Scuba, Snuba, and Snorkeling in Cozumel Thread

[dbrady]

Hi All,

 

has anyone here booked or have done the introduction to scuba diving through shore trips. i am thinking of doing it when i am in cozumel on the Navigator. the cost is only 69.00 and they take you out into 40 ft of water after you learn in the class room.

[IslandJim]

Go for it !!!

 

 

It will very likely get you hooked and doing something like this next trip...

 

http://dive.scubadiving.com/members/memberimages/10325_7766_8.jpg

 

If you book with Shore Trips, you know they have done the tour and throughly checked it out. You are all but guranteed a good adventure.

[ScubaMare]

The intro to scuba diving course, Discover Scuba, is exactly how we got hooked on diving. We did it and our PADI Open Water course with Eagle Ray Divers in Cozumel. The course is set up by PADI so it is a uniform thing no matter who you do it with.

 

You'll likely start from the shore or by boat near the shore. Before getting in the water, you'll have a brief explanation of what scuba is, the affects of water pressure on the body, breathing through a regulator, etc. That'll take about 30 minutes. Then you'll get your gear on and start in very shallow water. From there, you'll take your first breaths underwater and before you know it you're at about 35-40 feet and watching the parrotfish, etc.

 

The key thing is to pay attention to your instructor. Don't wander off underwater -- "it ain't Disneyland." And, enjoy being a fish!!!

 

You'll be hooked in no time! :-)

[melis74]

My husband and I have done Discover scuba through a ship excursion when we were in Roatan w/NCL and on our own w/Eagle Ray Divers.

 

I have to say that I preferred ERD as we did not have to sit in a classroom for 45 minutes, we just got in the boat and they talked to us on the way out. They made sure we were all comfortable when we got in the water and away we went, it was awesome! It was just our party of four that was doing it, two being brand new to diving. When we went w/NCL it was a large group that they then broke up into smaller groups - 5 - 6 ppl. One of our group wasn't getting it so we were all stuck on shore while the other groups had moved to deeper water...that was a bummer.

 

Whoever you book it with, you will definitely love being underwater, it is so beautiful and peaceful!

 

Enjoy!

[VTSnorkeler]

Melis -

 

Do you remember what site ERD took you for your discover dives? My wife and I did a discover dive in St Lucia last year and were on an awesome colorful reef (Anse Chastenet). I am wanting to get certified before I go on my next cruise but the mrs. will have no part of it :) so it looks like we'll be "discovering" again.

 

I'd hate to book with ERD though and find out they bring you to a sandy bottom or even worse some dead coral. The coral in my opinion is the best part, not the fish.

[Love2cruisegirl]

Hey Dan! Was reading through threads for scuba for my husband-noticed it was you...what have you found out regarding Shore Trips scuba vs. Aqua Safari (I saw your other post). My husband REALLY wanted to do the PADI cert. thing on the ship-I wasn't sure I really wanted to do it...so, anyway. Maybe this would be more my speed and it wouldn't cost as much-would give him a taste of scuba diving and if he really liked it, he could get cert. before our next trip. Who exactly did you end up going w/and why? Thanks!

[dbrady]

Hi Love2cruisegirl,

 

 

i booked this excursion with shoretrips.com and they use aqua safari as the supplier. you guys should do it with me. it was only 69.00 per person and they take you out for up to a 40 foot dive after the class if you feel comfortable. hey vtsnorkel where in burlington are you i also live in burlington.

 

love2cruisegirl let me know if you need help.

[melis74]

VT Snorkeler-

 

Unfortunately I don't remember, but if you email Chellie I'm sure she will get back to you quickly.

 

We went to a nice, colorful reef and areas of sandy bottom. We bought the video they took as well. I was swimming w/three gorgeous angel fish playing...it was awesome!

[ScubaMare]

VT Snorkeler, we did our Discover Scuba as did my brother and niece the following year at Paradise Reef. It starts in a sandy area -- where you put on your equipment if you go from shore or where you'll go over your skills if you go by boat -- but then you move on to the reef.

 

As a certified diver, I still love Paradise Reef as a relaxing shallow dive to complement my deeper dive of the day. It's not a mountainous coral area, since it is shallow, but -- unless there's been real damage from Hurricane Emily -- you'll still see some nice coral and great sea life. We love watching the stoplight parrotfish munching on the coral in that area. You can even hear them crunch! Paradise Reef is also a beautiful night dive. So, get that Discover Scuba under your belt so you can fall in love with diving and get certified!

 

As melis74 suggested, e-mail Chellie and ask her what you could expect.

[VTSnorkeler]

VT Snorkeler, we did our Discover Scuba as did my brother and niece the following year at Paradise Reef. It starts in a sandy area -- where you put on your equipment if you go from shore or where you'll go over your skills if you go by boat -- but then you move on to the reef.

