Testimonials
From Alison's Divers
To post a comment on this testimonials page, please send an email
to: testimonials@scubawithalison.com
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Alison: I just wanted to thank you for a great week of diving. For our first diving trip we could not have picked anyone better. You are a real professional we safety was a priority. My two sons and I looked forward to each new dive site. The highlight was when Matt "stumbled" on the two nurse sharks. We are now addicted and can't wait to go again. We are hoping to do advanced in the spring and maybe take another trip to Cozumel late next summer. If so we will look forward to diving with you and Carlos again. Best Regards, Hey Alison, Linda and I finally want to thank you for the incredible time we had diving with you and Chucho back in June. Actually I am the one to blame for the belated testimonial...I just haven't been able to shake myself out of vacation mode and do anything productive! I cannot thoroughly express in words how much Linda and I enjoyed our experience with you...but I will try. I only ask for patience from you and your other viewers for the rambling that is about to commence! Linda and I both feel spoiled after diving with you all and can't actually imagine using another operation...unless you really didn't like us and just put on a good face, or you are too booked, you will have to see our happy glowing faces many more times in the future. As very new divers, we both greatly appreciated the way you and Chucho looked after our safety. The anticipation and nervousness we started out with was completely gone after our first dive. We had only signed up for three days initially, but we had such a great time that we ended up diving with you all for seven days and one night. You all made us feel completely comfortable and we never felt like we were treated any differently than the experienced divers. You were so great and patient when Linda had her little underwater issue and Chucho was the same when I had mine. Even those very minor little incidents showed what a great operation you run...instead of making us feel bad or foolish for them, because of the way you and Chucho handled them, we were actually able to learn something from them. With you and Chucho always on the lookout and quick to point things out, we got to see all the incredible marine life we could ask for and then some. Everyday, Linda and I talk about all the fantastic dives we went on, with the night dive probably being our favorite, and all of the amazing coral and marine life we got to see. In addition to making sure we were safe and got to see so many beautiful things, both of you also took the time during the actual dives to give us some small instructional tips and help that has helped us improve our diving abilities...that is probably second nature to both of you and I bet neither one of you even realizes that you do it, but the little personal things like that make a huge impact on your customers. To us, the time spent with you all out of the water (before, between, and after the dives), was just as great as the time spent in the water with you all. We both really enjoyed just hanging out and talking with you and Chucho. All the personal touches you bring to your operation are what stood out the most to us. We always appreciated the cold waters, the cold soda, the cold, delicious fruit, and of course, the most delicious of them all, the incredibly tasty chocolate donuts that were provided between and after the dives. I think I ate about my body weight in those donuts after you introduced them to me. You may have heard my wetsuit zipper starting to scream those last couple of dives! Even the small, somewhat secluded little beach you all use for the surface interval adds to the enjoyment. That was such a beautiful and relaxing place to hang out between dives. In addition to you and Chucho being fantastic, your boat captains, Carlos and the Enigma II captain who's name we just cannot remember were also great. We appreciate them not only for getting us to and from the dive sites safely and then watching out for us from above while we dove, but also for setting up our gear extremely quickly and safely, and for the many little things they did like helping us onto the boat after a dive, storing our things safely, etc, etc. There are so many other things I could say about how great an experience we had with you all. You took two brand new divers who were nervous and unsure about diving and turned them into two people who absolutely love it...now we are constantly looking for a local place and reason to dive, sort of like two crackheads looking for the next fix, but without the crack and the fix! To us, the greatest compliment we can give is to say that we really, truly felt like we were hanging out and diving with friends. You and Chucho personally, and the way you handle your operation, have all played a role in providing us both with memories that will last a lifetime. There are so many other things I could and would love to say about just how great everything was, but I imagine you might like to leave a little room on your page for the others who write to you! Thank you so much for everything, you have two more loyal customers who couldn't imagine diving with anybody else. You all take care and we hope to see you again very soon, hopefully and possibly within the next few months... We first dove with Alison back in Sep 2007. This was our first dive trip and my wife Nathalie was extremely nervous. I did a lot of research before booking the trip since I wanted to make sure Nathalie would feel safe and have a personalized experience. After many evening of research, I found Alison, an experienced female instructor that was willing to take us for a couple days and certify Nathalie one-on-one. We had the most wonderful learning experience diving with Alison. Alison helped her feel comfortable with the water and within 12 days, she cumulated 26 dives, moving from newbie to advanced and adding a drift specialty on top... Alison's experience and concern for safety inspired confidence in me and I decided to do my Rescue certification with her in Nov 2007. Again, I had a wonderful experience training with her and figuring out the rescue drills on the Maximus with Carlos and team... I decided to share the love of the sport with my family and we had the most wonderful family vacation in January 2008 when our kids got certified. I scuba dove at many different places and I can tell that Cozumel is my favorite place and I plan to return soon. It has been a great experience and an honor for me to learn from Alison and I wish her standard of excellence, safety and education were the norm....
Hi Alison, we just wanted to say thanks for the great week of diving.
You and Chucho are fantastic, and we loved the small group. We always
look for a small local dive operation everywhere we go, and are so
happy we found you. We will return.
Just wanted to shoot you a quick thank you for the great time we had on the maximus. I was a last minute addition and you were still able to accomodate me. After that you showed a ton of patience with my "slow ears" -- the dives to playancar and san francisco were fantastic and I can't wait 'til our paths cross again. You run a very professional operation. And next time I'd like to see that chucho has repaired those holes in your boat. Thanks again!
Alison, I want thank you for providing a wonderful dive experience on May 27th for our three children. Although they are older children (age range 23 to 18 years), it is difficult not to worry. Having only one that was a fully certified diver and the other two with only resort certificates, their diving abilities were somewhat limited. You and Carlos never made them feel any different than the four very experienced divers on the trip. Their dive experience was beyond their expectations. Our 21 year old daughter could not stop talking about the wide variety of fish and the beautiful coral reefs. In addition, thank you for the “taxi” ride to Planacar Beach, it was the perfect way to wait for our divers to return. You run a top notch diving operation that combines professionalism and a genuine love for diving. I would recommend you to anyone who wants a superior Cozumel diving experience. We wish continued success!
Alison, I can’t say thank you enough for setting me up for my first ocean dives since being certified in October 2007. Setting up a reservation with you was very easy and you accommodated me in that I was arriving by cruise ship on May 5th, 2008. Chucho took wonderful care of me on my dives and because of him, I felt so comfortable in the water that I didn’t even realize we were at 50 feet. Toro showed my husband and friends who were snorkeling a great time as well. You certainly run a class act operation and I’ll never sign on to dive with anyone else whenever I return to Cozumel. You, Chucho and Toro exceeded all expectations I had and gave all of us the experience of a lifetime!!! Thank you so much!!
This was my second time to Cozumel, and my first chance to dive with Alison. I first met Alison in March of 2007 when I could do nothing more than snorkel in the beautiful waters of Cozumel. After that trip in 2007, and watching my friends 80 feet below me as I snorkeled above them, I was determined to get my certification and return again to Dive with Alison. I accomplished the certification part in October of 2007, and in April was in the warm and clear waters of Cozumel with Alison and her crew. Alison truly has the dream team working with her, and the experiences you will gain are second to none. On this trip we had planned 12 dives but were only able to accomplish 10 due to our plane arriving late. From shallow to deep, Cozumel offers it all, and diving with Alison, you are guaranteed to see it all in a safe manner with a personal touch. Things I liked best: Alison is in tune with each divers abilities, She knows the gear and will give you pointers, The dive groups are small so you don't feel lost in the crowd, Dives are limited by your air consumption rate, and not a time schedule or the first person to the safety gas level, She will give you hotel and accommodation recommendations, She picks up from most piers south of downtown, She is very responsive to emails and schedules, She takes VISA and MasterCard, If your friends don't dive, she will take them on the boat as snorkelers and will even arrange a snorkel guide to assist and keep you safe!!!!
I erred in my earlier email (Nov. 19, 2005) regarding Allison being "one of the best" dive operators I have dove with. Making numerous dives each year in the Keys and West Palm has given me a pretty good idea of the vast difference regarding dive operators in today's market. I now wish to amend my earlier email to categorically state the Allison's operation IS THE BEST!! Don't waste your time with others. Go to the person that is going to give you the biggest bang for your buck while you are in Coz...and that's Alison. Thanks again for a wonderful day we will never forget.
Hola Alison, I wish to thank you for helping me earn my open water PADI certification on 22, 23 Jan. 08. You and Carlos were great. You helped me overcome my fears and I was very pleased with your professionalism and knowledge. I highly endorse you as a great divemaster and when i return to Cozumel...I will only dive with Alison! Gracias and take care...shalom.
