re: SCUBA DIVERS make yourselves known

Diving since mid 80'. Got my whole family certified in early 2000's.

White privilege board

Cozumel is easily one of the best. I've dove with sand dollar sports several times. Palancar, Tormentos, Paradise Reef, all fantastic options. You won't be disappointed. Cozumel has fewer coral formations and much less structure than say Belize or Cayman But the species diversity in Cozumel is second to none.

I dive w Rainbow Reef too. Really good dive op if diving out of Key Largo. Good staff, nice boat and equipment, and have always been safety conscious

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Sucks I spent all that money to learn diving wasn't for me. I really wish I could have gotten over my fear though

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I was resigned to the fact that I wasn't going to make it through getting certified. I felt very uncomfortable when diving even in the pool. Just felty completely unnatural. About halfway through the class though something just clicked and I started getting calmer and more comfortable so I finished the class.

I never really got comfortable open water diving until I got my own gear. The BCs wouldn't fit right or tanks would move around. I wouldn't be able to find my gauges. I was uncomfortable enough without my gear making it worse so I picked up some decent gear off eBay and found a good deal on a integrated back inflate BC and have felt a lot better ever since.

Nurse--just feeling comfortable goes a long way to curing those phobia demons rattling around in our heads.

I've panicked and bailed on a couple of early dives, but now that I'm more comfortable, I havent done it since.

Just my experience.

I used to, haven't been in years. Diving in murky lakes wasn't much fun after the novelty wore off, and travel to better locations was time and cost prohibitive.

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Wife and I are Plannning our first dive at Cozumel after being Naui certified. An anyone help with recommendations? Charters to go with? Hotels/resorts?

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I went with Dressel Divers out of my hotel near Playa del Carmen (Barceló Maya Caribe) in August and I can highly recommend them. If it's still on season, they also offer a charter to snorkel with whale sharks near Islas Mujeres that was a once in a lifetime experience and my favorite part of the trip.

Open water Nov. 2014. Completing Rescue. Key West last May, Grand Cayman (the best!) in July and doing Cozumel next May.

Will have questions as the date gets closer.

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Cozumel
Hotels/resorts?

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InterContintal Cozumel Presidente Resort & Spa on Cozumel for the Honeymoon win.

As to the OP's question, never certified.

Snorkeled and been happy to just snorkel in-

Aruba
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Cancun
Costa Rica
Cozumel
Dry Tortugas
Grand Cayman
Jamaica
Japan (brrr)
Turks & Caicos
And out in the GOM around some rigs

Diving just never appealed to me.

Nurse, I know we have talked about this before. 55 degree diving with a huge wetsuit and added weight/gear is miserable compared to the warm water diving in the Caribbean. If you're really interested in trying again I would recommend getting a clear mask. The added visibility helps by giving you more peripheral vision. I don't know about AZ but a few dive shops in NOLA have heated pools. Toss on the gear, sit in 4' of water and just breathe. Work your way a little deeper keeping your eyes on surface. I've been at 60-70' and could still see the dive boat. Once you're comfortable in the 16' pool, go on a shore dive, like you said, basically a snorkel trip with a tank. Then work your way down from there.

The best part about certification is that it never expires. The money is only wasted if you never go again.