Visit Date: February 2012

We dove with Deep Blue five years ago and had no hesitation in going back for our latest trip to Coz. Needless to say, we were not disappointed, good divemasters and fast boats do it for us.

They use fast, small boats with up to eight divers. However the only time we had eight on the boat, there were two divemasters. The three divemasters we had during our trip were extremely helpful both in and out of the water. The boat picked us up up at the hotel pier, dressed ready for diving and we were on site in no time. When possible, surface interval is spent on the beach which helps no end with my wife's occasional seasickness.

Visit Date: January 2008

I went diving with Deep Blue Scuba Diving of Cozumel on January 5th, 2008. Although we called ahead to reserve a dive spot for myself and a snorkeling spot for my girlfriend, the office had difficulty locating our reservation when we arrived. After getting fitted for our equipment, we ended up having to wait nearly an hour (from the time Deep Blue designated) for the crew to get organized, identify the passengers, and load the boat with the correct gear. Even after shoving off, we had to return to the dock for additional gear that had been forgotten. Once we finally had all of the required gear and took off from the dock, the boat driver drove right over a buoy and got the propeller caught on the prop. Another passing boat had to assist in removing the buoy.

Although we had been promised that we would be diving and snorkeling on the famous Palencar Reef when we booked, our dive instructor Pedro told us once we were underway that we would not be going to Palencar due to our late departure (which was Deep Blue's fault). Needless to say, we were disappointed. Instead, we went to two other very unimpressive locations (Santa Rosa, Tormentos).

All this would not be that significant if Deep Blue, and our divemaster, acted professionally and in accordance with the safety standards of diving. During our pre-dive discussion, I asked Pedro how we would be paired for dive buddies. He seemed surprised and said, "Dive buddies? We don't need dive buddies. We all look out for each other." He also told us that his equipment was bad and could "blow up" anytime during the dive. He told us that if his equipment did blow up, he would surface without us and we were to continue the dive without him. Not very professional at all, in my opinion.

Once we reached our dive location, the dive master began shouting "Get in the water! Let's go!" Once in the water, it was not confirmed that everyone had entered safely and was ready to descend. Instead, the divemaster shouted, "Okay, descend!"

Following our first dive, which reached a depth of about 90 feet (or 30 meters), we went directly to our second dive site. Rather than wait the recommended Surface Interval Time, our divemaster said we would be diving again immediately, less than 15 minutes after completing the first 90 foot dive. No dive tables were discussed, let alone used.

After our second dive, we went straight back to the dock, despite being told earlier that the third location, meant for snorkeling, was being scrapped because of our late departure (again, Deep Blue's fault).

Please note that I am not a very experienced diver and have always been in the company of very professional divemasters. Even if I had confronted the divemaster, I don't believe it would have changed his behavior or the very poor performance of Deep Blue. Based on our experience, I would caution anyone from patronizing Deep Blue.