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Dive Review of Dressel Divers/Iberostar in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan

Dressel Divers/Iberostar: "The Usual Suspects", Feb, 2018,

by Dave H., MO, US (Reviewer Reviewer 3 reports). Report 10134.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments Book dive packages in advance online with dresseldivers.com for a 20% discount. Marchon was responsive and easy to deal with. They have an extensive medical questionnaire, with any “yes” answers requiring a doctor’s release, so take a look before you leave home. They are sticklers for paperwork. My wife was called back to the shop from the boat because she had not printed her name under her signature. Maddie, Renata and Scotty were helpful at the dive shop. They tried to upsell nitrox ($220 for a 75 minute video), night and cenote diving, but weren’t too pushy. Double check that you are listed on the whiteboard daily, as they didn’t have us scheduled one day. After we were forced to cancel our first afternoon two-tank dive after just scheduling that morning due to my wife feeling nauseous, they rescheduled us for the next day no questions asked. Morning and afternoon dive locations are established/posted for each day of the week. Dives were typically scheduled for 50 minutes or 500-700psi. Our bottom times for 10 dives ranged from 50-62 minutes. Depths ranged from 62’-76’. DM Mael is French, a little hard to understand, stressed what we would likely see. DM Eddie was easier to understand, stressed safety, checked gear, and kept an eye out on his group. DM Luz from Mexico City was enthusiastic and good all around. DMs would send heavy air users to their safety stops with a surface marker and stay down with the others. It was usually just the DM, my wife and me by the end of each dive. Once at Palancar Caves, the current was “loco” (north to south). After swimming across a white sand bottom for 15 minutes to find the reef, Eddie stayed down with us for 62 minutes. They have 3 dive boats, Aquadiver I, II and III, all comfortable, with heads. Captain Harry was good. Mate Johan was friendly and helpful. The number of divers on the boats ranged from 6-30. Group sizes ranged from 5-12. Boats return to the dock between dives, where we had just enough time to grab a snack and a soda. Most dive sites were a 5-15 minute boat ride, so surface intervals were a little short for my liking. We saw the usual suspects: nurse shark, spotted eagle ray, southern stingray, spotted ray, lobster, crab, spotted moray, splendid toadfish, spotted drum, grouper, anemone, lots of turtles, even spawning coral. There are gear storage bins at the dive shop, bring a padlock. Compressor cooling exhausts into a room for hanging wetsuits, so we always had a warm, dry wetsuit the next day. There is drinking water on the boats but no other drinks or snacks, so bring your own. I’ve been to Cozumel 13 times since 1984, diving with Scuba Club (formerly Galapago Inn), Blue Angel and Dive Palancar. Overall, we were very pleased with Dressel and will dive with them again. Although this review in not about Iberostar, we were also very pleased overall with our room, food, service, landscaping, cleanliness, etc. and would stay there again.
Websites Dressel Divers   Iberostar

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Florida, Hawaii, Bahamas, Caymans, Turks and Caicos, Honduras, Belize, St. Vincent/Grenadines, BVIs, St. Kitts, Statia, Saba
Closest Airport CZM Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy, dry Seas choppy
Water Temp -°F / -°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 75-100 Ft/ 23-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions 50 minutes, 99 feet
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities 3 stars
UW Photo Comments [None]
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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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