deepsea21
Contributor
I know everyone probably has their fav dive op on the island and have diving with them for years. I only post this for those who may be new to diving Coz or who may be looking for a new dive op for one reason or another. I was very pleased with 3P's as you can tell by my post to Tripadvisor (cut and pasted below). Feel free to aske me anything about this dive op or our stay.
CUT AND PASTED:
My wife and I have been diving Cozumel annually for the past 12 years. When our prior dive operation was sold to new management and changed for the worse, we concluded we needed to find new dive operator. It was a difficult decision to move on but we wanted more for our dive dollar. We researched and decided to give 3Ps a try based on the reviews we read here, the shop's close proximity to the Casa Mexicana (Highly Recommend), the courtesy transportation offered from the dive shop to the boats and back and the shop's willingness to take responsibility for ALL of our dive gear (including wetsuits and boots).
After 11 days and 22 dives what can we report? We are pleased to report 3Ps is delivering an exceptionally high level of service and fantastic dive experiences. Are they the best on the island? We cant say as we havent been diving with all 1000 dive ops oin the island. However, we can say we are no longer looking and have found our new dive operator... Can't wait to return in 2015.
10 points to consider:
1) 3P's age. Don't let 3Ps young 2 years in business spook you. The staff has decades of dive op experience in Cozumel. Ironically, one of the current staff members was formerly with our prior dive operator!
2) Online Service. We initially contacted 3P's through their website with a number of questions. We informed them we were looking for a new dive op and could only commit to 1 day of diving with them. If we were pleased, we'd probably dive the next 10 days with them if availability allowed. We received a response with all questions answered just a few hours later from Jeanie! It was also nice to receive a response the next day from the owner, Steve B., who was aware of what had taken place with our prior dive op and was looking forward to delivering a superior level of service and dive experiences. As it turns out, quite a few divers from our prior operator have found 3Ps and are now diving with them as well.
3) Courtesy transportation. 7:40AM at the dive shop for the courtesy transport to the marina was no problem. Staying at the Casa Mexicana we were a bit concerned about having to be at the shop by 7:40AM as the breakfast buffet at the Casa starts at 7AM and its probably the best breakfast on the island. We didnt want to miss it. Well, every day for 2 weeks the Casas buffet was fully stocked and opened at exactly 7AM so we had 35 minutes to enjoy breakfast before our short 5 minute walk around the corner and to the back of the block where 3Ps shop is located. Some divers were also picked up from other hotels and all inclusive resorts that resided between town and the southern marina. It was especially interesting to see divers picked up from some all inclusive where their resort dollars/ credits could have been used for diving with the resorts operator yet these divers preferred to pay to dive with 3Ps.
4) Trust them with your gear. I am a stickler about our gear. I've never left it in the hands of a dive op (not even our prior op) and I cringe when I place it in the hands of an airline. Quite frankly, I dont like others even touching it. However, I found a level of comfort with 3Ps and decided wed give them a chance taking care of it. Well, every day all of our gear was on the boat having been fully rinsed the prior day and, dare I say, almost totally dry! Not a single item was ever missing and we have quite a few items between the two of us. I can tell you it also smelled far better by day 10 than it ever would have if I had been rinsing and hanging it daily. It was such a pleasure to show up at the boat and find all of our gear waiting for us and upon returning from our dives, to walk away from it all and let the staff take care of it. It was like having 2 vacations for the price of one as we were often back to the marina shortly after noon and back at the Casa showering by 1PM! Lots of time to relax & review UW photos taken, kick back by the pool with a cocktail or walk around town. The only decision to be made daily was where to eat dinner! (Steve B. had several recommendations we tried and were delighted with all of them great food at a fraction of the cost of the well-knowns.
5) Courtesy gear maintenance. When we encountered a couple of minor equipment issues that couldnt be performed on the boat were informed they would be taken care of by Pony at the shop and our gear would be ready the next day for diving. Pony performed maintenance free of charge and we were pleased to tip him for his services.
6) The primary boat, Skinny Shark. Skinny Shark is set up for a maximum of 10 divers. It should be called FAT SHARK the boat has a nice, wide beam. No fins on top of fins from the diver sitting across from you. The boat is fast and I mean FAST! Powered by a new 300HP Yamaha 4-stroke we left the dive fleet behind every day and were always among the very first on the reefs.
7) The dive sites. Because the boat is still classified as a "small" boat by capacity and is so fast, we enjoyed the best dive sites every day based on dive conditions and regardless of their distance from the marina. If you've been diving Cozumel for a while you know what I mean There are the sites that save an operator fuel and time and there are the sites the best dive ops with the fast boats will get you to.
