Help needed in Belize! Stranded by Porto fino

[DandyDon]

nice damage control done by the resort owner. its all hearsay but it swayed everyone on here to be on his side. kudos!

I can't full agree with that, but comparing the outrageous outbursts of Flightlead to the explanations of the owner, the latter's seem most likely. Flighthead has not been on since Jan posted, so it may not be a done argument - and he is traveling in Belize so no surprise there. His word against hers, who knows how this will look in time - but he doesn't seem very good at dealing with issues.

As a general comment, do NOT rely on hotels/operators giving you your money back in these circumstances. Some will, and in this regard Portofino has certainly come up trumps, but I can think of several that will not. It is essential to take out good trip insurance to cover these eventualities, particularly if you're travelling in hurricane season. If you don't know when that is for your destination then you haven't done enough research. And don't wait until there are clear signs that the weather might not be good before you try to buy your insurance, as it won't then be available. If like me you like to travel at no notice then either get an annual policy (always the best bet) or take the loss on the chin. Throwing a tantrum when things don't go the way you had assumed they would will always be counter-productive. And remember that when you're travelling outside the USA the American litigation culture simply doesn't apply - it's always "caveat emptor".

TravelGuard and TravelSafe will both issue coverage at any time. TG won't cover the storm after it's named, and TS won't cover trip cancellation with less than 15 days advance purchase - but if he'd bought TG before it was named, or TS before departing - they both would have covered interruption expenses, etc. You may have an annual policy that works well for you, but late shoppers still have options - and there are dozens of other companies.

Expedia and his credit card were his first line of defense. If the property does not deliver, refunds are available. I can understand him wanting to talk to Expedia before spending more money, but if he would not work with the property as described - then spending new money and requesting refunds of old money is still an option. Flying into Latin America and the Caribbean during storm season, one really needs to check the forecasts and know what they're getting into. I didn't 10 years ago before I learned how to use computers, but it's still a good idea - and everyone has computer capabilities now.

 

[AWMIII]

Kind of like the time a guy claimed that every dive op in the entire country of Belize engages in unsafe scuba diving practices. The facts were really hard to come by in that thread, but in the end it turned out he was talking about only a couple of AC operators, although even that was iffy since he never actually named one.

Downing- That is really not called for. It has nothing to do with that.

 

[peterbj7]

TravelGuard and TravelSafe will both issue coverage at any time. TG won't cover the storm after it's named, and TS won't cover trip cancellation with less than 15 days advance purchase - but if he'd bought TG before it was named, or TS before departing - they both would have covered interruption expenses, etc. You may have an annual policy that works well for you, but late shoppers still have options - and there are dozens of other companies.

I wrote a detailed reply to this that was lost when the internet went down here. In brief, insurance is a contract of the utmost good faith, and the insurance company won't check your right to claim until you submit your claim. At that point if you were trying to pull a fast one and already knew that the storm risk was high, they'll refuse to pay and all you'll have bought with your premium will be a piece of paper. An annual policy is the safest option as well as being the cheapest, but any cover purchased for an individual trip should be as far in advance as possible, before anyone has any idea what the "season" is going to look like.

 

[Damselfish]

What annual insurance do you use? I checked into one recently that seemed outrageously expensive.

 

[peterbj7]

I don't any more as I can't get it, living as I do in Belize. But when I lived in Britain I always had an annual world-wide policy including winter sports, and I think it cost me around the equivalent of U$175. The other good thing about it is that it included scuba diving with no limitations as to depth etc - I just had to be diving according to my training or engaged in a further training course. As a technical instructor I often dive very deep (300ft+) and it was good to know that the insurance was there, for example if I had to jettison any gear. Though in many years of cover I never made a claim.

 

[Downing]

Downing- That is really not called for. It has nothing to do with that.

We can agree to disagree.

