Marissa Dive Charters

Don’t waste your time with these clowns. After making a reservation months in advance, no communication the week of. Finally contacts me a day after the first scheduled dive to see if I wanted to go the next day. No thanks, went with one of the other boats. missed a day of diving on my trip to San Diego because of them.

I have been on the Marissa a number of times, and every time has been great and enjoyable!
The crew is helpful, and the dive sites are awesome, whether it is more common sites (Yukon) or sites specific to the boat.
As a heads up, the divers on the boat tend to be more experienced and more local in my experience. This is great in my opinion, as it’s fun to talk to other folks about their experiences and their knowledge. I do see in other reviews that some people have found it off putting.

Really so happy with our experience! Came out for 2 days of diving, kelp forests, and a day on the wrecks. The boat has a nice set up, and absolutely love being able to get air and Nitrox fills right on board!
The crew is top notch. Friendly, knowledgeable, fun, professional, and prepared. Solid dive briefings. Handled whatever was thrown at them with ease and a smile. Food was great, lots of it and great variety.
Great value, will definitely be going again. I’ve been on a lot of charters as a former dive instructor, Marissa is a big, fat, 2 thumbs up.

We had an awesome time with Marissa dive charters this weekend. Lora is a great captain and very nice boat to dive with. Spencer was working hard for us and took very good care of us. I would highly recommend them for San Diego wreck diving and plan on going back soon. We had a group of 11 diving and everyone had nothing but great things to say. Thanks Lora and Spencer

I did a three tank dive to the kelp beds off of Point Loma and had a great time. The boat is professionally run with good safety briefings and instruction. I asked for nitrox, beforehand but was told it is currently unavailable. You will probably have to bring your own if you really want to dive it.

Worst dive boat ever. Had an accident involving their ladder. Had to be taken to the hospital for surgery. Captain and crew NEVER contacted me to see if I was ok. Bad business and customer service. I wish I could give them negative stars.
Hospital and coast guard both contacted me. But the charter company nor the crew did. Would think they would care if I was okay? Especially since it was their dumb ladder that caused the injury.

Boat comes in 15 minutes late. They have no office! You literally wander around trying to figure out where to go. Parking is a nightmare. Good thing there are plenty of people who work for another company to give you incorrect information. «Yeah just wait in line over there for 30 minutes, they’ll take care of you!» Nope wrong. There is literally not one single sign, logo, person, arrow, or clue to indicate where you must go to find Marissa Charters.
The boat is small but clean. The food wasn’t great, but good enough. The dives were literally the worst dives I had ever been on. No visibility, nothing to see, freezing cold. Can I blame them for that? I don’t know. That’s not really their fault. But they do pick the locations, so I do kinda have to say it is partially their fault.
There was no pre-​dive briefing. They talk about kelp. They say if you get stuck break it off, and don’t twirl. That was it. It was the least informative dive briefing I had ever been on in my life. Typically the crew will tell you where to swim, what to look for, some information about where we are, this crew? Nada. nothing. Kelp, break it off and don’t twirl. Not very helpful.
Overall, there really weren’t any positives for me to mention, but I do understand that some of the issues were not under the crew or the boat’s power. HOWEVER, when morons leave all 4 or 5 star reviews, I am forced to voice an opinion that I do not agree with those Unilocal scores. I do think 2 stars «meh. I’ve experienced better» is quite generous.
Sorry to be negative but when that is the accurate reflection of my experiences, I stand by them and will not change this review under any circumstances.

Captain Lora is awesome! She opened up an afternoon kelp dive trip off of Point Loma this past Sunday in order to accommodate a group of divers coming down from Orange County area. Lora and the Crew were amazingly helpful, particularly with new divers. The boat is easy to dive from, tank fills are done before you even know it between dives, the snacks/​drinks are fantastic, and the crew’s knowledge of diving from basic open water through technical training is extensive. Thanks again for a great afternoon trip and I look forward to doing local dives with you all the time!

