Dive Review of Dive with Cristina/Costa del Sol in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan

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Dive with Cristina/Costa del Sol: "Diving and empty ocean!", Jul, 2020, by Glen Madsen, UT, US ( Sr. Reviewer 9 reports with 7 Helpful votes). Report 11482 has 3 Helpful votes.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We were some of the first tourist allowed back on the island. Costa del Sol is an area of a dozen VRBO units and we were the only ones on the property! The grounds were immaculate and the pool area had just been updated and was beautiful and the water crystal clear! The villa was very clean but the several of the rooms had very hard mattresses the just weren't comfortable. That is the only complaint, everything else was great. Cristina, of Dive with Cristina, met us at our villa the night before diving to make sure all the gear was selected and she interviewed the divers to asses skills and experience. We were met at our own pier at the determined time and we found the boat to be very clean and operating with COVID 19 protocols in place. We were a group of 8 and the only divers on the boat for the week. We had two divers that are in their 60's and while 25 years ago they were experienced, this would be their first dives in that much time. They did take refresher courses at home prior, but Cristina took them directly under her wing and ran them through skills and helped them with buoyancy and generally took them on their own private dives while assessing their skill set. We have taken many new divers with Cristina and they have all been treated exceptionally well. The dive boat is large and comfortable (also kind of slow, but we love hanging out on the boat so that is a benefit for us. If you want fast boats, look elsewhere) and during surface intervals, she serves fruit, snacks, and drinks. We dive 3 tanks a day and during our second surface interval she lays out a lunch spread that is amazing. The group favorite was the fresh ceviche and guacamole! The diving was very good and we were basically alone on the water! There were loads of all the typical tropicals and the reefs were in very good condition. In December of 2019 we saw quite of bit of the "white death" on brain corrals, but this trip, just 6 months later, we saw none. There was an absence of large animals due to the time of year. We only saw a single spotted eagle ray. This was our first time during the summer months, and while the weather and water was perfect, we did miss seeing the rays! We did see several large grouper that we have missed in the past. The dive masters dispatched a few lionfish and fed them to eels, lobsters, crabs, other fish, and the most interesting, anemones. Water visibility was the normal 100' plus and around 85 degrees. Gear was all in good working order with no problems during 5 days of 3 tank diving. NITROX was always spot on. The crew, Miguel, Fernando, and captain Leno run a well oiled machine and took very good care of us while Cristina was working with the "old guys". I can't say enough about how wonderful it is diving with Cristina and her crew! My only fear is that she is fully discovered and will be booked up when we make our next plans to return! The island looked like a movie scene of an abandoned town when we first arrived. With no cruise ship activity and the island barely opened to divers, we found streets empty and the malecon and town square was shut down completely. However, we found our favorite "off the beaten path" places open and welcoming. Masks were required whenever you were not activity eating. Most places had a foot bath, hand sanitizer, and took our temperature before allowing us in, including the large grocery store MEGA. We were not allowed to shop together as a group because of social distancing. They even had a two stroke motorized blower sending out a fog for COVID "and" a big plume of smoke from the engine!! it was quite funny. The locals were thrilled to have "paying customers" back on the island. Our chauffeur said we were his first paying fare since the beginning of March. We were also the first divers onboard the "NENA" dive boat. We were thanked by many people for coming back to the island. By the time we left 10 days later, the streets had quite a bit of activity and looking normal on the back roads, while the malecon was still shut down. It was an amazing opportunity to be on the island with so few tourist and to be on the water as the only dive boat within site! Once in a lifetime for me I'm sure.
Websites	Dive with Cristina
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Cozumel, Bahamas, Hawaii, Roatan, BVI, USVI
Closest Airport	CZM	Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	84-86°F / 29-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	90-100 Ft/ 27-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	dive until 500 psi. would send air hogs up together to not impact others
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	1 or 2	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	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	only two divers had gopro's and they were handles fine by crew etc.

Report currently has 3 Helpful votes

Subscriber's Comments

By Greg Bruce in WA, US at Jul 22, 2020 13:48 EST

Thanks for taking the timer to give us a report. I have only ever heard great things about Cristina.

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Dive Review of Dive with Cristina/Costa del Sol in Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan

Dive with Cristina/Costa del Sol: "Diving and empty ocean!", Jul, 2020,

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):

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Dive with Cristina/Costa del Sol in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan