Dive Review of Scuba with Alison/Iberostar in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Cozumel

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Scuba with Alison/Iberostar, Aug, 2003, by Richard Powers, MI, USA . Report 632.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The Iberostar is a nice property with good food and service. The rooms are four to a building in single story units and eight to a building in two story units. The buildings are scattered throughout the property and generally screened by natural and planted vegetation. The rooms are relatively small but were clean and well maintained. Requests for service(extra pillow, plugged sink, etc.) were responded to promptly. The beach is nice but once in the water it is rocky. The food and service were much better than at the Occidental Allegro, where we had stayed previously. We dove with Alison Dennis(scubawithalison.com). She was previously an instructor at Dive Palancar at the Alegro for nine years . She now has her own operation with a small, fast boat that can handle 6-8 divers comfortably. She picks up at all of the resorts. This was our best diving in Cozumel(ninth trip). Alison lets you pick the sites and dive your computer and air. Her prices are very reasonable($57.50 for a two tank dive). She asks if you would rather dive deep or dive shallow with more bottom time. All of our dives were over 60 minutes. We generally dove the deep dives at 60-70 feet along the wall for 30 minutes and then finished the dive at the top of the wall where there are interesting coral heads and many fish and other critters. Alison is very safety conscious without being obvious about it. She is also very patient with divers who need time to equalize. Alison is a great instructor and is especialy good with children. She certified our daughter in 2001. You have to make reservations with her well ahead of time because she books up early. Alison is the best dive deal in Cozumel. The currents were fairly strong and variable at the beginning of the week and very mild at the end. We saw several nurse sharks out swimming, numerous rays(stingrays, yellowrays, and an electric ray), and many turtles. We also saw two large(5 and 6 feet) jewfish, the first that we have ever seen. There were good numbers of grouper up to four feet, lobster, crabs, shrimp, and the usual tropicals. The visibility was very good(100 to 150 feet). It is hard to beat Cozumel for good diving at reasonable prices close to the US. One tip that I will pass along. I have often had trouble equalizing pressure in my ears. I noticed that this condition usually improved as the week of diving progressed. This time I started "equalizing" about a week before we left. I did not have a bit of trouble. I believe that "exercising you eustrachian tubes" improves your ability to equalize.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Akumal, Grand Turk, Jamaica
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, currents
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	100-150 Ft/ 30-46 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	Dive computer and air
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Will provide a pail of water on the boat for cameras. The boat is small but with plenty of room but no specific provisions for cameras.

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Dive Review of Scuba with Alison/Iberostar in Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Cozumel

Scuba with Alison/Iberostar, Aug, 2003,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Scuba with Alison/Iberostar in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Cozumel