We dropped a lot of money with AquaWorld on our recent trip to Cancun and felt pretty sick about it in the end. My husband spent ~$100 for an alleged 2 hour scuba training + one dive (he had never done scuba). The training was in our hotel pool and ended up lasting about 30 minutes. They showed him a picture of some "cool" looking place they would take him for the dive, but in the end took him somewhere else that was not as nice as the photos.

At the same time that my husband booked the scuba, we arranged for me and our young daughter to swim with the dolphins. This cost $105/person. Our plan was for my husband to film/take pictures while we were in the water. We paid $30 extra for him to be able to join us. As it turned out the dolphin event was at Wet 'N Wild. So, the price of Wet 'N Wild admission was included in our ticket, but we were not informed this and so did not arrive at the place until right before the dolphin event, which means that we did not really have time to go around Wet 'N Wild. They told us lunch was included with this ticket--yeah, Wet 'N Wild food, which was a lot like the food you get at a basketball game (think fake cheese nachos, etc.). The bigger letdown was that they would not allow my husband to bring the camera(s) into the dolphin event. Why?? Because they had their own staff filming and taking photos and they wanted to be able to capitalize on that. Obviously, this was irritating because the man who sold us the tickets heard us discussing how my husband would take pictures, etc. and he failed to inform us that this would not be allowed. So, we were going to break down and pay the $29 for a photo (slightly larger than a 5X7), but all of the photos they took were horrible--my daughter was always looking down or away, you couldn't really see her face. Our other alternative was to buy the video the staff filmed for $69 (or maybe 59). We were just so outraged at the entire thing that we did not buy anything. The bottom line is that there are several other places that do "swim with the dolphins" (as we learned later) that allow cameras, etc. For example, there is an interactive aquarium at "La Isla" shopping mall and I think the price there is about $50/person. They allow video and cameras into the aquarium.

Stay away from AquaWorld!

We found Aquaworld at our poolside booth, and I'm disappointed that our hotel allows them to set up shop onsite. We booked because the guy was a great salesman. The activities coordinator at our hotel had put us off a bit on the first day (probably just because she was busy), so we were drawn in by this guy's sales pitch, thinking it was just what we needed, to have someone tell us what is best for us to do.

We got signed up for a combo of Jungle Tour, Isla Mujeres, and Parasailing. The jungle tour was an odd experience. The fake jet-ski boat things were hard to drive, and it was impossible to modulate your speed. On the way out, my husband and I lagged behind because of our boat, and we felt like the tour guide left us, since he was out of our sight completely for a good 4 minutes or so when we were in the "jungle" part of the tour. A little boy in another boat fell out because the water was so choppy and the boats were so poorly equipped to maneuver it. When we got out to the national park to snorkel the reef there, it was pretty good. It was our first time snorkeling, and we enjoyed the activity. We were there for enough time, too. The only complaint is the cheap equipment. My husband's mask leaked the whole time, my mouthpiece left big cuts in my gums, and the fins were so stiff they hurt our feet. On the way back in, my husband and I were right behind the guide, so we never got behind again, but everyone else did. Also, we got splashed in the face so much that it was almost impossible for the driver to see where they were going - very dangerous condition!

The trip to Isla Mujeres was again just ok. The DJ on the boat was EXTREMELY annoying, to the point where me and most of the people around me were plugging our ears, and my husband put his noise canceling headphones on and listened to music. The drinks were TERRIBLE, almost undrinkable. Even the coke my husband got just didn't taste right. We got to the beach at their partner site, Albatross, and were again faced with sub-par quality. The beach was ok for laying out, even though they made me pay to rent a towel, and my husband enjoyed the hammocks, but you had to pay to do most of the activities. We didn't go snorkeling again, so we laid in the sun until our scheduled time to take our $30 ride in a golf cart around the island. The food at the buffet was aso TERRIBLE, nearly inedible, definitely not satisfying. I also ordered a mixed drink of rum & pineapple juice (one of my usuals) and I took one sip and spit it back into the cup, it was that bad. The best part of the day was when we took the golf cart to the park at the end of the island to see some beautiful scenery and small Mayan ruins. We spent about an hour there enjoying the views, and had some good ice cream at the shop there. When we returned to Albatros, we waited about 1/2 hour to leave on the boat again (annoying dj AGAIN). They took us downtown, directed us to a flea market where we were mauled by the shop owners trying to sell us junk. We walked around for a little while, then sat down at BallyHoo restaurant for some good guacamole and decent drinks. Then the boatride back with the ever-irritating dj, and now very drunk teenage girls who were dancing on the moving boat, and nearly fell off the top. Overall, not a great day.

