Nekton Rorqual 7/25/09 - 8/1/09

[cappyjon431]

I am never surprised to hear these things about a Nekton boat. I recently heard from a former crew member that one of their captains was fired for drug abuse in the last 1-2years. I think part of the problem is that a lot of their crew members are very young and they can't seem to get everyone to behave professionally (including older crew). It's like anything goes. There is certainly a group of people on here who like Nekton and a group that don't. All I know is I've never read as many negative experiences about other liveaboard charters on here as often as I have about Nekton. Our trip with them will never be forgotten and not because of fond memories.

Maybe I am living in the past, but when Captain Ephey, Captain Chris, Captain Nelson and myself ran Nekton boats they were always run professionally. Back when Rodale's did reader rater rankings, we were always rated as the most popular liveaboard and were always ranked in the top five for Best Liveaboard (and won best liveaboard a couple of times). It was never "anything goes." Report cards given by the guests were CONSISTENTLY outstanding, and most said that it was primarily due to the crew. That is looking at report cards from 8 years that I was on the boat and two years when I was working in their office.

Part of the reason you see more complaints about Nekton is that they are large boats and their capacity is double that of of most other boats (see the comment above about "most popular" liveaboard-this does not indicate "best" but the actual numbers of guests). Having 30 guests on a vessel increases the odds of having one or two dissatisfied guests. This is no different from any service type industry (restaurants, hotels, resorts, etc.).

In my experience dissatisfied guests are more vocal than satisfied ones. In the age of the internet, you are much more likely to hear about problems than about cruises that returned problem-free.Throw into the mix the "scammers" out there (we had a number of guests who would find a minor issue to complain about and when Nekton was unwilling to give them financial compensation they went ballistic, flaming Nekton on all the different scuba forums on the net).

In fairness, it does seem like the number of complaints has increased as of late, but this is usually a cyclical phenomenon as crews gain experience and "gel." I was fortunate to work on the boat when most of the crew had been there for a year or two (as compared to six months which is pretty standard in the dive industry) and our cruises went off without a hitch.

As far as a captain being fired for drug abuse in the past, that is heresay and to my knowledge not true. Always consider your sources. Disgruntled employees are apt to say just about anything to smear a company's name, regardless of the truth. Consider the OP on this thread. The original poster said he heard from a crew member that the captain was exhibiting favoritism towards some crew members and that was their reason for quitting. The truth is that the captain administered the drug test to all crewmembers because no one would fess up to owning the drug paraphanelia found onboard. It is a perfect example of why we should not always trust an ex-employee's word about their reason for leaving.

I have not worked for Nekton for many years. I have no financial incentive to support the company. I have known the owner of the company for fifteen years and I know he is committed to providing quality cruises at reasonable prices. Sure there are bound to be disgruntled passengers, but it is no different from any other industry (anyone happy about the current state of air travel in the US?). The only difference is that with wonderful forums like thism, we are more apt to hear about problems, whether they are real or unfounded.

 

[Ron G.]

On my two Nekton trips, most of the other passengers were repeat Nekton customers. That's really the "proof in the pudding".

Ron

 

[robint]

On my two Nekton trips, most of the other passengers were repeat Nekton customers. That's really the "proof in the pudding".

Ron

ditto.
In fact, the only "dissatisfied" person onboard either of our trips was a guy who hated being away from TV for a week and didn't want to do more than 2 dives per day. His wife went on every dive and by the end of the trip they were barely speaking. She told us he is the same way at home: works then sits in front of TV like a zombie. I doubt they are still married.

 

[Shasta_man]

CappyJon: You have an answer for everything and it's always that there is no problem and people stating problems are always just a minority, always disgruntled ex employees, and now you've added people just angry to not compensated for what you decide to define as "minor" issues. Everyone has a right to their opinion. The messages here should speak for themselves. Have a good trip. Post it. Have a bad trip. Post it. Marketing forces determine whether they stay in business. I don't care whether this a positive or negative report, just an accurate one, but there's always someone on here to say that's not my experience so it can't be yours. Here's to hoping that no one has a bad trip on any boat, but I don't close my eyes and just believe.

We have access to the worlds liveaboards here. How many complaints about other boats are there? Right. That means something whether you want to recognize that or not. That's not a reputation I would want to have if it was my business. And Rodale's surveys mean little when you really look at them. They are just lists of the places people have went, not actual comparisons of these places. Because the majority of the people only go to the Carribean, you have a skew towards those results. On top of that, many people keep going back to the same place, so they don't have anything to compare. I didn't have anything to compare on my first trip. After a few trips I do. The crew for the boats I have been on in the Pacific blew away the Nekton trip I took. First the advertised trip info promised a lot more than they could deliver so the front office is to blame for that. The crew was adequate, they did a decent job, pleasant, sure but there was no extra effort and lots of things fell into the "extra" category. They were more concerned with when they were diving. It was more we were all on a diving trip together.

