Recommendations for Maui Molokini backwall?

[KrisB]

Since its inception, B&B has always let instructors go free and with their students at a discounted rate.

Yes, I believe nearly every operator here does that. But since you opened it up... when I got my instructor cert, I knew I needed to find a boat operator to work with for some of the training, so I started calling around.

The response I got from B&B was that yes, you provided a free seat for the instructor when he had a student on board, however there were some additional stipulations like bringing the students to B&B for rental gear for all my training (not something I'm going to do -- I already have a wonderful alliance elsewhere) and also referring them to you for gear purchases. This was presented as though it was expected to be an exclusive relationship -- not something I'm interested in.

When I went in to talk about this, I happened to have just finished diving with some friends at Maui Dreams and was wearing their shirt. I was advised that if I ever happened to be on the boat that I should avoid wearing Maui Dreams or Maui Dive Shop apparel if I wanted to be allowed back.

Now to add to that, I was told by your staff that there was no "space available" options for "fun" dives that I might do, and I'd be expected to pay full price. Again, I'm ok with that, except that other operators do the sensible thing in trying to build business relationships and allow instructors to occupy an empty seat if there's one when they call the night before.

So... that's my experience with unfriendliness on the boat side... let's add the shop side while we're at it.

I've been in the shop several times and when there's no other customers and no other staff, Charlie has been helpful. However, that is rare. I recall several times when Charlie has been helping other customers and Brad is there and he just stands at the back of the store glaring at me. Considering I've never met the guy personally, this is a little off-putting.

And no, you don't have to send business our way. It's okay. Really.

And you don't have to worry... at this point, I'm not sending business your way!

It's apparent you don't like Ed Robinson nor B&B.

I have some major issues with Ed Robinson (both himself and his company) that I have experienced in the past few years. Additional information has come "through the grapevine" since I've been here that has me even less interested in sending people I care for even a tiny bit his way.

As for B&B -- you guys have done just about everything possible to push me away. It's not that I dislike you... it's just that I think better service and better product is available elsewhere.

Oftentimes, you get what you pay for -- and going with the cheapest is not the best solution.

 

[Jon C]

Okay, I get it...KrisB won't be on the B&B boat...Can I have his share of the sandwiches?

 

[quietstorm]

Not to muddy the (sea)water on this topic, but when choosing a dive operator, does anyone pay attention to or care about: 1) the type of boat; 2) type of tank; 3) type of rental equipment; 4) number or ratio of DM's to divers; 4) other factors? If so, please tell me what you recommend looking for.
It seems to me that, in addition to price and reputation, there are other factors to look for and ask about in choosing a dive boat.
Please let me know your thoughts.

 

[river_sand_bar]

Ok, well can I ask one more question before the mud really starts to sling around here....getting Nitrox cert tomorrow.. are any of the boats in Maui serving up this gas??

Oh... and one thing I really like on a dive boat is 1, a smaller group and 2 a nice dive boat... the all alum ones just dont cut it for me, I am on vacation and I want a comfy seat for my tush.

 

[TSandM]

If I remember correctly, we could get Nitrox on B&B, so long as we let them know what we wanted the day before the trip. That doesn't imply you can't get it from the others, just that I have experience about this with B&B.

All the operators there have used Al80's.

I never worry about rental equipment, because I don't rent anything but tanks and weights. I also don't care much about the ratio of divers to DMs, because I dive with my own buddy and we're pretty independent. All the boats seem to carry similar numbers of divers, somewhere in the range of 12 or so. All the boats of the three operators I've been out with have appeared to be well-maintained and they've performed as required. I haven't had a "bad" experience with anybody, just some dives I enjoyed more than others.

 

[zahner]

ERDA has Nitrox as well

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Not to muddy the (sea)water on this topic, but when choosing a dive operator, does anyone pay attention to or care about: 1) the type of boat; 2) type of tank; 3) type of rental equipment; 4) number or ratio of DM's to divers; 4) other factors? If so, please tell me what you recommend looking for.
It seems to me that, in addition to price and reputation, there are other factors to look for and ask about in choosing a dive boat.
Please let me know your thoughts.

Ok, well can I ask one more question before the mud really starts to sling around here....getting Nitrox cert tomorrow.. are any of the boats in Maui serving up this gas??

Oh... and one thing I really like on a dive boat is 1, a smaller group and 2 a nice dive boat... the all alum ones just dont cut it for me, I am on vacation and I want a comfy seat for my tush.

Those questions and more should be answered by any good operators web sight. A good example would be Prodiver, not a fancy site but answers to most of those questions are easily found. Nitrox available on request and Coast Guard approved for 12 divers but no more than 6 divers per trip. The only update to the gear page is Gecko's for computers now (included for every diver).

 

[river_sand_bar]

Those questions and more should be answered by any good operators web sight. A good example would be Prodiver, not a fancy site but answers to most of those questions are easily found. Nitrox available on request and Coast Guard approved for 12 divers but no more than 6 divers per trip. The only update to the gear page is Gecko's for computers now (included for every diver).

Actually, I just reviewed the PRODIVE website, and it says nothing about Nitrox, nor does it give any prices for the dive..

 

[Charlie99]

Actually, I just reviewed the PRODIVE website, and it says nothing about Nitrox, nor does it give any prices for the dive..

Like most operators, they get their nitrox from somebody else.

ERDA was mentioned as having nitrox. IIRC, B&B is their source for nitrox.

I don't know about the current operator, but with the previous owner of ProDiver, nitrox was a BYOG (bring your own gas) arrangement. One time I showed up with a tank of nitrox without telling them, and to make room onboard, I had to take one of their tanks of air and store it in the trunk of my car. Didn't have to return it to the boat after the trip though --- I just left the tank of air in the car trunk, used it for a shore dive the next day, and then dropped it off at the company that did their tank fills.

There's not much profit to be made in tank fills, so there are some funny arrangements. Many Kihei operators use Maui Dive Shop for tank fills. Maui Dive Shop in turn finds it too expensive to haul tanks from Kihei over to their shops in West Maui, so Maui Dive Shop contracts with another dive shop over there (Pacific Dive last time I checked) to fill the rental tanks available at the West Maui outlets of the Maui Dive Shop.

Nitrox just isn't used that much on Maui. On the very multilevel profiles commonly dives out at Molokini or at Lanai, using air rather than nitrox doesn't limit your NDLs. What happens is that you just have to reshape the overall multilevel profile so that you spend a bit more time shallow. Where nitrox really is useful is on the square profile dives off of S. Maui --- St Anthony's (65' more or less) and 85' Pinnacles (you'll have to guess at that depth ).


Charlie Allen

 

[Cacia]

I'd care a bit about the boat crossing to Molokini.

I am overly picky about boats, I think.

if a boat doesn't handle well in big seas I tend to fixate on how crappy it is, how FAST we COULD be going, etc, lol.

I'm the same way with taxis. A crossing can be a piece of cake or a long, excruciating, never ending ordeal, depending on the boat, the power, the hull. I also obsess on maintenance problems that I would rather not see.

Honestly? My biggest factor is to not be put on some program, where whoever is running the boat is harping on us the entire time, like you are kids on a field trip---ruins my day. Anybody that can run a charter as though their services have been hired, well thats nice. Of course, there are safety issues which the captain needs to control, but if the crew can do that discreetly and graciously, that is a fun charter. If the crew is condescending or patronizing, I will never be back. If I am getting ready to go on a charter and some bossy person on an ego trip comes out and starts talking to us like we are coneheads, I cancel as quickly as possible.