Dear Alison, Wow!!! Thanks for the great dives!!!! Congratulations on your fulfillment of a dream. You have a terrific dive operation and a fantastic team. As you know Lorraine and I have been certified since 1978 and have been on many dives in many different places. My compliments to your crew lead by Chucho. Since our guests received their certification only last year, they needed a dive master that would look after them and calm their fears. I don’t know if Sharon’s concerns about diving were completely erased but she did complete eight dives the deepest being over 80 feet. She could only do this if she had confidence in Chucho. On her first dive, Chucho never left her side. On the second dive he let go of Sharon’s hand only after she showed she was comfortable in the water. I’m sure that Chucho has a second sense to determine when a diver is at ease underwater. By the third dive Sharon was on her own and by her seventh dive was reaching a depth of over 80 feet. I was impressed in the way that Chucho and Jose operated their boat and took care of our equipment. Before each dive Chucho went over the dive profile and the signals that were going to be utilized on that dive even though he went over the signals on the previous dive. Then before we entered the water he made sure everyone understood the dive profile and the signals. This is the trait of a true professional. Jose Uno (#1) operated the boat and Jose Dos (#2) dove into the water with his snorkel gear after all the divers were in. Jose Dos’s job was to handle any diver that came to the surface with any problem while Chucho was under water with the other divers. I have never seen this in any other dive operation. This is a great concept you have implemented. It puts everyone on the boat at ease. I’m not sure when our next trip to Cozumel will be, but you can be sure we will be diving with “Scuba With Alison.” Thanks for a great Vacation,
Hello Alison, I am sending you and Chucho and the captain who's name I have rudely forgotten bucketfuls of belated thanks. I had an absolutely lovely day and two lovely dives. I need to first thank you for your welcome, your humor, and your patience with firstly my tardiness and scheduling mishaps, and secondly my notortiously zooey temperament. Chucho is what the ideal divemaster should be, in my book, combining a careful, watchful, experienced eye with genuine enthusiasm and sincere friendliness. My largest complaint aimed at dive operators and perhaps specifically divemasters everywhere is the "oh, I'm way too cool for you" attitude, make sure your straps are tight and I'll just float along here yawning and make sure you don't get lost. We count you in and count you out and that's all folks. Not a shred of it with Chucho. By time we hit the water for the second dive after a truly lovely surface interval on the beach with cake and a taco option (this seriously beats bobbing along eating granola), he knew he had one diver who sucked air like a hoover on high, one with tender sinuses and one whose tummy was not happy, and he checked with all of them, all the time. On top of that carefulness came enthusiasm: he went all freaky at everything from turtles to barracuda, sharing a real honest pleasure with the undersea environment he shared with his guests. Captain Fantastic put my glasses somewhere safe and handed them back to me when I took my mask off, before I started groping around and whining. And stashed my bag somewhere dry. This is not a small potatoes. The dives themselves were also grand, and a great combo. Palancar, a first time for me, was wonderful - like diving in a cathedral! I spotted a big eagle ray coming around some coral promontory at the end of the dive, very cool, but also very cool to have the people you're diving with as well as the dive master all make GOAL!!! gestures at you and celebrate the beast's grandeur when you climb out, rather than telling you they saw a bigger one in Maui. Then we went to Cedral (? I'm the worst dive-recordkeeper on record) and there was a good bit of current to fly along in (I do like a flying dive), and oh MY that was a fishy dive. Grouper, I love grouper, love grouper a great deal. Orangey filefish? Toadfish? Definitely pufferfish and an octopus. A very very fine dive.
So you folks get all As from me. As long as you have room, you'll see me whenever we're in Cozumel. Thanks again, I really had a fine time. Judy and I just returned from our 27th trip to Cozumel. This was the 14th trip we were with Alison and Carlos. The diving was great and Carlos and Alison were gracious hosts. The shallow dives, our favorites, have improved considerably with each trip. Columbia Shallows seems almost all the way back. A highlight was a huge pod of dolphins that cavorted around the boat for ten minutes. There must have been 100 and they circled the boat giving us a show. We hoped they would show up on there dive, but no such luck. had several close encounters with Eagle rays and I'm anxiously waiting for the pictures. The new boat, Maximus, is comfy and very fast. We had one brief but furious rain shower and the cabin was much appreciated. We're looking forward to our next trip in late April or early May. If you have questions, feel free to email me. Read what Alison says on the home page and believe every word of it. We have several trips and a few classes with Alison and can't say enough about her, Chucho and Carlos. The other testimonials will give you details, but just know that regardless of your experience in diving (we started new and have progressed considerably since then), you will know you have found not only great dive leaders, but friends as well. Ok... It's a secret... Alison is REALLY the very best in the world, but... shush.... don't tell her! :-) We dove with Alison in September and to say the least, we were brand new certified OW divers... I was, to say the least, a little afraid! But after reading all about Alison, we decided to go with her and I booked everything from the Laurentians! Diving with Alison... was the best experience of my life! She stayed with me the whole dives, she held my hand to reassure me (yes... I was scared of the cudas and the sharks...) and she made sure the rest of the group was also enjoying the dives! It was such a life changing experience for me! I cannot wait to get back to Cozumel in March 2008 to do my Advance with her and to dive the Devil's Throat! Carlos is an excellent dive boat captain! Always helpful, always there when we needed him (yes... I was always the first one up...)! A jewel of a team... but as I said... shush... it's a well guarded secret!!! As we say in Montreal... À la prochaine!!!
alison, chucho, carlos.. for the great diving experience for our entire family, our gratitude.
three neophyte resort divers, two newbies, and two regulars and we all got exactly what we wanted and needed and more with you guys. Right out of the gate all the biggies; a huge free-swimming green eel, reef and nurse sharks, turtles, rays, barricuda, and oh those underseascapes-- 'twas splendid! and all this with the threat of [hurricane] dean over your head. you're the best.
My husband and son dove 2 days with Alison on Aug. 12Th and 13th. My husband was thrilled with her and Chucho. He said after watching the other dive operations in action he was glad they had chosen her. They felt she was so much safer! She keeps the groups smaller as to do this properly. Maybe more should be as concerned.They loved it all! And are definitely coming back! And will definitely use you again! Thank you, Alison for making their trip such a success. Keep up the great work! The Taylors. My husband and I just got back from our first trip to Cozumel, July 14-21, 2007. We dove with Alison four days and every dive was spectacular. She is very conscientious about safety and does a good job recommending dives that will be enjoyable for all levels. We enjoyed the small groups and personal service. I don’t know how she spotted it, but she pointed out a tiny seahorse on the ocean bed. (Our first time to see one on a dive!) Unfortunately, I had to spend one night in the hospital while in Cozumel. We called Alison and she gave us the name of the local clinic with a decompression chamber. Someone she knew came and picked us up from the hotel and took us to the clinic. Luckily, it just turned out to be inner ear problems, but Alison came by the hospital just to make sure I was okay. We really appreciated her concern and taking her time to come by and check on me. The hospital stay didn’t dampen our vacation. We dove with Alison two days later and everything was great! Thanks again Alison. We will be back soon. DIVE TRIP JULY 8 - 13, 2007 Just got back from a dive trip with family and friends. This is actually our second time with Alison. On our first trip, a month prior, my 11 year old son took his Open Water certification course with Alison. Although my son did well and passed, he had a nose bleed at the beginning of the dive. Alison showed patience and a calming sense of humor to a stressed-out child. Thank you so very much for turning his first experience into a positive one.
I might also add that she keeps her partner, Chucho, in line. They are really an awesome team! Everyone in our group enjoyed. Thanks again, Alison! And Chucho...Mike and Brian just loved Maracaibo...it just added that extra touch of testosterone to the trip! Grace Kawaguchi and family (Mike,Lauren,Brandon) Las Vegas, NV The Reed family (Brian, Gillian, Sydney, Zach) Houston, TX - Sunday, July 22, 2007 Judy and I just returned from our 26th trip to Cozumel with 13 diving with Alison. The diving improves with each trip after Wilma. Still sand on some shallow reefs, but the diving was great. Columbia Shallows, our favorite, was loaded with huge schools of fish. As usual Alison and Carlos were great. Lots of long shallow dives while the rest of the divers did their thing somewhat deeper. Palancar Garden, another favorite, was fantastic as well. Making plans for a early December trip. If anyone has questions, feel free to email me. We dove with a couple who had emailed some questions before their trip. Alison: Cozumel Thursday, December 07, 2006trip March 19th-31st. What can I say that I haven’t
said before. You are my DM and I love what you do because you do it
better than anyone I know. There are teams and then there are teams,
and you, Carlos & Chucho are, in my mine, the best team in Cozumel
and anyone that hasn’t dove with you really doesn’t have a true scale
to judge dive operations by. (example), not to many dive ops. would
go to the trouble to line up an additional DM for 3 divers while you
finish up a cert. dives with 2 other divers, and you know what, watching
these 2 divers (ages 12 and 18) get cert. was as much fun as doing
my own thing on that dive. I usually add a photo to my testimony but
this time I’m going to add an invitation, to anyone that is interested,
to a web sight where they can see for their self what diving with
you is all about. Now I’m in no way any kind of a pro when it comes
to U/W photos or videos, in fact, these photos and videos are my first
with a digital camera, so the quality is far from professional but
it gives you the idea of what diving in Cozumel with the best DM on
the island is all about. The web sight; http://tut.phanfare.com you
need the pass word, Cozumel the “C” is upper case. Thanks again Alison,
this was another great trip and the diving was as good as it gets.
