Green Frog
Contributor
All’s well that ends well. I’m not real big on booking through agencies, but the do offer a layer of protection in situations like this. I’m glad it worked out for you.
Bahamas Master ceases operations
- Thread starter also_anon_dc
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I'm glad this turned out well for you. The Siren Fleet, Master Liveaboards, and the now bankrupt Blue O Two has been a shady operation at least since 2020. I had two liveaboards booked with Siren to Palau and Tubbataha in May of 2020. They canceled the trips for the obvious reason of covid.
They had no problem taking my payments in April totaling $7,500, then refused my refund after they canceled. Only after disputing the charges with my bank was I refunded the full amount. For some history, if I remember correctly, Blue O Two went bankrupt a couple of years ago and Holdings Limited took over. It was only a matter of time before the whole operation fell apart.
I think the Bahamas Master collided with a freighter recently too and the Indo Siren burned in November 2023.
If anyone has a booking with Master or Siren and they cancel your trip, please don't take a credit for a future trip. Get your money back!
They had no problem taking my payments in April totaling $7,500, then refused my refund after they canceled. Only after disputing the charges with my bank was I refunded the full amount. For some history, if I remember correctly, Blue O Two went bankrupt a couple of years ago and Holdings Limited took over. It was only a matter of time before the whole operation fell apart.
I think the Bahamas Master collided with a freighter recently too and the Indo Siren burned in November 2023.
If anyone has a booking with Master or Siren and they cancel your trip, please don't take a credit for a future trip. Get your money back!
I feel for the inconvenience and disappointment of the cancelled charter but there is a bigger picture here, the crew has been held and left stranded on the boat while it’s being detained and are owed 2 months salary by the company
Help spread the word so they can pay the crew and let them go home to their families
Help spread the word so they can pay the crew and let them go home to their families
OP
also_anon_dc
Contributor
JeanneElise
New
I am one of those whose trip being cancelled; and I currently sent an email and insist on my deposit refund (not on any credit form for another trip) base on a few point:
1. I have planned ahead for a bahamas diving trip, not any other place or dive site
2. They have a cancellation policy if a significant change in itinerary; client can have an option for a full refund
3. The Holding Ltd makes no sense to me; Google from their site, they seems to have have the ownership of the ship since 2018; besides, it is unacceptable that while you promote the trip, accepting the money and transfer but claim it belongs to a third party thing and get rid of all the duty of care/responsibilities.
Hope that there are divers of professionalism or experienced with this kind situation can give some advice.
1. I have planned ahead for a bahamas diving trip, not any other place or dive site
2. They have a cancellation policy if a significant change in itinerary; client can have an option for a full refund
3. The Holding Ltd makes no sense to me; Google from their site, they seems to have have the ownership of the ship since 2018; besides, it is unacceptable that while you promote the trip, accepting the money and transfer but claim it belongs to a third party thing and get rid of all the duty of care/responsibilities.
Hope that there are divers of professionalism or experienced with this kind situation can give some advice.
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OP
also_anon_dc
Contributor
I agree you should receive a full refund. I hope they offer you one! Let us know what happens.
Manta-Passion
Registered
Hello everyone
I was scheduled on the 12 to 22 march 2024 on the Bahamas Master. All passengers arrived at Freeport for the departure day on the 12th (I arrived on the 10th, first to anticipate any possible issue with luggages or flights, and to get accustomed to the jet lag).
So on the morning of the departure day, we received an email stating that the trip was canceled, they were sorry, we will be refunded, etc..
They booked two nights at the Pelican Bay Hotel, to allow the guest to find alternative solutions (none) or to book or change the flights back home.
Of course, apart from a youg employée who was sent as a sacrificial lamb to talk to the guest, that was the only contact we had with the company.
No explanations, no plan B, no compensation for the loss of vacations, for the flights costs, just bye bye.
The refund was made rather quickly, as for the rest, it's another story (to be continued...)
I was scheduled on the 12 to 22 march 2024 on the Bahamas Master. All passengers arrived at Freeport for the departure day on the 12th (I arrived on the 10th, first to anticipate any possible issue with luggages or flights, and to get accustomed to the jet lag).
So on the morning of the departure day, we received an email stating that the trip was canceled, they were sorry, we will be refunded, etc..
They booked two nights at the Pelican Bay Hotel, to allow the guest to find alternative solutions (none) or to book or change the flights back home.
Of course, apart from a youg employée who was sent as a sacrificial lamb to talk to the guest, that was the only contact we had with the company.
No explanations, no plan B, no compensation for the loss of vacations, for the flights costs, just bye bye.
The refund was made rather quickly, as for the rest, it's another story (to be continued...)
OP
also_anon_dc
Contributor
I am so sorry to hear this. What a nightmare. I think some trip insurance policies might offer refunds when the operator goes out of business? Something to look into. Let us know what happens!
Manta-Passion
Registered
So, what happened next ?
I tried to find a backup plan, and there was a very slim possibility, thanks to my Dive Adviser (DiveAdvice.com), but it was way too late, so back home. Or not?
