We (two adults and experienced divers, and two adolescents with little experience in diving) booked the dive trips with Umicoza in advance based on the fantastic reviews on Umicoza. But don’t be fooled by the reviews - they have nothing to do with the reality.
Safety first
We received no proper boat briefing, the boat safety and facilities. The boat in general appeared to be in a bad shape. The tank holders were either broken or worn out from the sun, saltwater and usage. They hardly held the steel (!) tanks in place when the boat was anchored. Once the boat was moving and the weather and wind conditions became rougher, the tanks fell out of the holders, and toppled to the floor.
There was no sufficient dive briefing, no entry order, lacking of enough space, people were sitting on the floor and in passage ways, which made navigating on the boat especially when the sea conditions where rough very difficult.
There was no staff on the boat during the dives. Which appeared to me very unsafe:
a) what if the boat got loose of the anchor,
b) what if one of the divers has an emergency and needs to get on the boat, needs help or needs to get on land quickly,
c) what if you forgot equipment on board, such as a camera?
In all of these cases, no one could offer help, as everyone was in the water diving.
I cannot say anything about the diving itself. Being an experienced dive master and given the dive site conditions, I choose to guide my family on my own and check on their safety and well being, as I haven’t had any trust in the dive guides ability to perform a safe and enjoyable dive for everyone.
Staff
Though the staff was approachable in general, no one actually acted accountable or cared about their divers on board.
Just a few examples:
The staff talked badly about their clients knowing they wouldn’t be able to understand what they were saying.
No one, except once, helped to carry the dive gear to the boat
No one checked if the tanks were open
No one offered to help to set up the gear, especially with the novice divers
No one bothered to help the divers in the gear or assist with getting up with the heavy steel tanks and getting safely to the platform
When two of us got sea sick during one very rough boat ride, no one actually bothered to bring water, or ask if he/she can help with anything
Facilities and Service
The diving operation is located close to Nagura Bay.
The operation has three showers, one toilet and a communal area.
There are two bigger freshwater tanks, one to clean BCDs, fins, masks, suits, etc. and one for the regulators, cameras and computers.
It’s more an open air operation. We were unfortunate with the weather, so there was little to no space to sit in a dry area when more than 5 people arrived at the dive operation. The operation seemed to be pretty run down.
We never started the first dive before 11 am, though being told by the crew to be at the dive centre at 8:30 am.
The boat itself, as already mentioned, was not in a good shape. Stuff and divers choose to place their wet suits on racks in the dry area. The organisation on board was chaotic: bags, equipment, tanks - all piled up at some point, and you had a hard time to find your stuff. There was no freshwater tank for camera equipment on the boat. Water and cold tea was provided on board, but not enough to serve all the people on board.
Summary
I cannot recommend to go diving with Umicoza. You might get fooled when the surrounding factors are perfect (weather, water, viz, marine life, mantas, etc.). But if things get rough, you don’t want to dive with this dive operation. After three days diving with Umicoza, I refused to go diving another day with Umicoza because I had serious safety concerns. Additionally, I felt that the diving experience especially for our young divers, who need more support, help and attention, was bad...
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