Next year you will come up with the Sea Horse as you said you would
that I'm sure of, it’s the only thing I haven’t gotten a pic of, and
a promise is a promise. Thanks kid for another great dive vacation,
Hola to Carlos and Chucho, (shacka - shacka baby).
Here’s the deal: of the dozen or so people I met while diving with
Alison, all except one was a return customer. Several said that they
wouldn’t dive with anyone on Cozumel but her. Need I say more? Well,
I will. Alison is fun, professional and she and Carlos really made
me feel welcome and well taken care of. My only complaint: I’m back
in NYC where it’s snowing instead of diving! Alison,
What can I say, Elaine, Richard, Kathy, Ron, Andrew & I had a blast
diving with Alison and Carlos, again in January, 2007. What a fantastic
week of diving. I do not think that there is anything that we missed,
2 hugh moray eels, sharks, rays, 3-octopus, count them 3 octopus and
I lost count of the number of turtles. One great dive after another.
I am still on cloud nine about the spectacular week of diving we had.
I have said it once and I will say it again and again and again, as
far as the 6 of us are concerned there is one dive master in all of
Cozumel. Kathy and I will will see you again in April and we can not
wait. Love, Patti We took our Advanced Diver course with Alison in January and are
VERY satisfied customers!! This was our 3rd trip to the island, 1st
time diving with Alison, but definitely not our last. The night dive
was especially great - very relaxed, fun and safe. Thanks again Alison
and Carlos - we help make our holiday even more memorable. We are Canadians from the prairies and love diving . We went back
to dive with Alison , because she is so much fun to be with and totally
professional at the same time. We just got back from Cozumel and had
a blast diving with her . As always , the groups were small and we
got a lot of personal attention . We got to vote on where to dive
, and she offered a wide range of locations. She is very safety oriented
, making sure that everyone had their equipment on correctly , made
the appropriate safety stops , and gave great tips on how to deal
with currents . We always felt totally safe with her . When we go
back to Cozumel , we will definitely contact her for all our diving
needs. Hello Alison, I can't thank you and Carlos enough for hosting our
group on Thursday... It really was an all around wonderful experience.
First, you were nice enough to wait for us when our cruise was delayed...
then you took us to some awesome dive spots where we got to see everything
on our wish list... and then you point us in the right direction for
some delicious margaritas and nachos. But you didn't stop there...
when I forgot my fins, you had Chucho bring them to me at the bar.
And you did it all with a smile. We'll be back and we're only diving
with you... Thank you and Happy New Year! INSERT GLOWING RECOMMENDATION HERE! But seriously, I finally came
back to spend a week with Alison and Carlos after having dove with
them for a day on a cruise ship almost 2 years ago. It was definitely
worth the trip. I couldn't have asked for a more personalized experience.
I have had the chance now to dive with a number of other dive outfits
in the Caribbean and in the US, and Alison and Carlos are still the
best. Having a little more experience now than I did my first time,
it also impressed me as to how truely concerned they are for the safety
and well being of their divers and all the little things they do to
make sure you have a safe and enjoyable experience. Thanks again guys! Hola Alison, We would like to send a huge thank you to you, Carlos and Chucho for a fabulous week of diving. This was our first trip to Cozumel and Mike's already making plans to head back there again. We had a lot of fun diving with you and Chucho. We felt extremely comfortable and confident diving with you and enjoyed your sense of fun during the dives. Carlos was a great help to us getting in and especially out of the water :) Chucho was also a great guide during our treasure hunt (or night dive as some people like to call it). I can't believe all the octopus we found! The camaraderie between you, Carlos, Chucho and the dive group was incredible and really made the trip feel like we were diving with a good group of friends. It really made the surface intervals a lot of fun. We couldn't believe our luck with the under water wild life either.
Having the dolphins swim past our group during our safety stop will
definitely be the highlight of our dive careers. We're looking forward
to diving with you again on our next trip to Cozumel. Thanks again
for everything! Hola Alison, Thank you, Carlos and Chucho for the amazing dives!
You are a true professional and helped us become better divers while
providing a safe and fun experience. The visits to the world of Cozumel
oceana, seeing the spectacular marine life, and the swim throughs
at Palancar Caves were very special for us. For now it is back to
the cold, harsh reality of new england and work (yuk). We look forward
to seeing you again someday, hopefully sooner than later. For those
searching this site looking for who you should dive with in Cozumel,
you have found her. Peace, Just returned from our 12th trip with Alison and our 25th to Cozumel.
Guess we like it. Six days with Alison November 30 to December 5th
and as usual she and Carlos were great. The diving has improved immensely
since April. Not 100% back but close. Alison: I can’t thank you enough for making our trip such a wonderful
experience. Chris has hoped for years that I would be able to just
get comfortable and enjoy a dive with him and you made it possible.
would like to provide this testimonial for you to use and edit in
any way you’d like: Hey Alison, Chau, Mike, Spencer, and I had a great time. Thanks for
all the professionalism and thanks for all the fun. You made our trip
to Cozumel awesome. Only one causality to report... we decided to
spend the afternoon at the Fiesta Americana pool after our last dive
on Tuesday . Mike, the chatty Brit he is, in mid-sentence, got stung
by a bee on the lip. He looked like Hitch. I'm sure Chau will send
a pic or two. All is well that ends well. My best, This was my 4th time diving with Alison and my first time taking
my three friends. The "boys" had not dived in years! Not only did
Alison make them feel VERY safe and secure in the water, she was great
fun. We all agreed we will be back, and always back with Alison. Ali...
you go girl! Chau Nguyen October 16th and 17th 2006 dive trip, houston
texas We dove with Alison earlier this year (February) and after referring
many others to her I found her testmonial page and wanted to let others
know how very, very satisfied we were with Alison and her crew. Months
before our trip to Playa I searched for a dive operator that would
be able to give my family, a 13 yr. old daughter, 16 yr. old son and
my wife and I a resort course. We were looking for someone that would
take us on alone, and make our kids comfortable since it was their
first time diving and only the 2nd time for my wife and I. I had many
on some of the Playa and Cozumel web sites refer us to Alison. After
a few e-mails back and forth we felt really comfortable setting up
training and dives with Alison. It was the most awesome experience
for all of us. Alison was so good with our kids, especially our daughter
who needed a calming person like Alison to help her through the tougher
parts of training. We felt so safe, and that was our #1 priority.
This was the highlight of our week, with the experience being second
to none. If you have any reservations about taking teens out and doing
this for the first time, by all means go with Alison and you will
not regret it. I think the whole experience was very affordable, very
rewarding and very, very safe. If you'd like to hear more of our dive
feel free to e-mail me. My girlfriend and I went diving with Alison, and it was GREAT! She
is a stress-free and confident Dive master who allowed us to take
our time investigating around the reef; no quick deep dive to use
up our air like some DM we've gone with. She was excellent at pointing
out the sea life, and she kept the group small... only 5 people. Safety
really came across as a priority. It was worth making the early reservation,
and recommend her to anyone. Scuba With Alison was all it was before and then some! This was
my second time diving with Alison and I would recommend no other!
The talent of Carlos, Chucho, and Alison never ceases to amaze me.
We did 13 amazing dives and even though Alison was officially on vacation,
she was always there making sure that we were all taken care of. This
crew is fun, laid back, and very knowledgeable. Best of all, they
put safety first!! No matter what level of diver you are, they always
make sure that everyone is taken care of and that the dive is thoroughly
enjoyed by all. Carlos is always kind enough to wear shorts so that
the ladies can use his legs as eye candy during the surface intervals.
Now that's devotion!!! HA! All joking aside, if you are looking for
a top-notch dive operation with no hassle, look no further! This was our first dive experience with Alison and the Enigma II.
Fantastic dives, fantastic dive guide. Our small group (Mike, Gary,
Jeanette, John, Joe) has been diving 2-3 times a year for several
years in Cozumel with various dive guides. Alison was recommended
through a friend, who has been diving with Alison for over 10 years.
We were not disappointed. Alison was first and foremost "safety conscious".
Having dove there for over 15 years, Alison was very knowledgeable
on the dive sites, sea life, and conditions and allowed us to dive
our dives. We knew the sites we wanted to visit and she was most accommodating,
providing very helpful insights. She quickly assessed our dive prowess
after entering the water (fortunately we were good enough to go below
15'). She did not set any time limit - which is great for this group
as we often have 70-80 minutes dives - still surfacing with over 500
psi. She also had individual air limits, which is the only
way this group will dive. Many dive operations not only limit the
time you're down but an air limit that ties everyone to the first
person reaching that limit (e.g. "the first person to 1000psi - everyone
begins ascent"). She maintained eye contact with every diver throughout
the dives even going back, against some decent current, to direct
one of our "strays" who almost joined another group. At first I thought
she was going down to wrestle the 7' nurse shark that had been following
us - which would have been more fun than getting Gary back! She was
entertaining and fun to be around. I would trust her as a dive guide
with my children, and I know no higher recommendation. We will be
back on the Enigma II soon. Thanks for the fun. This is my second time diving with Alison and crew as my wife and
I along with some friends came down for a four day weekend last year.