I’ve dove most so cal boats. Marissa is a Small low frills basic dive boat. When the boat does run it’s good. People are friendly. Prices are good. It sometimes cancels the day before due to sea and weather conditions. Don’t be late. If you’re late and notify them it leaves without you with no refund.

The boat was a good size and with 11 on board there was plenty of room. I wanted to do a 3 dive Yukon/​Ruby E with a few friends. They let us pick the day and as long as enough people signed up the trip was a go. They were extremely helpful and accommodating in that regard. The crew was great. Captain Aaron and Janelle working the deck. All super knowledgeable. Very helpful and friendly. I will definitely go again, but four stars instead of five because they did not live up to their reputation as. «The fat boat». Breakfast and snacks on way in were good and filling (fruit bagels muffins, donuts for breakfast and cookies on way in). Drinks were plentiful, (soda and water) but lunch was a bit subpar. Canned chicken noodle (mostly broth) with vegetable tray. It left us desiring more.
But that is minor. I’d give them 4.5 stars if it let me. I will definitely go with them again.

Lora and her moon boots rocked. Her crew was good too. Dove the 2x wrecks in the morning and in the afternoon. Brought all my gear except tanks. Had an excellent time:
Pros:
+They’re on time. Underway when they said they would leave the docks. Returned to the docks when they said we would
+Food was perfect. Nothing complex but plenty to chow down on. Great coffee
+Dove what we paid for. No surprises, no unexpected changes, can’t ask for more
+Boat was a great size. They limit the patrons (as advertised) and it works
+Ate lunch at a nice café 5min from the docks. No beer though :(
Cons:
–Parking sucks. Get there early and don’t move your vehicle
–Hot people everywhere. Super distracting
–Didn’t bring beer
Overall good time. Will continue to recommend to my buds. Worth the cash. Epic wrecks. Wish I could dive them daily!

They (literally) yell at you before dives not to come out with less than 500 PSI or you will not dive again (try using some tact, we are paying you for an enjoyable experience), seen a guy drift, no line was available to him (Unacceptable, I wish I could leave negative stars) …

Wow the Marissa crew is awesome as always they are super helpful the boat is nice clean plenty of space and the snacks always are great! I’ve been out on this charter 6 times now and they are the best local charter around dive site briefings are always great questions are welcomed and the staff is second to none when it comes to help with gear or a repair you guys rock thanks to Laura and her crew!

Oh man had a great day out on the Marissa. Went out on a 3 tank dive to the Yukon and Ruby E. The Seas were choppy and I got major seasickness. Even with that the crew of the Marissa were so great. Made me feel reassured and tried to take my mind off of things. I will for sure be going out with them again.

It was unfortunate that the boat went into the dry dock or else I would have went on a dive trip with Marissa. Captain Lora was able to refund me the payment. Thank you.

5 stars for the Marissa because…
1) the boat is small and then there’s not 532 divers tring to put their gear in the same time
2) Captain Lora is great and divemaster Ashley too, they explain well the dive sites
3) the food is great, frsh fruits and muffins between dives — they just got a coffee machine !
4) there’s always flowers on the boat !

