Fantasy Island, Roatan

[Doc]

Yet another discussion about tipping and how absurd it's become! :silly:


I hate that. Maybe it's me & my problems, I'm not saying it's wrong, but I hate it. Pay the employees decent rates, charge what you need to to do so, and let my tips be gratuities instead of such exceptions or needs. Pay the nitrox guy what you should for being too cheap to get a system that gets your nitrox right without juggling. Since it's optional, I bet a lot of visitors skip it or go light.

I think you're referring to the no pressure/no tracking system I described. No, you would be quite wrong. It has worked very well at this other resort for 30 years so far.

If we know that tipping is involved, not tipping is an insult to someone who would deserve one. If you can not afford to tip a waitress, you can't afford to dine out. Disliking it doesn't make it different... For you.

If a resort raised their pay to eliminate the need for tips as you suggested- how do you feel when you see a restaurant that automatically puts on a 20% tip on your bill.

That wouldn't work well for you either, would it?

That's a gross misrepresentation I think. I have enjoyed FI three times in 11 or 12 years and have made some comments from limited experiences, but I see & hear too much to be very supportive.

Now, Don, I could find all of your years-ago cheer leading posts, but it's hard on an I-pad, and there are enough reading here that recall them. Sis-boom-bah, pompoms and all.

You may have had limited experiences, but in terms of your comments about CO and another resort, you have absolutely no personal experience but that doesn't keep you from providing "expert" information. Don't confuse "seeing" and "hearing" so easily.

Three, two, one... Incoming!

 

[DandyDon]

Sorry, I had a hard weekend and I am just too exhausted to deal with the extent of this...

 

[oly5050user]

Yet another discussion about tipping and how absurd it's become! :silly:


I hate that. Maybe it's me & my problems, I'm not saying it's wrong, but I hate it. Pay the employees decent rates, charge what you need to to do so, and let my tips be gratuities instead of such exceptions or needs. Pay the nitrox guy what you should for being too cheap to get a system that gets your nitrox right without juggling. Since it's optional, I bet a lot of visitors skip it or go light.



Hate that too. Sad that they weren't getting paid, but a contracted customer shouldn't feel the need to make up for the owners being crooks. I guess I should give you a medal :medal: for being so generous, but I'd just not patronize known crooks.


I guess I should feel sorry for the poor souls born Honduran, but tipping is just not the same as American aid to me. Yes, tip - but not with the idea of fixing their lives.



That's a gross misrepresentation I think. I have enjoyed FI three times in 11 or 12 years and have made some comments from limited experiences, but I see & hear too much to be very supportive. I think you CCVnuts are tunnel visioned at times, that's up to y'all. CCV company handled the CO disaster very poorly in my opinion - my biggest complaint about CCV back then, in several ways, but that was long ago and I understand they did replace their compressors and blenders with much better systems, with CO monitors - so I hope that was a disaster that lead to a better system that has been maintained well. Nonetheless, any safe diver needs to check each & every tank for CO - anywhere, IMO - as past performances are no guarantee for future safety. I know that most don't, but their calls are their risks.

A good attitude, but a hot shower is a necessity at a property that bills itself as a Dive Resort.

We have hot showers..

 

[divin'dog]

... So, we went back this month, and oh, how things have changed... I discovered there was no hot water, in the shower, but had it in the sink. Reported it..."We'll fix it right away." No fix. Next day, no hot water. Reported it..."We'll fix it." No fix. Next day, the same. Finally I had to go face to face with the manager, again. She said, "We'll fix it." T told her she knew just as well as I did, that it would not be fixed. So, she said, she would check to see which rooms were empty and we would HUNT for a room that had hot water. I just looked at her and said, "Excuse me? We're going to HUNT for a room with hot water?!?" She casually said "Yes."

I can sympathize with you...

I was at Fantasy Island this past Jan... It was my 3rd time there. First time was great in 2006. They had the best coffee I've ever had when the waiters walked around with hot coffee and hot milk (for the coffee). They also had all you can eat lobster tails and crab legs, shrimp, etc for Friday night, generally the last night of a week long trip. Rooms were reasonably nice, service was excellent, desserts were always something to look forward to.

