Cozumel Equalizers

Posted on 11/26/03
Name: John Klinger
State: Georgia

Traveled: March, 2003
Stayed: Cozumel
Weather: Excellent
Highly Recommended
Value: Excellent Value

Promptness: 8
Policy: 10
Friendliness: 10

Comments: The bad news first. I had e-mailed back and forth with Darwin for
a few weeks before I came down to Cozumel. For some reason he and I mixed
up the date. When my wife and I got to the shop, there was no available
dive master. However, he made a phone call and within 30 minutes, he had a
dive master for us. The dive instructor's name was Robert. He was
extremely good with beginners. My wife and I had not dived before. He
showed us the basics and then we went over some of the stuff in the shallow
water behind the dive shop. My wife was a bit panicky getting used to the
concept of breathing underwater and was ready to give up. Robert was very
good at calming her down and slowly taking us into a bit deeper water to
build her confidance. After we went through most of a tank, we were ready
to go on the boat. We went to the first reef which was about 40' down. My
wife had a slight ear infection so she had a very difficult time equalizing
without alot of pain.
Anyhow, Robert was extremely patient with her and stayed within 3' of her
the entire dive. I was a bit luckier and had no problems with the dive.
Robert pretty much let me go on my own, just having me 'check' in every
little bit. After we finished that dive. We went to another reef which was
about 20' deep. They gave us fresh tanks and down we went again. This time
my wife was a bit more confident and she was able to enjoy the dive more.
He was also good at pointing out marine life that we definetly would have
missed on our own. We are planning on comming back to Cozumel this spring
and will likely use this shop to get our certifications.

Posted on 06/03/02
Name: David & Teri
State: Texas

Traveled: May, 2002
Stayed: Cozumel
Weather: Excellent
Highly Recommended
Value: Excellent Value

Promptness: 9
Policy: 10
Friendliness: 10

Comments: Our trip to Cozumel started on 5/24/02 and ended on 5/31/02.My girlfriend Teri did her referral dives with Cozumel Equalizers.The day we arrived we went to their shop.Her instructor(Luis)is the best of the best.Their are not enough words to describe how great he is with beginners.She got one-on-one attention & the first two shore dives were done at the shop.I also went on these shore dives & Darwin charged me almost nothing because we were doing the rest of our diving package through his shop.After her certification was done we were planning on only diving two more days.We loved the diving so much that we went every day except one.I shopped the internet quite thoughly before deciding on Darwin.I e-mailed almost 15 different shops for prices.Some just would not budge on their prices.I don't think we were asking for very much.Since we were doing her referral & doing a whole week of diving we asked if maybe the shop could wave their rental prices.We do not have BC's or Reg.Only 3 dive shops told me they could work with me on this.So Cozumel Equalizers is the one that gave us the best deal.We were so lucky to choose them.There was never more than 6 people to a boat.They use small fast boats to get you to the reefs quicker.We were staying at Iberostar for 2 nights since they had overbooked us at Reef Club.No problem for Darwin & Norma.They just sent the boats to whatever resort we were at.We had Luis half the week as our divemaster & the other half was Aristeo.Both are fantastic at finding different marine life.We saw sharks,lobsters,sea turtles,barracuda,and much more.We are really hooked on diving now & plan on returning to Cozumel many more times.You can rest asure we will be doing all our diving with Darwin,Norma,Aristeo,& Luis. PS Next time you have to teach me how to blow the air-water rings Luis Thanks for everything Love David & teri

Posted by 03/13/02
Name: Lane Winstead
State: Wisconsin
Country: Country

Traveled: March, 2001
Stayed: Cozumel
Weather: Good
Highly Recommended
Value: Excellent Value

Promptness: 10
Policy: 10
Friendliness: 10

Comments: I have been traveling to Cozumel to dive with Cozumel Equalizers for the last 6 years. I wouldn't want to dive with anyone else! The staff is so very friendly and helpful. Last year they helped me locate my luggage when the airline lost it. Darwin hires only the best! Last trip, Divemaster Aristea spotted a group of 6 dolphins passing by. We all would have missed them except for his sharp eyes! Magnifico! Thanks Aristeo!
And thank you Darwin and Norma! See you again next vacation!

Posted on 01/10/02
Name: Howard
State: Maryland

Traveled: January, 2002
Weather: Good
Highly Recommended
Excellent Value

Promptness: 9
Policy: 10
Friendliness: 10

Comments: We just returned from Cozumel Jan 6, 2002, having done 8 dives with Cozumel Equalizers (owner: Darwin Zapata). Our group consisted of
two families (4 adults, 3 kids; ages 11,11,12), the kids having just been certified in the U.S., and doing their first dives.

Darwin and Norma Zapata run a very excellent shop. I emailed many, if not most, of the dive shops I could find email addresses for.
Cozumel Equalizers had the best price by far, and with 7 of us, it was our "own" boat to go where we wanted. Darwin recommended that
we do Columbia Shallows as the first dive (especially for the kids).   It was very calm, little current, very clear, and very shallow, with a
great deal of color and life.   As the kids got more confident we went to other reefs, all of which were easy and shallow enough for the kids,
but certainly plenty of fun for the parents, too!

Our divemaster, Aristeo, is the absolute best!! He was the divemaster for all our dives except the last day, and he knew where to find the lobster,
crab, octopus, morays, you name it! He was very patient with the kids, one of whom was rather frightened.   Very highly recommended!

Our only disappointment was on the last dive, when Carlos was the divemaster. He was very friendly and personable, like Aristeo, but did not
know the places to find the sea critters.

When we came back to Darwin's shop, we told him our disappointment with Carlos, and he was very apologetic. All in all, a great dive shop!

Posted by Mike on 03/21/01

I did 14 dives with them last December and I can say without any doubt that they are one of the best shops in Coz. I'm sure that you will get personal attention and excellent instruction with them.

Posted by Steven on February 25, 2000

We got a terrific dive package with CZ in November. Darwin Zapata, the owner of CZ was very helpful. When we arrived there were terrible winds which kept his small boats in the harbor. He arranged for us to go on a larger boat two days in a row. At the end of the week, he discounted the dives because of the inconvenience. He didn't have to do that either.

Not the most convenient operation because he does not have a dock, but I'll dive with him every time I go from now on.

Steven

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