 

[Flightlead]

I'm not here to get in a pee-ing match. I was not contacted by the hotel, I was informed by tropic air, after some time, "oh by the way the hotel is sending you somewhere else". I had to use tropic air to call the hotel, Jan's wife gave me no details other than we were being sent to a "rustic hotel" even when pressed. Further, there were not enough seats on the bus. I didn't punch anyone, however another equally peed off traveller tried to fight me over the last seats. We exited rapidly, as I have no interest in a fist fight with a puppy who probably thinks fighting is standing and trading punches like gentlemen.(fighting means gouging and heels to the groin imnsho). I suspect he was the puncher. The hotel we were sent to was unfinished, looked like crap, had no power, onsite services, and was generally lacking. I wouldnt have gotten in the pool there if younhosed me pff with bleach afterwards. I would have been ok there if i was on a $30/day backpacking trip. Not what i booked or paid for. Again, Porto fino gave no details even when pressed. Said tough luck, take it or leave it, and no refund or reduction in price. By asking around we found a nice place locally, but again jan lied to use told us he would put us up there but when we got to the other place he went back on his word. He is rude, a bad business person and a liar but whatever. I really don't care where anyone stays, my original post was simply looking for help. I strongly recommend the following: San Ignacio Hotel, San Ignacio. Splash Dive Center, Placencia (didn't dive with them but very helpful, did no dives on this trip), Robert's GrovE Resort, Placencia.

---------- Post Merged at 03:45 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 03:39 PM ----------

Don I'm just fine dealing with issues. Also, I am a well seasoned traveller. I have lived in and travelled in many countries. I have sent in at least one passport to have more pages added to it (not sure if you can do that with a US one). I have not been on here much recently it's true, I've been spending more time with my growing business, masters degree, and working on my airplane. Not sure what that has to do with anything though. Further, I don't see anything outrageous in my first post. W/e ymmv.

 

[DandyDon]

Thanks for the reply. There's always two views, at least - and I wouldn't want to have to deal with your experience.

 

[peterbj7]

All I can say is that in my many years of knowing Jan (but never having stayed at Portofino or done any business with him) I find it very difficult to believe that he is a liar or bad business person. As to being rude, that depends on the circumstances and the provocation - he can be blunt but then so can we all.

 

[Bubba1]

I'm in San Pedro and very involved in the dive industry here, also present during this recent weather fiasco.
In my opinion the danger of the hurricane isn’t the wind waves or rain, its people’s behavior. Normally sane people become hysterical and listening to them and watching them spreads the hysteria like a contagious disease. Panicked people act foolishly often harming themselves and others.
In the approach of Tropical Depressions, there is always some anxiety in our population of people living on the islands and visiting tourist. As the predictions come out anxiety rises and is fueled by exaggerated advisories, rumors and speculation.
Worsening the hysterical types even more is the media increasing their coverage of the possible upcoming news event. When The National Emergency Management Organization sounds their alarm prematurely, as they usually do, it’s like a match to the gasoline. Its cause’s panic, needless evacuations and triggers irrational behavior, like dangerously overloading aircraft and boats going out in bad weather to get off the island. NEMO sounding its alarm prematurely, intentionally or otherwise, can be looked on as being irresponsible and the argument of “Better Safe than Sorry’ is just a silly platitude used by simple minds.
George Price started NEMO and I’m sure it has some useful purposes, however in past years the NEMO false alarms and warnings of hurricanes have caused resorts and hotels to close and leave the guest with no alternative but to evacuate the island resulting in a loss of business and creditability. .. I’m not a fan of NEMO and in fact am suspicious of their possible monetary incentives for becoming active in a hypothetical crisis.
NEMO can merely activate itself and without issuing a warning cause a panic, voluntary closures, evacuations and damage to the tourist industry as we witnessed last year.
From the British Army’s assessment;
Alerts and Warning Stage
Short Term Forecasting
Warnings of a hurricane or tropical storm are received by a signal from NEMO or from
the CMO. The Coordinator also has regular contact with Miami Hurricane Warning
Centre. The USA hurricane warning system errs towards over precaution for mainland
US therefore Belize must adapt accordingly.

There is harm in being over cautious.

This Storm in question 'Ernesto' IMHO was a complete False alarm just like previous years when thousands of people evacuate needlessly and consequently find themselves sleeping in places like the gymnasium floor in podunk Central America.