Remaining MV Spree/flower garden trips canceled for 2008

[river_sand_bar]

I will definitly try again in the spring to give it another shot.... if I am still located here in Texas.

In the mean time... took the refund, booked a flight to Cozumel next week for only $388 r/t, 3 nights stay and 2 days of diving for $207...so pretty much getting a quick little getaway for about the same price.

 

[redacted]

After some thought I am leaning strongly towards letting them keep my money and just do it in the spring. I imagine it has to be tough to empty the bank account to repay all of the currently scheduled trips. I budgeted for it already... so it just means a "free" dive trip for me come spring. And according to friends in the know this is all a blessing in disguise as the hammerhead shark spawning is supposed to be in the springtime when I would be rescheduling for. I'll be sure to post a full report on my return...whenever that is...

Springtime trips tend to be a bit rough and may not be suitable for a newer diver. Unless your day job is riding in a rodeo, you might want to make your first trip to FGB in the summer when conditions tend to be more mild.

 

[river_sand_bar]

I still believe the dive shops stopped promoting the boats and just sat back and waited for the boats to do all the advertising so the shop could just sit back and rake in the commissions. . If anything the dive community bailed on them.

Thats hard to believe.... and I only say that cus I would think "THEY" the dive shops and boats depend on each other for support.

I know in San Diego at one time one of our boats lost its comperssor and was going to take a month to get it fixed. The LDS's all pitched in and gave the boat free air fills so it could continue running its trips.

 

[Mack Diver]

I still believe the dive shops stopped promoting the boats and just sat back and waited for the boats to do all the advertising so the shop could just sit back and rake in the commissions.

Open mouth, exchange feet. Just because you are a former shop owner, does not mean that you have a single clue how my shop or any other shop in the state operates. Whether or not a shop chooses to market FG trips is a business decision made by the owner of that shop. For some it is lack of demand and for others it is the hassle of refunding canceled trips, still others have a preference for more distant travel. The shop owners are not to be blamed for a business decision made by Gulf Diving.

 

[chucksaul]

It has always seemed to me, whenever I put a pencil to it, the FG trips cost more in terms of money, time and potential for cancellation than a quick run to Cozumel. Factor in the fact the trip is never billed as relaxing (always safe) with the current and waves, etc and I just have a hard time getting excited about it other than to say yep I've been there...

Having said all of that it is one of the first places I intend to sail to if we ever get our boat in the gulf after the storm...

 

[RTRski]

Wow, all the vitriol flowing.

My summary:

Glad the Fling and Spree survived the storm without significant damage (couple of antennas). Kudos to them for housing/feeding/supporting cleanup efforts. Understand the decision to cancel remaining trips couldn't have been made easily, but the safety factor of debris in the crossing isn't an easy issue for those not captaining dive boats to understand. Whether they "make" more money from FEMA by doing so vs. continuing to do weekend dives for the slim remaining part of the fall season, I could care less. Actually I take that back: I hope they ARE making more money with the decision, because otherwise cancelling their season would be a huge financial pit that the business would have to climb out of in the future. With all the losses on the gulf coast this year, do you really want Gulf Diving LLC to also be a 'casualty'?

I too am disappointed the Spree is leaving the FGB, but understand their reasons 100%. If as a business they don't make money, then they can't survive. Being relatively new (last 3 yrs or so) to FGB as a diving destination, I'm still flabbergasted something that great is available that close, but I too fall in the category of only wanting to go sometimes - with the drive from DFW, the 2-day trips are too 'short' for me for the hassles of the drive, and the 3-4 day trips I do like can only be considered less often due to work schedules (e.g. July 4th or Labor day extended weekends). Usually we want to go for a 'real' dive vacation of a week or more outside the US (if I'm going to burn my vacation and subsidize airfare, it's got to be longer to be worth it) and then plan on 1 trip to the FG as well. I did forsee using the FGB and/or DTs as my 'only' trip this coming year though, vs. traveling further, due to airline and baggage fee increases, but that's neither here nor there from their POV. I'm still a perfect example of the reason they can't make money staying the whole season over here. The more local Houston area just doesn't seem to support filling 50 or more seats every weekend, much less weekdays, even when the weather does permit it. It's not a 'community' they're bailing on - its an inadequate market for the service.

