Need a little push (dwm)

[matthewjen]

Need a little help making our mind up on dive op, going late feb. and this will be our 4th trip and have used several different operators already and all were great (aqua safari,sand dollar,dive paradise). I have also lurked on this and other boards long enough to know that there are many other reputable shops on the island. several on that list are somewhat more affordable than others, even to the point that I can save a whole days worth of diving by the end of a week of diving and thats never a bad thing. One operator that keeps comming to the top of my list is Dive With Martin. What I need help with is that little push that lets me know that these guys have what it takes to please the average rec diver with some Cozumel experience 20-30 dives on the island. I have been in communication by E-mail with them and it all sounds good. Sooo anyone want to push.

 

[deepstops]

One operator that keeps comming to the top of my list is Dive With Martin. What I need help with is that little push that lets me know that these guys have what it takes to please the average rec diver with some Cozumel experience 20-30 dives on the island. I have been in communication by E-mail with them and it all sounds good. Sooo anyone want to push.

I'm fairly experienced, do 100+ dives year, approaching 1200 dives, have gone diving in Truk, Guam, HI, Cook Islands, Tahiti, Bahamas, SoCal, all over Florida, and,,,,,, Cozumel and I always book DWM when I'm in Coz. I don't book based on their price, I book because they run small boats and take me on the more advanced/challenging sites. And they happen to be priced competitively with the cattle ops.

 

[fishin42]

Yeah, what he said. small boats, personal service, great dm and good prices. Top shelf operation.

 

[Oldebenezer]

I dove for 5 days with DWM at the end of September and have nothing but great things to say about them. I stayed at the Iberostar cozumel and their small, fast boats picked me up promptly around 8am each morning. After a 10-15 minute ride to the southern reefs, we were usually the 1st boat to reach the reefs in the morning!
Their DM's were friendly, massively experienced and professional and always asked where we wanted to dive and did their best to give us a great dive. Fruit and water was served between dives and we often tied up to a pier for a relaxing shore interval, where we all floated in 4ft of water and bs'd for 45 minutes.
I've dove Cozumel twice before with Aqua Safari, which is a fine operation, but I was with a group from my local dive shop and Aqua Safari provided the dozen of us diving with a cattle boat, which is a different experience.
If you want a well run operation, that's as cheap as any you will find on Cozumel, with good DM's and fast boats, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend dive with Martin. These guys are pros!

 

[pidgiepoo]

Cozumel and I always book DWM when I'm in Coz. I don't book based on their price, I book because they run small boats and take me on the more advanced/challenging sites. And they happen to be priced competitively with the cattle ops.

Didn't know that, Brian....maybe we've even dove together before with DWM..LOL
We're going Dec16-23..are you going to be there during that time?
Pidge

 

[pidgiepoo]

I'd recommend DWM 100%. We dive 2-3 times a year with them and have always enjoyed every trip. We love the small boats and the great DM's...especially Orlando and David.
What's not to like when they pick you up, set up your equipment, bring it to you, take you to the best reefs in small boats, give you individual service as needed, take your equipment from you at the end of the dive before you have to climb the ladder, and give you a free DVD with the purchase of a dive package. Meets my "old lady" criteria for sure...I just have to jump in the water, do my diving, and relax at the SI beach stop.
They not only run a great op, but also help the needy children on the island with their Share With Martin program (which can be seen on their web site).
I've always felt safe and secure with them, and so has everyone I have recommend to their op.
feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[deepstops]

Didn't know that, Brian....maybe we've even dove together before with DWM..LOL
We're going Dec16-23..are you going to be there during that time?
Pidge

I hope to get down there in late April, too many things in the way at work to even think about a December vacation.

 

[pidgiepoo]

I hope to get down there in late April, too many things in the way at work to even think about a December vacation.

keep in touch--we're going somewhere in April/May.

 

[stortecky]

I did about 30 dives with DWM last year over the Christmas - New years time. For the most part it wasn't a bad dive operation but there were negative things about them. This next trip this March I am looking for another dive shop. First They did not let me dive my full tank. On the first dive I was signaled to ascend with 1500psi in my tank after only 35 minute dive, it was a deeper dive. My wife and I are both above average on air control though. It was a little annoying and I talked to the owner and he set us up with more experienced divers and let us get more bottom time. So I was happy, But since we were there for 12 days the advanced group that we dove with left and we were back to short dives and being forced to come up before we low on air. This time when I talked to the dive master he did not seem to care.

But the main thing that annoyed me is that we would never did even an hour of surface interval. My computer log one as short as 36 minutes. most were about 45 minutes. so on our 2nd dive we hit nitrogen limit after about 20-25 minutes into the dive and just floated along at 15-30 feet the rest of the dive. I did talk to the own and he did talk to the dive master but it did not seem to help. It just seemed like there were on a tight schedule and did not want to get off it. I do think things were busy because of the holiday season.

Even with all the problems they were a good dive shop and had good DM. I think if they would just slow things down a little and let you use all your air and give you longer SI it would be a great dive shop.

 

[sharky60]

I dove with DWM for many years, originally only switching to Blue Angel because of the hotel/dive package, but now we dive with BA because we like the op as much as I did DWM and have the on-site convenience.

the DM's at DWM were always friendly, knowlegable, safety minded and generally good guys. I particularly like diving with Orlando and David. Orlando has a dry sense of humor and is very comfortable in the water, David is extreamly enthusiastic, keeps a good eye on his folks and does the cool "air ring" trick thingy

I never had an issue with bottom time, we always dove our air or computer limits, which ever came first, usually air.

If you feel you are being "cheated" out of bottom time, you need to convey to it the DM's. It could be that they are cutting some dives short because there are inexperienced divers in the group, or because the first dive is so deep, they are trying to save surface interval time before the second dive, although it doesn't seem like it, ALL dive ops are running on some sort of schedule...at any rate, it has never happened to us.

Don't know if they still do it, but they used to throw in a free night dive and/or video with so many booked 2-tank day dives or if you bring some items; reading glasses or shoes, for charity they would do the same.

The price is right for sure, they have some of the lowest rates on the island.