I didn’t spend a lot of time with her last year as we were on different
boats since we had such a large crowd. However this time 7 guys came
down on July 28 and we had a week of diving before the rest of our
family and friends came down. We met Alison at a restaurant where
we sorted out all of plans for the week and the next morning we hit
the water. Alison has a great personality and was able to handle 7
guys who continuously made crude jokes and acted like “guys”. Believe
me, she can handle her own. She was very accommodating to us and gave
us thorough dive briefings each and every dive and most of the time
we did what she told us……some of us ignored the set hard bottoms!
Alison and us were very lucky on our diving as we saw a ton of turtles,
4 sharks, a huge green moray eel and lots of splendid toad fish. Alison
knew I had a camera so she was always pointing out photo opportunities
to me. I took almost 500 pictures all underwater for the 10 days I
dove. I had a lot of boat time to learn about Alison and her crew
and I was/am very impressed. They are helpful to any and every request
and safety was their number one goal. My wife isn’t as strong as a
diver as I am and I am always a bit nervous when she dives, except
this time. Alison and crew have earned my complete trust and respect.
We will continue to do our yearly trip to Cozumel and dive with her
each and every time. If I had to pick her strongest trait it would
be reading people and their diving skills and planning the dive accordingly.
We had an awesome time and can’t wait to go back. Thank you Alison
and Crew. Alison sets the standard -- Just returned from my second visit with
Alison and again, couldn't be more satisfied. Everything from her
attention to safety and details to the way they (Alison, Carlos and
Chuco) treat you like a friend instead of a customer makes her operation
top notch. Most of all though, its the way she still gets so excited
when she spots a turtle, eagle ray etc. that tickles me the most.
She loves diving and it shows. Thank you Alison, Chucho and Carlos for another fantastic week of
diving!!!!! Wow, 14 dives in 4 days and we all survived it!!!! Once
again, taking advanced divers and brand new divers and making sure
everyone was comfortable as well as entertained - you guys truly are
an awesome team. A few months ago, we traveled to Jamaica to dive
and spent the entire week wishing we'd have just gone back to Cozumel
so that we could be diving with you. The three of you have truly spoiled
us for anyone else. If anyone reading this testimonial is on the fence
about booking with ScubaWithAlison.......Please contact us - we'd
be more than happy to talk your ear off about reasons to go with this
group!!! On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the best we give Alison and crew
a 10+. If you are reading these testimonials looking for the right
person to take you out diving in Cozumel like we just recently did,
look no further. Cheryl and I are new to scuba diving and completed
our open water certification just a few weeks before our trip to Cozumel.
This was our first time diving in salt water (or anywhere) as our
open water dives during training were completed in a fresh water lake
near our home. Alison, Chucho, and Carlos all made us feel welcome
and provided excellent service during our 4 days of diving Jun 10-13,
2006. Most importantly we felt very safe and their years of experience
in diving shined through by their actions in planning the dives and
how they looked after us in the water. We loved diving in Cozumel
and will be going back to dive with Alison often. Hey everybody, listen up! I dove with Alison in June of 2005, and
sent in a glowing testimonial...(its the only kind she should ever
get!) but it got misplaced in cyberspace, so I finally got around
to trying again...I hope she'll post it! I heard about Alison from
Troy Stites and David McSwain, and contacted her for some dives...and
despite saying I was friends with those guys...she still took me!
There is no replacement for the personalized service and genuine friendship
that is on dislpay at all times by Alison, Carlos, and Chucho! They
truly go that extra mile! Our little dive group, Cowboy Diving and
Adventures, recommends Alison exclusively...make her your dive operator
of choice...its the best choice you can make! We just returned from our 11th trip with Alison. Even with the Wilma
damage, which has improved since December, the diving was excellent.
Carlos and Alison make divers feel like friends or family. A unique
atmosphere. The last day provided the best diving with an eagle ray,
turtles and then to top it off, dolphins on the return trip. We're
already planning our 25th trip to Cozumel for next December. E-mail
me at comanken@aol.com if you
have questions. My wife and I made our fourth trip to Cozumel, diving with Alison
each time. We did our open water in CZM with our instructor from home
in 2004, then did boat dives with Alison, Chucho, and Carlos and learned
what it means to make instant friends. I can't imagine diving in Cozumel
with anyone else. They make the whole trip enjoyable, from the fun
chatter on the boat ride out, through very safe, well thought out
dives, and the boat ride back when we are tired, satisfied, happy,
and looking forward to the next day. We return as often as we can
find time and an excuse to go. We were definitely saddened by the
damage to some of our favorite reefs this time. Yucab, in particular,
took a lot of damage. As Alison has said on her divelog, though, we
just think of it as "urban renewal" and look for the new life that
was already beginning to take root. As usual, Alison did a wonderful
job of finding cool creatures and even took a pose beside a sleeping
nurse shark on Santa Rosa wall. We had a great time and are looking
forward to returning as soon as time allows. Feb 28th - Mar 4th 2006. Although it was a short trip,
even shorter week, you did yourself good Girl. This is my 5th dive
trip with Alison and as I’ve said many times before, I dive with no
other. After “Wilma” I didn’t know what really to expect but I was
very happy to see that my beloved Island is up and going strong. The
reefs really look pretty good. Yes, there is a lot more sand on some
of them but I can’t remember seeing so many fish and turtles as I
did on this trip. The reefs look different also in that there seems
to be a lot more swim through than I remember is the past and more
over hangs. The one bonus I really wish I could have spent more time
at was the uncovering of the old ship, some call this dive “Palancar
Bricks” some call it “Columbia.” I call it the “Bricks” and Alison
dropped us right on top of it. All in all it was a great week of diving
and can’t wait to get back and do it all over again. Here
is looking at you Girl . We were in Cozumel on Jan 26, 2006 via a cruise ship. Dont let the
tender process scare you from not booking. Alison can be accommodating
within reason. We had plenty of time to do a two tank dive and still
get in some shopping. It was fun to watch the large turtle go up for
air and then on the way back down pause to get its picture taken.
We saw plenty of fish, lobsters and a small eel. There is still plenty
left to see even with all the devastation that has occurred to Cozumel. I was in Cozumel in September 2005 and it was my 17th or 18th trip
to this beautiful island to dive with Alison. This is a belated thank-you
to her, Chucho and Carlos for their unsurpassed service that made
all dives so safe and interesting. I heard that Hurricane Wilma had
caused some little damage, but mostly reformation to the Palancar
Reef. In the eyes of repeat customers like me, COZUMEL has just been
RENOVATED, as in the same fashion after Hurricane Emily Cozumel was
rewarded with a dozen or so reef sharks that always cruise near Punta
Sur. I cannot wait to find out more about my new Cozumel and to dive
with my old friends again. We were in Cozumel from December 4-11 and dove with Alison December
5-10. It was our 10th trip with Alison and as usuual she and Carlos
were more like friends than a dive operator. I approached the diving
with an open mind and while some reefs suffered significant damage,
the diving is still great. The shallow dives, our favorites, were
hit the hardest. The color isn't as vibrant as many of the sponges
are gone but the array of fish remains. I believe the reefs will slowly
improve but some will take a long time. Cozumel diving may not be
the same but it beats most other locations. If you're oldtimers, approach
the diving with an open mind and you'll be pleasantly surprised. If
you are a first time visitor, you'll be amazed at the quality of diving.
Email me if you have any questions. Being a cruise ship passenger (and first time visitor to Cozumel),
I knew my wife and I would only get one opportunity to dive during
our day in Cozumel. We had dove earlier in the week in Grand Cayman,
with an operator that I'd quickly booked on the Internet, and although
the dive itself was great...the dive operator there did absolutely
nothing for us in terms of making this a fun dive. He was unfriendly,
ignored our comments and questions, and made it clear that the term
"customer service" was not a phrase he was familiar with. (Example:
we were told to be at his dive shop at 10:00am, yet, did not leave
until 1:00pm.) When we arrived in Cozumel, what a night and day difference
with Alison!! She greeted us with a smile and made our dive so great,
that she is the first operator that I have "wanted" to write a testimonial
for. I have dove with many operators in Florida, since being certified
in 1998, and she is without a doubt one of the very best. She did
everything to make this a great dive for us! My wife (an experienced
diver) said Alison was the best operator she had ever had the pleasure
of diving with. I wholeheartedly agree ... as Alison made Cozumel
our best dive so far. She has set a very high standard for others
to follow, and we are looking forward to a return trip to Coz, so
that we can dive with Alison. I dove with Alison in both March 2004 and March 2005. The first time
I was a little apprehensive as it was the first time I ever made a
booking on the internet and wasn't certain as to what I was getting
into; plus I had a bad experience diving at another location in the
Caribbean many years ago. Diving with Alison and Carlos was the best.
