Would you expect compensation from a live-aboard operator if

[finsguy]

I think a refund is in order or at least credit toward another trip.

 

[vladimir]

On two liveboards, the MV Fantasea and the Galapagos Aggressor, I have received refunds. In the first case, we had rough weather (a typhoon in the Bay of Bengal) that limited our dive sites and gave us a rough ride back to Phuket. We managed to get the full number of dives in, and the operator still gave us 50% off on a future trip.

I had to cancel a 10-day trip aboard the Aggressor at the last moment due to work, only a couple of weeks after I'd booked the trip. The cancellation policy was clear--I was out the ~$2500. Nevertheless, I called them and nicely asked if they could do anything for me. They exceeded all of my expectations when they gave me a free trip and 2 years to use it.

In each of these cases, I felt the operators owed me nothing and had no further responsibility. Yet they took it upon themeselves to make certain their customer was happy. It was good business; I have since dived on a couple of Aggressors (I never used the credit in Galapagos), and though I was a regular on Fantasea Divers' day boats when I lived in the neighborhood, I never used that credit either.

Explorer Adventures should give you a discount on a future trip, and hope that it makes you happy and maybe hope that you don't use it.

One problem these days, as opposed to in '95 and '98, when I received my refunds, is that the information spreads that "Aggressor gives a full refund if you cancel at the last minute" and everybody expects one. So the operator may be afraid to open himself up to the liability of, say, 10 free trips, whereas 1 free trip was manageable.

 

[Papa_Bear]

Totally different circumstances! Apples and Bananas, just aren't the same! And they are all nice to work with based on the situation!

 

[Damselfish]

Rub of the green.......therefore I vote no.......I know of weeks when live aboards get tied up to bouys in Coxan Hole, Roatan--all their diving week--due to weather ie no compensation is made.......Mother Nature can not be harnessed......That's why January is a horrible time to travel to the Caribbean----as is Late July, August, & early Sept......I always look @ the probabilities when traveling........

the weather cannot be harnessed. But that's not a good comparison to this situation where a number of different decisions and actions could have been made.

 

[DandyDon]

Free trips would be too much to request now. Maybe when they boarded and discovered the situation, then maybe abandon the plan, request a refund, file insurance claims - but they stayed on the boat after discovery, and from there the boat and crew did burn fuel, did make dives, did feed passengers, etc. The most I would hope for would be a good discount.

 

[tstormdiver]

Wow,....:11: That doesn't sound like what I've heard from others who've had bad experiences on any of EV's boats. I was on the CEXI last spring in the Bahamas & had a great time. When I went, my there was a couple on the boat who had rebooked free of charge because when they tried to go on their earlier trip the boat had broken down. EV put all the passengers up in a 5 star, all inclusive resort with priority on the resort's diving trips & given them vouchers for another cruise. My buddy on that trip had even had a bad experience with her last trip with them & was very well taken care of including a partial voucher for another trip, since the incident- a breakdown, occurred. She only got the partial voucher because they had been out for a few days before the problem arose, but once they got back to port, once again they were very well taken care of & were able to do some diving (just not to the degree or caliber that they would have had on the live aboard). From what I experienced, they seemed like a first class operation. I too, would like to hear the other side of the story, it just doesn't sound like what I've heard & experienced.

 

[highdesert]

I voted "yes" on the basis that I think some kind of compensation is warranted, but knowing how well those things actually play out in reality, I would not do a $4K trip without trip interruption insurance. If you read thru the fine print, I think a good number of the policies out there would cover this issue.

 

[djanni]

I voted "yes" on the basis that I think some kind of compensation is warranted, but knowing how well those things actually play out in reality, I would not do a $4K trip without trip interruption insurance. If you read thru the fine print, I think a good number of the policies out there would cover this issue.

We have trip insurance through DAN and we've already contacted them. They say trip interruption insurance isn't designed for this type of situation and recommended we talk to Explorer Ventures. We can still submit a claim and plan to do so. We're awaiting the paperwork.

 

[redacted]

Yes, and I would hope the owners would realize that a class action suit would likely result in a substantial award much greater than any prorated compensation for lost dives. I would expect him to be happy with a modest negotiated settlement that keeps the lawyers out of it..

 

[Scububbs]

Not trying to raise the whole tipping discussion, but why did you feel like these people still deserved a tip after all of this? Sounds like that was one place to make some statement in how the crew handled things.

This was my question as well, why on earth would one leave a tip after an experience such as this? If the crew understood that passing on a sickness of any sort to customers directly affects their income they may be much more likely to protect the source of that income, their divers.