Swapping Mermaids!

[Hintermann]

I was scheduled to go on a week's Bali-Komodo-Bali liveaboard trip on Mermaid II in June 2014 and had booked everything - flights from the UK, local hotels (for land based sightseeing), transport, boat and above all, leave from work (the most difficult part). Last week they e-mailed me to say that my trip had been cancelled because of some additional maintenance work that week. Fortunately for me, they still had a few places left on the Mermaid I at the same time (but starting 3 days earlier due to the longer cruise) and offered me a budget cabin at no extra cost. Upon my request, they upgraded me to a deluxe cabin and a discounted additional charge, around 350 Euro less than what it would have cost me if I had booked Mermaid I in the first place. I managed to modify the non-liveaboard part of my trip to match the dates, including the planned 12 land based dives at Tulamben. The flights and leave dates remained the same.

The Mermaid I itinerary is also Bali-Komodo-Bali but has 8 additional dives at other sites.

Decent of Mermaids Liveaboards under what must be difficult circumstances. Thumbs-up to them.

 

[mala]

thumbs up for that deal.

its a bit odd that they know 7 months in advance about the maintenance work but could not work around it.
I wonder what the real reason was?

 

[Hintermann]

When I made the booking some 8 months ago, they had indicated that there would be some maintenance work on the MMII during the dry-docking period of late May and early June 2014. In fact, the June 14th to 21st week was briefly off the booking list before being reinstated. It is now off again. They did give me the first refusal on the 21st to 28th cruise on MMII but I cannot change my annual at this stage.

I have a feeling that the 'maintenance work' is nothing to do with the seaworthiness of the boat but internal fitting of the cabins etc. That kind of work is usually on a schedule and planned a long time before. Clearly, the company contracted for the work felt that they needed a bit more time.