I can even understand the OP's frustration - wife and I lost our 3 day weekend this year (Labor Day trip) due first to Gustav, then the reschedule due to Ike, and gave up for the year ourselves. And it does feel selfish to just think about ourselves and a "lost leisure break" when so much other damage was wrought, but I notice no one is discussing the lives lost in Haiti or the destruction to Cuba, just the TX/LA coast...we're all just as parochial in our empathy sometimes.

Bottom line: the FGB will still be there next year, and hopefully lie deep enough they didn't get too hammered or silted up by this season's friendly named storms. Fling will still be here, and perhaps can operate with better financial margins with less "competition". (Although I'd hope they straighten up their act about waffling on go/no-go calls, mmmm'kay?) Spree in DTs all season offers more opportunities and flexibility for that as well, plus they make more money. Both boats making more money is a GOOD thing for the diving community, as they both stay viable and can cover upkeep and upgrades.

 

[ReefHound]

It has always seemed to me, whenever I put a pencil to it, the FG trips cost more in terms of money, time and potential for cancellation than a quick run to Cozumel. Factor in the fact the trip is never billed as relaxing (always safe) with the current and waves, etc and I just have a hard time getting excited about it other than to say yep I've been there...

I think your pencil is broken.

Every cost comparison I've seen, like the one the OP mentioned as "about the same" isn't apples to apples. Did his Coz numbers include all taxes? All food? I don't know what a "dive day" is exactly, how many dives is that? How many week days does it burn? (The cheapie airfares are usually midweek.)

As for time there is no comparison, at least for someone within an hour or two drive of the boat dock. I can be at the dock before I could even be on the plane. I can leave work at 5pm Friday, do a 7 dive FG trip, and be back at work at 8am Monday. No vacation time taken. No way to do that with Coz. A trip with 2 dive days consumes 4 total days. I can't even imagine how you figure FG costs more in time.

I find FG very relaxing. Of course, it would be even more so if I only made 2 dives per day and spent the rest on the sun deck drinking beer. But I choose to make all the dives and the ensuing dive-eat-sleep-dive routine.

There is also no comparison in the inconvenience of a canceled trip, although it is less likely that a Coz trip gets canceled. I've had two FG trips canceled in the past month and the total inconvenience to me was about 20 minutes packing my dive bag the night before.

I am not bashing Coz. I love Coz. It is pretty inexpensive relative to other Caribbean destinations. It's a different kind of trip and *can* be much more comfortable. You have more options. One can make a valid argument that it's worth a few hundred dollars more to have a better guarantee of good dive conditions and to have a room with a bed and a hot shower. But it's still a few hundred dollars more.

 

[Debraw]

Open mouth, exchange feet. Just because you are a former shop owner, does not mean that you have a single clue how my shop or any other shop in the state operates. Whether or not a shop chooses to market FG trips is a business decision made by the owner of that shop. For some it is lack of demand and for others it is the hassle of refunding canceled trips, still others have a preference for more distant travel. The shop owners are not to be blamed for a business decision made by Gulf Diving.

I should have said that SOME shops, of course I do not mean ALL shops. I did not say it was a the ONLY reason for the move. It is because I am a former shop owner that I KNOW soem shops sat on their asses and did nothing to promote FG trips. They just waited for the trips to sell. Good grief Mack, I certainly don't think the show owners are to blame completely. I also blame the weather, the divers, diesel prices, and competition from other land based/Gulf operations.

 

[river_sand_bar]

I think your pencil is broken.

Every cost comparison I've seen, like the one the OP mentioned as "about the same" isn't apples to apples. Did his Coz numbers include all taxes? All food? I don't know what a "dive day" is exactly, how many dives is that? How many week days does it burn? (The cheapie airfares are usually midweek.)

A trip with 2 dive days consumes 4 total days. I can't even imagine how you figure FG costs more in time.

