wsr523
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Dive House is the on-site dive op. I like StefinSB would like to know who owns and maintains the pier. I've done a little research but can't find an answer.
Secrets Resort Again Charging For Pier Use... BEWARE
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El Graduado
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A register of Quintana Roo piers says this (I translated it): Owner: Terrasut Resorts de Mexico S.A. de C.V. (Hotel Aura Resorts Windham Grand Bay), location: Carretera Costera Sur km. 12.9 zona hotelera sur Tel: 872 93 20, Lat. 20-24.318 N, Long: 087-01.062 W, wooden pier 60 meters long, for the exclusive use of the hotel.
@wsr523 - Dive House and Dive Palancar are onsite shops, but they pay rent and have the captive audience of students and once a year resort divers as well as whatever following they have. I seriously don’t think it’s to push the onsite ops.
As far as who owns the pier? The HOA of Reef Residencias condos next door actually paid to have the pier built and had the last legal concession. The concession was transferred to the hotel when the hotel was purchased by yet another new owner a few years ago. However, last we checked when this issue came up in December, the concession fees had not been paid nd were in arrears which means it’s federally zoned property. This may have changed since then, we need to find out. Despite several requests and promises from Hotel Management, they have yet to produce the concession papers. Regardless, if the hotel DOES now have the legal concession, it’s petty for them to be doing what they are doing. They could easily and without complaint from any guest I imagine, assess a $1 a night/guest “pier assessment” or a “resort fee” to allocate towards the cost of the concession fees and pier maintenance. I would imagine that every guest (not only divers) use the pier at some point - for snorkeling, fishing, parasailing, and other water ports. The only other hotel that charges their own guests for pier use is Iberostar, but they DO own the in house dive shop so have a vested interest in the onsite shop.
@bryanmc57 - EXACTLY - petty of them to charge their all-inclusive guests to have the dive op of ther choice provide courtesy pick-ups
@tomfcrist - no scalping business - see my response to wsr523 above
@caruso - it’s really not about pushing onsite operation - it’s about greed and squeezing revenue from wherever they can get away with it - this will cost them revenue in the long run they are very short sighted
@ChuckP - no, they can’t really do anything other than cause a scene, cause embarrassment for the guests and crew - I guess technically they could file a “demanda” against the shop. Marine park has no jurisdiction over them and Harbor master has actually said unless they produce proof of concession, it’s federal property which means public access - my crew has been politely ignoring “clipboard guy” getting our divers on and off as quickly as possible
@CajunDiva - no, Secrets/Sunscape does not OWN the onsite - they do have an onsite however
As far as who owns the pier? The HOA of Reef Residencias condos next door actually paid to have the pier built and had the last legal concession. The concession was transferred to the hotel when the hotel was purchased by yet another new owner a few years ago. However, last we checked when this issue came up in December, the concession fees had not been paid nd were in arrears which means it’s federally zoned property. This may have changed since then, we need to find out. Despite several requests and promises from Hotel Management, they have yet to produce the concession papers. Regardless, if the hotel DOES now have the legal concession, it’s petty for them to be doing what they are doing. They could easily and without complaint from any guest I imagine, assess a $1 a night/guest “pier assessment” or a “resort fee” to allocate towards the cost of the concession fees and pier maintenance. I would imagine that every guest (not only divers) use the pier at some point - for snorkeling, fishing, parasailing, and other water ports. The only other hotel that charges their own guests for pier use is Iberostar, but they DO own the in house dive shop so have a vested interest in the onsite shop.
@bryanmc57 - EXACTLY - petty of them to charge their all-inclusive guests to have the dive op of ther choice provide courtesy pick-ups
@tomfcrist - no scalping business - see my response to wsr523 above
@caruso - it’s really not about pushing onsite operation - it’s about greed and squeezing revenue from wherever they can get away with it - this will cost them revenue in the long run they are very short sighted
@ChuckP - no, they can’t really do anything other than cause a scene, cause embarrassment for the guests and crew - I guess technically they could file a “demanda” against the shop. Marine park has no jurisdiction over them and Harbor master has actually said unless they produce proof of concession, it’s federal property which means public access - my crew has been politely ignoring “clipboard guy” getting our divers on and off as quickly as possible
@CajunDiva - no, Secrets/Sunscape does not OWN the onsite - they do have an onsite however
So let's say that they (Secrets) no longer require the dive ops to collect the tariff. Will the dive op's go back to business as usual? My guess is that the dive ops will go back to picking clients up on the pier without ever mentioning it again. They don't want to upset their clients by making them go to the marina or elsewhere. As Christi said, they ignore the clipboard guy anyway. Bottom line for everyone: It's all about the $$$. Everyone is so righteous when the big bad conglomerate is flexing it's muscles, but if they relax, no one will even notice that it ever happened. Just my guess....
It won't affect me personally. I never have stayed, nor do I plan to stay at Secrets or any of the "resorts" on the south end. It's just not my style. But for those of you who do, I hope you find a good solution.
Cheers -
deepsea21
Contributor
Why am I not surprised to hear Secrets' ignorant management is again creating issues for its diving guests. I certainly hope Secrets pays the price for this nonsense as word spreads in the dive community and divers select accommodations elsewhere.
Personally, I believe the ONLY reason people would chose to stay at an AI on Cozumel is if they are divers. I mean, let's be serious... AI's on Cozumel absolutely suck compared to AI's at other Caribbean and Mexican destinations. AI's at other destinations have natural beaches with pools and lazy lagoons so large they can be seen from space, far better food and lots to do in close proximity to the "compound" for those so inclined to venture off premises.
