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As for Maduro... all I can say is there is NO WAY I would use them for anything..A fair opinion, I don't know. All I do know about them is that they somehow got my email address a couple of years ago and constantly sent me unwanted email and would not respond to my request to have them stopped. I finally got it stopped with a email blocker. I will not do business with anyone who uses those tactics. I have never gotten sales promo emails from Caradonna and I know for sure they have my email as I work with them via email and phone when setting up trips.
And we have never received unwanted e-mails from them. Debbie made all our arrangements for a two week trip over Thanksgiving - one week on Little Cayman, one week on Grand Cayman, and everything went great! We have her looking into arrangements for a trip for us to Bonaire this spring.
Thanks for your replies!
So do you get better prices through a dive travel agent with a package deal, or by doing the legwork and booking everything individually on your own?
Thanks for your replies!
So do you get better prices through a dive travel agent with a package deal, or by doing the legwork and booking everything individually on your own?
I'd recommend Dani @Aquadreams - www.aquadreams.com. Although on our last trip Caradonna was a very close second.
I've done both, our last trip she was able to get us a better deal than advertised anywhere else - direct booking, Expedia, Travelocity or Maduro - to Bonaire. We even received a better deal than the special Dive Festival rate at the same property. We booked our own flights directly through the airline, but Aquadreams could have done it for us, they had the same rate as we did. I did it just to ensure our seating preferences and also we booked on the last night of a special offer from American Airlines, through their travel consolidator, Aquadreams couldn't guarantee our seat selection.
And someone at Caradonna alerted us via e-mail to the fact that the fare special on AA was ending that night. Without that update, it would have cost us an additional $300. So I'll give them another chance at my business next trip.
However prior to that, we were able to book a better deal ourselves to Grand Cayman by e-mailing/phoning the condo rental agent here in the U.S. She offered us a better deal than what was even on the website that listed her as the contact. Just because she knew her projected occupancy was low for the week we wanted. We booked our own flights on this trip also because they didn't really offer the option. And we booked our own diving directly through the diveops 800#.
So in the future, I'm going to see what deals everybody lists and then make a few calls anyway.
Using a dive travel agency or putting it together on your own kind of depends on what you're looking for. I do some research first and then if I decide to go with a hotel or resort and the on-site dive shop I check prices with the agencies. I've found that their package prices are good. Maduro gets my vote.
If I want to rent a condo or house, go to a smaller dedicated dive resort, or use a different dive shop, then I have to put it together myself because the agencies don't have those sorts of packages.
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Originally Posted by goofygirl
