- Messages
- 305
- Reaction score
- 24
- # of dives
I've done a few live aboards, and like them. Issues do happen, as the owners are trying to "turn" the boat immediately; after the end of one trip, they are starting the next trip. Anyone who has owned a boat knows things go wrong. Sometimes you have to make do.
I dove with Quasar Expeditions (MS Alta) and was overall quite happy. No, not everything was perfect, but it was pretty good, overall. I am not a picky traveler, and really don't want my hand "held".
A few points though, I'd like to comment on. The trip is a service trip: you paid for services as advertised. As is common, if you didn't get what you paid for, you are entitled to off-setting compensation, to the degree you did not get the service. Obviously this wouldn't be a free trip.
On the DM hitting on the gal, I'd probably warn him to lay off. Yeah, he should have known better.
On the DM "leaving" the diver, I only ask was he her buddy? If not, there is an expectation that the divers have a degree of competency and skill to dive within their own limits. Period. As an instructor, I saw people on my own trip who had signed up, and stated they were "advanced" divers, with 100 or more dives. Nothing was further from the truth, and the truly advanced divers got with the head guide, and the group was split into the truly advanced divers, and everyone else. Made for good diving. As an instructor, I will help anyone in distress, but doggone it, you shouldn't be in a ripping current, in the middle of nowhere, if you have 20 dives under your belt. All such people like that do is endanger the group.
There was also a guy on the trip that happened to be an attorney. On one dive, the DM saw him breathing off of his son's alternate air source. The DM told them to surface, as such an action would indicate an out-of-air condition. After surfacing, the guy argued with the DM that he "always" used some of his son's air on a dive because he consumed too much. The DM said that was not allowed. The guy said he would sue the company. The captain had to get involved, and told him the DM was right (which he was).
So sometimes stuff happens outside the norm on live aboards. I don't know about the fleet you mentioned, but understand they are more of a franchise. I think all boats have had some type of problem, or another, but I think it cuts both ways. It is my understanding some fleets cater to the "high rollers", and offer to pamper people endlessly. If that floats your boat, go for it. As for me, I am there to dive and take pictures. Key rules, don't bother the wildlife - or me - and everything will be fine.
But the boat should ensure the safety of the divers (again: the divers HAVE TO DIVE WITHIN THEIR LIMITS), safeguard the wildlife, respect the privacy and personal "zone" of the passengers, and do the best they can in service. But I don't like liveaboards where some passengers are "wannabe" divers, and think their fancy gear makes them a good diver, when they have poor buoyancy skills, poor etiquette, etc. Note I said "some" passengers. For the most part, I love the people I meet on the live aboards, and love chatting with the crew and staff (who are doing a job, after all).
So boards like this do a lot of good for "putting the word out". But I have seen firsthand situations that get out of hand, and see both sides. I'm not defending anyone, but I've been in the "provider" category as an Instructor, and have had students that did not follow directions, rules, safety, etc., then whined and cried about how unfair something was.
But I also like to be vocal - at the time - when a situation happens. I would have gone straight to the Captain of the boat to complain, at the time of the incident(s). As for the guy hitting on the gal, we don't take kind to that where I come from. At the end of my last trip, they took up a collection for tips, with the DM's being separate. I tipped more for the better guide. Money does talk in that respect.
Regardless, it was good to know that all of the hype on some boats is just that. Hype.
I dove with Quasar Expeditions (MS Alta) and was overall quite happy. No, not everything was perfect, but it was pretty good, overall. I am not a picky traveler, and really don't want my hand "held".
A few points though, I'd like to comment on. The trip is a service trip: you paid for services as advertised. As is common, if you didn't get what you paid for, you are entitled to off-setting compensation, to the degree you did not get the service. Obviously this wouldn't be a free trip.
On the DM hitting on the gal, I'd probably warn him to lay off. Yeah, he should have known better.
On the DM "leaving" the diver, I only ask was he her buddy? If not, there is an expectation that the divers have a degree of competency and skill to dive within their own limits. Period. As an instructor, I saw people on my own trip who had signed up, and stated they were "advanced" divers, with 100 or more dives. Nothing was further from the truth, and the truly advanced divers got with the head guide, and the group was split into the truly advanced divers, and everyone else. Made for good diving. As an instructor, I will help anyone in distress, but doggone it, you shouldn't be in a ripping current, in the middle of nowhere, if you have 20 dives under your belt. All such people like that do is endanger the group.
There was also a guy on the trip that happened to be an attorney. On one dive, the DM saw him breathing off of his son's alternate air source. The DM told them to surface, as such an action would indicate an out-of-air condition. After surfacing, the guy argued with the DM that he "always" used some of his son's air on a dive because he consumed too much. The DM said that was not allowed. The guy said he would sue the company. The captain had to get involved, and told him the DM was right (which he was).
So sometimes stuff happens outside the norm on live aboards. I don't know about the fleet you mentioned, but understand they are more of a franchise. I think all boats have had some type of problem, or another, but I think it cuts both ways. It is my understanding some fleets cater to the "high rollers", and offer to pamper people endlessly. If that floats your boat, go for it. As for me, I am there to dive and take pictures. Key rules, don't bother the wildlife - or me - and everything will be fine.
But the boat should ensure the safety of the divers (again: the divers HAVE TO DIVE WITHIN THEIR LIMITS), safeguard the wildlife, respect the privacy and personal "zone" of the passengers, and do the best they can in service. But I don't like liveaboards where some passengers are "wannabe" divers, and think their fancy gear makes them a good diver, when they have poor buoyancy skills, poor etiquette, etc. Note I said "some" passengers. For the most part, I love the people I meet on the live aboards, and love chatting with the crew and staff (who are doing a job, after all).
So boards like this do a lot of good for "putting the word out". But I have seen firsthand situations that get out of hand, and see both sides. I'm not defending anyone, but I've been in the "provider" category as an Instructor, and have had students that did not follow directions, rules, safety, etc., then whined and cried about how unfair something was.
But I also like to be vocal - at the time - when a situation happens. I would have gone straight to the Captain of the boat to complain, at the time of the incident(s). As for the guy hitting on the gal, we don't take kind to that where I come from. At the end of my last trip, they took up a collection for tips, with the DM's being separate. I tipped more for the better guide. Money does talk in that respect.
Regardless, it was good to know that all of the hype on some boats is just that. Hype.
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