Silent World Review 11/28 - 30 With new ownership (long)

[RDRINK25]

My wife and I are average divers with about 200 dives since 2010. We are both Padi Master Divers with experience with all types of ops and conditions. Just this year alone we have been to the Galapagos, Bahamas, Panama City FL, West Palm FL, Charleston SC, Morehead City NC, Cancun and Cozumel now Key Largo. I had booked this reservation over Thanksgiving back in feb of this year. Back in July-Aug of this year I had called to ask a few questions about the area. When I did the person who I had spoke with said they had a new reservation system and needed my info again. Not thinking anything of it I gave it to them confirming my dates. I also had wanted a personal dive guide as I wanted to do 2 days on the grove with someone who knew the wreck. They confirmed all the pricing as we were going to dive EAN all 3 days. This added up to what I was told when I had booked the reservation earlier this year. When the time got closer I had figured since we are there maybe it would be a good idea to squeeze in an afternoon dive on the reef. SO we called and got it added with no problem.

Now the time has come I have been looking at weather reports for days and a massive cold front is approaching the Keys. A few years ago I had got blown out due to weather in Key West over thanksgiving and I was thinking Deja Vu. I had called the shop this past Mon the 25th. I had spoke with Violet about the conditions. She had told me it was looking good that they will go out in 3-5's but will cancel if 4-6's are predicted. Thnksgiving morning comes and I call the shop cause the wind is a howling at 6am. I reach Capt Todd and say's it is a N wind and the boat is running. I arrive and meet the friendly Capt and the dive guide as we were the only people there. We check and pay as he gives me a total to me seemed off of what I was giving before but the Capt told me he would email me a receipt. Wanting to get on the water we heading out towards the boat. Comes to find out we are the only 2 on the dive! This is awesome we have the whol boat to ourself and on our personal schedule! The rides to Spiegel Grove took about 40 min and wasnt more the 2' seas the whole time. We did a nice 45 min first dive to a max 90' then back on the boat was cold for SI but we toughed it out. Back in the water after them insisting on only a 45 min SI. Seemed odd to me but again I am always used to a min of an hr. Down again to another 90' and the guide is signaling to me he is close to deco after 25 min. I wasnt bothered by it as it can happen but I had half a tank left. On the boat he said one of his computers was conservative. We headed back to the dock. The guide and Capt was great as we never had to lift a finger. They took our gear off the boat and rinsed it along with storage. I tipped the guide as I had an awesome time.

Day 2
We arrived at the dock with about the same conditions forecast ahead. We did have 3 other divers on the boat and the same guide arrived for us. Half way out to the grove hell broke loose. We started to hit 6-10's. Check silent worlds facebook post as they tried to downplay it by saying 5-8's. It was rough but we have been out in rough seas before. On the Grove we got our gear on fast and jumped in. Did another 45 min dive with a 95' max depth. Viz was amazing over 100'! Get back on the boat with 8' seas was a challenge but we made it. One of the other 3 divers lost a fin and another was healed over not looking so good. As we we told like the day before 45 min and back in. As we waited the seas was a rocking. One of the other divers was getting sick so when the 45 min came we were happy to jump in even if we only got 10 min of bottom time. Again amazing Viz and one heck of a dive. I love that wreck! What do you know 20 min in the dive the guide is telling me he has to go up. We followed and made it to the line for the safety stop. At 15' the surge was awful! I make it on the boat with a sore knee and take off my gear to help my wife. She makes it up the surging ladder and takes her gear off. Immediately she gets sick from waiting the trail line. We head back to the dock which takes a good hr +. At the dock again they took our gear and rinsed and stored. I had tipped agin as all in all the dives were great. Capt Todd had mentioned going back out and I looked a little worried know what we just went through and now he wants to go to the reef? We had talked with the other couple and it was agreement couple that that afternoon trip would be a bad idea. We had talked about instead a 3 tank charter the following day. Everyone agreed.

Day 3

Great conditions! We did the Washington wreck, fingers reef and the aybyss. Getting back to the dock and gear rinsed and put in the car. I go to the Capt and asked about what we were going to do about the missed afternoon dive. He then said to me nothing that the boat was ready to go back out and we called the dive. I was very shocked as I have never been on 3 days of diving and not offered a credit or something. After leaving I started to think maybe he didnt understand what I was asking so I sent the Capt an email.

He responded
[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]
" [/FONT]Thank you for your email. I was taken back when you asked for a refund or credit. I'm sorry fore the confusion but we were scheduled to run all day yesterday and at the lunch break you and the other pm divers decided to call it a day. To make up for it you offered a three tank am trip which I did for you. The seas for Friday afternoon were not going to be 6-8ft shallow. I had simply let the divers know that visibility could be low and the surge for a shallow dive would be present. Again I am sorry to hear that you trip went from good to bad due to this instance.

Best regards,
[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Captain Todd[/FONT]


I was a bit disappointed so I responded telling him that I was going to write a detailed review. With no response packed and drove to the airport this morning. Once arriving sitting at the gate I received the receipt he said was coming my way. Not only was there no credit which I had expected at this point. He had charged me an additional $50 for that lovely guide. It was supposed to be $50 a day. It was stated that from the day of my reservation. Now it is still the $50 a day but an additional $25 per day for my wife for a total of $75. I tried to email the Capt and he response this time was.

The guide rare is 50 for the first person and 25 each additional. This has always been the case and is common with most dive centers as there are two people that the guide is responsible for. Obviously you are continually looking for issues with Silent World. I hope that you can find a dive center that can better suit you in the future.

If you have any others questions please don't hesitate to ask.