 

As a certified diver, I still love Paradise Reef as a relaxing shallow dive to complement my deeper dive of the day. It's not a mountainous coral area, since it is shallow, but -- unless there's been real damage from Hurricane Emily -- you'll still see some nice coral and great sea life. We love watching the stoplight parrotfish munching on the coral in that area. You can even hear them crunch! Paradise Reef is also a beautiful night dive. So, get that Discover Scuba under your belt so you can fall in love with diving and get certified!

 

As melis74 suggested, e-mail Chellie and ask her what you could expect.

 

I did a discover in St Lucia on Anse Chastenet and it was awesome. The reef was like a mini wall that you could swim above, around, beside etc.. all at 40 feet. All I could remember thinking was how large the reef was compared to the snorkel trips we had been on. It was a really nice dive (not much to compare to, since it was our first) but we really enjoyed it. Am hoping for more of the same in Coz

[msdeb1107]

I'd really like to do the Discover Scuba program when we are in Cozumel, but am concerned about water temperature. We'll be there November 17th. Do you think it will be okay to dive then?

 

(My experience so far has only been a snokel trip in Cancun 15 years ago! LOL)

[bruce-r]

I'd really like to do the Discover Scuba program when we are in Cozumel, but am concerned about water temperature. We'll be there November 17th. Do you think it will be okay to dive then?

It would depend on your tolerance to water that was 79f +/- 1 degree. Most people will want a 3 mil wetsuit. For what it is worth, people dive Cozumel year around.

[ScubaMare]

November should still be pretty warm. The first time we ever snorkeled in Cozumel was in November many years ago and the water, at least for the first 10-15 feet, was still pretty warm. As bruce-r said, it should be right around 78-80 degrees. The suggestion of a 3 mil wetsuit is a good one. Many shops will have them on a first come, first serve basis. If you go with ERD, or anyone else, be sure to ask about it.

[wild1apache]

I notice on the shore excursions through Carnival they have a 2 hour beginning scuba diving option. Does anyone know exactly how much it costs OR does anyone know of an independent tour company that offers this?

[moonvine]

Eagle Ray Divers offers it. I did this excursion through ERD in January with 2 of my friends. We had a great time. There were only 4 of us on the boat.

[Love2cruisegirl]

Wild1apache-

 

We're on RCCL & they offered some excursions as well. We wanted to save some money & have enough time in port that we knew we could probably book somewhere on our own. I had heard some super comments regarding Eagle Ray (that moonvine mentioned)-so much that we decided to book through them. It's going on two weeks now & I still haven't heard back from them (and we leave 2 weeks from Saturday!). I went on their website & completed a reservation inquiry form. Then, when I still didn't hear back, I emailed Chellie (her & her husband own ERD) directly (her email is on the website). I had sent the email w/a return recpt. so I would know that the email was indeed received/opened. I even did as they suggest on their website which is to add their email to your address book/check spam filters, etc. I don't have AOL, & my spam filter was set to allow in an email. When I didn't get an email back quickly, I started doing some research & asked around...turns out this is NORMAL for ERD to take a long time to get back with you. One poster even called ERD for me & was told they had handled & answered all email received.

 

I ended up booking with ShoreTrips.com...their supplier is Aqua Safari ($79/pp). I emailed someone by the name of Melanie (got her name through someone on my roll call forum..he's a TA & said he really likes working w/Shoretrips)-IMMEDIATELY got a response! Yeah! In less than 4 hours, I had a confirmation of the booking and had printed my voucher-which gives me my directions, etc. for the excursion. I can't say enough about Shoretrips. O! I forgot to mention-Aqua Safari is listed as one of the Top 2 scuba outfitters in Cozumel by Frommer's.

 

Here is Melanie's email. She was super! You can tell her that Tracey Montgomery ref. you!

melanie@shoretrips.com

[ScubaMare]

Love2cruisegirl, I did talk to Chellie again and she said she had replied to over 100 e-mails on Saturday, including yours. One person that she replied to wound up calling her because she had not heard back. Chellie read her the e-mail she sent. So, I'm not sure if there is a problem with her ISP and her outgoing e-mail server or what. But, Chellie did say that because of these strange disconnects, they have invested in the purchase of a toll-free number and the equipment needed to have that service in Mexico. She expects it to be up and running in 3 weeks. One reason why you heard back from ShoreTrips so quickly, I would imagine, is because they are here in the states and don't face some of the infrastructure issues that an island, especially an island in Mexico, does.

 

wild1apache, I do recommend Eagle Ray Divers for your Discover Scuba experience. We participated in it several years ago now and it's what led us to get our PADI Open Water Certification on that same trip. Antonio was our instructor and he was fabulous. I was a little nervous and he re-assured me that I could do and that he would be right there. It was an amazing experience and I'm so thankful that he didn't let me "chicken out."