The only thing Cozumel AI's have going for them is the spectacular diving. If the diving is great, divers will overlook lots of an AI's short comings like bugs, (mosquitoes, no-see-ems; spiders & scorpions), fake beaches made of trucked in sand that lead to jagged sharp coral rubble (or no beach at all), lousy food with most specialty restaurants closed or at best alternating during the off-season, deferred maintenance, the smell of mold, ice cold swimming pools during "peak" season, and being a $20 1-way cab ride to anything worth seeing/doing outside the compound (of course YMMV). As such, Coz AI's don't have to match the level of service and quality other AI's in the Carribean and Mexico have to deliver to compete because of the DIVING. I guess the included all-one-can-possibly-consume alcohol probably helps one forget about these short comings. Cruise ships certainly don't need to offer all-you-can-possibly-consume alcohol included in the price to fill their staterooms.
You guessed it.. I'm not a fan of Coz AI's and not a fan of AI's in general where one is isolated from the culture and can turn like hot dogs on a big 7/11 roller grill with 500 of their closest gringo friends but to each his/her own. However, I can understand Coz AI's appeal to families that have a mix of divers and non-divers or perhaps 1st timers who are uninformed and are concerned about the general safety of a destination they are visiting for the first time.
If I weren't a diver and if I were looking to go the AI route I'd save on airfare, spend a lot less and hop on a mega cruise ship that actually goes somewhere and knows how to keep the "cones" entertained while offering them great food, constant entertainment, a casino, and changing ports. AIs are basically "land-locked cruise ships" as I remember someone here so eloquently described them. Oh, I haven't been on a cruise ship in about 15 years as I'm not much of a fan of them either. I was SCUBA certified 15 years ago that ended my interest in cruising. My cruising days will start again when I require the "beep-beep cart" to get me and my walker through the airport to a cab to the ship when I'll probably be wearing diapers again.
Personally, I believe the ONLY reason people would chose to stay at an AI on Cozumel is if they are divers. I mean, let's be serious... AI's on Cozumel absolutely suck compared to AI's at other Caribbean and Mexican destinations. AI's at other destinations have natural beaches with pools and lazy lagoons so large they can be seen from space, far better food and lots to do in close proximity to the "compound" for those so inclined to venture off premises.
The only thing Cozumel AI's have going for them is the spectacular diving. If the diving is great, divers will overlook lots of an AI's short comings like bugs, (mosquitoes, no-see-ems; spiders & scorpions), fake beaches made of trucked in sand that lead to jagged sharp coral rubble (or no beach at all), lousy food with most specialty restaurants closed or at best alternating during the off-season, deferred maintenance, the smell of mold, ice cold swimming pools during "peak" season, and being a $20 1-way cab ride to anything worth seeing/doing outside the compound (of course YMMV). As such, Coz AI's don't have to match the level of service and quality other AI's in the Carribean and Mexico have to deliver to compete because of the DIVING. I guess the included all-one-can-possibly-consume alcohol probably helps one forget about these short comings. Cruise ships certainly don't need to offer all-you-can-possibly-consume alcohol included in the price to fill their staterooms.
You guessed it.. I'm not a fan of Coz AI's and not a fan of AI's in general where one is isolated from the culture and can turn like hot dogs on a big 7/11 roller grill with 500 of their closest gringo friends but to each his/her own. However, I can understand Coz AI's appeal to families that have a mix of divers and non-divers or perhaps 1st timers who are uninformed and are concerned about the general safety of a destination they are visiting for the first time.
If I weren't a diver and if I were looking to go the AI route I'd save on airfare, spend a lot less and hop on a mega cruise ship that actually goes somewhere and knows how to keep the "cones" entertained while offering them great food, constant entertainment, a casino, and changing ports. AIs are basically "land-locked cruise ships" as I remember someone here so eloquently described them. Oh, I haven't been on a cruise ship in about 15 years as I'm not much of a fan of them either. I was SCUBA certified 15 years ago that ended my interest in cruising. My cruising days will start again when I require the "beep-beep cart" to get me and my walker through the airport to a cab to the ship when I'll probably be wearing diapers again.
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bcaderunr
Contributor
Hmmm...
I'd often wondered what became of Captain Stubing.
I'd often wondered what became of Captain Stubing.
I would be curious to know what percentage of AI customers on Cozumel are there to dive. Judging from the activity I have seen around their piers (or the lack of it), I would hazard a guess that it's a pretty low number.
Damselfish
Contributor
We're divers on this board, we think of certain places as dive destinations. Others just see them as warm sunny places to take a vacation. I doubt anyplace full of giant resorts/AIs is full of divers, however we think of it. From some Cayman survey - "One in eight visitors goes scuba diving, and just over 3 percent list it as the main reason for their trip." I'd think Coz is somewhat similar.
Skittl1321
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I agree with you. When we stayed at Sunscape/Sabor I think most people there weren't diving, though maybe they were with divers.
I think a lot of people don't know Cozumel doesn't have amazing beaches, and just know it is a gorgeous place. They don't realize it is most beautiful underwater. Whenever people are planning vacations and ask me about Cozumel (because they know it is my favorite) I tell them if they just want to be on a beach, it probably isn't right for them. But I push them to try diving there!
We won't stay at Secrets/Sunscape again. Both because of this ridiculous pier fee (all inclusive unless I want to step off the pier?) and also because in town just makes way more sense for us.
morecowbells
Contributor
My observations have been that the pier seemed to be about a 50/50 mix of guests staying at the Secrets resort and Residencias Reef condos. It also appeared that the more rigorous and seasoned divers were from the RR property.
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