AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye DIVE PRICES

That's probably something of a solution.

Generally, the operation we dive with most on AC dunks around six divers per divemaster, plus a boat captain. Usually all six divers are my family/friends, so it works out well and they seem to do OK. I can't recall that we've ever failed to tip a crew. Ever. Nor has anyone I've dived with. I thought that was expected, short of miserable performance on their part.

We have also done a specific, private charter (on Amigos Pro 48) for six of us to Turneffe South and paid whatever the rate quoted was. Worth every penny, as we had a great day. I'm sure Changa did OK by it and, if not, we'd happily pay more.

Sounds to me like an issue of number of divers per trip. I hate cattle boats, but I can live with 6-8 per dive(master), if they're decent divers.

And in P2's case, it seems he's been intent on providing a heightened level of gear, attention and service. Certainly that should attract a less price-sensitive customer and he could reflect that in his charges. We don't all buy everything we buy based solely on price, do we?

I think that Atomicindy has a great suggestion.

I notice that in several of the locations I dived in thailand that there would be more than one dive company or tour operator on a boat.. seeing as how far the good dives are from the marina ( over an hour ) it definitely makes sense to take a full boat.

I Hate how crowded it is at coz (kind of like cairns in australia ).. where you have over a hundred divers on a site... I think having 12-18 wouldn't be too bad, although I prefer smaller groups.. I think a little give and take is in order.

I also agree that price isn't the main thing... service is huge.. when I'm paying top dollar to dive, all I want to do is show up, be given coffee and a light breakfast on the boat, double check my gear that has been set up for me... dive, have a great lunch and surface interval.. double check that my gear has been setup again correctly, then have another great dive... then crack open a few cold ones on the way back while the crew takes care of my gear.

Upon disembarking and seeing my gear has been taken care of.. Pull out the wallet and take care of the guys/gals who have been taking care of me all day.

then off for a postdive siesta and happy hour. now that's a perfect day.

I didn't mean for this to be particularly about us, I just don't have a more anonymous screen name. It is a problem all operators are facing, though I doubt if they will write here.

I am a little suprised about some of the comments here about Cozumel diving. Although I have not been there for about two years, we did dive there twice a year for 4 or 5 years before that. We used one of the largest dive operators and dove on the "fast boats". They would take a maximum of 6-8 divers and the divemaster and Captain and would travel out farther. As a result "so many divers in the water at the same time it was like a parade" was never our experience. Many of the operators offered the same service. As far as the quality of the service we received on the boats, it was generally better than we received in AC. These trips were $60-65 a person for two tank dives and nearly always involved a longer trip than we experienced at AC. They seldom brought us back between dives, too far. I checked the website and that price appears to be current although there are always discount prices for packages. I also have no idea what may happen to the price after they rebuild from the hurricane. Talk about hidden costs!
We have also been diving in Mahahual Mexico, Guanaha Honduras and Little Corn, Nicaraga and although remote they were all less than $60 for a two tank dive. The dive operators in Bonaire are approximately the same price $60-65. The Cayman Islands are more expensive $75 to 85. I think that you have to consider that these locations are your competition for someone trying to book a dive trip from the states. I would agree that a 10% increase would probably not deter many travelers. Raising your rates more than that, I think, would affect decisions. Especially for people booking for a dive club or a group. You also have the disadvantage of a 9% tax and sometimes a park fee on top of your charges.
Cozumel does have some advantages for their operators. There seems to be an excess of divemasters. We dove with some excellent guides, with years of experience, who could only get one or two trips a week during the off season. That may have been part of the reason for great attention. Those who develop good reputations or are requested by the divers, get the work. I would also assume that fuel is less expensive. I guess there are no easy decisions for AC dive operators but I hope that my perceptions will add a little to your insights.

One thing you might consider is a Fuel surcharge like some of the other industries have had to do with the fuel rates going up. You can keep the prices for the dives but add a fuel surcharge and base it on weekly index of fuel costs.
Just a thought.

How would that go down with the customers? Charging separately for PADI costs & park fees is justifiable, and debatably also sales tax (though once it's stabilised I'd like to see everyone rolling that into core prices), but a fuel surcharge? It's never going to go away, is it? Certainly unilateral action is out of the question - all operators have to follow the same course.