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Dive Review of Dive with Martin/Casa del Mar in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Cozumel

Dive with Martin/Casa del Mar, Mar, 2009,

by Steve & Cathy Mason, Michigan, USA (Reviewer Reviewer 3 reports). Report 4684.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food N/A
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity 3 stars
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments We have made many trips to dive in Cozumel over the years and it is one of our favorite spots in the Caribbean. This was our first time with Dive with Martin. When I checked them out online, they seemed to fit our style, relaxed diving with lots of bottom time and snooping around to find interesting things. Emails exchanged before we went led us to believe we would have all the bottom time that we had air for. I asked for aluminum 100's since they did not have steel tanks for the first deep dive. Their shop is inside the International Cruise Pier shopping area so getting to their shop can be a challenge if you are not a cruiser. They had agreed to pick us up at our dock so we didn't think that it would be a problem. Our first dive day was canceled when the port was closed. After the first dive we found that they have all timed dives and you come up when the first person gets low which was about 30 minutes, That meant we were getting back on board with 1500psi left. The second dive was 45 minutes and again we had air for a lot more time. The weather was windy so they could not pick us up at our dock every morning due to the waves. We had to meet them at the south marina for two of the four days we dove. We always have a rental car so we can enjoy the East side of the island so that was no problem for us but others had to pay taxi's to get there. Our first divemaster seemed in a hurry to get as much reef covered as possible, not what I want to do in Cozumel. All seven divers the next day agreed that he needed to slow down so I asked him to take his time and allow us to look around. He agreed and then jumped in and we did the same bicycle race to the end. I don't understand why you would swim so hard with a current that takes you over the reef. Swimming with the current makes it impossible to stop and take pictures or just enjoy the sea life. Our second dive master was a big change and did an excellent job of stopping and looking at interesting things on the reef. It just goes to show how one person can change your experience. Overall I would not have chosen Dive with Martin again until we had the second dive master. I would dive with him again at Dive with Martin. The price was great for a week and we got a very nice video as part of our package which was a nice touch. They also refunded our canceled day with no problem. The boats were a little larger than the average six pack outboard. There were fast and we did the normal backroll entry with a ladder exit. The best thing for me was that they leave early to get out ahead of the crowds so we dove without seeing any other divers on the morning dives.
Casa del Mar was our first lower priced hotel in Cozumel. We usually had the family and went for the all inclusive. Casa was great and very clean. The rooms were diver friendly and the staff was very helpful. Nice place for divers to stay and I think everyone there was a diver.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Belize Atolls, Grand Cayman, Grand Turk, St Lucia, Florida Keys, French Polynesia, Great Lakes
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather windy Seas choppy, currents
Water Temp 78-79°F / 26-26°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 40-90 Ft/ 12-27 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions Time and depth for each dive
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics N/A

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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