Liveaboard La Galigo Review

[Dan]

At the time of my reply, that info had not been posted yet. Interesting that you happened to guess that would be the boat's initial excuse, however. Regardless, he also explained why and when they left it opened (to test where the fumes were coming from), as well as the results of that test. Yes, they responded positively on here, publicly, but the direct response to the people it happened to took on an entirely different tone. I don't know how that makes you MORE at ease, but hey, different strokes for different folks...lol.

I didn't guess. As soon as I read the negative review, I contacted Tom & he replied to me with some of the comments made by the crew. There were clearly some misunderstanding & miscommunication at the time. So, I just relayed what I heard without distorting or embelishing the information I received, unlike the OP did.

The fact that the operator acknowledging the problems and make effort to investigate & fix them, rather than ignoring or denying them, that makes me feel more at ease. It's not easy to admit I could be at fault and mention it publicly.

As mentioned in the other thread, I have bought CO detector, will bring it with me and verify the level of CO in every cabins then. This idea wouldn't get to my head have I not read this review. That also made me at ease. I now have a tool to verify the issue.

The fact that they are fixing the variance of Nitrox O2 concentration also makes me feel at ease. I'll will use the Nitrox in next November trip. To me, variance in Nitrox is not a problem as we will analyze it before the dive & set my computer accordingly & dive shallower than MOD. This is a standard practice of any Nitrox divers should know & do. You are responsible for your own diving. Having a dive buddy & guide are just the extra safety that help you to dive safely. And getting over the MOD is not fatal like an on/off switch, once you pass MOD, you are doom, like @maxdiving elluted to. The body takes time to react & once you realize the situation you have time to ascend to MOD or shallower. I have dove passed MOD to 1.5 PPO2 without any negative impact. In fact some divers set MOD as high as 1.6 PPO2. Every divers have different reaction towards oxygen toxicity. I happen to be a lucky one, who can dive passing 1.4 PPO2 without any problem.

Many liveaboards that I have been in (in GBR, Galápagos, USA and Indonesia) had their Nitrox EAN32 Oxygen concentration varied from 30 to 34%. That's just typical accuracy of the system. You just need to be discipline to analyze it every time before the dive & set your Nitrox level in computer accordingly.

 

[Pillpusher]

I didn't guess. As soon as I read the negative review, I contacted Tom & he replied to me with some of the comments made by the crew. There were clearly some misunderstanding & miscommunication at the time. So, I just relayed what I heard without distorting or embelishing the information I received, unlike the OP did.

The fact that the operator acknowledging the problems and make effort to investigate & fix them, rather than ignoring or denying them, that makes me feel more at ease. It's not easy to admit I could be at fault and mention it publicly.

As mentioned in the other thread, I have bought CO detector, will bring it with me and verify the level of CO in every cabins then. This idea wouldn't get to my head have I not read this review. That also made me at ease. I now have a tool to verify the issue.

The fact that they are fixing the variance of Nitrox O2 concentration will also makes me feel at ease. I'll will use the Nitrox in next November trip. To me, variance in Nitrox is not a problem as we will analyze it before the dive & set my computer accordingly & stay in MOD. This is a standard practice of any Nitrox divers should know & do. You are responsible for your own diving. Having a dive buddy & guide are just the extra safety that help you to dive safely. And getting over the MOD is not fatal like @maxdiving elluted to. I have dove passed MOD to 1.5 without any negative impact. In fact some divers set MOD as high as 1.6. Every divers have different reaction towards oxygen toxicity. I happened to be lucky that passing 1.4 is no problem for me.

Many liveaboards that I have been in (in GBR, Galápagos, USA and Indonesia) had their Nitrox EAN32 Oxygen concentration varied from 30 to 34%. That's just typical accuracy of the system. You just need to be discipline to analyze it every time before the dive & set your Nitrox level in computer accordingly.

Are we reading the same things? The OP posted the exact reply he received from them, word for word. In what way is that, as you said, "distorting or embellishing the information he received"? In the boat's post on here, yes they owned up to it. But he most definitely did not in his private response to the people it happened to. In fact, he instead blamed them. If anything, their owning up to it now only makes their initial direct reply to them appear even worse.

As for the tank variances, the issue wasn't that they weren't analyzing their own tanks, it's that it could not be done accurately with the equipment they provided. Correct, it is not an issue if you are able to correctly calibrate your analyzer. But as the OP stated, this was not possible b/c the analyzers they provided were not functioning properly, and even the air tanks weren't 21, so those couldn't be used for calibration purposes either. So, unless you brought your own analyzer that could easily be calibrated with ambient air (which they did not have), you were flying blind.

Regardless, I'm glad you're comfortable with your upcoming trip. Personally, I wouldn't be. I will be taking a different boat, and have so far read nothing but great things about them. I sincerely hope you and the people you are bringing there have an spectacular and safe time... But, from what I just read, I also hope everyone has their own analyzer, CO2 alarm, and plenty of duct tape.

