Cozumel Diving

[budaman]

Does anyone know what dive operator Royal Caribbean charters through. We've used Aqua Safari on our previous land trips, but their times don't match up well with the cruise schedule. Any ideas on smaller groups, there will be 4 of us. Will be in Cozumel on the Rhapsody on 4/24 at 9 AM. Since this is our first cruise, don't know how long it will take to get off the ship.

 

Thanks!

[bruce-r]

With a group of 4 you might be able to charter your own boat and then the schedule would be up to you and it would not matter when you got off the ship.

 

Check with:

http://www.divewithmartin.com/

http://papahogs.com/

http://www.scubatony.com/

http://www.cozumel-diving.net/BlueAngel/

http://www.scubawithalison.com/

 

or any of the higher rated shops on http://www.travelnote.cc in the cozumel section under dive shop reviews.

 

Also, it doesn't really take long to get off the ship in Cozumel once they are tied up to the pier.

 

I would personally recommend http://www.bluextseadiving.com, but I'd doubt that she would have room for 4 divers this close to your arrival date.

[KaC-Cruiser]

Does anyone know what dive operator Royal Caribbean charters through. We've used Aqua Safari on our previous land trips, but their times don't match up well with the cruise schedule. Any ideas on smaller groups, there will be 4 of us. Will be in Cozumel on the Rhapsody on 4/24 at 9 AM. Since this is our first cruise, don't know how long it will take to get off the ship.

 

Thanks!

 

Due to odd port times, we used Scuba with Alison for both our RCL Rhapsody & Grand Princess cruises recently. We had previously used Papa Hogs, but they couldn't accomodate our times on these trips. Alison was super at working around our on-going changing port times. (Due to the switch back to Grand Cayman at the last minute, they kept rearranging what time we would actually get to Coz.) She was a real blast to dive with, has a real comfortable boat, and we will use her again in a second! As for getting there - it's a very short cab ride to the Marina to met up with her.

 

(If you book with her, bring her some cookies from the ship - and tell her you heard it on Cruise Critic. It's become an on-going joke that started with Thanksgiving Turkey!!):D

 

Hey Budaman..... you're just to the south of me!! Do you do your diving in Lake Travis??

[budaman]

Let's see, just north of Buda but outside Austin - hmm - Manchaca, Creedmoor, San Leana? Haven't dove Lake Travis since I got certified. The first time I dove after certification, was in Cozumel and it really spoiled me. Got to have that crystal clear water. We usually get 1 or 2 trips each year in. Have a condo in Cayman, so we go there or trade it out and go to Hawaii.

Thanks for your info on dive operators. The convenience of booking through the cruise ship would be nice, but really don't want to go out with a ton of people.

[RvrCrzr]

They used Sand Dollar Sports back a few years.

[KaC-Cruiser]

Let's see, just north of Buda but outside Austin - hmm - Manchaca, Creedmoor, San Leana? Haven't dove Lake Travis since I got certified. The first time I dove after certification, was in Cozumel and it really spoiled me. Got to have that crystal clear water. We usually get 1 or 2 trips each year in. Have a condo in Cayman, so we go there or trade it out and go to Hawaii.

Thanks for your info on dive operators. The convenience of booking through the cruise ship would be nice, but really don't want to go out with a ton of people.

 

Actually the location is misleading .... we're north of Buda & Austin .... right out by Lake Travis ... Cedar Park! We do the lake as often as we can to keep up skills. Not great, but it's wet, and it really makes to appreciate that blue water! We try to squeeze in 3 trips a year - hitting the Florida Keys in May next - also a condo deal. Did the Rhapsody in Feb. - did some good shore diving at DiveTech in Cayman, and then Alison in Coz. Next cruise will be the Galaxy in Nov., so we'll get a few dives in there as well. Will probably use Alison again then - as much as I love Papa Hogs, with all their boats they don't have alot of flexibility on times. Have heard great things about Christy of BlueXtSea, but she was always booked up when we checked. Whomever you use ... hope to see a review of how things went!!

[budaman]

Thanks for all the leads. Trying to get my better half to sit down and go through the info so we can get something set up.

[captainron]

Hey Budaman,

Just came off the EOS in NOv.

RCCL used Sand Dollar for our dives. They have a small office to meet people on the pier at Puerta Maya, and dive locations are south of the dock (7 min drive) to catch gear and boats.

DMs will take you to different areas depending on experience. Santa Rosa to Playancar are for the most part drift dives, which are a very relaxing way to dive.

Google Sand Dollar to get phone numbers and email addresses. It's cheaper to book ahead with Sand Dollar as the ship will penny pinch and charge you for a wet suit rental.

Victor was our divemaster. We dove caves, the ledge and went down over the wall to 110 feet. Excellent viz, yellow angels, bllue tangs and a very friendly barracuda.

....and no, I'm not getting a commission for saying all this. Thay are one of the best outfits I've dived with in 30+ years of certification.

 

Ciao for now!!!

[bruce-r]

It's cheaper to book ahead with Sand Dollar as the ship will penny pinch and charge you for a wet suit rental.

website is http://www.sanddollarsports.com and I doubt that you will be able to book ahead with them unless you tell them you are not on a cruise. They have an exclusive agreement with the cruise lines and won't book with passengers. Instead, they insist that you go thru the ship.

[budaman]

Thanks for the link guys! Been trying to get that info out of RCCL for 4 days now. Been corrisponding with Alison but her early dive has 4 confirmed and our 4 would push the limits plus we would have to rush to make it to her dock. Might still try to do it because she has been real nice and helpful. Going through the ship would be a lot less stress.

