Screwed by operator....what are my options?

[Kryssa]

I would reroute from Miami to Cozumel and enjoy.

There is always room in Cozumel. If interested, Contact Christi at Blue XT (http://www.bluextseadiving.com/) and I expect she will take care of you inclu8ding a hotel package or find a good dive op that can.

This is good suggestion!

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[TSandM]

Well, I agree that this is a horrible outcome, especially when you are flying so far, and you want a unique diving experience. But as long as you have come all the way to Florida, why not drive a bit, and go up to the Gainesville area and dive the springs, and maybe take a cavern class? That is truly diving you can't get just anywhere, and it would be different, and perhaps polish up your skills a bit as well.

 

[Stoo]

Book with an operator and get the whole Atol cover by paying extra or take the risk

Sadly this is generally the case. In Ontario, Canada, travel agents etc. are covered by TICO which covers most issues like a resort going bankrupt before you go. I don't know that they would in this case as the operator has simply decided that they don't want to run the trip which they advertised, and (if the OP is being truthful, and I can't imagine he isn't) there is nothing in the booking contract that gives them the right to simply cancel a trip. I'll give them credit for at least being honest about it. They could have simply lied and said that the boat had sunk, or had had a fire or something.

This is further complicated by the fact that the OP is in the UK. If he was in the US, I'd suggest having a lawyer write a polite letter saying that you intend to pursue legal action to cover the cost of the trip, the airfare and a penalty to cover the "lost vacation". I agree that the vacation is unique, so it isn't easy to simply substitute. It's not like Holiday Inn cancelling your reservation but you can simply cross the street to the competitor. Legal action would likely cost more than the loss.

So my guess is that these guys are probably b*ggered and should do as others have suggested... find the next best trip and chalk it up to experience.

When we travel, we also choose to book direct, but we will only do so with reputable operations which we believe to be sound. We have an upcoming trip with a bit of an unknown operation in Belize, but the deposit was minimal so if they close before we get there, we can presumably scramble to find another place and cut our losses. I doubt this place would pay travel agent commissions anyway.

I feel for this OP. We all look forward to these special trips and when they fall through, almost at the last minute, it sucks.

Personally, I'd have no issue naming the operation and shaming them publicly, but I suppose there could be consequences to that too...

 

[ReefHound]

It sucks when everything doesn't go right but i think you're being a bit unreasonable. It's pretty much standard procedure that an op can cancel if below a certain number of customers. I'll bet it's in the contract somewhere. And it's extremely rare when a vendor will refund more money than you paid. (If the airline canceled your flight do you think they would reimburse you for the liveaboard you missed?) That they offered you free lodging on the boat and free day dives is incredible.

 

[mikeycanuk]

Never done a live aboard but learned from looking at my first one (Cuan law)in that they don't go unless they fill a certain number of berths. So it's the first question I ask when I email a live aboard op.

In regards to the op- the operator should be upfront about it or else name them so others don't get this sprung on them.

Short term thinking, I'm never doing Cuan Law EVER, I'm just not taking that risk. Hello? Anyone listening?

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[DandyDon]

If you don't want to keep the air tickets and salvage a different trip, you need to talk to your airline now about cancellation options with future credits.

 

[Bryan Cunningham]

Are you sure your travel insurance will not cover you? It should, or choose better insurance next time. Also, does the UK not have gov controlled regulation protecting you? Here in Ontario customers are protected by TICO (Travel Industry Council of Ontario) It is not even legal to sell travel without it. Or did you not use a registered travel agent and try book the whole thing yourself? If you did you are pretty much stuck, apart from taking legal action against the operator which would cost a fortune.

 

[ReefHound]

Are you sure your travel insurance will not cover you? It should, or choose better insurance next time. Also, does the UK not have gov controlled regulation protecting you? Here in Ontario customers are protected by TICO (Travel Industry Council of Ontario) It is not even legal to sell travel without it. Or did you not use a registered travel agent and try book the whole thing yourself? If you did you are pretty much stuck, apart from taking legal action against the operator which would cost a fortune.

The problem is the boat operator refunded all the money they received for the liveaboard portion of the trip. The op wants his airline expenses refunded but the airline did not cancel anything. they are still offering the flight for the ticket they sold.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Every time I leave for a trip abroad, whether it's for diving or something else, there is a voice in the back of my head reminding me that there is some small probability that operators of tours, transportation, dive boats, and anything else might cancel, go bankrupt, disappear with my money, etc. I haven't been in the habit of buying trip insurance (because affordable trip insurance generally doesn't cover the things that are most likely to leave one out of pocket!) but rather have just been taking the risk. I suppose if I had international plane tickets, I would still go but try to arrange alternative plans. You will be in a good part of the world for diving. I second the Bahamas recommendations. You will incur costs you hadn't anticipated, but you will have a great time. Consider unexpected travel expenses as part of the cost of the hobby. If you want less risk, take up golf instead.

 

[Potapko]

From the OP's original post

"We are flying from the UK Saturday 20th October to Miami"