Cozumel's pinnacle of Dive Operators
Written: Dec 06 '01
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Highly experienced & trained professionals, impeccable customer service,
smaller & faster boats,
steel 120 tanks
Cons: A tiny bit more expensive than most
The Bottom Line: Superb customer service; unbeatable staff knowledge and experience; steel 120 cu. ft. tanks; faster boats so you are the first ones on the main dive sites.
|
|
|
| egabe's Full Review: Aldora Divers |
I was lucky enough to find Aldora Divers when I went to Cozumel for the first time. After diving with them for a week, I can't imagine using any other operator (and I did try a couple of others). Amidst all the "cattle boat" operations, you might think that smaller might not be better, but that simply is not the case. Aldora does not put out a lot of hype and flashy ads all over the scuba magazines. Rather, they focus on getting the best staff and having the best customer service.
Here are the objective benefits to Aldora: Their boats max out at eight to ten people. The Divemasters get to know you by name, and they will take you where you want to go (within your capabilities). They completely set up and tear down your equipment daily for you (yes, it's a luxury, and it's worth it to get spoiled every now and then). Their standard daily use tank is a steel 120 cu. ft. unit, so your dives can start deeper and last longer so you can enjoy Cozumel's best drift dives. Everyone diving with Aldora gets a computer to use, facilitating better diving and more freedom within no-decompression limits.
But most of all, it's the staff that makes Aldora a home run. They hire only the best of the best. I went prepared to just dive, but what I got was a weeks worth of fine-tuning and special coaching that I never expected. The staff genuinely cares about helping you develop and hone your skills. I finished the week there a decidedly better diver.
I must particularly recommend Bill "Memo" La Rosa, a PADI Master Instructor with many years of experience. He is known on the Island by the local folks as one of the absolute best. In all the places I've been and of all the dive instructors I've met, none has been as fun, professional and caring.
Aldora costs more in dollars than the other operators for the daily two tank dive, but when you take into account their higher capacity tanks for longer dives (most are an hour compared to 35 to 40 minutes with other operators), they really are the bargain of the Island. And of course the personal attention is well worth the few extra dollars as well.
Feel free to contact me directly by email should you have more specific questions about my experience with Aldora. You should also look at the recent January 2002 issue of "Rodale's Scuba Diving;" Aldora scored as one of the top dive operators values worldwide as rated by readers.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
egabe
|
|
Location: Lexington, KY
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 9 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.