 

[Joneill]

Are we reading the same things? The OP posted the exact reply he received from them, word for word. In what way is that, as you said, "distorting or embellishing the information he received"? In the boat's post on here, yes they owned up to it. But he most definitely did not in his private response to the people it happened to. In fact, he instead blamed them. If anything, their owning up to it now only makes their initial direct reply to them appear even worse.

As for the tank variances, the issue wasn't that they weren't analyzing their own tanks, it's that it could not be done accurately with the equipment they provided. Correct, it is not an issue if you are able to correctly calibrate your analyzer. But as the OP stated, this was not possible b/c the analyzers they provided were not functioning properly, and even the air tanks weren't 21, so those couldn't be used for calibration purposes either. So, unless you brought your own analyzer that could easily be calibrated with ambient air (which they did not have), you were flying blind.

Regardless, I'm glad you're comfortable with your upcoming trip. Personally, I wouldn't be. I will be taking a different boat, and have so far read nothing but great things about them. I sincerely hope you and the people you are bringing there have an spectacular and safe time... But, from what I just read, I also hope everyone has their own analyzer, CO2 alarm, and plenty of duct tape.

I suspect the boat owner had no choice but to do damage control here. However, I saw nothing in the OP's initial post and follow-ups that seemed distorted. I likely would have reacted in a similar way had I spent that much money on a LOB and be expected to just deal with subpar, and potentially dangerous, quarters.

Based on the initial response to the OP, La Galigo is off of my list given the many other options out there. It's actually shocking to see the owner go from initially suggesting the OP created the issues to now offering him a free trip.

The first rule of customer service is never blame the customer - major misstep here!

 

[Pillpusher]

I suspect the boat owner had no choice but to do damage control here. However, I saw nothing in the OP's initial post and follow-ups that seemed distorte. I likely would have reacted in a similar way had I spent that much money on a LOB and be expected to just deal with subpar, and potentially dangerous, quarters.

Based on the initial response to the OP, La Galigo is off of my list given the many other options out there. It's actually shocking to see the owner go from initially suggesting the OP created the issues to now offering him a free trip.

The first rule of customer service is never blame the customer - major misstep here!

The majority of the reviews out there on La Galigo are great, so I suspect this is not the norm. On any boat, things can, and occasionally will, happen. What's important is how things are handled when they do. I think that's where things went awry in this case.

 

[Dan]

Are we reading the same things? The OP posted the exact reply he received from them, word for word. In what way is that, as you said, "distorting or embellishing the information he received"? In the boat's post on here, yes they owned up to it. But he most definitely did not in his private response to the people it happened to. In fact, he instead blamed them. If anything, their owning up to it now only makes their initial direct reply to them appear even worse.

As for the tank variances, the issue wasn't that they weren't analyzing their own tanks, it's that it could not be done accurately with the equipment they provided. Correct, it is not an issue if you are able to correctly calibrate your analyzer. But as the OP stated, this was not possible b/c the analyzers they provided were not functioning properly, and even the air tanks weren't 21, so those couldn't be used for calibration purposes either. So, unless you brought your own analyzer that could easily be calibrated with ambient air (which they did not have), you were flying blind.

Regardless, I'm glad you're comfortable with your upcoming trip. Personally, I wouldn't be. I will be taking a different boat, and have so far read nothing but great things about them. I sincerely hope you and the people you are bringing there have an spectacular and safe time... But, from what I just read, I also hope everyone has their own analyzer, CO2 alarm, and plenty of duct tape.

I was referring to the OP statement:
" We are asking where the owners of La Galigo ‘’A Danish Couple – Tom Simpson et al’’ are to currently located?! Nobody has seen them for months. We are told that they are probably boozing in Thailand.", which is I don't think it is true & necessary.

People make mistake. When they hear 2 opposite stories, they tend to bias towards who they know & trust. So, communications & clearing some misunderstanding would good to do to resolve the issues before posting the negative review. So denial & blame are a common reaction towards such review. I think positive outcomes & resolutions have been proposed by the operator. We can move forward & see whether all those resolutions are made in the next season. I don't see any need to keep dwelling on it.

There are plenty of boats out there in Raja Ampat for you to choose. So, go find the one that fits to your liking. I've been diving in the area for the last 7 years, with several liveaboards, so I have my bias, likes, dislikes & opinions that may not agree with yours. One thing I know about Raja Ampat liveaboard trips, doing it early in the season (November-December), when the boats are still in better shape after scheduled maintenance, the crews had a month break & there are fewer rains that may wake you up in the middle of the night from leaky roof, would be much better diving experience than doing it at late in the season (March-April), after some wear & tear from week-in & week-out sailings & more rains. And book it well in advance to get good ones. Good luck!