I really wanted to support this boat, but have now had 2 independent bad diving experiences on the Marissa. The first occurred a couple years ago on a trip out to the Coronado Islands. When we arrived (after a 2 hour ride) to the islands, we were boarded by the Mexican Navy and told we didn’t have the «proper permits» and we couldn’t dive.
After being denied access by the authorities, the crew of the Marissa decided that instead of issuing a raincheck or refund, the paying customers could instead just ride 2 hours back and dive the kelp beds off Point Loma. Normally, that would be fine, but conditions were bad and my request to abstain and just get a refund were refused, which I feel is poor customer service. I was told «We already spent money on gas, so we can’t give you a refund.»
Very recently (June 2013), I decided to give the crew another chance and booked two dives on the Marissa. At 9pm the NIGHT BEFORE my very early dive, I received a call from the crew stating that they were canceling the dive. When I asked why, I was told I was the only person who reserved and they wouldn’t take just me out. When I asked why I was getting such late notice, they said they «forgot» to call me earlier in the day. I had to rent gear for the dive, so their late cancellation cost me $ 60 in gear rental fees.
I agreed to dive with them the next day they went out, and did one dive off Point Loma. The dive briefing was non-​existent, the crew was disorganized and goofing off, and overall extremely unhelpful. We were over an hour and a half late getting off the dock because they had no waivers to sign and had to go print them, etc.
After the first dive of the day, a few people were getting seasick, and in between the dives the divemasters were rough-​housing and chasing each other around the deck. We got a one sentence briefing about the second dive site, and overall I was too uncomfortable with the crew to even get into the water the second time.
I was promised a refund for the money I lost having to rent gear and then having them late cancel on me, but since then have not had any response to several calls and e-​mails.
I loved the previous crew of this boat and really hoped that this boat would still be an option for diving in San Diego, but I’m sorry to say that after several bad experiences concerning safety, professionalism, and customer service, I don’t feel safe diving with the Marissa and would recommend diving with another company.

The Marissa may not be the biggest boat in SD but it’s definitely one of the best. I had the pleasure of doing my first ever cold water dives on her and it was an amazing experience all around!
Captain Lora goes out of her way to make sure everyone on the boat is having a good time and is very attentive to all the divers needs; whether it be a hot chocolate to warm up or just some pointers about the dive site.
I had a great and safe time, I’m going to try to go out again this week!

So I have to say, after going out on the Marissa, I am pretty impressed, and give them five stars as well as the Lois Ann… both of these charters are great and if you are looking to go out diving in the San Diego area, either one would be a great choice.
Went out last weekend with the Marissa to the Coronados, and I had a great time the entire trip. The day was perfectly sunny, trip out was beautiful, and I felt like we got a 2-​for-​1 deal because on our way out we saw TONS of blue whales all over the place! They were super close to the boat, even a big one and little one once (mama and baby?), and Lora our captain was great, she stopped and let us take some pictures, and we hung out for a while and watched the whales. After a bit we started heading out for the islands again, no big deal, and all of a sudden a blue whale pops up right in front of the bow while the boat was going full throttle! Never had that happen before, luckily Lora was quick on her feet and stopped just in time, it was pretty amazing, you could see the whole whale under the water it was so close. So pretty epic trip out.
We dove around the North Coronados Island, and the dives were pretty fun, lots of life, and of course sea lions to play with underwater. We did three dives, and on all the vis was awesome, water temp was pretty warm, and we saw lots of good stuff, octos, swell shark, blue-​banded gobies, and the usual SoCal underwater life.
After each dive there was food, and food on the trip going out and coming back in, and the lunch was really good! Pulled BBQ chicken and rice and tortillas hit the spot after a long dive…
Lora’s dive briefings were great, she gave good detail as to the perks of each site, and even told us about a trigger population around this one site and where to find them, and sure enough went there and they were there! Thanks a bunch, that was pretty cool to see them! So I was happy about that!
The dive boat was full (14 people I believe), and a bit crowded, but we made sure we were in the water first and we hardly saw any other divers on any of our dives. Although it was crowded, it did not impede our experience in any way, and the boat was equipped to handle that many people. We did back roll entries and exited the water from their aluminum ladder off the stern, which was really nice, getting back on the boat was a breeze (if we ever get a boat, we are buying a ladder like theirs!)
This is a great charter, and I wouldn’t hesitate going out with them again! You can’t go wrong on either the Marissa or the Lois Ann, both are great, and service the main dive sites around the area, what I do is pick a date and a site and see what their schedules look like and just go with the one that is going to the place I want to dive at… we will for sure be back!

Crew was very helpful, professional, knowledgeable. Felt very safe the entire dive, good surface intervals, excellent dive briefings. Food was good, fresh, hot drinks and soda are all complimentary. Tanks are refilled if needed enroute to the next dive spot. Very good operation.