Donsol Whale Sharks!

[jonix]

nice pics mike

 

[Hammerhead]

I had used Steady Eddie Dive Center (I know, nice name...)
Well my complaint had to do with what seemed like a completely ridiculous itemized breakdown of the final bill the girls at their Donsol office produced after I demanded one. Ridiculous extras like extremely high fuel surcharges, boat capt + crew fee, 2 DM fees (?), on top of $26/ dive fee etc. Roughly came out to be $40+/ scuba dive... [for 2 divers. owner has clarified via email that the per dive cost was high as we were only 2 and their min. is 4 diver per boat]

The explanation I just got from the owner via email is that since it was the 2 of us for most of the dives, we got charged for what is a minimum 4pax per boat... Nice... Well at least he offered to give us credit for 1 of the 6 planned dives we didn't do... But I probably won't be going back anytime soon.

Yeah, one of my pet hates, too.

Looks like you dealt with it the same way I would have, i.e. get it clarified, pay up, not go again and tell others why. If it's all clear at the beginning then fair enough, if you hit me at the end, when all I want is to leave with good memories, then **** you.

 

[greatwolf]

Yeah, one of my pet hates, too.

Looks like you dealt with it the same way I would have, i.e. get it clarified, pay up, not go again and tell others why. If it's all clear at the beginning then fair enough, if you hit me at the end, when all I want is to leave with good memories, then **** you.

Same here...now I know which dive op to avoid. How hard is it to do the calculations beforehand, before I actually get on the boat? They would have received a mouthfull from me.

 

[midwestdvr]

great shots, mike.

 

[tazzmeyer]

Your pics are gorgeous! I just returned from Sogod Bay and got goose-egged on whalesharks so I'm particularly jealous of your encounter! We weighed Donsol against Sogod but chose Sogod for multiple reasons that I now regret.

Would you mind telling me what your photo rig is? I love photography but haven't decided what to go with underwater....you can PM me if you are willing to divulge your secrets!

 

[pakman]

Your pics are gorgeous! I just returned from Sogod Bay and got goose-egged on whalesharks so I'm particularly jealous of your encounter! We weighed Donsol against Sogod but chose Sogod for multiple reasons that I now regret.

Would you mind telling me what your photo rig is? I love photography but haven't decided what to go with underwater....you can PM me if you are willing to divulge your secrets!

ah, what happened in Sogod? whale sharks were a no show or issues with the resort? [er... nevermind, "goose egged"... got it... thought you wrote "goose bumps"...]

I had a Canon 40D dslr with a 10-17 Tokina fisheye lens. The viz is really bad, just a few meters so you really had to be on top of the whale sharks to make them out. The draw back of this is that it's a real PITAS snorkeling with one and I was looking jealously at the others with their little P&S'... But then I could get most of the shark in frame...

 

[Kevster]

Tazzmeyer,

How long ago were you in Sogod?
Did the dive Ops tell you about sightings in the recent weeks/months and that you were very unlucky or has it been a bad year for sightings. I am heading to Sogod on Sunday...fingers cross

Pakman, nice photos especially in such bad viss.

 

[pakman]

BTW, personally, I found my experience scuba diving with whale sharks in Sogod more memorable than snokeling around like a madman in Donsol (even though we had more total encounters there).

 

[Kevster]

Just been informed that there have been no whale sharks sighted in Sogod this year...bugger...
Water temp has increased.
However March is supposed to be peak season...

 

[pakman]

Just been informed that there have been no whale sharks sighted in Sogod this year...bugger...
Water temp has increased.
However March is supposed to be peak season...

none all of this year?? wow... bugger indeed...