the food quality index may fluxuate thru the different hotel and kitchen managers over the course of years but we've always been happy at the end of the day.

Trust me....... you will enjoy it and want to come back for another visit.

Good Dives, SeaFlea

 

[handben]

Ernbob went with a different dive op and seemed happy with his choice. I wonder from others experiences if having the dive shop and staff right there is worth the extra 10 bucks or so compared to some of the other operators. Should I make dive reservations prior to arrival or is this something that can be done day by day? It seems with all the operators down there that one could play it by ear and just show up the morning of the dive. Thanks to all for the help and insights.

 

[CheddarChick]

We went there last March & dove with Dive House. They seemed ok, nothing special...no great chemistry with any of the DM's, but convenient. It was drift diving most of the time, and the animal life was HUGE!!!!! Have a great time....

 

[SeaFlea]

I've used Dive House, I think one of my first trips to Coz. They were OK. Like Dive Paradise their std dive is on a cattle boat but I met some nice folks and napped on the top deck to and from. Not too bad. Of course you can pay abit more and get a "small fast boat", a Six-Pac, and get there quicker. I think you will get good dives with any of the established operators so it comes down to individual opinions of the dive staff themselves. Note, I've dove with at least 6 different operators over the years and can't remember a bad experence attributed to the dive staff or operator. I think thru trying operators within multible visits to Coz you will develope your own opinions of the various outfits.

My personal favorites; Dive with Martin, PapaHogs(Margret is the best), and Aldora. Dive Paradise has helped me out with my equip in the past and I wasn't even diving with them, no charge.

Conclusion: there are alot of super nice folks on Cozumel!

Go....... Dive....... Go Often.

SeaFlea