Riviera Maya / Dressel Divers

[QPD]

Anyone been diving to the Riviera Maya?
My wife booked us into an Iberostar.
Dressel is the dive operator. Anyone have any experience with them?
Thanks,
Bob

[mentalmarine]

I stayed at the Iberostar Del Mar about a year ago for my wedding, it was sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet! I dove with Dressel two days, first were day we dove out of del carmen, the next day we went over to Cozumel. Dressel was ok, nothing negative or overly positive. If I were to do it again I would probably find another dive boat to go with. However, if I didnt have time to plan and didnt feel like messing with it I would use Dressel. The wife isnt a diver so it isnt necessarly a dive vacation. Having the dive shop a 100 yards from the room we had made it very accessable. To each there own though.

[QPD]

Looking at their price list, it seems like you're going to pay a lot for the convenience. The way I calculated it, it looks like almost $200 for the day trip to Cozumel. Was that your experience? How many divers did they put on a boat?
Thanks,
Bob

[Athena2c]

Originally Posted by mentalmarine

I stayed at the Iberostar Del Mar about a year ago for my wedding, it was sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

I got married at a resort in Riveria Maya too (Club Maeva Tulum-no longer exists )
We dove with Tank Ha and were very happy!

[mentalmarine]

I honestly dont remember the cost, I didnt pay close attention. It was my wedding and that wasnt really in my mind at that moment. ummm If I remember right they had about 8-9 on the boat and two none divers.

[LoneDiver]

I've stayed at the Iberostar Maya and new Grand several times. Hotel is great, and I will be back for my 5th stay this June...CAN'T WAIT!!! I have dived with Dressel in Playa, Cozumel, and the Cenotes with probably 5 or 6 different dive masters. I liked them all. While you may pay a little more for the convenience, it's definitely worth it in my opinion.

[Byte Me]

We were down in Playa last December. Going again in early May. Staying at Riu Palace Riviera Maya. Dove last time w/ Jason at Fantaseadive.com based on recommendations from this and scubaboard as well as his videos. He's great! I'm already booked with him for May, doing Coz, cenotes and another day on the RM reefs. Can't say enough good things about him, and as long as he's in business there I'll be diving with him. Very knowledgeable about the area, great dives, personal service, super friendly, dive based on your profile not some "30 mins and your up" type of place.

[percussionist1]

My wife and I have stayed with Iberostar the last 6 times we have been to Playa Del Carmen or Cozumel. Prior to getting our "C" certification about a week ago, we took the "resort course" every time we went(through Dressel Divers). Even though I imagine that your experience will be different since you have your license, we have enjoyed it every time! We have stayed at the Maya, Lindo, Tucan, Quetzal, and Iberostar Cozumel. I highly recommend them all.

The resorts, depending on which one you are going to, are very “tropical.” I know, you immediately say duh! But Iberostar incorporates a lot of wildlife on the grounds of the hotel. During our first stay at the Quetzal, we had Spider Monkeys outside our balcony every morning! We found the food to be good…not great. However, the Maya and Lindo offer better cuisine (but they are the more expensive of the bunch). If you want more info, just let me know...

Percussion1

[QPD]

It's only taken me 5 months to get around to writing this.
We went to the Iberostar as a family vacation in April 08 with our 6 and 10 year old children. They loved it. As mentioned before, lots of wildlife and beautiful flowers on the grounds. They liked the pools better than the beach. The food was good.
The diving was acceptable as this was a family vacation not a dive vacation and I was happy to get into the water. Dressel runs dives at this location according to the clock and not individual diver profiles. Forty minutes and up you go no matter if you have 1400 psi left. They really push the resort certification so there are newbies on almost every dive. A new diver might be ok with this regimented style, but I didn't care for it. The reef they dive on got a bit boring after the 3rd dive there. I did make it over to Cozumel via ferry with Dressel and the guides were excellent on that trip. I was reminded of my awesome trip there in the early 90's.
For folks who want to go on a dive vacation just go straight to Cozumel and forget the Mayan Riviera unless you want to do the cenotes. My wife did a dive in them and found them enjoyable.