Nekton (Bad News)

[Wookie]

The thing that ticks me off even more than losing my money is that the Nekton is NOT telling us about it. We have received NOTHING from them. Had one of my dive buddies not just happened to visit the Nekton webpage, we would still not know. None of us frequents scuba board, so we would not have seen it here. 4 of us had flights booked from Indianapolis to Ft Lauderdale, and we WOULD have gotten on them. And when we landed on June 12, we would have called the Nekton for pick up. No one would have answered. We would have been standing at the airport, trying to figure out what happened. We would have finally found the truth, and then realized that we were stuck in Ft Lauderdale with no place to stay. We would have had to find lodging for at least one night, and we would have had to change our return trip, losing money there too, plus pay for a new flight.

Yeah, THAT is the worst thing about this: no notification by mail or phone. We can be a little sympathetic that someone goes out of business in a dive industry plagued with the current financial disasters world-wide. But to not notify us personally, ASAP, so we can minimize our loss and inconvenience, well, that is inexcusable.

I'll try to ease your pain a little, Catalase. I've got a 3 day mid week trip to the Dry Tortugas the following week from your scheduled Nekton trip. It didn't sell well because of the schedule. We're running it anyway so we don't disappoint the folks who did sign up for it. If you would like to come along for free as my guest, as well as any other passengers of Nekton's that got shafted, Send me an e-mail and I'll tell you how to book.

If any other passengers that were confirmed on any of Nekton's trips would like to take advantage of this, again, send me an e-mail. The trip won't cost you anything except airfare to Key West, and it would be nice if you tipped the crew. (I'll pay them anyway, but they love it when you show them appreciation) I know it's not a full week-long liveaboard, but what the hey, it's a free dive trip. Maybe it will take some of the sting out.

Frank
spree@spreeexpeditions.com

 

[joystershell]

WOW Frank! Thanks for taking care of these folks. Hats off to you and your crew.

 

[Shasta_man]

Don't understand the point of your postings, Cappy. They only seem to be aimed at whitewashing the company's responsibility. Which is very strange in this thread of people who, being the very people that DID invest their money in the company, lost thousands and, from what they have reported, have not even been given the courtesy of being told they should stop spending unnecessary money, besides being screwed out of their trip.

After we've been hearing of problems from multiple repeat guests, and even the crew themselves for at least 3 years, your posts now say that they may have made a mistake (singular?!) in managing the company and that the economy is to blame. And the amazing quote that the lack of a good crew didn't tell the owners they needed to take care of the boat. While those things were elements in the whole equation, most were well within the company's control and there were years to try to correct them. And that continues with the absurd "we're not even going to tell you". That says it all to me. I think the only thing the people here want to hear is "Here's your money back".

 

[cappyjon431]

Don't understand the point of your postings, Cappy. They only seem to be aimed at whitewashing the company's responsibility. Which is very strange in this thread of people who, being the very people that DID invest their money in the company, lost thousands and, from what they have reported, have not even been given the courtesy of being told they should stop spending unnecessary money, besides being screwed out of their trip.

After we've been hearing of problems from multiple repeat guests, and even the crew themselves for at least 3 years, your posts now say that they may have made a mistake (singular?!) in managing the company and that the economy is to blame. And the amazing quote that the lack of a good crew didn't tell the owners they needed to take care of the boat. While those things were elements in the whole equation, most were well within the company's control and there were years to try to correct them. And that continues with the absurd "we're not even going to tell you". That says it all to me. I think the only thing the people here want to hear is "Here's your money back".

Shasta, I wasn't trying to whitewash the company's responsibility. If you had read all of my posts on this thread you can see that time and time again I said that the company's handling the situation was wrong and inexcusable. Please read all of my posts, instead of focusing on just one and ignoring the others.

Nowhere did I write "they may have made a mistake (singular)." There were multiple mistakes, and as you so eloquently point out these mistakes have been happening for quite some time (the past three years). The writing was on the wall and yet people still rolled the dice and booked trips. I honestly hope they get their money back (as I have also written repeatedly). It was wrong for the company to take their money and it is equally wrong not to refund it (as well as to not communicate with those who have booked trips that will never happen).

