Why we hated the Park Royal....and left for the Grand

[PhilC]

It really is kind of amazing the difference in opinions between people. Personally I'll never go back to the Grand and wouldn't even consider diving with Palancar again and would strongly discourage anyone I actually liked from doing either one. :shrug: For me drunken idiots and 45 minute dives climbing back on the boat with nearly 1500PSI left just wasn't what I was looking for in a dive vacation or any vacation.

 

[diversmith]

Maybe we can get this back on track as a true discussion thread posting like adults and offering up informative help and advice. We can discuss things like adults and not have thin-skin attitudes and help others make an informed decision when trying to find what suits them best in Coz having no prior experience there. Like I said, the diving is outstanding and there are plenty of options to suit different preferences/price points. Lets just get it out there like adults and maybe help people have a pain-free vacation experience based on their wants and needs......not yours

 

[diversmith]

It really is kind of amazing the difference in opinions between people. Personally I'll never go back to the Grand and wouldn't even consider diving with Palancar again and would strongly discourage anyone I actually liked from doing either one. :shrug: For me drunken idiots and 45 minute dives climbing back on the boat with nearly 1500PSI left just wasn't what I was looking for in a dive vacation or any vacation.

WOW:shocked2:

That's one thing I have never seen...drunk divers on a boat:shocked2:

For us and the other 2 experienced guys we met from Chicago (1 a DM and the other an OWSI), we were always getting great bottom time diving our comptuers and using 80's. All 4 of us aren't air hogs and we were always first in/last out....YMMV They always let us do our thing

 

[PhilC]

The divers weren't drunk, well maybe that one guy my wife and I refused to be in the water with after the first time he was in our group was, might explain some things about his behavior. It was seemingly every single other person at the resort age 16 to 80 at just about any time of day or night. All dives for us had a 45 minute limit even the shallow ones which quite literally had my wife coming back to the boat with nearly 1500PSI and me coming up with over 1300 a couple of times.

 

[billindenver]

Diversmith, if you disliked your cozumel experience so much...why are you still on the cozumel forum arguing about it? Are you hoping to change our minds? I mean, I absolutely hated california...it's politics, it's rude people, its traffic..pretty much everything but the weather. And yet, I'm not on some Cali website arguing with those who love the state. I don't like it, so I don't go there....perhaps you can do the same in regards to Cozumel.

 

[diversmith]

Diversmith, if you disliked your cozumel experience so much...why are you still on the cozumel forum arguing about it? Are you hoping to change our minds? I mean, I absolutely hated california...it's politics, it's rude people, its traffic..pretty much everything but the weather. And yet, I'm not on some Cali website arguing with those who love the state. I don't like it, so I don't go there....perhaps you can do the same in regards to Cozumel.

I'm not trying to change your mind (I even said that in my OP) but you are obviously trying to write-off my opinions of what we experienced. We loved the diving on Coz, loved the Grand, loved the southern part of the island, loved the water, loved Dive Palancar and their flexibility AND their boats. That's my point....that is the relaxed, hassle-free vibe we were looking for. Not to hang out in a city searching out good food and getting hustled which we find very bothersome. If you are fine with that and want to experience that, then that is fine with us....personal insults and bad language isn't needed. Feel free to start your own thread extolling the virtues of downtown restaurants...heck start your own thread with eatery reviews (just don't keep pissing in someone elses thread making personal insults and expect them to go away)...............that's my point...........do whatever makes YOU happy. I'm positive there are lots of people that don't want the experience YOU want and seem to enjoy in downtown. Let them know both sides of what goes on there. I never went on the offense throwing insults out at anyone here on SB and expected the same treatment in return....it's called being civil............but I will always defend myself and my wife when insults are thrown our way

A lot of people have posted in here saying they have received helpful info or have made respectful posts with other viewpoints or advice (even with some funny stuff about cops vs firemen)....all while not resorting to being disrespectful, rude nor namecalling. Thats what reviews are for, aren't they???????

BTW Bill....you hated Cali traffic and politics and then moved to DENVER??????????

 

[diversmith]

The divers weren't drunk, well maybe that one guy my wife and I refused to be in the water with after the first time he was in our group was, might explain some things about his behavior. It was seemingly every single other person at the resort age 16 to 80 at just about any time of day or night. All dives for us had a 45 minute limit even the shallow ones which quite literally had my wife coming back to the boat with nearly 1500PSI and me coming up with over 1300 a couple of times.

When were you there? That is exactly what PR was like....I thought it was Spring Break at PR....we even got crashed at PR by some cruisers somehow. They were taking up some of the loungers.

We saw only one guy at the Grand getting a little tipsy and there was a pretty good cross section of ages there. Generally the more a place costs to book the less riff-raff you will be dealing with.

We were never told a hard and fast time limit and we all dove our computers/air supply and had plenty long dives with lots of enjoyment to be had.

Interesting

 

[underachiever]

diversmith.

Did you do a review on travelocity about the PR, The Grand and how travelocity was no help?

 

[MMM]

.I thought it was Spring Break at PR....we even got crashed at PR by some cruisers somehow. They were taking up some of the loungers.

This isn't a "treat" reserved for PR guests. Two weeks ago I was diving with a guy staying at Iberostar and on at least one day the hotel mgt. allowed cruisers into the resort. He returned from a short swim in the ocean to find his lounger occupied by a cruiser and all his stuff (towel, sunscreen, sunglasses, clothes) on the ground. :shocked2:

He told me he was going to have a conversation with management before he left, letting them know that if this was a long-term revenue strategy, he and his wife and kids would not be back again.

 

[underachiever]

Let me start by saying that the wife and I did a lot of reading here on SB before our trip and we appreciate the helpful threads on resorts and dive operators. We thought we had it nailed for our trip starting at the end of February, but when we went to actually book it, the Grand was sold out:depressed:. We had decided on the Grand due to what we read here and what very nice people had IM'd us about their own trips and diving. After getting denied on the Grand, we looked around some more on Travelocity and figured Park Royal would be good as well. A little out of town and Blue Bubble Divers right across the street, plus the pools and beach area looked pretty nice. We went ahead and booked at PR and our 12 day trip was on.

Lessons learned.
(1)The advice you got on Scubaboard was good. You decided on The Grand based on the advice on this forum and once you finally got to The Grand you loved it.

(2) Maybe you should have come back to Scubaboard for your second choice. You probably could have found out how close PR was to the cruise ship pier and got some opinions about the food and maybe the time share hawks. Sounds like you made your decision on Park Royal based on Travelocity opinions. Maybe they should be getting the bad review on their site. (or maybe you did already?)

Just some thoughts.