Dressel Divers Reviews 10

Had an amazing dive. Very welcome for an 11 year old trying scuba diving for the first time. Swam to the bottom in Mexico and saw turtles and stingrays. Special mention to Betha, Juan and Claudia for their support and making it a really fun experience and also to Phillipo for taking amazing photos and videos of my dive.

We pre booked 5 days diving due to start on Tuesday 11th March.

When we arrived we came to check in the day before we dived and asked if the diving would be cancelled on 11th due to weather. We were advised by Eva that it would be fine as the weather was due to be better the next day.

On 11th the morning was cancelled due to poor weather and we were offered the chance to be on a waiting list for the afternoon but advised Eva was trying to get others on the list before us, so it might not be possible. We chose to not be on the waiting list and enjoy the day relaxing instead. (This is a comment not a complaint)

We dived 5 days from 12th to 16th March. We were asked to choose mornings or afternoons and chose mornings (which means being at the dive centre for 8am then by lunch time the diving is complete)

On the first day we asked for guidance from fellow divers as the staff didn’t communicate at all really to explain what to do, where to put kit etc. We learned it’s better to take your (own) kit back to your room and get ready in your room in the morning before coming to the dive center.

The dive centre is next to the jetty so ideally located. We were called to go to the boat and on the jetty the staff will ask if you have a wrist band to show you’ve paid to dive in the marine park and will give you a band if you don’t have one.

Between dive one and two we usually went back to the centre for 5-10 min then straight back out again with a surface Interval time of 45-50 minutes.

Diego and Juani were both brilliant guides and 5 stars to them both personally for their guidance.

On the boat the staff analyse the tanks and the customer documents the number and nitrox %

There was plenty of space on the boat and it seems to be well organised in terms of being told where to sit.

The boat crew on all boats were fantastic and kind. 5* for them all. After the dive we were offered a cup of water and slice of melon.

We had a different guide every day of the trip. There are many groups to organise and this I appreciate this must take some work. 5 days with 5 different guides felt impersonal.

I couldn’t quite give this diver center 5 stars as I would expect more in terms of customer service and information sharing.

Eva checked us in. She seemed quite grumpy and we were not offered any kind of induction to the dive centre or what a days diving might look like. We witnessed the same when others spoke with her. We certainly didn’t feel any connection to the centre that we would usually have when diving.

This was the first holiday where I’ve not felt inspired to try and book extra dives or night dives, and we weren’t offered night dives either. I suspect the business has enough customers so doesn’t need to ask customers if they are interested in extras. Other new customers were asking us questions during our stay about what to do on their first day, and this made us aware they had also not been inducted to the dive center as you might expect.

A little more (even basic) information and friendliness would have made the difference for me for me to consider this a 5 star center.

Dressel divers , iberostar Punta can
We planed and arranged our holiday around our diving for my son to do his 21st birthday but they failed to take pictures, which we asked for
We arranged a trip saona island , which was terrible and overpriced
Boat was overcrowded and nowhere to sit undercover
Not enough snorkels so we had to share, we asked 3 times for more
Where they take you to snorkel on your first dive is poor and no fish
Food is poor
Picked up at 7.10 am and arrived back at 7.15 at night even though we had 2hrs on the island, we was on the bus 2.5 hrs coming back , meeting other buses to drop people off and dropping other people off in different places , even Luca from Dressel divers apologised for there service and how we was treated .
Don’t book with this firm , or you will get problems we had