She is extremely well organised and very accommodating to those she
takes out. My experience was so good in 2004 that I returned in 2005.
I took my kids and she took us to a reef to snorkel in between dives.
Now my daughter is begging me to get her signed up for an open water
dive course so she can dive with Alison in 2006. We'll see you in
about six months Alison. I wanted to let you know what a fabulous time we had with Carlos
and Chucho. Alison was taking some time off to visit her mother -
but still woke up early and met us at the pier to make sure we were
set up and ready to go! Chucho is a fabulous dive master and took
us on some wonderful dives. It was very hands on and personal - not
anything you'd get from another dive company. Chucho and Carlos made
us feel comfortable from the get go! Chucho asked us what we wanted
to see - and he provided that for us! The first dive we saw a beautiful
reef and the second dive (an incredible drift dive by the way - we
cruised over 4 miles in 45 minutes!) we saw TONS of fish, turtles,
even an octopus (with it's empty conch shell 'pizza boxes') and a
huge manta ray. We were on a cruise ship and only had time to do 2
dives, but when we make it to Cozumel again - I will definitely be
diving with Alison, Chucho and Carlos again. Thanks for a wonderful
time! Thank you Alison (Chucho & Carlos too!!) for yet another spectacular
week of diving. Once again you made us both feel like no request -
be it to dive at a particular reef or look for a particular critter
- was too much to ask for. We are truly in awe of your talents. How
you can take a group of divers from all different skill levels and
cater a dive so that each and every one of those divers is well within
their comfort range but also challenged enough as to not be bored!
Although this is only our second time to dive with you, the frequent
emails that we exchange in addition to your consistently friendly
outlook made us feel like we were coming back to Cozumel to dive with
a family friend! I don't know how you do it, spending all day on the
boat and then going back to the house and answering email and all
that yummy baking (hee hee)!!!! We can't wait until the next time...........You
can rest assured that you have loyal customers for life!!!! See you
soon! There are not words to describe the level of service that I received
from Alison, Chucho, and Carlos on my first-ever trip to Cozumel!
Although I had over 40 dives, this was my first time diving in the
ocean. Alison and company made sure that I enjoyed my first ocean
dives and made this trip one that I will never forget! All of my dives
with both Alison and Chucho were remarkable! I saw all the critters
that I wanted to see. Punta Sur was especially memorable as we saw
a school of Caribbean reef sharks and two sea turtles!! That absolutely
rocked. Carlos was amazing in that he always had the boat right where
we popped up and was ready to take the load of your gear off the second
you stepped onto the boat - not to mention he isn't bad to look at
either!! :) (Sorry Carlos, you know I had to go there!) I am addicted
for life and am already planning another trip back in February or
March and refuse to dive with anyone but Alison, Chucho, and Carlos!!
It's your personalized service and the willingness to go that extra
mile that keeps people coming back for more. Keep up the good work!!! I had an absolutely wonderful pair of dives with Alison. Even though
I was on a cruise ship and only in Cozumel for a day, she treated
me like I'd been diving with her all week. I dove Belize the day before
with the cruise ship tour and diving with Alison in Cozumel was much
much better. I had always wanted to see a sea turtle in the wild and
she managed to produce six in two dives. Just one day diving with
Alison has convinced me to come back and spend an entire week with
her. Thanks so much Alison! This is our second trip to Cozumel and diving with Alison et al.
This time Jim and I brought along our sons. The guys Ben, Nic, and
Adam are good but relatively new divers. Once again our experience
with Alison, Chucho, and Carlos was truly awesome. The guys commented
on how relaxed the experience was and how comfortable they felt with
every aspect of it. Alison was wonderful as usual. She is sooo careful
and watchful that the boys thought that they were diving with their
mother! ( Just another testimonial of her great service). We dove
9 of 11 dives with Chucho. We loved how involved he allowed us to
be with the selection of dive sites, dive plans, and pointing out
various fish, shark, coral, etc. Chucho is a master creature finder.
When we commented on not having seen a shark after dive 3, he promptly
served up 3 of them on the very next dive. On our night dive he found
an octopus. I was anxious about doing a night dive but Chucho, Alison,
and Carlos all helped to re-enforce the positive nature of the night
dive and we all loved it. Thanx! Carlos served our every need on board
the Enigma. His friendly demeanor and quick wit made the surface intervals
go by fast. He must bake every night. Our Cozumel diving experience
with ScubawithAlison was absolutely, positively the best and we will
"do it again"! Thank you once again Alison, Chucho, and Carlos. My wife and I dove with Alison and Carlos on May 24th and 25th (my
Birthday) 2005. Wow, what a way to spend a birthday! Alison is great.
She knows where the best dive sites are due to diving Coz for so long.
We just told her to take us to the best places, and she did. We were
not dissapointed. Alison always looked out for us during the dive.
We plan to do a longer trip next time we are in Coz. 2 days was not
enough. We loved Palancar Horsehoe, was like being in an "underwater
church." We will be back. Thanks Alison, see you soon. Another great week of diving with Alison and Carlos, May 2-7. Some
of the better dives in our 18 trips. Very little current all week.
Alison was very accommodating as usual and two days we had her all
to ourselves. This was our 7th trip with Alison and if anyone has
any questions, feel free to email me. If you are looking for long
leisurely dives with small groups, Alison is certainly a wise choice.
We're heading back in December. I had a marvelous time getting certified with Alison, even in choppy
water (and even when I got sick at 60 feet!). She is a fabulous instructor
and made this apprehensive beginner feel very comfortable. Now I can't
wait to go diving again! Steve and I also enjoyed our dives with Chucho.
See you in a few months with my daughters, Alison! We dove with Alison in 1993 and 1994 when Diamond Cozumel was brand
new--before it became Allegro. At that time there were 3 of us: myself,
my wife, and our 13 year old daughter. (Our daughter is now married
and in medical school, so she doesn't dive with us--as much as she
would like to.) For years after that we dove with the folks from Dive
Palancar and occasionally saw Alison around the dive shop. Then we
rediscovered Alison after she went independent. Last year we did a
couple of dives with her, and this year my wife and I dove exclusively
with her. What a great set of 8 dives we had! Every dive was relaxed
and leisurely, and we saw everything close up without being part of
an overwhelming herd of divers. The turtles, the rays, the sharks--close
enough to touch and plenty of time to observe. We can't wait to come
back again next year! I began diving with Alison back in 2000 "when she was still with
Dive Palancar." Have dove with her ever since then. She has certified
both me and my son and has done a resort course dive with my daughter.
Alison is simply the best Dive Master/ Instructor on Cozumel. If your
looking for a big fancy boat, lots of other divers, rigid dive schedules
and impersonal service, then Alison is not the one for you. With Alison
you'll get a fast boat with only 6 or 7 divers max, dives sites that
the divers pick, no set length to the dives, a dive master that does
everyone's safety stop with them and a captain that's there when you
surface. Alison knows all the dive sites and can find anything. Carlos
her captain is always within 50 ft. or so when you surface, "no bobbing
in the Big Blue!" Alison puts your safety and enjoyment first, and
I'll trust my kids to dive with no one else. That's why Brittany and
I will be diving again next month with Alison. Alison...and another great 2 weeks of diving, Feb 6th-20th. I never
seem to tire of all the beauty that you show me year in and year out
and this year was no different. Again lots of Turtles, Sharks and
Rays and to see Drums on almost every dive, most years I’m lucky to
see one. Then to see that many Toadfish, 5 I think, all on different
dives and the super large Puffer, what a nice surprise. Girl, I don’t
know how you do it, day after day, but I’m Soooo glad you do!!! Thanks
again Alison, for another great 2 weeks of diving, Hola to Carlos
and Chucho, what a great crew, "The Best!!" and you know I’m looking
forward to doing it all again in March 2006......I’ll dive with no
other!!! Alison, Thank you for an excellent experience! I am so relieved that
we did not book the cruise excursion. You and Carlos are truly nice
people. Thank you for being attentive to our needs. It is nice to
receive excellent service! We cannot say enough great things about Alison and Carlos. Susan,
although certified was a little scared and intimidated by the big
blue ocean (we were certified at the Blue Hole). On the first dive,
Alison held Susan's hand throughout the entire dive. Needless to say
Susan's confidence was boosted tremendously. We both took the Bouyancy
course offered by Alison, which was excellent! By the end we both
have made great strides in our bouyancy and control. I still suck
air by the pound, but I will just equate that to big lungs, but hey
it didn't matter anyway because Carlos set me up with the BIG TANK.