Best Regards,

[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Captain Todd[/FONT]



Better suit my needs? Good luck as I will never recommend this op! My personal opinion is he is after a fast buck. After looking back at all the questionable actions. I dont know how you could book with this guy!

 

[deeper thoughts]

Thnx for posting

 

[Steve_C]

I looked at their web site. Assuming that it has not been changed it clearly says

-Guides are 50 plus 25 for additional diver.

-48 hours cancellation policy is strictly enforced.

So they operated within their rules.

I have dove with Horizon and Ocean Divers a lot and find them more flexible in those regards. Smaller boats may be less flexible.

Bottom line 1: Best to always double check the rules.

Bottom line 2: There are disadvantages to macho boats that are willing to go out when you do not want to.

 

[muzikbiz22]

In simple summation, it sounds like you booked the PM trip for Day 2, then YOU decided not to go on the the PM run on Day 2 ?

 

[herbdb]

I had a similar experience with them several years ago. I have not used them or recommended them since.

 

[RDRINK25]

In simple summation, it sounds like booked the PM trip for Day 2, then YOU decided not to go on the the PM run on Day 2 ?

The Capt and DG both looked at each other when the 8's were hitting the boat with a WTF look. If you think doing a reef dive on the afternoon in 8' seas is safe then you go do it. I would like to see what other OP's went to the reef Fri afternoon 11/29? Let them weigh in.

 

[Wookie]

I think Capt Todd went a bit far in his response to you. I understand why he did what he did, but it's still a bit terse.

With that said, it's best to understand what you have requested, what you paid for, and what you thought was free but wasn't. Out of curiosity, did you ask beforehand what the price would be for the guide for an extra diver? I would think (as you did) that a guide would be for a buddy pair, but I completely understand that it might not be. Also, you cancelled the PM dive on Day 2. After you made up for it for the 3 tank on Day 3 I could understand why you would think a refund would be forthcoming, but in reality, you contracted a boat for the afternoon of day 2, you cancelled. That isn't the boat's fault, therefore, you are on the hook for the boat.

I think to see why Capt Todd might have responded the way he did, we might want to see the e-mails you sent him....

---------- Post added December 1st, 2013 at 08:46 PM ----------

Conch Republic Divers reports 4-7 on the Speigal-Duane for the AM dive on the 29th. No report for the afternoon.

 

[RDRINK25]

I think Capt Todd went a bit far in his response to you. I understand why he did what he did, but it's still a bit terse.

With that said, it's best to understand what you have requested, what you paid for, and what you thought was free but wasn't. Out of curiosity, did you ask beforehand what the price would be for the guide for an extra diver? I would think (as you did) that a guide would be for a buddy pair, but I completely understand that it might not be. Also, you cancelled the PM dive on Day 2. After you made up for it for the 3 tank on Day 3 I could understand why you would think a refund would be forthcoming, but in reality, you contracted a boat for the afternoon of day 2, you cancelled. That isn't the boat's fault, therefore, you are on the hook for the boat.

I think to see why Capt Todd might have responded the way he did, we might want to see the e-mails you sent him....

Todd


I get your policy on going out and if you call a dive you are out. Yesterday (11-29) was 6-8 ft seas. I had spoke a few days earlier and a female had said you don't run in 6-8s. So which is correct? I am an avid user on Scubaboard and will be writing a review this evening. Up until toady I have thought you run a top notch shop. For when I even asked for a store credit you denied. I have been all over the world and no shop I know would of made their customers endure yesterday afternoons conditions. I will wait for your response before my review this evening of my experience with Silent World.



Where I went wrong is not getting a detailed bill before going out the first day. I guess I am trustworthy for the most part. I was excited to be going out after thinking we were going to blown out. Figured he said he would email it and if there were some discrepancies we could figure it out. The $25 was not on there when I booked the trip. When it was added I cannot tell. I will say this I contacted other ops in the area and $40-50 per couple is what I found.


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[Superlyte27]

Vacationing divers don't want to dive in 6-10' seas. Their face book pages says that they were experiencing 5-8'. And Violet says they'll cancel at 4-6' seas. I don't believe it's unreasonable to not want to dive 6-8' seas. Frankly, those kind of seas just aren't worth the risk of getting hurt for vacationing divers or any diver for that matter. People come to Key Largo for ease. Slipping, Falling, getting hit with the ladder when trying to board, etc. Honestly, I would have assumed a credit also due to Violet's previous point about cancelling at 4-6'. It's one thing to encounter that on the way out or on the way back, but at the dock at lunch time after you just finished a dive, you know it's only going to get worse.



At any rate... they're new at this, and hopefully they'll be successful at it. I'm going to chalk it up to growing pains. One would hope that they get it all figured out before they bring Silent World's reputation full circle to where it was when they purchased the place.

 

[Wookie]

Todd


I get your policy on going out and if you call a dive you are out. Yesterday (11-29) was 6-8 ft seas. I had spoke a few days earlier and a female had said you don't run in 6-8s. So which is correct? I am an avid user on Scubaboard and will be writing a review this evening. Up until toady I have thought you run a top notch shop. For when I even asked for a store credit you denied. I have been all over the world and no shop I know would of made their customers endure yesterday afternoons conditions. I will wait for your response before my review this evening of my experience with Silent World.



Where I went wrong is not getting a detailed bill before going out the first day. I guess I am trustworthy for the most part. I was excited to be going out after thinking we were going to blown out. Figured he said he would email it and if there were some discrepancies we could figure it out. The $25 was not on there when I booked the trip. When it was added I cannot tell. I will say this I contacted other ops in the area and $40-50 per couple is what I found.


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I would have considered that e-mail a threat to trash his business. I might have responded similarly. I hope not, but I'd probably have to have given it a 24 hour cooldown before I responded to you.