[BullinOhio]

I just got back from Coz on the Star Princess. We did a private charter with "Dive with Martin" and I HIGHLY recommend them. We found another couple that wanted to share the charter while onboard the Star Princess and it ended up being significantly less expensive than the ship's excursion. The RCCL ships were docked right at the pier with Dive with Martin. I cannot recommend doing a private charter with them strongly enough (it would be even more perfect since you will probably get off right at their doorstep). I was a little nervous about the poor english in their emails, but they were super once we got there. We have been with a dozen or so operators and this was my favorite yet.

[budaman]

BullinOhio, what time did you get into Cozumel. Went onto their website and looked like all their morning trips leave before 9 which is when we dock. Thats the problem we've been having, recommended dive shops morning trips leave 7:30 - 8:30 usually.

 

Did talk to Susan at Sand Dollar and they use the 24 pax boats for the cruise lines but they do break down into groups of 8 so that might work, that's still alot of people in the water at the same time. I guess that's the problem of wanting your cake & eating it too!:)

[BullinOhio]

With a private charter it does not matter what time you get in. They leave when you are ready.

 

Go whatever time you get there (coordinate ahead of time with them for courtesy so the boat is ready and waiting), go to whatever sites you want, just the four of you on a boat (with a DM and Captain of course), it's your private charter, great service, you will like it.

[bruce-r]

I just got back from Coz on the Star Princess. We did a private charter with "Dive with Martin" and I HIGHLY recommend them.

DWM is a fairly well regarded dive operator even among hard core divers that go to Cozumel just to dive. Their prices are also near the lowest on Cozumel. If you can charter your own boat with them, that is definitely the way to go.

[SandDollar Laura]

Hi Captain Ron!! Thanks for making me feel so special again.

 

 

Just to let you know that is true, Sand Dollar Sports is the company that RCCL has wisely entrusted with their certified scuba program here in Cozumel.

 

I'm glad that you spoke with Susan at the US office. If for some reason she didn't clear up any questions, just post em to me here.

 

By the way, what about private guide service?

[budaman]

SandDollar Laura,

 

Susan was very nice and informative, but of course after 24 hrs that short term memory loss starts kicking in. The day we dock on the Rhapsody,4/29, the Mariner will also dock about 30 minutes after. We're due in @9 and I think they're @9:30. Will both of those groups combine or will they use seperate boats. Also, is there anyway to find out how many on Rhapsody are signed up? Finally, does Sand Dollar offer private charters. The $'s are not as important as the experience for us.

 

Thanks

[Latitude 20]

Been corrisponding with Alison but her early dive has 4 confirmed and our 4 would push the limits plus we would have to rush to make it to her dock. Might still try to do it because she has been real nice and helpful. Going through the ship would be a lot less stress.

 

We dove w/Alison in Feb. She was full that day (eight of us) but it was fine. We didn't feel crowded either on the boat or in the water. She is a great divemaster/instructor and, if your ship docs at the Puerta Maya pier (the one south of downtown), it's literally a 3-4 minute taxi ride to Caleta Marina, where she docks.

 

Kathi & Leo

[budaman]

I'm really not familiar with all the new piers in Cozumel. I've heard that RCCL usually uses the Intl. Pier so I don't know if thats the same one. Haven't been to Cozumel since around '92 or so and a lot has changed since then. All the recommended dive operators have been so helpful, it's really hard to pick one over the other, but we need to wrap it up this weekend because we sail in 2 wks.

[KaC-Cruiser]

I'm really not familiar with all the new piers in Cozumel./QUOTE]

 

The piers - Punta Langosta is right in town, then as you head south you'll hit the International pier first, and the Puerta Maya pier just south of that. Caleta Marina (where Alison is) is just a few minutes south of both these piers. And she uses a bigger (and much nicer!) boat than the standard 6 pack boat. Hope you get the chance to dive with her, either now or in the future. As Latitide said - she's a great DM!

[SandDollar Laura]

Since the arrival times are 30 minutes apart, we would likely use different boats for the two cruise ships, rather than hurry some folk along and slow down others. We do offer charter service, as well as private guide service.

[budaman]

Good Morning SandDollarLaura

 

Thanks for responding - would it be best to contact Susan or the shop in Cozumel to arrange a charter?

[SandDollar Laura]

buda, got your email and passed it along, you should have your answer by end of day!

[budaman]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and efforts to help us wiith our decision. All the dive operations we had contact with: Alison, Dive w/Martin and Sand Dollar were all extremely helpful and I really wish we could use them all- which we probably will on our next land vacation. due to Alison's prior commitments we weren't able to arrange a morning dive and an afternoon dive could have pushed the limits on getting back to the ship on time. Sand Dollar was just a hair late with their response, and we're talking minutes here. That leaves us with Dive w/Martin. My wife talked personnaly with him and was very impressed and signed us up. Wish we would have had the same response from Cayman, but we didn't, so we decided to take the ships excursion. Hope that works out OK.

 

Again, my thanks to everyone. I'll let you know how everything turns out and hopefully have some pictures when we return 5/1.

 

Forgot to add that we were able to arrange a private charter with Martin.

[KaC-Cruiser]

Glad it all worked out in the end!! Have a great trip ... and Happy Diving!!

[w&k]

Budaman-

 

Try Neptune's divers in Cayman. http://www.neptunesdivers.com/ Casey should answer you right back - she has been very responsive for me.

 

By any chance, are you on the Splendour on the 23rd? If so, you are welcome to join my group of 4.

 

Wendy