Thanks again Carlos. Alison takes you to all the great spots where
there are not other boats (at least when we started....they all seem
to follow Alison). Alison must be AquaWoman....she has to be talking
to the turtles and eagle rays and arranging these meetings, since
we saw them up close and personal on almost every dive! And above
the water both Alison and Carlos treat you as a friend instead of
a number like they do on the big boats. Alison is safe, fun and oh
yeah....she looks great in a thong!!!! (EAT YOUR HEART OUT TROY!!!)
Can't wait to dive with you again Alison and Carlos. Great meeting
you Amanda and Damien hope to talk to you all soon! Be ready Carlos,
next time were bringing the banana hammock for YOU! I have threatened to post negative comments about Alison as she is
becoming too popular, but I have to be honest. Judy and I did our
6th trip with her and 18th to Cozumel December 6-11. I asked her to
order up perfect weather and other than the last day she came through.
The diving was great with close encounters with eagle rays on almost
every dive. Despite a problem with my Nikonos and no pictures, I thoroughly
enjoyed the diving. Columbia Shallows was great as usual. Alison and
Carlos seem like friends and make the surface time enjoyable. Alison
is able to handle new or experienced divers or both on the same trip
without problems. Thanks again for a great week. Please email me if
you have any questions. Ken Last year after having been open water certified for 1-1/2 years
at a Cozumel resort, I thoroughly researched a more personal dive
master, one who we could trust and be at ease with and one who would
show us the 'up close and true colors of the Cozumel reefs and its
inhabitants'...thank goodness we decided to go with Alison. She is
an expert diver who places safety first but fun on each and every
dive is a close contender!!! Small groups and individual attention
to each diver is a given. She's also an excellent instructor - after
numerous dives with her in November of 2003, we again booked with
her this November (2004) for achievement of our advanced diver's certification.
We not only attained this higher level but actually learned more skills
and became even better divers than we realized possible! She helped
us minimize our weights/distribution, refine our skills and helped
us attain more time in the water than imagineable (one shallow dive
was 70 minutes!) Gracias Alison - you're the best and Carlos is the
most awesome captain, bar none! We look forward to seeing you again
and again! It was around 1 o'clock in the afternoon of October 28, 2004. The
second dive of the day at Paso Del Cedral, also the last dive of my
entire trip to Cozumel, just passed its one hour mark. Alison, our
Divemaster, having surfaced twice with other 4 divers, came back to
me to continue our search for an eagle ray, as I had expressed earlier
my wish of seeing one close enough for a good photo. Although it was
October and certainly not a season for eagle rays, and in the last
10 days we had seen only one far away, our search continued. As the
clock was ticking and my tank pressure getting lower, right at 67th
minute, my heart throbbed with excitement. Just a few yards away on
the other side of the coral head, there was a gorgeous eagle ray hunting.
In the following 15 mintues, she came back again and again, offering
me more photo opportunities. The dive lasted 87 mintues, the longest
ever of my 1000+ dives. Jim and I are new to scuba. We wanted a dive master who would provide
personalized attention to us. We both were highly impressed with the
dives with Alison,Chucho and their friend Amanda. Each dive was discussed
prior to it, taking into account each diver's comfort,desires, and
ability. Alison promptly answered our emails and questions prior to
our arrival in Cozumel and gave us great suggestions on where to stay.
She and Chucho had offered first hand experience on restaurants and
we did not have one bad meal - in fact we even saw them out at the
same place on two occasions. We felt comfortable in the water primarily
because of their leadership and skill. We will dive with Alison again
(provided that she will have us back of course)! Alison, Just to let everyone know how pleased we are with you. We
did a Resort Course after a referral from a customer of mine and Alison's.
My wife was put at ease by Alison's style of instruction plus that
it was a one on one class. (Unlike the class on the cruise ship we
were on). We had such a great time that we are currently in the process
of acquiring scuba equipment and are fixing to go through the Open
Water course locally. Many thanks, Alison, thank you for your help. Just got back from Coz and Alison
helped put together a group dive and snorkel trip. We had 18 family
members. 4 divers and 14 snorkelers as part of a family reunion. Alison
was very prompt and helpful in coordinating via email. The boat she
chartered was perfect for everyone. NOT crowded! We had a perfect
day weather wise. We dove/snorkeled Palancar Horseshoe and Paradise.
Perfect for both divers and snorkelers. The best part for me (a diver)
was Alison's leadership in the water. She inspired comfort among the
divers by leading but allowing us to go where we wanted. Her confidence
underwater instilled confidence in all divers. Due to the quality
of the diving, we will definitely go back to Coz and due to the quality
of the assistance from Alsion, we will definitely utilize her services
when we do. Thanx, Alison, quick note. Thanks again for the two dives I did last week
your > service and attitude were the best I have every encountered.
You have a > blend of allowing freedom while still directing the trip
to insure all > enjoyed their dives. The next time I or anyone I have
contact with is in > Coz I'm sure you will get the call. Stay safe,
see you next time. Bob Brunner Oct. 2004 Last week I spent a day diving with Alison (and Carlos) and I can
recommend her very highly as an very experienced, very professional
and fun scuba instructor/guide. Prior to the trip Alison was very
responsive to my questions and provided excellent advise and directions.
Once the various divers were on the boat we discussed what we would
like to do and what kind of diving we were most interested in. Then
she suggested where we might dive - quite a different experience than
most dive operators who tell you what they plan to do that day. On
the dive itself Alison was quite adept at locating and pointing out
interesting things. She was also able to surface those in the group
who ran low on air or were cold without needing to terminate the dive
for the rest of the group - so we all were able to maximize our experience.
And, of course, the dive itself was fantastic. During the surface
interval she provided water, snacks and lively conversation. Best
of all is Alison herself. She clearly enjoys what she is doing and
makes it a whole lot of fun for her divers. I look forward to returning
to Cozumel and would not consider diving with anyone else. I want to once again thank both you and Carlos for the absolutely
wonderful experiences of diving with ya’ll on July 16-18, 2004. Because
of your knowledge, experience and concern, the 6 dives that I accomplished
during this time period were beyond description. Words cannot really
convey the joy I experienced during these dives. Additionally, with
these being my first dives, the watchful eye of a master diver was
essential. Because of both Carlos’ and your vigilant eyes, I was completely
at ease on each dive for not only my safety, but also that of, my
dive partner. I learned a great deal during these dives and no longer
feel like a new “rookie”. However, there is much additional knowledge
and experience that I need to gain. I hope that I will be welcome
back for future diving experiences under your tutelage. Alison, Sorry for being slow giving you some feed back from my last
trip. I can’t thank you enough for the great trip, as usual all the
students and divers had a great time. They couldn’t say enough good
things about the service and diving on the trip home. I’ve been diving
Cozumel since 1980 and you are by far the best operation I’ve worked
with. You’re attention to safety is outstanding and I enjoy working
with you to provide a first rate experience for both new and experienced
divers. Again thanks, Tim Anderson Instructor (NAUI 17820) Destination
Below Grapevine, Texas tim@destinationbelow.com PS. Our newest junior
diver sends her regards. My daughter and I just came back from a cruise with a one day stop
at Cozumel where we went diving with Alison. We chose Alison because
of her quick and personalized responses to all of our questions (via
e-mail).It was our first "real" dive, we just got our PADI certifications
a few weeks earlier and had only dove at a quarry with very poor visibility.
Alison was just as advertised, a very friendly and professional Dive
Master who is very safety oriented. We felt very comfortable with
her and Carlos, the boat Captain. The diving was great; we saw all
kind of fishes, lobsters, turtles, etc. It was such a great experience
that we are already planning a longer visit to Cozumel to go diving
with Alison and Carlos of course. Thanks Alison and Carlos for a great
experience!! Missy and I were first time ocean divers, certified within the last
2 months. The beach check out dive was perfect for setting us at ease
with the surroundings and Alison. The next three days of diving were
excellent. Alison and Carlos worked together to see that all of our
diving needs were met, from staying safe, to equipment, to food &
drinks. We had a great time, and are already planning our next trip.
There will be NO other dive master on our list for Cozumel as long
as Alison is around. She has set the standard for us. Oops! May sort of got away from me (we were there the end of April),
and I didn't say, "Thanks for such a great time diving!" Newbies that
we were/are, Bob and I were somewhat concerned that first day out
- for about the first 30 feet. We appreciated your attention to all
the details, the easy banter, and the laying of ground rules! We felt
totally comfortable on our first "real" dives after our certifications.
It was great, and we're already talking about our next trip. Hope
to see you next April (at the latest). P.S. We forgot to get our Scuba
With Alison t-shirts! Next year! If you dive Cozumel, you MUST dive with Alison! We dove 6 days in
May with her and she is THE BEST! Everything we wanted to see, she
knew just where to take us, and she made sure we got a shark on our
last dive as requested! She really knows her stuff, and makes you
feel right at home in the water. She will give you the freedom to
enjoy your dive to the fullest, but be assured, she knows exactly
where you are, and is keeping an eye on you. We enjoyed the time visiting
on the boat just as much as the time under water with her quick humor,
friendly attitude, and always an informative plan about the area.
