Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
 

Dive Review of Scuba Staff Divers/Bahia Suites in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Coz

Scuba Staff Divers/Bahia Suites, Jan, 2007,

by Michael Judd, OR, USA . Report 2378.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 1 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 1 stars
Comments I could not recommend Scuba Staff Divers. There were two major problems with the operation. First, they were very disorganized on the office end of things. On more than one occasion the 9:00 AM dive turned into an 11:00 AM dive; expected night or afternoon dives didn't happen; promised calls about whether a particular dive was going to occur never came. A typical experience: the group left the shop a half hour later than scheduled, made the 15 minute drive to the marina in taxis (a first for me), then all sat for another half hour on the boat while we waited for one more diver to be delivered. The cause of a lot of this was apparently that they wanted to get every last diver they could, and waited until the last minute to decide whether to go ahead with a dive or not. As a result, the "schedule" changed every day, often at the last minute.
Part of this was a natural result of the clientele to which they cater, largely single day divers from the Yucatan mainland or the cruise boats. Many of these are very inexperienced, which leads to the second problem: mostly short and shallow dives. On almost every dive we have people with a dozen dives or less, and the sites, times and depths were chosen accordingly. This got a bit boring, especially since many of the shallower sites had extensive sand cover and other damage from Hurricane Wilma. In fairness, I should mentioned that the divemasters did do a very good job of holding hands with the neophytes. They also were good at pointing things out for everybody.
Boats were small and fast but wet. Surface intervals were mostly on the boat, with nothing provided but a small bottle of water. It was not a surprise when one diver dropped her weight belt and there were no extra weights on the boat (the rest of us chipped in a couple pounds each and took shallower breaths on our second dives).
Looking for a bright side, I would say the staff were all very pleasant. But I'd never use them again.
Stayed at the Bahia Suites in "downtown" San Miguel. This place I would recommend. Got a big, clean, no frills room with a little kitchen and balcony (side street) for about $50 per night. Good basic accommodation is you like the buzz of the city.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Belize, Grand Cayman, Thailand, Palau, Fiji, Chuuk, Maldives, St. Lucia, Hawaii
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 78-80°F / 26-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 1
Water Visibility 80-100 Ft/ 24-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions Most dives 70' or less, 45 min. or less
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

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

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 [None]
Was this report helpful to you?
Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here
 

Subscribe Now
Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 1077 dive reviews of Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

 

Want to assemble your own collection of Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

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.

Undercurrent Home


Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email.
And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent

Free Undercurrent Issue
Get a free
monthly email and
a sample issue!


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2024 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

Page computed and displayed in 0.09 seconds