 

[cappyjon431]

CappyJon: You have an answer for everything and it's always that there is no problem.

Never said that, please be a little more accurate in your rants.

and people stating problems are always just a minority, always disgruntled ex employees, and now you've added people just angry to not compensated for what you decide to define as "minor" issues..

Never said "always" a minority (although it is a minority that complain), never said it is "always" disgruntled ex-employees (although I have seen my share), and I have seen my share of scammers looking for compensation. I've also seen this tactic taken with other liveaboards right here on Scubaboard. You tend to be overstating what I am claiming. I stated these things do occur, and to claim that they do not smacks of either ignorance or someone with an axe to grind.

Everyone has a right to their opinion..

Yup, including me. Let's deal with this particular thread. OP said that the crew quit because the captain showed undue favoritism towards some crew members. I do not doubt for one minute that the OP heard this from a crew member, but when the facts are revealed, the crew members quit because they were angry at being drug tested. Peoples opinions are absolutely important, but so is the truth.

The messages here should speak for themselves. Have a good trip. Post it. Have a bad trip. Post it. Marketing forces determine whether they stay in business..

Very true. Nekton has been in business over 15 years and boasts a 50% return rate, they must be doing something right. Despite the number of people who complain on this board (and it seems to be the same folks over and over again), there are still plenty who post positive experiences. See some of the posts above.

I don't care whether this a positive or negative report, just an accurate one, but there's always someone on here to say that's not my experience so it can't be yours. Here's to hoping that no one has a bad trip on any boat, but I don't close my eyes and just believe...
..

I agree with you. ACCURACY is important. As to closing eyes and just believing, the same could be said for those who post negative experiences but ignore all the positive ones.

We have access to the worlds liveaboards here. How many complaints about other boats are there? Right. ..

I have seen plenty. Even read about some that sunk and others where lives were lost. Read about bad air on one of the Galapogos boats, read about divers lost on drift dives, unfair cancellation policies, last minute charter cancellations--all right here on Scubaboard.

And Rodale's surveys mean little when you really look at them. They are just lists of the places people have went, not actual comparisons of these places...

I am not talking about Scubadiving's current Reader Ratings, I am talking about when they used to have liveaboard guests rate the actual cruises on such things as diving, accommodations, food, service, etc. Why are these any less valid than someone's post here on Scubaboard?

Because the majority of the people only go to the Carribean, you have a skew towards those results. On top of that, many people keep going back to the same place, so they don't have anything to compare....

The ratings were on the the reader's opinions of the trip. Their opinions are just as valid as anyone else's, independent of where they have been before or will go in the future. The same holds true for this forum. The fact that they return again and again says something about the perceived quality of the cruise.

I didn't have anything to compare on my first trip. After a few trips I do. The crew for the boats I have been on in the Pacific blew away the Nekton trip I took. First the advertised trip info promised a lot more than they could deliver so the front office is to blame for that. The crew was adequate, they did a decent job, pleasant, sure but there was no extra effort and lots of things fell into the "extra" category. They were more concerned with when they were diving. It was more we were all on a diving trip together....

I am really sorry you did not have a good time on your ONE Nekton trip. I saw thousands of passengers who did, and many of them return year after year.

 

[crossroads]

actually only two quit because of the drug test, which was at the beginning of the week. the rest trickled off the boat throughout the week. i'm done talking about it though, just wanted people to know that almost all the crew walked off the boat that week but the diving was good.

 

[Desert_Diver]

I cannot comment on the OP's information.

However, I have done two Nekton cruises, one on the Pilot, one on the Rorqual. That was NW Bahamas and Caymen Islands respectively. Captain Ephy ran the Pilot. Captain Nelson ran the Rorqual. Both cruises were delightful. I had a wonderful time and great dives.

There were a couple of minor complaints. One involved condensation on the Pilot in one of the cabins. On the Rorqual, somebody mentioned mold. In neither case was the complaint classed as a show stopper.

I have one other liveaboard to compare to. That was the Palau Aggressor. The Aggressor was nicer in some ways, but also more expensive. And the diving there was fabulous.

Things may have changed at Nekton since I have traveled with them, but my memories tend to support what Cappy John says. I would dive with Nekton again in a heartbeat.

Art

 

[cappyjon431]

actually only two quit because of the drug test, which was at the beginning of the week. the rest trickled off the boat throughout the week. ask your friend why that happened cappy.

Apparently (and remember I am hearing this second hand) a few (not the original two) quit because they were concerned about the results of the upcoming drug test and a few more were acting in solidarity with their fellow crew members. I can say for a fact (confirmed this from a different souce at Nekton) that it was not because they were not getting their paychecks. That is exactly the type of thing a disgruntled employee would tell a guest. I don't really see them saying "oh, I am leaving because I choose to smoke weed and the company won't let me."

