Trip Report Disappointing Experience on the Turks and Caicos Explorer II

[Ukmc]

I think not including port fee/gas prices etc is a deceiving practice. Just like an example that was given by @Wookie about two identical boats and a la cart did better - it is because operators found a way to deceive a customer on the total fees.
On the other hand, it is incumbent on the user to do his own research to determine the final costs ahead of time and avoid surprises.
I like to book through a local dive shop and it is VERY clearly stated what is included and what it is not. The final cost that I pay to dive shop travel is everything except maybe marine park fee if there is one and tips.
Also I disagree with @Wookie that we can not comment on the OPs experiences. He posted here probably to vent, but really to see if he can get support of others or to see if he was off base. I think it is very helpful to have others comment on his experiences (it is not denying them) but looking at everything from the different angles. This is what makes these boards fun and learn from them.

 

[buster243]

I bet if the diving was good, none of the rest would have mattered.

But it wasn't, so it did.

I had the same experiences diving T&C a few years ago (land based day trips). Lackluster reefs, not much marine life, not worth a revisit. Same can be said for many or most places in the Caribbean and surrounding areas.

Although there were a few complaints that I believe are without merit. The food was "too fancy" for a dive boat? They "should" have gone to better sites? What makes the Op think the other reefs would have been any better? 50' of visibility is "poor"?. How much further are you going to be looking? Being surprised at the amount of the tip and how it added so much to the cost? First of all, tipping is optional, if you weren't happy with the service don't leave them a single dime. And if you do tip, it helps to be prepared ahead of time by researching the average amount given by divers on a liveaboard.

The Op "won't be returning unless the dive sites improve".

Sad to say that's extremely unlikely to happen, in fact in all probability it's going to get worse. And not just T&C. Everywhere.

You could be correct. If the diving had been better, perhaps our review would have been more positive. Regarding the food, we didn’t go hungry, but it did seem overly elaborate for a dive trip.

As for better dive sites, we can’t say for sure. What we do know is that most of the sites we visited were within a quarter mile total of each other. The crew already knew these sites weren’t in great shape before we even left the dock, as they mentioned this the night before departure.

We also understand that you can never predict what marine life you’ll encounter at any site, and they certainly couldn’t be held accountable for the cloudy conditions of the water.
We were aware of the tipping guidelines and included that in our $800 budget. Having been on several liveaboards, we also understand that there are additional costs involved. However, we believe that most of these costs could be settled the week before the cruise via a payable invoice, which would be preferable to handwriting our credit card number.

What we didn't know were the specific amounts for fuel costs and park fees. We knew these charges were coming, but we were never informed of the exact amounts before the cruise.


Also we have been to great dive sites in the Caribbean in the past year....or at least a lot better than T&C.

 

[tursiops]

at least a lot better than T&C

...at the time you were there.

Some of my best dives have been on the T&CEXII (three trips) and in the T&C.
The food on the boat was quite good, too.
Sorry you had a bad experience, and even sorrier you feel it necessary to generalize your experience so strongly.

 

[buster243]

...at the time you were there.

Some of my best dives have been on the T&CEXII (three trips) and in the T&C.
The food on the boat was quite good, too.
Sorry you had a bad experience, and even sorrier you feel it necessary to generalize your experience so strongly.

What should you do in a review? Candy coat it?

 

[tursiops]

What should you do in a review? Candy coat it?

Give facts, distinguish what is opinion, don't generalize.

 

[Redfoot]

Thank you for sharing your trip report. I wonder if there was heavy winds/weather preventing the boat from making longer trips? That would also explain the stirred up ocean. Can you share the dive site itinerary you did?

Like others, I did a liveaboard in T & C (and have done 3x land based trips) and loved it every time- sharks, turtles and rays on every dive, 100+ ft vis, great food, great people.

 

[buster243]

Thanks for writing up your review! Turks and Caicos Explorer was my first liveaboard in 2020 and I remember it fondly, though, of course, I had nothing to compare it to at the time. There was a DM (Jo?) that has costumes for everyone to wear on dives and I had a ton of fun diving in a pirate costume! Perhaps she is no longer on the boat.

I take issue with your characterization of couscous and spinach or carrot soup as "unusual" though maybe I'm a more adventurous eater. True, I do find traditional American comfort food boring sometimes but I do not think couscous or carrot soup are fine dining or unusual.

It wasn't fine dining, but we've been on a few liveaboards on never saw these type of dishes. It was unexpected to say the least. We never went hungry at anytime. For us, we thought they were showing off.

 

[buster243]

Give facts, distinguish what is opinion, don't generalize.

Isn't a review all opinion? Certainly other people on the ship probably thought differently.

 

[tursiops]

Isn't a review all opinion? Certainly other people on the ship probably thought differently.

Hopefully you can distinguish between fact and opinion. For example, you can describe the food choices; that's a fact. Your opinion was it was too fancy.
Distinguish between information and judgements. If you present facts and unbiased information, the review is useful to everyone. Once you start coloring your info with your own opinions and judgements, the review degrades.

 

[rick00001967]

They did say there were going to be extra charges but never told us the total cost before hand. We did know about the tips and the fuel charges, but never was explained what the cost of fuel charges were. We were also aware of park fees but again was never told a cost. They fill the ship up every two weeks (or so we were told) so wouldn't they know the cost of fuel

buyer beware i guess.

if i was trying to book any trip and the operator refused to provide me with the actual cost, i would have walked away.

someone did post what looked like a screen shot from the web site showing the costs. perhaps you missed it.