Interesting post.
- $800? Is that a typo? I was on the T&C Explorer March 14, 2009 for a week and the fuel surcharge was $95. I know it was $150 pp in 2008, but they do tell you about the fee on their webpage before you sign up. BTW, ALL of the liveaboards charge a fuel surcharge.
- Daylight saving time. They do this to accommodate the diving. This makes it get dark earlier for having night dives at a decent time. If they observed DST you would be getting out of the water at 10:30 at night.
- I've been on T&C Explorer twice and loved it both times. Class operation. And yes, I got along fine with Stan, sorry you had problems.
- The divemasters were great both times, did anything we asked.
- The boat does swing a wide arc on the mooring. It wasn't a problem for anyone on the boat both times we did it. Actually quite fun to hang on to the line and go for a ride. You say the woman in question is an accomplished diver, but she didn't use the mooring and bow line for navigation to the boat? That's kind of standard navigation stuff. Forgive me for saying, but it sounds like she put her total trust into the divemaster to do all the navigation and they were actually a threesome and not a legitimate buddy team. I find it hard to believe he left her alone on purpose, are you sure it wasn't just a legitimate separation underwater? Usually if a divemaster is leading, it's the followers job to keep them within sight, especially on a night dive.
- Every dive site in West Caicos and French Cay is the same? You must have dove in a different ocean than I did. I have dove Exuma too and in my opinion T&C is better diving and just as diverse
- in the first of the week dive briefing, the captain tells everyone if you are tired and need to be picked up, you surface and extend you hand above you in a fist and they pick you up with the tender. If this didn't happen the captain should have been notified.
Sorry you had problems and you'll probably not like my opinion, but I think several of the things you are complaining about are just as much your issue as theirs.