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alicatfish
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brilliant idea!tonka97:
liveaboard.....scam?
- Thread starter alicatfish
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tonka97
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alicatfish:
May be a long wait! Hope this popcorn isn't fattening!
I've been using Singledivers.com this year with good results. 2 trips this year with no problems. 1 to Egypt and the other to the Flower Gardens.
msdiver04
Registered
When I went to the Galapagos, I flew out to the Islands, and my ex bf and I really did get the last two spots, and we paid 1/2 what two people paid and a lot less than all the others. I'm sure there are a lot of liars, so sometimes it pays to go and talk to all the operators if you have the time to wait a bit, of course. They'd rather sell the tickets and fill the slots than have them be empty. We weren't in a hurry, and they knew that, so sometimes it does pay to hold out.....just a thought...
thomjinx
Contributor
CarribeanDiver said:
"I am looking into a trip to Thailand and was thinking of using save-money-diving.com. thanks for the warning. I have made several dive trips and have used several different live-aboard and resorts and have never had any baloney thrown my way when booking reservations. I would not deal with a company that comes across like used car dealers either. thanks again and enjoy your trip."
-end quote
For Thailand, there is a dive operator in Phuket that I have used for several years now, and they are very knowledgeable and trustworthy. If you want their contact info, PM me and I will pass it on. They know all of the Liveaboards in the area and can book them for you, as well as give you info on all of them. Ask about "The Junk"!
They post here often, without being self-promoting.
-thomjinx
"I am looking into a trip to Thailand and was thinking of using save-money-diving.com. thanks for the warning. I have made several dive trips and have used several different live-aboard and resorts and have never had any baloney thrown my way when booking reservations. I would not deal with a company that comes across like used car dealers either. thanks again and enjoy your trip."
-end quote
For Thailand, there is a dive operator in Phuket that I have used for several years now, and they are very knowledgeable and trustworthy. If you want their contact info, PM me and I will pass it on. They know all of the Liveaboards in the area and can book them for you, as well as give you info on all of them. Ask about "The Junk"!
They post here often, without being self-promoting.
-thomjinx
Please explain a little more? Your saying you were told your prefered dates were fully booked / not available but you know for sure it was really less than minimum passengers / not available? How did you find that out?alicatfish:my favorite: "Your first choice is fully booked. Sorry!" when in fact is there were no bookings at all, for which reason it had been cancelled. Why not just TELL me that it was cancelled due to lack of participation? Why lie?When we finally booked they actually told me that my husband and I got the last 2 spots on our boat, but then a friend wanted to go (and sleep in the middle :smileysto ) so I contacted them and miracle of all miracles (note the sarcasm) they had space for him!
With regard to your threesome. Consider that the truth could be all cabins are occupied, you got the last bed. Then you called back with another paying guest for your bed? Might they possibly be going the extra mile to accomodate you as a paying guest, and not lose you as a paying guest?
stargazer61
Contributor
Let's be realistic here,
The dive operator is trying to sell trips - so they want you to buy now rather than check out the competitors, hence the "last two spots" line. There are a lot worse lies than that told in the real world!
Also, they can't afford to run a boat without a certain number of customers. So they make an excuse rather than admit the problem. WAKE UP - next time you find your flight cancelled due to "engineering requirements" please realise that the same thing has happened - the flight was uneconomic and the airline did not want to admit it.
At the end of the day, these operations need to earn a living. If you do book with them and you get a good trip with some great diving and excellent service - be happy - even if they did tell a white lie or two along the way!!
The dive operator is trying to sell trips - so they want you to buy now rather than check out the competitors, hence the "last two spots" line. There are a lot worse lies than that told in the real world!
Also, they can't afford to run a boat without a certain number of customers. So they make an excuse rather than admit the problem. WAKE UP - next time you find your flight cancelled due to "engineering requirements" please realise that the same thing has happened - the flight was uneconomic and the airline did not want to admit it.
At the end of the day, these operations need to earn a living. If you do book with them and you get a good trip with some great diving and excellent service - be happy - even if they did tell a white lie or two along the way!!
Damselfish
Contributor
if there's any scam, sounds more like a travel agent scam than a liveaboard scam
hotsxychiq
Registered
Red sea liveaboard posted on website at $814 and when I emailed to ask prices they gave me a quote of $1200 for the exact same trip. I asked them about the prices on the website and they said that was for this year and the 1200 price is for the new 2008 year. That seems fishy to me...Also noone answers their phone during business hours. I would not trust this company without first having talked to others who have used it.
Rickg
Contributor
save-money-diving.com. I booked a trip on My Tempest off Sharm. This was the trip that we apparently got the last 2 spots, but then one misteriously opened up for my friend.
I was looking at King Snefro 3 too but save-money-diving said is was fully booked. The boat company said it was "unavailable". I suspect it was "unavailable" because there wasn't enough people to run the boat. That is fine, understandable. On their website (and one other) it said 12 places available, but when I inquired it disappeared from their itinerary list. The following week it became "available" and KS called me. I'm guessing a small group of enough people booked it.
No, I don't have hard facts to support any of this. But my intuition tells me this is what is going on. I'm going with my intuition.
alicatfish,
I have used Save Money Diving (SMD) for 2 LOB trips in the past 2 years.
Last Year - we (my wife and I) booked on the MV Fiesta (18 pax) run by Club Cantamar out of La Paz in the Sea of Cortez. The day we were to depart for the trip, Cantamar swapped boats on us. They substituted a smaller LOB called the Liberacion (6 pax) without saying a word to us although we had already been at their resort for 2 days before the departure. My guess is the swap was done because there were only 5 guests for this trip. Turns out we had a great trip in spite of the boat swap - the boat crew did everything in their power to make sure we had a good trip. Here is a link to a previous posting about this trip.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mexico/173770-sea-cortez-la-paz-lob-pic-s.html
After contacting SMD upon our return we found out they were unaware of the swap but were able to get us a $400 USD refund direct from Cantamar to us to compensate us for the boat swap. In the end, we had a good dive trip and felt that Cantamar had fairly compensated us for the boat swap.
This Year - we just came back from a 1 week trip on the MV Celebes Explorer in the Sipadan area. When we originally tried to book the trip we were told by SMD that they couldn't confirm the trip because a minimum of 8 guests were required for the boat to sail. One week later they came back an told us that they could now confirm out trip because there were enough people booked for the trip.
As it turned out there were only 3 of us on the boat from 2-9 DEC. I guess a group either canceled or re-scheduled but it was great for us. It was like having a 100' private yacht with dive guides for the 3 of us.
Save Money Diving - Regarding SMD, I've used them twice now (Monica was my POC for this last trip) and have been pleased with the results both times. Who knows what the next time will bring but as of now I will continue to consider using them for trips in the future.
Best of luck with your trip,
Rickg
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