Back from Cayman

[MissAmberDiva]

I am back from Cayman...Wow! Loved it! That is some of the best diving I have ever done. I will definitely be going back.
Stayed at Treasure Island. Big Mistake!!! I will stay elsewhere next time. Crappy room, Crappy service. Also Bob Soto's dive shop was located in this hotel. And for anyone thinking about diving with them...DON'T!!!!:livid: The two guys working the inside of the dive shop had no idea what they were doing. They could not answer any of my questions. One of their customers had to butt into our conversation and answer for me. These guys were as dumb as Beavis and Butthead.:bonk:
Then I was told that their boats were semi-submersable. They kept sinking and and getting patched and sinking again and so on and so on....Well, as I was in the lobby one day, their van came by with some pretty pissed off people. Yep, the boat's motor blew up and started to go down. I wouldn't trust Soto's dive company.
Don Foster's is who I dove with. Very professional. Glad I picked them. Sunday I went to stingray city. It was just me and the dive master!! It was awesome. It was so good I went back on tuesday. That was the greatest!!!
Anyway, Had fun. And I will definitely go back.
Next time I will bring more food with me, because $16 for two combo meals at WEndy's is downright mean!!!:upset:

Amber

 

[ScubaCRNA]

Man am I glad to have your post to read. I am in the midst of planning a Cayman trip and was considering Soto. After reading your post I think........NOT!!!

I copied your post and sent it to Bob Soto's email with a request for him to explain this and that I was rethinging my plans. I'll let you know if I hear anything.:upset:

 

[ScubaCRNA]

Not rethinging but rethinking.

 

[MissAmberDiva]

Yeah, let me know what the reply is.....I would love to know what they say to that!!!! Another thing that I saw them do that I didn't like was load up a butt load of people in their vans and take off to the dive sites. I am talking 15 or more people packed in those vans. Now everyone gripes about cattle boats...that was a cattle boat at Soto's!!! I was kind of weary of Don Foster's cause I heard the same about their company, but you know, in the six dives I did with them there was never more than eight or nine people diving and they let me bring a non diver along for the boat ride and their boat fully accomodated as much. Plus each dive there was at least two of their staff on the boat. It was pretty cool.

 

[astrl]

Thanks for the info, MissAmberDiva. I want to go to the Cayman's sometime in the near future and I appreciate the warning. I will definitely steer clear of THAT dive shop!

astrl

 

[FloridaDiver]

I just returned from Cayman after a week aboard the Cayman Aggressor. I would forget the day boats and take a trip on this fantastic liveaboard. We spent three days at Little Cayman and also dove the Russian Destroyer at Cayman Brac - the diving there was far better than what we found at Grand Cayman. We dove around the main island as well, but, outside of a couple dives at Babylon, Grand Cayman didn't come close to Little Cayman. I logged 23 dives in 5 1/2 days, gained a couple of pounds from the fantastic food, had my slides developed on board in a couple of hours, and didn't have to deal with cruise ship passengers, crappy divemasters, or leaky boats. It's also a bargain, particularly when you consider Cayman's high prices.

In addition, this was a Jim Church photo week, and Jim is without a doubt one of the nicest people I've ever met. He made the trip a very special experience.

I'll post a trip report soon as I haven't even put my gear away yet!

 

[cliffd64]

Glad you loved your diving at Grand Cayman. I had a blast when I was there as well Don Foster's is definitely a good operation there. Bob Soto's may be well known, but they have never impressed me.

 

[ScubaCRNA]

I received this reply from Bob Soto's regarding MissAmberDiva's experience with them. Recall that I forwarded the comments she made to Bob Soto's email address asking him to explain the poor service she had, etc. Here is the reply:

> Thank you for the forward. No...our boats have not and did not start to or
> sink! We did have a day that Holiday diver had an engine problem, which
was
> fixed in 30 minutes....so....I don't get the boat problem. The person
> problem...I do have a smart butt employee who is soon to be unemployed on
> Wednesday. I am shocked at the report and will guarantee you our service
and
> customer care is still tops! I appreciate your help as always!
>
> Leslie McClain Day
> Manager of Sales & Marketing
> Bob Soto's Reef Divers
Tel: 345-945-7394
> Fax: 345-945-9094
> Website: www.bobsotosreefdivers.com


Perhaps MissAmberDiva should get hold of Ms Day and discuss the issue. Maybe some sort of credit might be in order. Good luck.

 

[MissAmberDiva]

No I dont' need a credit. I didn't dive with Soto's. Maybe you misunderstood me.

Soto's shop was in the lobby of my hotel and that's how I was able to witness their shoddy service...


About the boats...I found this out from a local. Apparently Soto's is a bit of a joke...that's why the people from Cayman called them "semi-submersible boats". I was sitting in the lobby when the van pulled up with the pissed off people, that's how I found out about that one. Some of the people from the hotel who went with them were complaining. And I just happened to hear about it.

Anyway, personally, I am glad I didn't waste my time or money with them. I certainly wouldn't get on one of their crappy boats and put my life in their hands.

Amber

 

[Jelly]

So what you're saying is that you never actually saw any of the boats, you never actually saw anything sinking, you just "heard" a story from "someone" that any of that actually happened?

Yet you come in here and post this message to stay away without really having anything to base it on, other than rumors and hearsay

Then a post is made with a reply from someone at the company, pointing out what DID happen that day you were sitting in the lobby, and strangely you get quiet?

Judging from the response from Ms Day (who I actually have met ) gave, I would give the benefit of the doubt to the company, who were professional enough to give a reply, over MissAmberDiva's The Sky Is Falling rantings.

Let's not forget the definition of a diva.