Your thoughts on a Refund or Credit

[vladimir]

If only DAN offered insurance with coverage for such a thing. #sarcasism

Yes, if the risk of catching a flu—from whomever—is too much for you to assume, buy travel insurance.

Good insurance will cover a cancelled trip, but I doubt it would cover missed dives. If you catch the flu on board, you're probably out of luck (and out of pocket), with or without insurance.

Most liveaboards that I have been on strongly encourage you to buy travel insurance. Here's what Aggressor says:

INSURANCE
We strongly recommend each guest purchase comprehensive accident, medical, baggage and trip cancellation and interruption insurance when space is reserved. Trip insurance will protect you from financial disappointment if you are prevented from making your scheduled trip due to illness, family illness or in the event that unforeseen circumstances prevent the airline or yacht from making its scheduled trip. In the event you cancel your trip, be familiar with Aggressor Fleet and Dancer Fleet’s cancellation policies, which can be found on the websites. More information can be found on Diveassure or Divers Alert Network insurance on our websites.

 

[Wookie]

what would the operator do if you said, " hey the crew is sick and anyone that wants to stay here is welcome to" and all of the passengers raised their hand to stay.

On my boat we wouldn't leave the dock.

you could also say, hey we only have one engine, who wants to stay here and who wants to risk it?

The Coast Guard would no sail me in that case anyway.

how soon did the boat operator know that the crew was sick? I agree that it may be difficult to find other crew but certainly not impossible.

In this case, perhaps, not knowing the constraints the flag state puts on the vessel. In my case, just the Coast Guard required training (depending on the position the replacement crew is filling) might take as long as 2 weeks. That's without any ship-specific training

I think the operator has a responsibility to provide a clean hazard free environment to a reasonable level. knowing in advance that the crew was sick is something that should be adressed with as much effort as possible. that said maybe a full refund is unreasonable but there is some responsibility to keep the passengers whole.

Getting sick and losing the ability to make the offered dives is not creating a hazardous situation. Anyone who dies or is injured by a flu has other issues that are a contraindication to diving.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I am in the too bad, crap happens. I think a good op might choose to offer some compensation of a future trip for business purposes, not because they owe it to you. Since most are small ops running on a tight budget, their options may be limited. I am betting there is a good chance the crew got the bug from a passenger on the previous run. The crew as a result struggled, probably got zip for tips and had to pick themselves up and prep the boat for the next trip. Hell of a job.

We all dive knowing that the weather and mechanical gods may **** on us with some regularity, we just don't think about crew health very often.

 

[mathauck0814]

I might take a slightly different tact and say that while none of the passengers are DUE anything, it is (was) an opportunity for the operator to market proactively. A $100 voucher toward next years' trip would likely have a near zero redemption rate, minimally impact margin if redeemed and could be absorbed in the year over year price increase of the charter anyway (or in another way priced in). Such tactics make people feel good in the moment and usually don't leave the business exposed. Too bad the operator didn't have a contingency plan for such a thing around to empower staff. Could have solved one or two problems and left people a little less chafed.

Regardless, an airplane, a city bus, or a liveaboard boat are all just forms of transport. Bolster your immune system as best you can, wash your hands as best you can and bring Purell (or similar) in your carry on.

OP: Sorry you got sick, but honestly: stuff happens. I'm betting you still had at least a little bit of fun.

 

[vladimir]

I might take a slightly different [-]tact[/-] tack and say that while none of the passengers are DUE anything, it is (was) an opportunity for the operator to market proactively. A $100 voucher toward next years' trip would likely have a near zero redemption rate, minimally impact margin if redeemed and could be absorbed in the year over year price increase of the charter anyway (or in another way priced in). Such tactics make people feel good in the moment and usually don't leave the business exposed. Too bad the operator didn't have a contingency plan for such a thing around to empower staff. Could have solved one or two problems and left people a little less chafed.

Regardless, an airplane, a city bus, or a liveaboard boat are all just forms of transport. Bolster your immune system as best you can, wash your hands as best you can and bring Purell (or similar) in your carry on.

OP: Sorry you got sick, but honestly: stuff happens. I'm betting you still had at least a little bit of fun.

Indeed, I have let a free-trip voucher and a 50%-off voucher expire unused.

 

[mrokern]

Anyone who dies or is injured by a flu has other issues that are a contraindication to diving.

To be fair, that's not true...it is for most garden varieties of influenza, but not for all.

All that aside, this is a case where I'd say the onus rests on the traveller to have trip insurance. No way in hades would I book a trip in those kinds of close quarters without covering my financial rear end.

That said, I've personally watched Delta Airlines remove flight crew from planes for being sick. I understand that liveaboards are in a very different place in terms of replacement crew and regulations, but some air carriers do take care to not expose passengers to illness. I've had friends who worked on cruise ships who were confined to quarters (again, not possible on a liveaboard) while sick as well.

I am fortunate to have an extremely strong immune system most days, but it all comes down to risk management. I will tell sick coworkers to get away from me if they come to the office (we are all salaried, so no hourly loss of pay to worry about). I avoid mall play areas (seriously). In the case of a liveaboard, which I hope to do sooner than later, I'll insure my trip as much as possible.

 

[theduckguru]

Some have me scratching my head. You read of liveaboards sinking, catching fire, bad food, bad air ect. with most boats not giving squat to the passengers and you think you are going to be refunded for the flu?

 

[Wookie]

To be fair, the OP asked what we thought he should do, he has not told us what he was going to do. He has not dragged the operator into it. He has been a gentleman, asking for opinions.