Carlos (our boat driver) was the bomb! Always where we needed him
at the right time. We are ready to go back, and when we do, we will
never dive with anyone else. The boat is comfortable, not crowded
and besides...we got Alison! You will not regret anything about booking
with her except that you could never have enough days or time on her
boat! Thanks Alison. We hope to see you again soon! STOP!!!!! you found what you were looking for, I know I did. A safety
first, hot chic with her own dive operation. All sexest remarks aside,
door to door service, the best boat captin on the island (Carlos),
and the patience of Sister Teresa. When Alison stops leading dives
in Cozumel I'll stop going to Cozumel! Hell, I may stop diving. She
will show you the reef up close and personal while other divers drift
20'-0 overhead. If your going to spend the money to go to Cozumel,
do yourself a favor, SCUBA WITH ALISON. (red winer) Alison, Thank you very much for the wonderful weekend of diving.
Again, you exceed the expectation that anyone could ever have from
a dive operator. As in your mission statement, the 24 dives we have
done with you and Chucho are far beyond the expectation one diver
has. Your kindness, your attitude towards safety, patients and caring
that each person on the boat has the experience of a lifetime is so
refreshing. We appreciate you and your crew for all that they did
making our stay in Cozumel a great one. For those of you going to
Cozumel, Alison is the best operator that I have been around. You
should book your dive trips with her as you will not regret the service,
the dive, and the true sense of a great dive operator. See you soon! Hi Alison, We just wanted to thank you for the two great dives last
week – probably our two best dives to date. Being relatively new divers
with only 20 or so dives under our belts, we were very pleased with
your attention to detail, your emphasis on safety and your patient
attitude. On all of our previous trips to Mexico, we have felt rushed
on the dive boats. One in Cancun almost sent Margaret into the water
without her air turned on. Luckily, she insisted on checking her equipment
before getting in the water. We really appreciated your calm manner
and “take-your-time” approach to things. The last minute pre dive
equipment checks made us feel much more comfortable than we have in
the past. We also greatly appreciated your willingness to let us dive
our air and our computers. We have a dilemma in that we love the wall
dives, but we also want long bottom times. You let us have both! A
huge thank-you to Carlos too. He did a great job as well – picking
us up, helping us into the boat, and handling the equipment. Tell
him gracias for us. We are extremely glad to have found our preferred
dive master for Cozumel, and will definitely be contacting you the
next time we can get down there. (Unfortunately, that might be a while.)
We will definitely refer people to you at every opportunity and we
wish you the best of luck in the future. Until we dive with you again…
Regards, Chris & Margaret - Awesome! Alison is exactly what is portrayed in these testimonials.
I'll confess I was a little concerned after diving with a much larger
group, that Alison would be a 'fly by night' operation. She more than
lived up to her reputation on being an easy going, relaxed, professional
host. You really know how to make diving fun, thank you so much! My
advice, Dive With Alison! P.S. Don't forget to try her 'home-made'
low fat cookies! Great people on the boat to dive with too! Great
to have met you Carlos, Tony, Ken and Judy. See you again. - Jim Garrett
and Eric Goertz Just returend from our 4th or is it 5th trip diving with Alison.
It was great as usual. Alison is very accommodating. We got to our
favorite sites Columbia Shallows and Palancar Gardens multiple times.
Carlos was his usual helpful and joking self. I really enjoy joking
with Carlos and Alison. I highly recommend Alison and especially for
new divers. She was completing a certification on one of the days
and it was easy to see how at ease the young woman was with Alison.
If anyone has questions, feel free to e-mail me. Hi Alison, just a quick note to say thank you from Victor, Alex,
especially from me. I don't think I will be able to dive again without
you. Thanks for holding my hand for the first 15 mins. of the dive,
without rushing me to go down, that's really help to reassure me that
I can do it. we found out that my mask is definitely leaking, and
thanks for pointing it out to me, may be, just may be next time I
will not have problem clearing my mask; always thought that was my
fault that my mask was full of water. Still planning to return next
year, so talk to you soon. Home after 2 weeks of incredible diving with Alison,Chucho and Carlos.
Kevin and I appreciated the personilized service we received. Alison
always ensured everyone ws safe and happy. It's no wonder she gets
called "MOM". Even when I thought I had seen it all, Alison said,
"The best is yet to come." She was right! Turtles,eels,sharks,octopi,a
staring contest with an eagle ray plus an enormous seahorse! Yeah,Chucho!!!
(Loved that white whale.) When it was time to leave it felt like we
were leaving friends not a dive operation behind. We highly recommend
Scuba with Alison to all levels of divers. You will not come away
disappointed. Thank-you for spoiling us, Alison. Dear Alison & Carlos: I want to once again thank you both for a fantastic
week of diving. I was soooooo excited about not only seeing my first
octupus, but I also got a picture of it. Megan, Erik, Andrew & I love
diving with the 2 of you and will never go anywhere else. You make
the dives, fun, interesting, safe and entertaining. I do not know
how you do it, but you always find the eels, the spotted eagle rays,
sharks and everything else that we ask for. I also want to give you
a special "thank you" for keeping an extra eye on the Kids. As this
was their first dive and I am a nervous Mom, you made me feel alot
better because I noticed how much you "watched over them" and I was
able to enjoy my dives and not spend the whole time worrying about
the kids. Thanks. Hope to see you guys again real soon. I was reading through the comments page and realized that I probably
forgot to post on what a wonderful experience we had diving with Alison.
It has been a long time(Dec 2001) ago, but my husband and I were talking
about it just yesterday. Alison made our first time diving in Cozumel
an experience we will never forget!!! Her kindness was unforgettable!!
I can not say enough about her and her wonderful staff...anyone who
goes to Cozumel must experience the diving with Alison. She is truly
a great lady!!! Hey Alison! Thanks again for five days of excellent diving. I can't
believe all the cool creatures we saw. Every dive we went on we saw
something extrodinary. Too bad Tut missed the photo opt. on the green
Moray Eel. I sent him a picture. Carlos and Chucho did an excellent
job!! I hope the Taxi Police didn't come looking for you after I left!!!
We will be back!! Thanks, again
Alison; And another great two weeks of diving and fun (Feb 24-Mar7th).
Thank you again!! This year I got to see more Turtles, Sharks and
Rays than in all the other trips combined. Three different Rays, Unbelievable!
(Eagle, Southern and Yellow) and that big Green Moray was something
else, swimming out across the sand like that and me out of film, Lol!!
Anyway, it was two weeks to remember as usual. Ed, Gregg and I are
already talking about next year and we're thinking late Jan early
Feb. Tell Carlos he did another Great job as he always does, with
the gear and being "Jonny" on the spot when it's time to pick us up,
even in the days the waves were 4 & 5 footers, the guy has an eye
of an Eagle. Tell Chucho the extra 3ft he added to boat really worked
will, lots of room now and thank him for me, for the great deep dive
to the "Devils Throat", I swear the guy could fine a niddle in a hay
stack, he found the "Scorpionfish", Whoa! Thanks again Alison, hope
to see you next Jan. and dive safe, we miss ya and our beloved Cozumel.
