Dive Review of Nautilus/Nautilus Belle Amie in
Mexico (Western)/Socorro Islands

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Nautilus/Nautilus Belle Amie: "Good diving with caveats about the boat/company", Jul, 2018, by James K Harris, TX, US ( Sr. Reviewer 9 reports with 22 Helpful votes). Report 10377 has 3 Helpful votes.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	My third Socorro trip on the Nautilus Belle Amie. See my other reviews for more details than I'll list here. The hospitality suite at the Tesoro Resort is not air conditioned and is in a corner of the hotel that doesn't get air flowing through it so it can be stuffy and warm (it's more like a covered patio). There's not enough seating for everyone. The diving was very good - lots of sharks, big fish, a few dolphins that unfortunately didn't want to play, only a few mantas this trip, the highlight was probably the 40' whale shark at Roca that was there on two dives. The Sea of Cortez diving was much better than my previous two trips - visibility still wasn't great but we dove different sites where there were a lot more fish. We did not hit the big sea lion colony at Los Islotes - we did a smaller rock that only had 5-6 sea lions and during my dives I only saw a couple in the water at a time and they didn't come near the divers. There were thermoclines on most dives that dropped the temp a couple of degrees. The crew was outstanding as always. They're a fun group to be with on a trip. We had an interrupted trip due to Hurricane Fabio. It didn't come through the islands but it was throwing huge swells out 350 miles so the captain modified the itinerary to do the first day of diving at San Benedicto as normal, but then we leap-frogged Socorro Island and went to Roca Partida for two days before having to run away to the Sea of Cortez. We lost 6 dives because of this. My caveats about the boat - 1. Definitely do not book a room in one of their Superior Suites if your trip is when the weather is warm. The sun heats the sun deck which sits about 24" above the ceiling of those cabins and radiates heat into the rooms. The a/c was practically non-functional so the room was never cooler than about 85 degrees. This is my third experience with this phenomenon (previous trips were at the end of May so not as hot). I complained last year about it, was told several other people had complained about it so they were going to change out the a/c units to a different type and was given a discount for this trip. I got the discount but the a/c units were the same ones as my first trip in 2015 and even more non-functional in the hotter summer weather. People in the deluxe cabins in the hull and premium cabins off the salon reported no problems with the temp in their rooms, but everyone in the Superior Suites was complaining. The crew was passing out portable fans to try to help - I ended up with two in my room but they were just blowing the warm stuffy air around. It was really uncomfortable. 2. It's been a month since the trip completed and the office hasn't asked for comments. I sent my complaints about the room temps to the owner 2 weeks ago and have gotten no response. 3. Due to the hurricane interruption the captain said we'd get 40% off a future trip (a generous offer for something that wasn't their fault). Thus far I have received no communications from the office offering a discount on a future trip. In the past the Nautilus company has positively reacted to complaints about the boat. But I'm disappointed that I was told the room temp problem I experienced in 2017 would be fixed but wasn't and it made my room unbearable in late June/early July heat. And I'm frankly shocked that there's been no communication from the office since the trip finished, especially after I sent my complaints directly to the owner. This is from their website: "It is easy to talk about excellence in guest experience. It is something else to live it – to be wholeheartedly committed to excellence – day in and day out through good times and through more challenging times. We say “don’t judge a dive boat operator by what they say about themselves – it is way more interesting to read what their clients have to say about their experience.” My trip leaves me with a neutral feeling. Outside of the room temp issue in those specific cabins, the boat is really nice, the crew is always great, the diving is really good, so that's why I keep coming back (and I had already booked a return for Dec. 2019). But I wonder about the administrative side of the operation and their commitment to "excellence in guest experience" if they don't follow through with their promises or respond to customer complaints. Maybe they'll come through later - I certainly hope so.
Websites	Nautilus
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Galapagos, Socorro, Palau, Cocos, TX Flower Gardens, Hawaii, Bahamas, Caymans, Belize, Cozumel, Tiger Beach
Closest Airport	Los Cabos International (SJD)	Getting There	DFW to Cabo nonstop on American
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, choppy, currents, no currents
Water Temp	73-78°F / 23-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	40-80 Ft/ 12-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Come back with enough air to be safe
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	1 or 2
Turtles	1 or 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	Massive camera tables on the boat, but cameras are just laid on the floor in the bow of the skiff after the dive.

Report currently has 3 Helpful votes

Subscriber's Comments

By Ryan Black in MI, US at Aug 02, 2018 10:01 EST

Thanks for taking the time to provide this review, James. We're headed out on the NBA for the Guadalupe Island great whites trip next week in a superior suite. Good to know things are likely to be warm.

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Dive Review of Nautilus/Nautilus Belle Amie in Mexico (Western)/Socorro Islands

Nautilus/Nautilus Belle Amie: "Good diving with caveats about the boat/company", Jul, 2018,

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):

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Nautilus/Nautilus Belle Amie in
Mexico (Western)/Socorro Islands