 

Love2cruisegirl, I'm glad you're set up and I hope you have a fabulous time! I'm sure you'll enjoy diving -- especially diving in Cozumel!

[Love2cruisegirl]

ScubaMare,

 

Thank you again so much for the trouble you went to for me! :) I know that ERD would have been great! It's so refreshing to see someone acting in kindness on the boards-I've just been reading some real doozies w/people just slamming each other! :( I absolutely can't wait to scuba & hopefully will be like you & want to come back & ultimately get certified. My hubby would LOVE that!

[bruce-r]

I notice on the shore excursions through Carnival they have a 2 hour beginning scuba diving option. Does anyone know exactly how much it costs OR does anyone know of an independent tour company that offers this?

There are about 70 dive operators in Cozumel. Many offer the Discover Scuba experience.

 

Here are some:

http://www.bluextseadiving.com - give Christi'd operation my personal recommendation.

http://www.papahogs.com

http://www.divewithmartin.com

 

Personally, I prefer to avoid the ship's excursions and make my own plans. Typically, you get a more personal experience with more control over when you do what.

[ScubaMare]

Love2cruisegirl, no problem! I've found that love of Cozumel and love of diving is quite infectious. It's a sickness I hope there is never a cure for! :D

 

When we were diving in June, Antonio was our divemaster and I said to him on our second day of diving, "you know, Antonio, in all of the dives we've done down here we've never seen an eagle ray." Antonio's response? "I'll find one for you." Sure enough. We're 10 minutes into the dive and he spots a gorgeous "little" eagle ray. It was amazing!

 

Enjoy your first dive and be sure to tell us all about it.

[H2oSki2Live]

This will be our 2nd cruise, first time in the Carribbean and one of our stops is in Cozumel. Our other stop is in Grand Cayman where we'll be snorkeling. I have found a 4 hr "Discover Scuba" excursion in Cozumel through shoretrips.com that looks very appealing. It is a bit longer than most others that are 2.5-3 hours, but they also take you out to do a shallow dive off of the boat.

 

That said, has anyone experienced this in Cozumel? The research I've done gives me a lot of comfort with this option.

 

Would appreciate any feedback!

 

Thanks!

 

Chris

[Capt_BJ]

worst thing about these courses (assuming they don't do something dumb and hurt you) is the follow-on cost.

 

Took spousal unit on one once during a cruise. The week after we got back she was in classes. Week after that bought all her own gear and had booked us on her first trip to Cayman.

 

The dive trips came into serious competition with the cruises after that.

[kathy7558]

We took the Discover Scuba course with Eagle Ray Divers a few years ago. It was wonderful! There were only 2 couples in our group, so we had loads of attention. Two of our group opted for the second tank dive while the other two were dropped off at a resort to wait for us. The whole experience was great and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

Check out their website: http://www.eagleraydivers.com

[H2oSki2Live]

thanks for that advice. I am doing my dive with Aqua Safari Dive Shop. Booked through shoretrips.com I had looked at Eagle Ray but opted to go with the other because it's a 4 hour class, limited to 4 per class, and when the teaching is done they will take us on a boat to finish the tank on a dive up to 40ft. That interested me to actually dive off the boat as well vs. diving from shore. Either way I'm stoked! I'm hopeful that it will be a wonderful experience and that I come back and get certified then. My wife unfortunately doesn't want to give it a try, so she is just going to ride along.

[Love2cruisegirl]

H2oSki2Live,

 

My DH & I just came back from RCCL/NOS (Western). We booked the 'Learn to Scuba' class thru ShoreTrips.com (with Aqua Safari). As a suggestion, I would check to see what the policy is w/ShoreTrips regarding weather.

 

In our class, it was only myself, my DH & DBrady (from here at CC!) The day we were in port (Thursday) the waters/chop was rough from Hurricane Rita just having past through. You do your beginning training straight from the beach-and the water was so rough, it kept knocking me over. The 2 guys (and the teacher) were physically more able to keep their balance than I (the tank weighed at least what I weigh). The instructor was very 'short' with me b/c I couldn't continue w/the training. Everytime I went to go underwater, I would get knocked back toward shore (we were only in water up to our necks). I got very frustrated-and ended up not doing any further scuba during the class. I wanted the instructor to be able to concentrate on the guys. Later, when back on the ship, I learned that RCCL had cancelled ALL snorkel & scuba excursions for that day due to water conditions. It really made me mad that Aqua Safari went ahead with their trip even though the water conditions weren't suited for beginners. At the end of my DH's 40 ft. dive, the instructor made the comment "you did really well considering the drift today and the rough water conditions-it's really not the best day to scuba!" I am going to email ShoreTrips today with my complaint-just so they know about our experience.