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

cappyjon, with all due respect didn't you work for Nekton like 10 years ago? A lot can change in that amount of time, especially considering how high the turnover is on those boats. I graduated from high school 11 years ago, I couldn't begin to say what my high school would be like these days, incredibly different I would imagine. I heard many great things about Nelson and Ephey who unfortunately were not on our boat and as I understand both no longer work for Nekton. The week of our trip, we were told by crew members that a good chunk of the crew the week prior had been fired for skinny dipping in the hot tub with guests. Was I not to believe the crew members? During our week one of the crew members was more than friendly with a guest and she was in his room when one of their other crew members went missing, he was the last to have seen him. I heard this latest news about a former captain being fired for drug abuse from two former Nekton employees that in my opinion were not disgruntled. Most liveaboards have high turnover and it appears that many people float from one boat to another, that doesn't mean they all have axes to grind and are always going to bash other boats.

I don't dispute that there are people that love Nekton and are repeat customers. I had my experience with them and have chosen to never travel with them again. We had maybe 12-16 guests on our trip, several had complaints about our trip for various reasons. For the record, I posted a trip report on the other liveaboard I've been on and it was very positive. I work in customer service/sales and I completely agree that more often you hear about the bad. Still, I hear more and more negative experiences on here about Nekton than any other boat. There has to be a reason for that, perhaps it's possible that they aren't what they were when you worked for them. Personally, if I'm researching a trip on here I want to hear the good, the bad and the ugly to be able to make my own decisions on who to spend my money with and what to expect. It just isn't fair to try to discredit someone's comments by saying the more people you have the more chances for negative comments. Out of about 12 or so guests on my last liveaboard, as far as I have seen only myself and one other person posted a trip report on here and both reports were positive. On my Nekton trip I know of about 4 out of 16 that posted a report or comment on our trip and they were all negative. All that tells me is the majority of people are not on scubaboard or don't bother to post a trip report at all regardless of their satisfaction or lack there of.

 

[diveie]

I am one of the crew members that walked on that trip and I will testify that part of the reason we walked that week was absolutely over pay. We we're jerked around over pay while we were there time and time again. It took 8 weeks to recieve my first pay after the crew had banded together and threatened legal action. After this the pay checks came reguraly but then stopped again 6/13/09. Most of our tips have not been recieved on account that credit card charges go to the office and are then supposed to be included in our pay checks. No check, no tip.

Myself and another crew member had already given our notice we would not be returning from our next vacation two weeks before the drama filled week in discussion.

There were 8 crew members that quit that week. Two were on account of the surprise drug test,
the other two were on account of verbal abuse including the stewie being yelled at and having food thrown at her. The other being sworn at infront of a passengers 10 year old son by the captain. The next including myself left on account of poor judgement and tyranical behavior by the captain including putting unqualified improv. crew members from the island in safety sensative positions as well as leave them to fend for themselves in said positions while the captain napped. This would only be the tip of the iceberg in behavior from the captain that week but I am saving it for the article I am writing for multiple publications.

The other two were left alone by the captain, as he was running out of crew members, and finished out the week but walked off the boat as soon as the charter was over on account of the behavior they had witnessed out of the captain that week. That and not getting paid. To recap; two quit on account of the drugtest, the other six that quit did not do so on account of the drug test. Two had already given notice and were scheduled to get off the boat at the end of the charter. The other four were on account of the captains behavior.

The drug test itself was administered at lunch in front of passengers where open containers of urine rested on the food coolers. He did not address the situation immediatly after the paraphanalia was found. He actually never discussed it with the crew except for the 19 year old female crew member he was involved with. He waited five days after the incident for the drug test. The crew was just getting used to this captain and he had their support until this point. Had he confonted the crew directly and asked for the responsibe party to come forward and on Saturday before our next charter showed up it could have prevented much of the drama that unfolded in front of our passengers. Instead he chose a "surprise" drug test in order to trim the "fat on the boat". His words and a common topic of discussion. Oddly enough he was involved with the one crew member unable to accomplish her work tasks on account of not being physically fit enough to, lack of knowledge and experience despite the fact she had been employed for three months, personal fears, or emotional troubles.

Several crew members are in the beginnings of legal action against Nekton for our pay. We have sent the owner of the company numerous e-mails and ignored or unreturned phonecalls over his inability to pay what was owed long before this incident. The company also has a prior habit of not paying it's employees. Many crew and previous crew are still waiting to recieve their pay from a previous term in shipyard. Some crew members including previous captains claim being owed as much as three thousand dollars. This is a lot of money to us.

There it is from the horses mouth, the gossip, speculation and assumptions can now be put to rest. A more detailed account of the week in discussion as well as the work conditions, quality of the vessel, dive equipment and safety will be available at a later time. It is regrettable that the incident took place during a charter and with a group of passengers that we were truly enjoying.