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

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Dressel Divers/Iberostar Cozumel, Jan, 2009, by Dave Dori, MD, USA ( 2 reports). Report 4606.
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	I Wish I knew that you could get a 15% internet discount by booking in advance. They take Credit cards and offer 5% discount for cash. Very well run operation, each days diving is pre-planned on a huge board in the dive shop for two tank AM dives and 2 tank PM dives. You are allowed to dive your 2 tanks anytime you wish, AM or PM or combination of both. Special trips to Maricaibo pre-planned, no extra charge. Back to the dock between all dives except Maricaibo, then surface interval on the boat. They do not go to Devils Throat but do go just about anywhere else. Paul (British) is the manager and his staff is excellent. We dove 6 days and had different DM's on all days, all very qualified. They do require buddies to ascend and exit together when one is getting low on air but allow rest of group to continue with dive uninterrupted so pick your buddy carefully if you don't have one or you might be ending dives earlier that you would like. DM inflates sausage so that boat arrives to pick up divers and you must come up near the sausage. Nice big dive boats able to handle up to 16 divers plus DM's. We never had a group larger than 8 + DM, 2 DM's on each boat and you dive with your group. Stern of boat is always 1st group and bow 2nd. Into water seprately so that you don't conflict underwater. No charge for Nitrox and they encourage you to use it. We saw many turtles, 1 pod of 9 dolphins, a few nurse sharks, 3 big spotted eagle rays and some big Cabera & Grouper. Corals are recovering from the hurricane and still have lots of sand on them but the coral heads are still impressive, good fish life. They do not allow gloves or knives and the reserve is now patrolled to check on compliance. $75 per 2 tank dives + $2 a day reserve fee (even for sailing, kiyaking or snorkeling) and a voluntary chamber fee. Rates go as low as $63 per 2 tanks if you buy a 12 tank package. They offer a trip to the Playa Del Carmin Iberostar to do a AM bull shark dive and a PM Tortuga (turtle) Reef dive. We saw 4 to 5 huge bull sharks @ 70 feet on a sandy bottom and they are usually there. The 2nd dive is a fast current and we did see 6 or 7 turtles but the main attraction is the bull shark dive. Cost $120 PP plus the cost of the dives. The hotel is an all inclusive and is also very nice and well maintained. Rooms not too large but adequite. Only 2 specialty restaurants, Mexican and the Steak house, book early upon arrival, they run out or reservations quickly because you can book 3 all at once for your stay. Nice pool and bars on the beach, pool, lunch spot and of course main dining room. Sandy beach but difficult water entrance due to hard corals right on the edge of the water. You really have to use the boat pier to get into the water. Good security and all staff very friendly and helpful. Safes located in each room, no extra charge. Rooms made up daily. Very responsive to any difficulties. Our safe didn't work properly and someone was there to fix it before I could find a bar. The main attraction to us was that the resort is at the southern end of the island and it's only a 5 to 10 minute boat ride to most great sites. We departed around 8:15 AM and were back done with out 2 dives and ready for lunch by 12:00 to 12:30 each day. I don't think I'll ever dive Cozumel from town again, this was too convenient.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Many islands in the Caribbean, Turks & Caicos, Bahamas, Micronesia, Fiji, Japan, Malasia, South China Sea, Pacific and the Atlantic.
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	choppy, currents
Water Temp	79-80°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Dove 32% Nitrox, max. depth limited to 100 feet. Morning dives up to 60 to 65 min each dive, afternoons usually 45 to 55 min. They let you use your air or bottom time up, no rush back to the boat as with other Cozumel divers.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	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	They keep a camera rinse tank on board and hand and retrieve your cameras for you while you are in the water. They do allow mask cleaning in camera tank. There are camera rentals available for those in need of a camera.

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

Dressel Divers/Iberostar Cozumel, Jan, 2009,

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 Dressel Divers/Iberostar Cozumel in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Cozumel