8) THE FREEDOM! As others have stated, this a dive op By Divers for Divers. Owner Steve B. was diving with us almost every day! 3Ps offers experienced divers the freedom to dive their own profiles, computers and tanks. Divers are only limited by their own computers and and air consumption. 1:00 to 1:20 dive times were the norm! Talk about bottom time and value for your dive dollar! Steve has selected his DM's and captains for their commitment to delivering a level of freedom experienced divers want. No dives ever held deep by the DM to limit bottom time and maximize air consumption no games played whatsoever. You can go deep and short or shallow and long. WE WERE NEVER SIGNALED IT WAS TIME TO SURFACE AS LONG AS WE HAD SUFFICIENT AIR AND OUR DIVE COMPUTERS INDICATED WE HAD TIME! This level of freedom truly sets 3Ps apart from most and they can do it because they leave early from the southern marina, have FAST boats and have DM's such as Jorge who consumes about as much air during a dive as a tire on my car loses in a year (Thinking of you Jorge) I swear he has gills but, then again, he recently won an Iron Man competition for his age group so I shouldnt be surprised.
9) Fellow divers with 3P's. Simply stated, a fantastic group of fellow divers. From newer divers to highly experienced technical divers, all were represented. While a dive operation such as 3P's is going to attract more experienced divers by its nature, newer divers should not be afraid to dive with 3Ps and enjoy the same great experience. See #10 below.
10) New divers. If you're new to diving and coming down for your open water cert dives, have only 5, 10, 15 dives logged, or could be new to drift diving, I'd say book 3P's and pay for a personal DM as several did during our trip. You'll see the best sites the other operators won't get you to and for a few bucks you have the comfort of a personal DM until you feel comfortable. For those who may feel there is safety the numbers a cattle boat provides or may be fearful of a smaller boat and smaller group of divers, I would say its far better to be newest diver in a small group of experienced divers who all know how to watch out for each other and the group as a whole than one in a group of 20 who plan to dive one day during their trip, parasail the next, swim with dolphins, tour of the ruins, rent a dune buggy, and close out the last day with a massage Just something to think about.
Overall, an absolutely fantastic dive trip and experience thanks to Owner Steve B., Reservations Jeanie, Shop Manger (and Mr. fix it) Pony, Shop Assistant Willie, DM Jorge (Gill Man) and Boat Captain Chan Fran.Visited December 2014
CUT AND PASTED:
My wife and I have been diving Cozumel annually for the past 12 years. When our prior dive operation was sold to new management and changed for the worse, we concluded we needed to find new dive operator. It was a difficult decision to move on but we wanted more for our dive dollar. We researched and decided to give 3Ps a try based on the reviews we read here, the shop's close proximity to the Casa Mexicana (Highly Recommend), the courtesy transportation offered from the dive shop to the boats and back and the shop's willingness to take responsibility for ALL of our dive gear (including wetsuits and boots).
After 11 days and 22 dives what can we report? We are pleased to report 3Ps is delivering an exceptionally high level of service and fantastic dive experiences. Are they the best on the island? We cant say as we havent been diving with all 1000 dive ops oin the island. However, we can say we are no longer looking and have found our new dive operator... Can't wait to return in 2015.
10 points to consider:
1) 3P's age. Don't let 3Ps young 2 years in business spook you. The staff has decades of dive op experience in Cozumel. Ironically, one of the current staff members was formerly with our prior dive operator!
2) Online Service. We initially contacted 3P's through their website with a number of questions. We informed them we were looking for a new dive op and could only commit to 1 day of diving with them. If we were pleased, we'd probably dive the next 10 days with them if availability allowed. We received a response with all questions answered just a few hours later from Jeanie! It was also nice to receive a response the next day from the owner, Steve B., who was aware of what had taken place with our prior dive op and was looking forward to delivering a superior level of service and dive experiences. As it turns out, quite a few divers from our prior operator have found 3Ps and are now diving with them as well.
3) Courtesy transportation. 7:40AM at the dive shop for the courtesy transport to the marina was no problem. Staying at the Casa Mexicana we were a bit concerned about having to be at the shop by 7:40AM as the breakfast buffet at the Casa starts at 7AM and its probably the best breakfast on the island. We didnt want to miss it. Well, every day for 2 weeks the Casas buffet was fully stocked and opened at exactly 7AM so we had 35 minutes to enjoy breakfast before our short 5 minute walk around the corner and to the back of the block where 3Ps shop is located. Some divers were also picked up from other hotels and all inclusive resorts that resided between town and the southern marina. It was especially interesting to see divers picked up from some all inclusive where their resort dollars/ credits could have been used for diving with the resorts operator yet these divers preferred to pay to dive with 3Ps.
4) Trust them with your gear. I am a stickler about our gear. I've never left it in the hands of a dive op (not even our prior op) and I cringe when I place it in the hands of an airline. Quite frankly, I dont like others even touching it. However, I found a level of comfort with 3Ps and decided wed give them a chance taking care of it. Well, every day all of our gear was on the boat having been fully rinsed the prior day and, dare I say, almost totally dry! Not a single item was ever missing and we have quite a few items between the two of us. I can tell you it also smelled far better by day 10 than it ever would have if I had been rinsing and hanging it daily. It was such a pleasure to show up at the boat and find all of our gear waiting for us and upon returning from our dives, to walk away from it all and let the staff take care of it. It was like having 2 vacations for the price of one as we were often back to the marina shortly after noon and back at the Casa showering by 1PM! Lots of time to relax & review UW photos taken, kick back by the pool with a cocktail or walk around town. The only decision to be made daily was where to eat dinner! (Steve B. had several recommendations we tried and were delighted with all of them great food at a fraction of the cost of the well-knowns.
5) Courtesy gear maintenance. When we encountered a couple of minor equipment issues that couldnt be performed on the boat were informed they would be taken care of by Pony at the shop and our gear would be ready the next day for diving. Pony performed maintenance free of charge and we were pleased to tip him for his services.
6) The primary boat, Skinny Shark. Skinny Shark is set up for a maximum of 10 divers. It should be called FAT SHARK the boat has a nice, wide beam. No fins on top of fins from the diver sitting across from you. The boat is fast and I mean FAST! Powered by a new 300HP Yamaha 4-stroke we left the dive fleet behind every day and were always among the very first on the reefs.
7) The dive sites. Because the boat is still classified as a "small" boat by capacity and is so fast, we enjoyed the best dive sites every day based on dive conditions and regardless of their distance from the marina. If you've been diving Cozumel for a while you know what I mean There are the sites that save an operator fuel and time and there are the sites the best dive ops with the fast boats will get you to.
8) THE FREEDOM! As others have stated, this a dive op By Divers for Divers. Owner Steve B. was diving with us almost every day! 3Ps offers experienced divers the freedom to dive their own profiles, computers and tanks. Divers are only limited by their own computers and and air consumption. 1:00 to 1:20 dive times were the norm! Talk about bottom time and value for your dive dollar! Steve has selected his DM's and captains for their commitment to delivering a level of freedom experienced divers want. No dives ever held deep by the DM to limit bottom time and maximize air consumption no games played whatsoever. You can go deep and short or shallow and long. WE WERE NEVER SIGNALED IT WAS TIME TO SURFACE AS LONG AS WE HAD SUFFICIENT AIR AND OUR DIVE COMPUTERS INDICATED WE HAD TIME! This level of freedom truly sets 3Ps apart from most and they can do it because they leave early from the southern marina, have FAST boats and have DM's such as Jorge who consumes about as much air during a dive as a tire on my car loses in a year (Thinking of you Jorge) I swear he has gills but, then again, he recently won an Iron Man competition for his age group so I shouldnt be surprised.
9) Fellow divers with 3P's. Simply stated, a fantastic group of fellow divers. From newer divers to highly experienced technical divers, all were represented. While a dive operation such as 3P's is going to attract more experienced divers by its nature, newer divers should not be afraid to dive with 3Ps and enjoy the same great experience. See #10 below.
10) New divers. If you're new to diving and coming down for your open water cert dives, have only 5, 10, 15 dives logged, or could be new to drift diving, I'd say book 3P's and pay for a personal DM as several did during our trip. You'll see the best sites the other operators won't get you to and for a few bucks you have the comfort of a personal DM until you feel comfortable. For those who may feel there is safety the numbers a cattle boat provides or may be fearful of a smaller boat and smaller group of divers, I would say its far better to be newest diver in a small group of experienced divers who all know how to watch out for each other and the group as a whole than one in a group of 20 who plan to dive one day during their trip, parasail the next, swim with dolphins, tour of the ruins, rent a dune buggy, and close out the last day with a massage Just something to think about.
Overall, an absolutely fantastic dive trip and experience thanks to Owner Steve B., Reservations Jeanie, Shop Manger (and Mr. fix it) Pony, Shop Assistant Willie, DM Jorge (Gill Man) and Boat Captain Chan Fran.Visited December 2014