-Tut Alison, I said that I would post I have been thinking of things to
put down,there are so many. What sticks in my mind is how you make
everybody feel like family. I thought that after my 1st dive on Feb
9 with You, Chip, Cathy, Clark, Clark we had such a great time because
of the way you presented yourself, even with most of these people
had dove with you in prior years. Like all the other postings your
upmost concern is safety and the dive itself to make sure all had
a gopod time. This was my first time diving in Cozumel and I know
for a fact that I would not dive with another dive shop. The next
dive that I made was Thur Feb12 this was when I really felt like a
belonged to a family, I dove again with you, Chip, Cathy, Evette,
Todd, and Mom I know now where you get your friendly nature and awsome
outlook on life. I can't forget Carlos he was great he laughed so
hard when I handed him my flippers and dumped alot of water back in
my face. Alison, again thanks so very much for a great,great,great
time. If I am down in Cozumel again we will for sure get together
to make more dives. My son ansd I have dove with Alison 2 times so far with many more
dive to come. I cannot say enough about the comfort level we feel
with Alison, Chucho, and Carlos at the helm. Everything is taken care
of, including putting on your tanks making sure you are ready and
sheparding you through your dive. There is no better experience than
going with a small fast boat with caring instructors/ dive partners
than Alison and gang. They seem to love their job as much as we love
being with them. We dove with the military dive shop (Dive plancar)
, never again!!!! Hola Alison Just wanted to send a note of thanks to you and Chucho
for such a great diving experience on Feb 4th. All those Kansas flatlanders
had a wonderful time in the water. All your crew were very kind and
helpful. A special thanks from my wife Deby to Chucho for helping
her in the water and making her dive a very memorable one. The water
was great, the snacks and pop were great, your crew were great, and
everyone just had a great time, its all we talked about for several
days. Definitly The highlight of our Cruise. We are already talking
about a return trip in the future. Fred (the other male diver) and
I are even throwing the idea around of flying in to Cozumel and staying
in a hotel for a few days or some such thing in the future, so we
can do some serious diving. Maybe if we get serious about it I can
contact you and get some references and suggestions on what airlines
to fly, where to stay and eat and things like that, but thats down
the road a ways. Either way, by Air or by Sea, we plan to return soon
hopefully. We will Scuba with Alison again. Well gotta scoot and I
know you have blue water to explore. Thanks again, Gary Taylor We were talking about our trip the other day when we realized we
had not posted our comments from our Cozumel trip in Oct 2003. But,
because we had such a wonderful time diving with Alison, we figured
we had better get to it. We were diving with Alison, Carlos and Chucho(the
Fish) from Oct23-Oct31 2003. Because of Alison's attention to detail
concerning safety, preparedness, dive site choice and the personal
attention given to each diver,the week was a complete joy. We were
never put in any situation beyond our abilities or skill level, nor
was our safety ever put in jeapordy. The diving was absolutely spectacular.....and
with Alison's knack of finding the small critters, I'm sure we were
able to see things that we would not have been able to see if we had
dived with another OP. We will never dive with anyone else while in
Cozumel and we look forward to our future experiences diving with
Alison. Thanks for the great diving and good times Alison!!!! Thomas
Rogers and Leann Martin Dear Alison & Carlos: You guys did it again. Another great, fantastic,
terrific week (Jan. 10 - 17, 2004) of diving. I can not believe how
much we saw. Lobsters, crabs, sharks, eels, turles, octupus and etc,
it was unbelievable. I think Andrew and I had a week of diving that
we will never be able to top. I am still on cloud nine. As far was
we are concerned there is only one dive shop in all of Cozumel. We
are coming back in March with our newly certified daughter and I would
not trust her safety with anybody but you and Carlos. Andrew and I
can't wait until March. Patti & Andrew Patti & Andrew Nowaczyk Well Melissa and I are back in the frozen tundra of Central New York
after a 7 day cruise with Royal Caribbean. Without question, the highlight
of our trip was the time (Too Short) we spent with Alison. The small
group dive experiance was much better than the two other dives we
did at other ports with large boats that carried 16 and 18 divers.
Alison is committed to a memorable and safe dive experiance. He personal
attention to her customers was outstanding. Her "little boat", as
she refers to it, was very comfortable. And the captain, Carlos, was
right there after the drift dives. Carlos and Alison made our time
with them very enjoyable. We look forward to our next vacation - A
week in Cozumel diving with Carlos and Alison! Please feel free to
email me if you have any questions. Mark and Melissa Over Christmas break my family and I had the pleasure of diving with
Alison for 3 days. Thank God that we found her instead of diving with
Dive Palancar at Allegro Resort. The care, small number of people
and her expertice made all the difference in the world. Anyone diving
in Cozumel without going with Alison would be making a mistake. My family has dived with various dive shops in Cozumel over the years.
We have had some descent experiences, but also some horrible ones.
We were going on a Christmas cruise and we had a one day stopover
in Cozumel and decided to give Alison a try. It was the best diving
decision I ever made. She and her crew are marvelous and they bent
over backwards to make our dives an enjoyable experience. We are now
planning to book a week at Cozumel and plan on diving with Alison
everyday that weather permits. She is fabulous and you can email me
privately at bigzeke@yahoo.com if you would like further testimony.
Many thanks to Alison & crew! I have been for my first time in Cozumel during Nov.30 to Dec.7,
2003 and did all my diving with Alison, Carlos and Chucho. I must
say that Alison is really a nice person, very friendly but at the
same time taking the diving activities very seriuosly with permanent
attention to safety. She would not let any diver to feel they are
not closely watched, will always monitor your air and won't let you
ascend without doing a safety stop. At the same time she will let
you enjoy your bottom time according to your computer and remaining
air, even if she has to take the divers out, couple by couple. Chucho,
her divemaster when having more than one boat, is excellent too. Friendly
and helpful, an expert in spotting things to see.. will not miss any
lobster, king crab or splendid toadfish during a night dive... I enjoyed
5 days of diving for 11 tanks. Could have done 2 more days if it wasn't
for the "nortes" which kept the port closed. I can definitvely recommend
Alison and her crew... and I will come back on Carnaval week... (last
week of February 2004). Gracias Alison, Carlos y chucho por los magnificos
buceos! In November I was in Cozumel, diving with Alison again for 2 weeks.
November was not the best time of the year but with a little bit of
luck almost all dives were great; over 50 dolphins at Santa Rosa Shallow,
vis-a-vis encounter with a huge nurse shark at Columbia Deep, sightings
of eagle rays in half of the dives plus plenty of moray eels, turtles,
lobsters etc. For almost all of us, there is no great diving without
an experienced and caring dive leader who cares about our safety as
much as we do, and wants to find those beautiful creatures down there
even more eagerly than we do. Alison must love diving a lot and enjoy
her job very much to bring out that enthusiasm in its entirety, which
makes her a Divemaster in a class of her own. I have dived in numerous
exotic places in different parts of the world, but diving with Alison
in Cozumel is always my first choice. Thanks Alison and have a Merry
Christmas! Another wonderful experience with Alison and Carlos. We had great
diving( December 8-13) and great company. We had the same people on
the boat all week and they had similar interests in diving and dive
sites. We did long, slow, shallow dives with lots of fish for great
photo opportunities. Jay and Kenna and John and Betty were the other
divers and were great to dive with. As always Alison and Carlos were
great and very accommodating. We're already planning a return trip
for April or May. Feel free to email me with any questions. Ken I just returned from a "resort dive" with Alison on Dec. 5th. There
were three of us on our first ever dive. My son and I have both taken
the classroom sessions, but had never done an open water dive and
my wife has never gone beyond snorkeling. We all loved our experience
and would recommend Alison to anyone interested in a safe scuba trip.
This is a great shore tour for you cruise ship folks, book early and
often. Third year in a row diving with Alison in Cozumel - we simply will
not use any other dive operator when diving Cozumel. Staying on the
mainland and experiencing other 2nd rate dive operators for Playa
Del Carmen reefs this year proved this point even more, where we dealt
with unsafe boat operations, long wait pickups, no water on SIs and
rookie Divemasters - if you want a safe dive with an experienced divemaser
who delivers a first-class crew, boat and operation, dive with Alison.
See you soon, Dave & Dani Just got back from our 3rd cruise with Royal Carribean. Our last
2 dives on our previous cruises were booked on board the ship and
they were terrible. We decided to book with Alison 2 weeks prior to
our 3rd cruise and let me tell you IT WAS GREAT. I highly recommend
her, very personal diving experience. Thanks so much for the good
time, see you in the spring. Just got back from a Royal Caribbean cruise. We loved being on the
Brilliance of the Seas, but by far the best part of our trip was our
one day of diving with Alison. She's great, helped my wife with bouancy
and just made the whole deal personal. Thanks for the great day Alison
and Carlos. We'll definitely be trying to come back for a whole week
of diving next time! For those of you wondering, don't go with the
cruise ship dive trips, go with Alison! I can't say enough positive things about our experience with Alison.
We did a resort course with her on October 15th. It was awesome. Alison
is a wonderful person and a great instructor. She keeps things light,
but when it came to safety, there was no joking around. My wife was
a bit nervous but within minutes of being in the water had no concerns
at all. Having done a resort course through a cruise line in the past
(also on Cozumel)I can say that diving with Alison is far superior
to the large classes. The personal attention and small group (there
were only 4 of us) afforded us twice the water time that I had during
my last resort dive, for less money. Alison's excellent e-mail communication
was also a plus. She answered every question quickly and honestly...very
comforting when you are dealing with someone you discover on the internet!
Thanks again Alison for a wonderful time, it was clearly the highlight
of our vacation. Feel free to e-mail me if you are considering Alison
and want a personal reference, not that she needs any more!!!! We just returned from Cozumel after a great weekend of diving. Alison
made sure we enjoyed every moment in the water. She is a terrific
person, as well as being very talented. She knows where the critters
are! We will always choose Alison when we are in Cozumel. Thanks again
for a great trip! You will not go wrong if you dive with Alison! My husband and another
couple dived 2 consecutive days with this WAY COOL woman, and we all
agree, Alison made diving the way it should be... relaxed, fun and
comfortable! She and her crew are friendly and warm, are attentive
to detail, and they care about your scuba safety. Forget those impersonal
large dive operations, go with Alison! We'll be back to dive with
her, not to mention we've already been telling all our friends! Feel
free to email me for more Alison raving! Cheers! Chau, Todd, Angeline
and Kevin! chau99@aol.com Hi Alison! Just wanted to say thanks for the great two days of diving last week. Although it was too short, it was enough to remind me and Fred how much we LOVE to dive! After a 7 year diving respite, we had forgotten how amazing we find each and every dive, and how we are able to do it together...equally! Thanks for the kind words about my first dive and the leaky mask I had. (And more thanks for your concern and assistance in that dive!) |