I find FG very relaxing. Of course, it would be even more so if I only made 2 dives per day and spent the rest on the sun deck drinking beer.

Yes, I know Cozumel will cost more... not arguing that... I also know it will take 2 days vacation vs. none and definitly cant argue with the idea of doing 3 dives a day then spending the afternoon in the sun.

So with not being able to do the FG, thats the choice I made to take on those added items just to dive.... bubble bubble bubble.

 

[Wookie]

Easy, Guys, Easy. Thank you for the defense, Debraw and others, although I take no offense to the original post. I understand dissapointment, and feel badly to all of our passengers that were dissapointed by our cancellations. I have no idea how long our "hotel job" will last in Galveston, but when I decided to cancel the rest of the year, I did so so that ou cusomers would be fully informed of our plans so that they could make plans of their own, be it to go to Coz, or get a refund to purchase new tarps for the roof. I make no apologies for utilizing this vessel for the common good, and for my own good as well. I am amazed at the destruction in Galveston. We are housing the TCEQ strike team, as well as providing meals, showers, and a place to get out of the heat and have a cold beverage of choice to our clients from Texas Parks and Wildlife as well as NOAA/Flower Garden Banks staff. As we sit at the dock in Galveston, the harbor is nearly impassable due to depris, sunken vessels, dead cows, and that's just the floating stuff. God only knows what is on the bottom. All of the Sanctuary staff and TPWD staff had water and mud (as much as 3 feet of mud left behind) in their houses. I am at the dock at Willie G's on the strand, along with 2 shrimp boats and a charter fishing boat. Difference is, I am in the water, while the shrimp boats and charter boat are on the dock. Somebodies livlihood has been destroyed. I feel lucky we pulled through as well as we did.

Regarding refunds: It isn't a hassle to refund your trip payments, as that money is held in an escrow account/Certificate of Deposit until the trip is run. That money is your money, and I'm sure as hell not going to spend it until I've earned it. If you want it back, then under our terms and conditions, it's yours to do with as you please.

Regarding leaving Texas: It is interesting to note that the 2009 season requests have been in the dive shops hands for 2 weeks now, and I have recieved exactly 2 requests back, one from a dive shop in Colorado, and one from SingleDivers.com. If I can't get the shops to bother putting in a request for trip dates for 2009, can I expect them to get excited about selling trips? The Spree sold out exactly 2 boats in 2008, one in Dry Tortugas, and Coral Spawn. Labor Day sold out but didn't run, and we cancelled 2 full boats due to this relief work. The economy sucks, fuel is through the roof, and half full boats barely cover direct expenses, not to mention new engines, hull paint, insurance, etc. I'm not whining, just saying that it's obvious to me that the Flower Gardens can't support 2 boats. If we both ran 1/2 full, we would both go broke within the year, then there really would be no boats to the Flower Gardens. So far, I have taken all the risks, spent gobs of money to make the boat more diver friendly, developed a website to be able to book directly without going through a dive shop you may not know, and I still can't fill the boat. I made these changes based on feedback I recieved from the customers, and the majority still want to be packed 30 to a boat, slapped in the face with a pissy wetsuit, and not have a hot shower until getting home. Sorry, I'm not changing back. I've run a 34 passenger liveaboard, and it's not fun. Now, I'm having fun, Melanie is having fun, and living and visiting in Key West is a lot more fun than visiting Freeport.

The other reason we cancelled the rest of the season is that the gulf will be full of roofs, houses, trees, dead cows, tarps, and other yecchy stuff for about 2 months. We discovered this after Rita, when, if you remember, we cancelled the rest of the year at about the same time of year. Since we won't run in the dark, that leaves about 4 dives on Stetson on a weekend trip, and we still take a chance of bending a wheel. 1 bent wheel wipes out the profit of 2 trips, so it's not worth it for either you or me to finish the season.

I am happy to discuss my business decisions either in open forum or privately. You are all welcome to call me on my cell phone 281-300-4748, and I will be happy to listen and respond to criticisms personally.

We will go out and chect the status of the Flower Gardens as soon as time permits, and when it is safe to do so. We will report what we find.

Thanks for listening,

Frank