The response that I wrote about crew issues was in response to Diverdoug's post. He listed warning signs to look for before spending money on a cruise. All of his suggestions were excellent and he asked for additional suggestions. I provided an additional one: look to see if any of the long term crew members are leaving. It can be a warning sign. Perhaps you need to read a little more closely, because I was responding to a specific question, not simply blaming "crew issues" for the failure of the company. I do find it interesting that the time period when all the complaints about Nekton (you mention the last three years) coincides perfectly with the departure of long term crew members. Coincidence? Maybe, but as you say, this was something that was just part of the overall equation and was within the company's control.

 

[kpickerell]

Because I dive a number of liveaboards every year, I am now trying to look at the clues I saw that Nekton was going to fail. I plan on learning something from Nekton's demise, so that I can watch out for these warning signs in other liveaboards I use. Here are some of the things I experienced with Nekton that I feel are red flags for a liveaboard.



Please add any others you can think of. I am not suggesting that someone never use an operator if one of these situations arrises, just that they are red flags.

I would add that it always helps to communicate with others... those who dive frequently, those who are in the dive industry, those who have done a number of liveaboards and can objectively relate which are good, bad and why. I've found that staff with other companies, both liveaboard and land based, are good to talk to. They seem to have a network among themselves. I would point out, though, that even with all these great suggestions, and doing your homework, nothing is foolproof. While we can try and do everything right, things can still go wrong. Just ask anyone that had a ticket on a supposedly reputable airline that went out of business.

 

[diverdoug1]

I would add that it always helps to communicate with others... those who dive frequently, those who are in the dive industry, those who have done a number of liveaboards and can objectively relate which are good, bad and why. I've found that staff with other companies, both liveaboard and land based, are good to talk to. They seem to have a network among themselves. I would point out, though, that even with all these great suggestions, and doing your homework, nothing is foolproof. While we can try and do everything right, things can still go wrong. Just ask anyone that had a ticket on a supposedly reputable airline that went out of business.

I guess I am stating the obvious here, but I think all of us posting on the board know the value of cheking for recent comments on this and other internet forums. One of my friends (who does not look at any scuba internet forums) told me that they had been trying took book a trip with Nekton last week, but could not get through to them on the phone. I sometimes take for granted what a useful tool this forum is for the traveling diver.

 

[Grdive]

Always, Always pay with credit card. With the dive market what is is today you could always do last minute booking and may even get a discount (if you ask nicely) if they are trying to fill the boat. Same holds true for for land based right now. They need the bookings and are willing to discount to fill space that would otherwise have zero profit.

Good advice, Hodge Podge. We will always pay by credit card from now on. We managed to get the Nekton deposit "credited" to our Visa and Visa will dispute it with Nekton. The deposit was only a small portion of the total, but it's better than nothing.

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

I sometimes take for granted what a useful tool this forum is for the traveling diver.

That's very true Doug. On our last Explorer Ventures trip there was only 1 couple (from England) that is on SB even then they are rarely on here. I think even regardless of age and how computer savvy someone is there are still a lot of people who don't get on SB at all. We keep in touch with one other guest from our Nekton trip on here. Sad that people had to find out on here about the state of their vacation.

 

[skydiver30960]

The webcam shows the lights are still on at the Rorqual.

...working furiously night and day to prepare for a surprise comeback?



ike aka "over it, mostly"

 

[mike_s]

The webcam shows the lights are still on at the Rorqual.

...working furiously night and day to prepare for a surprise comeback?

yeah... I've been wondering why the lights were still on in it....


oh... as to the folks who said "why don't they schedule the rest of the trips with the Pilot" ? the Pilot's USCG Inspection Certification expired back in November and hasn't been renewed (or didn't pass renewal).

It might have engine problems from what I've been told. (unverified).