On October 4th, I took a night cruise with Dressel Divers of Montego Bay. I found out about this company in research, and
found it was about a mile away from
Where I was vacationing. Very close proximity.
On the way back from the night excursion, due to lack of lighting around the boat, and lack of safety precautions on the dock, I fell and obtained a huge laceration on my leg from hitting the dock. Not only did I have to receive treatment at a local hospital and get multiple stitches, I also had to end my vacation early due to severe pain and swelling from the laceration.
Since being back home in the States, I have had to go to the Emergency Room several times and eventually got admitted for two nights because the laceration was infected. Please see attached photos.
When I requested a refund for the night cruise from Dressel Divers of Montego Bay, I was given a cup.with a speedy recovery from the crew. How insulting is that? I was still in shock , and I was handed this cup in the attached photo.
It is now October 15th and I am still on multiple antibiotics and medications.
I feel Dressel Divers of Montego Bay needs to address not only my current situation, but create some actual safety precautions to their current procedures. I expect them to address this situation appropriately.
Mary Fox

Jordy and the whole team made me and my daughter feel very relaxed when we were nervous at the start of the Discover Scuba course. They changed when we were due to dive in the sea to accommodate us and took time and great empathy in explaining everything and building our confidence carefully to get us ready for the open water dive which we then enjoyed so much and got such a buzz that we are hooked and are now booking up to do a full PADI course to get our certification as soon as possible! Amazing life changing experience that I would recommend to anyone!! Never felt that we were being pushed to do anything that we didn’t want to do!!! We shall be back!!!

Pros: Friendly dive guides, most are bi or even tri-lingual, knowledgeable about the dive sites, good selection of well maintained gear.

Cons: Dives capped at 45 minutes and require a safety stop despite most being shallower than 40ft/16m. Claim was that 45 minutes is necessary to stay in sync with snorkelers, however, even on a day where I was the only diver diving and had two dive guides, 45 minutes was enforced. Inconsistent timeliness (pickup was late by as much as 30 minutes). High diver to guide ratio (8:1) and did not always effectively group divers with similar levels of experience to provide a better guest experience and get more experienced divers to other areas of the reef. Not open to feedback about safety. Groups overlapped with one another at multiple locations and it was easy to criss-cross and follow the wrong guide, I suggested spending more time about identifying features in the briefing but was told that I needed to follow the guide more closely instead NOTE: 8 divers were already bumping into each other and it didn’t allow for everyone to enjoy the reef. Some staff exhibited total lack of respect for the reef, as I witnessed staff discarding their cigarettes into the ocean.

I will not dive with Dressel again.

R1- Comments from the Quality Manager re-enforce this because instead of taking my review seriously, I'm being told that I am biased and my review is disinformation.

I stand by my review - the briefings did not include how to best identify the dive guide or consider a stop and wait when we passed over another group, 45 minutes was disappointing and that the delays and lack of communication were purely from the shop. Why else would 10 people be waiting in the lobby of a hotel at 715 for more than 30 minutes? We were all told to be there at that time to go to an excursion.

Updated review**

Hundreds of people score dressel divers badly due to health and safety this is what my review is based on. I believe the majority not yourself dressel.

I count my lucky blessings that I didn’t get the internship actually. I wouldn’t want my husband placed in danger with the risk of being also deported due to the fact you pay stipends under the table!!
If I could score this company a zero I would. They are not operating safely as a business, we read hundreds of reviews that say unsafe working practices, no wonder they insist on your own diving insurance during internship! They also pay cash for the wages too meaning it’s not official or declared. Technically that’s illegal however they seem to be completely fine operating illegally. It’s only a matter of time until something serious happens and this company will probably not admit any liability. Needless to say we didn’t get the internship however it’s a blessing in disguise. I wouldn’t be happy for my husband to be subjected to such risks. Don’t try to argue this Dressel the reviews below speak for themselves!

Lidia was absolutely amazing!!! She helped my whole family with scuba diving. She was so patient with all of us she explain everything with such details she has inspired us to get certified! She's the best!!!

Very professional and kind. Lidia went out of her way and walked 10 minutes each way to get more weights so I could do a free test dive at Barceló palace pool and see if I like it. Already booked a trip and I’m very excited and eager to go! If you are staying at any of the Barceló resorts you can do a free test dive at the pool and I would highly recommend it.