Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
 

Dive Review of Wet Set Dive Adventures/Iberostar Paraiso Beach Resort in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Puerto Morelos

Wet Set Dive Adventures/Iberostar Paraiso Beach Resort, Sep, 2003,

by Malcolm Carter, KS, USA . Report 884.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Accommodations - Stayed at the Iberostar Paraiso Beach south of Puerto Morelos. It is a large (maybe too large) all-inclusive. The rooms were comfortable, with the beds being a bit softer than we have become used to in Mexico. Maybe that's because they aren't on a concrete slab. Housekeeping was excellent, no problems whatsoever. The food at the ala carte restaurants was very good, but the buffet started to get really old, not a lot of variety. The evening entertainment was the same as we saw three years ago at the Iberostar at Playacar. Al in all, the accomodations were quite good.

Diving - My wife and I did numerous dives with Paul at Wet Set in Puerto Morelos. My wife wanted easy dives, so we did those for three days, although Paul got her on the C-51 at about 90 feet. This wreck is a sister to the one off Cozumel. It hasn't been down long enough for a lot of growth on the wreck yet, but there were numerous sting rays and eagle rays hanging around as well as a lone nurse shark and a ton of barracuda. Went throght the wreck from bow to stern. It's opened up enought that we were quite comfortable and didn't need any lights.
Paul promises encounters with all sorts of fishies and he delivers! We say everything from lobsters to sharks. I'm not really good at fish I.D. yet, but my general impression is that the reefs are less dramatic than Cozumel, but the marine life is a lot more abundant.
On the days my wife didn't dive, Paul offered me deeper dives to about 1115 to 120 feet, with a strong current. No finning, just get neutral and fly over the bottom. Our one attempt at petting a shark came to naught as it didn't want to play.
All but two of our dives were led by Paul, and there were never more than 3 divers on the boat. Paul has two crewman on the boat, and one snorkels above you for the whole dive, while the other follows in the boat. Never had a wait for pick-up. Paul asks what you want to do and then does it.
After diving with Paul for five days, I did one dive with Dressel Divers which was located at the Iberostar. Instead of a two tank morning dive, they only do a single tank in the morning at a single tank in the afternoon, and I signed up for the Saturday AM dive. When I checked on Friday evening, I was the only one signed up, and they wren't sure they would go, but when I got to the dive shop on Saturday morning, the DM said we'd go. They have a large boat, and it definitely wasn't crowded with two people. We did a dive to around 100 feet with about a 1 1/2 knot current. Once again, there was abundant marine life, but not a lot of coral. It was a good dive, which set me back about as much as two dives with Wet Set. Dressel is a good operation, but they cater to the guests at the hotel who probably only want to dive once or twice during their vacation.
I definitly recommend Wet Set as a dive operator, and we will go back and dive with them again. Next time, we'll stay closer to Puerto Morelos at a smaller, more laid back place. The Iberostar was too big and the cab rides to Puerto Morelos got expensive at $25.00 per round-trip.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 51-100 dives
Where else diving [Unspecified]
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas choppy, currents
Water Temp 82-86°F / 28-30°C Wetsuit Thickness 1
Water Visibility 80-100 Ft/ 24-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions All drift dives, stay with leader.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

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 [None]
Was this report helpful to you?
Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here
 

Subscribe Now
Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 1077 dive reviews of Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

 

Want to assemble your own collection of Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

Undercurrent Home


Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email.
And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent

Free Undercurrent Issue
Get a free
monthly email and
a sample issue!


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2024 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

Page computed and displayed in 0.12 seconds