Because there were two possibilities for us european travelers : having booked the flight with the airline (don't waste time, it's AA, they're pretty much the only airline coming from Miami) or through an website such as Expedia, or Booking.
So for the first option, it took some of my fellow travellers a whole afternoon to be able to get in touch with the airlines and change the return date. Of course, everything is possible with the application, but in real life, it's not. It was only with the help and phone of the receptionists that they were able to modify the dates.
Another thing : if you have a layover (for instance Paris - Miam - Freeport), it's considered as one flight and one ticket. It's not possible to extend the layover for 48h or more. If you consider a halt on the way back, you have to book two flights, or it will be almost or totally impossible to change it. Maybe an experienced travel agent could, but surely not us, poor inexperienced and lost travelers !
In the meantime I was trying to work on my back up plan. But we it was clear that won't work, I got in touch with Booking. And then the kafkaian trp began.
It was a first for me to use Booking.com, I thought that since the Hotel part was working fine, It could be the same on fights. What a rookie Mistake !!!!
To make it short, I send them countless chats, called them up to a 150€ phone bill (they were located in Europe), and finally, they were not able to modify my ticket, while according to my fare category it was totally possible.
They are 150% incompetent, and by no way they should sell airlines tickets. It took the 36h hours to finally write me that they could not change the flights.
It's an advice you will find on a lot of travelers chanels on YouTube (but I saw them too late) :
NEVER BOOK A FLIGHT WITH WEBSITES !!!!!!! ALWAYS WITH THE AIRLINES!!!!
Booking with a travel agent is a possibility, but if you want the change the flights, only him will be able to do it, not you directly with the Airlines. On the good side, he will be experienced and efficient, but maybe you will have to wait for office hours (It happened to me once).
You might think it's a good idea to save a few dollars or euros on the tickets, but I can tell you that it's not worth the level of stress due to the abyssal incompetence of these websites.
I was lucky to be able to book on a french low cost (french bee) for the Paris flight, but I was forced to wait for the last minute for the Miami flight, with a price x 2 compared to the morning's (imagine if by some miracle Booking.com was able to put me on the freeport / miami flight, I could have been listed twice)
And now what ? Some passengers (who booked the trip through a dive website) send Maters Fleet a request for some compensation, I don't know what happened, I should have news soon.
My Dive Adviser is also a Travel Agent, so we have contacted it's Insurance for compensation, I'm waiting for the outcome.
Accidents happen, boats can burn, hit a rock, or whatever, but the way the whole thing was handle was a disgrace for the Master Fleet Company.
I tried to find a backup plan, and there was a very slim possibility, thanks to my Dive Adviser (DiveAdvice.com), but it was way too late, so back home. Or not?
Because there were two possibilities for us european travelers : having booked the flight with the airline (don't waste time, it's AA, they're pretty much the only airline coming from Miami) or through an website such as Expedia, or Booking.
So for the first option, it took some of my fellow travellers a whole afternoon to be able to get in touch with the airlines and change the return date. Of course, everything is possible with the application, but in real life, it's not. It was only with the help and phone of the receptionists that they were able to modify the dates.
Another thing : if you have a layover (for instance Paris - Miam - Freeport), it's considered as one flight and one ticket. It's not possible to extend the layover for 48h or more. If you consider a halt on the way back, you have to book two flights, or it will be almost or totally impossible to change it. Maybe an experienced travel agent could, but surely not us, poor inexperienced and lost travelers !
In the meantime I was trying to work on my back up plan. But we it was clear that won't work, I got in touch with Booking. And then the kafkaian trp began.
It was a first for me to use Booking.com, I thought that since the Hotel part was working fine, It could be the same on fights. What a rookie Mistake !!!!
To make it short, I send them countless chats, called them up to a 150€ phone bill (they were located in Europe), and finally, they were not able to modify my ticket, while according to my fare category it was totally possible.
They are 150% incompetent, and by no way they should sell airlines tickets. It took the 36h hours to finally write me that they could not change the flights.
It's an advice you will find on a lot of travelers chanels on YouTube (but I saw them too late) :
NEVER BOOK A FLIGHT WITH WEBSITES !!!!!!! ALWAYS WITH THE AIRLINES!!!!
Booking with a travel agent is a possibility, but if you want the change the flights, only him will be able to do it, not you directly with the Airlines. On the good side, he will be experienced and efficient, but maybe you will have to wait for office hours (It happened to me once).
You might think it's a good idea to save a few dollars or euros on the tickets, but I can tell you that it's not worth the level of stress due to the abyssal incompetence of these websites.
I was lucky to be able to book on a french low cost (french bee) for the Paris flight, but I was forced to wait for the last minute for the Miami flight, with a price x 2 compared to the morning's (imagine if by some miracle Booking.com was able to put me on the freeport / miami flight, I could have been listed twice)
And now what ? Some passengers (who booked the trip through a dive website) send Maters Fleet a request for some compensation, I don't know what happened, I should have news soon.
My Dive Adviser is also a Travel Agent, so we have contacted it's Insurance for compensation, I'm waiting for the outcome.
Accidents happen, boats can burn, hit a rock, or whatever, but the way the whole thing was handle was a disgrace for the Master Fleet Company.
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