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Cozumel SCUBA


islandwoman
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We're sailing on Holland America. Their SCUBA excursion in Cozumel has bad reviews. I don't know which op they use. Do you know whether the dive ops at the pier take walk ups? That would be the best since we can't predict weather.

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Do you know any dive ops whose morning trips go out AFTER 8 AM? Since our ship isn't scheduled to dock until then, we couldn't possibly get to the dive shop in time to check in for an 8 AM dive. I think our 4 PM sailing would rule out any afternoon dives.

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I strongly recommend Aldora. They work seamlessly with cruise ship passengers. They charge more than other operators, but they use 120CF tanks, instead of the usual 80CF, so you get considerably longer dives.

 

When you book with them, they simply ask that you go to the shop immediately upon disembarkation, and then off you go. They never have more than 6 divers per boat, so they can stagger groups and offer the starting times to match your time in port.

 

http://www.aldora.com

 

Harris

Denver, CO

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I strongly recommend Aldora. They work seamlessly with cruise ship passengers. They charge more than other operators, but they use 120CF tanks, instead of the usual 80CF, so you get considerably longer dives.

 

When you book with them, they simply ask that you go to the shop immediately upon disembarkation, and then off you go. They never have more than 6 divers per boat, so they can stagger groups and offer the starting times to match your time in port.

 

I've heard good things about them, but didn't know that they would organize dives around cruise ship schedules. Thanks for the information. I will contact them.

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I attempted to book a dive with Aldora for my November 2017 cruise on the Rotterdam that is scheduled to dock at 8 AM and depart at 4PM. So even though Aldora's website says, "LATE DEPARTURE 2 TANK TRIPS (average 5 hr round trip) tailor made for our CRUISE SHIP and MAINLAND DIVERS",

 

this is the response I received,

 

"Thank you for your request. Unfortunately due the the timing of your ship, we will not be able to take you out that day. I may suggest Scuba Du or Aqua Safari."

 

 

What now? Do you all recommend Scuba Du and Aqua Safari, or is there someone else?

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...

I haven't been to Cozumel in some time, but Aldora was the best. As has been said, they use larger tanks so you can stay down longer. I don't know that I'd recommend them to novice divers but if you have some experience accept no substitute. They were really good. I did my Nitrox certification through them many moons ago.

 

There are tons of operators in Cozumel. If you Google it you can undoubtedly find many shops to write to and find one whose schedule will work for you. If you can find other divers on the same ship you can even arrange to book your own small boat.

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I just got back last week from a cruise and we used the cruise ship excursion with SandDollar Sports. We thought they were better than expected, very good service, everyone who used their gear was happy with it....and they picked up and dropped off at the cruise ship pier.

Were the best dive op in Cozumel, definitely not...but for cruise ship diving, I would use them again without hesitation. Convenience is a factor, and the time your ship arrives is critical. All dive ops send out boats by 8am local time, and most cruise ships do not arrive at port until after that. So unless you can book an entire boat, like 4-6 divers, you aren't going to get any dive op to take you out. It is financial.... all the great reefs at Cozumel are south end of the island, and gas for the boat is an issue. The dive ops need to make money, and they can't with only 1-2 divers.

If the dive sites were closer to town, it wouldn't be such a big issue there.

 

robin

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  • 2 months later...
I don't personally know of any. Just grab a cab, easy to do.

 

 

I agree, now off to read the other replies. I've been to Cozumel so many times and not dived, I'm going to try it next time, looks like 2020 though.

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Arranging your own dive trip in Coz can be a little difficult as most of the dive ops boats go out at about 8:00am which is to early to get to the operators shop by the time you get off the ship and to the operators boat. The non cruise ship excursion boats can not dock at the cruise ship pier to pick you up. Blue Angel used to have a boat that went out at 10:30am. Scuba With Alison may be another option. If you can get enough divers to fill a boat many of the operators will arrange for a boat for your group on your schedule. Blue X Ta Sea is a full service operator and Dive with Martin has been good.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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