Now flash forward to 2013... We arrive and were told that there was NO water at all! Found out later that they almost thought about not telling us. The next day we had water... and hot water at that. That was the first and last day for hot water. For the rest of the week, it was barely warm enough to dunk your head under to rinse. Kind of a luke-cool water. Yes, hunting down a room with warm water was like hitting gold if they found one for you. Several people in our group hunted for hot water rooms.

A few times during the week, I had to chase down the cleaning woman for towels that she forgot to leave. Our door would not close properly unless we slammed it shut each time. We told the front desk but it was never fixed. Food was unappetizing to fair. A few times I would actually say it was good but that was rare. Every morning we would guess whether coffee would be ready and if it would be any good. One morning, there was a small pot of coffee set out at the beginning of breakfast for everyone. I poured a cup and it was full of grounds and totally undrinkable. Breakfasts were generally pretty good if you got the omelets made to order.

The diving was totally the opposite of the rooms and food. A very good operation and smoothly run. I'd say Daren does an excellent job. Diving was good for us and the reefs look healthy. The new boats are nice and comfortable. Too bad it's tied to a crappy resort. For what I paid for the trip, there are hundreds of places I would rather travel to... and will. That's my last trip to FI.

 

[grantwiscour]

While planning my first trip to the Bay Islands recently I was pushed hard by a dive travel agent to go to FI. The agent said that one of their agents had just returned from FI and had a great experience. After reading all of the SB discussions I couldn't bring myself to put my money or vacation time at risk by going to FI. We decided to go to Guanaja and spend less than CCV or AKR...we like to be off the beaten track and away from the hordes of touristas.

 

[DandyDon]

While planning my first trip to the Bay Islands recently I was pushed hard by a dive travel agent to go to FI. The agent said that one of their agents had just returned from FI and had a great experience. After reading all of the SB discussions I couldn't bring myself to put my money or vacation time at risk by going to FI. We decided to go to Guanaja and spend less than CCV or AKR...we like to be off the beaten track and away from the hordes of touristas.

How do you get to Guanaja, anyway? Hope to see your trip report.

 

[grantwiscour]

I'll post a thorough trip report about the diving and lodging. We'll be staying at G&G's Clearwater Resort.

We will fly into Roatan from Houston. Ginger at G&G's takes care of arranging the transport to Guanaja. Once you get to Roatan, you fly on a small plane to Guanaja and then take a boat ride to the lodge. Youtube has a few videos of Guanaja but not many. A good video (really a collage of stills) is at: Scuba in Guanaja Honduras - YouTube

This will definitely be the most remote place we've ever been but that's why it's called an adventure. The underwater topography of Guanaja also caught our attention. We like swim-throughs, caverns, giant rocks, etc. and it seems like Guanaja is more dramatic and has a less human-impacted reef. We've still got a couple months but we're counting the days. I was up at Scubatoys this morning getting the wife a new BC and checking out all of the fun things they've got to spend money on.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I too look forward to your upcoming report. But for now I'm just very curious how it works out to be less expensive to go/stay/dive Guanaja over FI/CV especially when there's a private flight involved. Also do you know if nitrox is available?

 

[Doc]

I too look forward to your upcoming report. But for now I'm just very curious how it works out to be less expensive to go/stay/dive Guanaja over FI/CV especially when there's a private flight involved. Also do you know if nitrox is available?

When Grantwiscour first initiated this conversation on http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bay-islands/450636-first-trip-bay-islands.html#post6692638

You'll see that Guanaja came highly recommended from me and others. Understand that the sheer quantity of available dives was not a top deciding factor. At FI or AKR it's easy to get 4 a day, at CCV no problem for 5. Unlimited diving and 4 tanks of boat dives cost big money.

Guanaja offers a remote, exotic experience, and a leisurely pace of diving with a more usual of 2x a day.

I am looking forward to a ScubaBoard report from any and all who travel there- it's the next big thing!

 

[chillyinCanada]

I first heard of Guanaja 14 years ago and it was on my bucket list for awhile. It dropped off my radar for some reason. Eventually I came to realize that it was going to be the next big thing back then but was wiped out by a hurricane. Mitch wasn't it?

The lionfish must be awful there though wouldn't you think?