Parasailing was OK. I would rather be harnessed rather than sit in a boat-like thing with a bench seat, and our parasail didn't go nearly as high as others that were out, nor did we get to stay up for as long. They also turned a lot in the ocean, which made the seat feel very unstable.

Overall, I really wish we had booked tours through our hotel coordinator. The ones we booked with her later on were very professional and put together. Aquaworld just doesn't have the best staff, and they seem to be settling for low quality in all of their activities.

Listen... i ain't no aquaworld employee. i'm a new yorker who came to cancun for vacation. believe it or not. maybe i should give you the negatives first so that you'll believe me. all I can speak about is the SCUBA... so don't read further if you're not looking for insight in scuba only.

listen, there's a bunch of bad reviews about this outfit... fine. they're probably people who booked a trip when the divemaster had just broke up with his girlfriend. or booked a trip totally hungover. it happens.

my experience with aquaworld was as good as it comes. here were my problems, first.

the equipment on my first dive turned out to hurt me for a long dive. my bcd's intake leaked and my mouthpiece literally broke off in my mouth... but otherwise it was fine. I got onboard after the first dive and the aquaworld employees switched out my bcd for a diff. one and everything on the second dive went swimmingly. there were no arguments whatsoever.

two great dives off cozumel. they were amazing. the DMs were top notch. they totally took safety into account. to speak specifically, my DM was Jorge on the aquaworld boat. awesome guy. insane breathing techniques underwater. he still had 2K psi when we surfaced. he was totally with us and didn't rush us at all. great two dives with him.

the bottom line is that aquaworld is really popular so they're bound to have a bunch of numbers when it comes to scuba divers so you'll always get the guy or gal in these forums who s--t on the operation because of small trivial things.

IF YOU THINK I'M A AQUAWORLD EMPLOYEE, i implore you to write me a personal note through my trip advisor account. You'll see that I've traveled extensively and I'm not playing myself off as some spectral employee. I ain't. Go aquaworld for Cozumel scuba. You won't be dissappointed.

You'll deal with a big crowd but they'll make it feel intimate. Great experience.

Went in August of 2007. Me and another quest at the hotel I was staying at decided to book a aqua world fishing trip through reps. in the hotel lobby it was about $100.00 each. Which I thought was reasonable. On the boat there was a total of six plus crew. There was major storm the night before and the sky was overcast the whole day which kept it from being so hot but the seas where VERY rough I would say 8-12 ft. swells in the beginning then calmed somewhat later in the day. Did not cause any problems for me and my friend I went with but 3 people got seasick and did'nt have a good time at all and they stopped fishing altogether which gave me and the other two more time to fish. I thought the captain and crew where great very professional. they explained anything you asked and more. One of the crew was a guy named Misiel (Most likely miss spelled) He was really good .If I were to go again I would want to be on his boat. They knew what kind of bait to use and for what kind of fish.They let 2 of the women catch some smaller fish we used as bait and some other fish including red & yellow snapper, bonnitas, Barricuda,Jackfish and some I can't remember they would troll the line then set the hook then hand whoever's turn it was the rod. The highlight of it was when I hooked and reeled in a 8/12 ft. long carribean reef shark. It was the high point of my vacation. Was going to have mounted and shipped back but too much $$$ They did fillet some of the red snapper for me to take back to the hotel which me and friends had for dinner. Altogether we had no problems and I had a great time