BTW, CO2 is not a problem. We have the gas in Coca Cola. CO is the problem.

 

[Pillpusher]

I was referring to the OP statement:
" We are asking where the owners of La Galigo ‘’A Danish Couple – Tom Simpson et al’’ are to currently located?! Nobody has seen them for months. We are told that they are probably boozing in Thailand.", which is I don't think it is true & necessary.

People make mistake. When they hear 2 opposite stories, they tend to bias towards who they know & trust. So, communications & clearing some misunderstanding would good to do to resolve the issues before posting the negative review. So denial & blame are a common reaction towards such review. I think positive outcomes & resolutions have been proposed by the operator. We can move forward & see whether all those resolutions are made in the next season. I don't see any need to keep dwelling on it.

There are plenty of boats out there in Raja Ampat for you to choose. So, go find the one that fits to your liking. I've been diving in the area for the last 7 years, with several liveaboards, so I have my bias, likes, dislikes & opinions that may not agree with yours. One thing I know about Raja Ampat liveaboard trips, doing it early in the season (November-December), when the boats are still in better shape after scheduled maintenance, the crews had a month break & there are fewer rains that may wake you up in the middle of the night from leaky roof, would be much better diving experience than doing it at late in the season (March-April), after some wear & tear from week-in & week-out sailings & more rains. And book it well in advance to get good ones. Good luck!

BTW, CO2 is not a problem. We have the gas in Coca Cola. CO is the problem.

First, yes, I misspoke with CO2. At least it wasn't that deadly dihydrogen monoxide!...lol. ;?P

If that's what they were told by someone, that's what they were told. That's not embellishing. Besides, that's one sentence out of a lot of information, and probably the piece of information of the least importance out of all of it. I don't understand what misunderstanding you feel the OP's should have resolved before posting their reviews. They posted what happened to them onboard this boat. That's what a review is. Whether or not they have now responded to them and offered reparations does not change those facts and is irrelevant. If people only posted good reviews, that wouldn't make reviews overall a very reliable source of information. And as for their response, denial and blame is NOT a common reaction... At least not if you're running a business, and most definitely not when the allegations are true.

That being said, I think another issue here, and not one specific to this particular boat, is that most of these boats do a same day turnaround and head back out to sea with a new group the same morning they drop the old group off. Not only does that run the staff into the ground by not giving them any time off to recharge and relax a little, but it also offers absolutely no time to make proper repairs or maintenance throughout the season. It was clear this boat was badly in need of more than just duct tape, but that's likely all that time allowed.

 

[Dan]

First, yes, I misspoke with CO2. At least it wasn't that deadly dihydrogen monoxide!...lol. ;?P

If that's what they were told by someone, that's what they were told. That's not embellishing. Besides, that's one sentence out of a lot of information, and probably the piece of information of the least importance out of all of it. I don't understand what misunderstanding you feel the OP's should have resolved before posting their reviews. They posted what happened to them onboard this boat. That's what a review is. Whether or not they have now responded to them and offered reparations does not change those facts and is irrelevant. If people only posted good reviews, that wouldn't make reviews overall a very reliable source of information. And as for their response, denial and blame is NOT a common reaction... At least not if you're running a business, and most definitely not when the allegations are true.

That being said, I think another issue here, and not one specific to this particular boat, is that most of these boats do a same day turnaround and head back out to sea with a new group the same morning they drop the old group off. Not only does that run the staff into the ground by not giving them any time off to recharge and relax a little, but it also offers absolutely no time to make proper repairs or maintenance throughout the season. It was clear this boat was badly in need of more than just duct tape, but that's likely all that time allowed.

Dihydrogen monoxide is H2O or water, so that definitely is not deadly. What is bad for you is elevated Carbon Monoxide or CO.

Like I said I'm done dwelling with this issue that to me it has been resolved. Sh*t happened in the boat, things broke, temper flared, miscommunication & misunderstanding occured. I'll let La Galigo response to your inquiry.

 

[Pillpusher]

Dihydrogen monoxide is H2O or water, so that definitely is not deadly. What is bad for you is elevated Carbon Monoxide or CO.

It was a joke. I'll bet you're a blast at parties.

 

[Dan]

It was a joke. I'll bet you're a blast at parties.

I take back my statement. It can be deadly, if you inhale too much DHMO underwater. You can drown.

 

[Joneill]

BTW, CO2 is not a problem. We have the gas in Coca Cola. CO is the problem.

Actually, breathing high CO2 would be a problem - but not what was the alleged issue here. And, since CO is odorless, the issue was more than just CO. There are plenty of other noxious things in diesel exhaust that are problematic as well.

Safety and Health Topics | Diesel Exhaust | Occupational Safety and Health Administration