Covid-19 (coronavirus) Updates - Liveaboard Cancellation Policy

[soonerwink]

Any word on Nautilus trips? There are a group of 30 divers here in Oklahoma that has been refused a refund or even a credit for a later trip.
Can’t travel to Mexico and Nautilus refused to refund or even give credit. We had whole boat so boat will sit in port with payment in full. Best they will do. is offer 40% off on future booking. Close to. $5000 pp trip

 

[soonerwink]

This is from a direct email from the owner of Nautilus Liveaboards a few hours ago

difficult times

1
our trips will run as scheduled and promised unless the government of mexico halts operations

2
we have a contingency plan in place to get clients back to San Diego if commercial flights are stopped
either by charter bus or using our own jet (more likely the jet but not a promise)

3
the boats are still a healthy and happy place to be
lots of clients currently onboard are signing up for a back to back trip and staying onboard rather than go home

4
clients can cancel if they choose. that’s their option
anyone who cancels will receive 40% credit towards a future trip"

 

[outofofficebrb]

@tridacna also experiencing same thing, @soonerwink

Time to hope Mexico halts things and see if that will change things. When is your departure scheduled for?

 

[soonerwink]

@tridacna also experiencing same thing, @soonerwink

Time to hope Mexico halts things and see if that will change things. When is your departure scheduled for?

Leaving March 29th

 

[tridacna]

@tridacna also experiencing same thing, @soonerwink

Time to hope Mexico halts things and see if that will change things. When is your departure scheduled for?

Tomorrow’s departure was cancelled today. By Nautilus. Oh well.

 

[Dive and Cruise]

Thanks for the great info. Where are you getting this info from? Directly from the liveaboards?

Yes, some of them are from their website, and some are from the emails they sent to us ;-)

 

[Dive and Cruise]

Nautilus Liveaboards
Official Announcement : We ask that any divers scheduled to join one of our trips that have recently travelled to affected regions and are experiencing any flu-like symptoms, to please contact us. If travel is not advised, we will waive any cancellation fees and rebook you onto a later trip without charge.

1st UPDATE
Sorry guys, it's been super busy for us in the last few days due to all the rescheduling and cancellations.
Here i have some updates to share with you guys;-)

Worldwide

Aggressor Fleet
Official Announcement
If your adventure is delayed by the travel restrictions or consider yourself elderly or have health issues and are scheduled to travel from March 16th through April 11th, we are offering a travel voucher to return back to that destination, no questions asked, for up to one year. Just get with your travel agent, dive shop or our Adventure Planner to request your voucher. We will update this timeline if the restrictions are not lifted by then.

Blue O Two (Master Fleet, Siren Fleet, WWDAS)
Official Announcement : If your country of residence releases governmental restrictions banning travel to your final holiday destination, If your final destination country releases governmental restrictions banning visitors from your country of residence from entering the country, We will then be happy to honour all monies paid and move your booking to a later date. If you have made a package booking with us including flights, we will contact you to discuss alternative travel options. If you have arranged your own flights, you will need to rearrange your travel to meet the liveaboard and notify us of the new details. If any of our upcoming guests are diagnosed with a confirmed case of Covid-19, we ask that you contact us as soon as possible with medical evidence from your doctor, We will then be happy to honour all monies paid and move your booking to a later date.

Explorer Ventures Liveaboard Fleet
Official Announcement : Most of our scheduled departures are running on schedule. If you are scheduled to travel with an Explorer Ventures Fleet vessel through the end of April 2020, you'll be receiving an email from us with the details. For those traveling from May onwards, we ask for your patience. It’s simply too early to tell what the situation will be, but our goal remains to show you the best dive vacation you’ve had, as quickly as we can!

All Star Liveaboards
Official Announcement (Update as of March 19, 2020)
Bahamas – Ban on entry to travellers who have recently traveled to China, Iran, Ireland, UK, EU, Japan, South Korea or Singapore. At this time all trips are departing as planned. If you have a trip booked with Blackbeard’s, Cat Ppalu or Aqua Cat in the next 8 weeks (5/16/20) and wish to reschedule we are allowing these guests to rebook on a future date without penalty. There are no restrictions or blackout dates on these rebook credits.
British Virgin Islands – If you have a trip booked aboard the Cuan Law between now and April 19, 2020 please contact us and we will help reschedule your trip for a date in the future.
Philippines – If your trip is departing between now and April 14th we will be offering a full rebook credit.
Indonesia – Travelers who are under a government mandated travel ban or quarantine you would be eligible for a rebook credit. (China, Italy, Vatican, South Korea, Iran, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, UK)

Emperor Fleet
Official Announcement : If travel restrictions are implemented by your local, Egyptian, Maldivian or Indonesian governments due to COVID 19 (Corona virus) causing you to be unable to travel then the following will apply: 1.Any new booking that is made for travel between 10 March and 30 April is affected you will be allowed to cancel and get a full refund; 2. Any new booking that is made for travel between 01 May and 30 June is affected you will be allowed to cancel or be rebooked free of charge up to 14 days before arrival.

Dune Fleet
Official Announcement :
For all new bookings during 10th March 2020 - 31st October 2020 :
0% will be charged if you cancel more than 45 days before your trip
50% will be charged if you cancel between 44 and 31 days prior to arrival
100% will be charged if you cancel 30 days or less before your trip
For all current bookings already made :
• For those unable to travel due to Indonesian government bans, we will offer the chance to reschedule to a future Dune Aurora Cruise, valid for 12 months from original trip date, non-transferable, not to be combined with another offer, subject to availability. (New trip price must be less than or equal to original trip booking. If the new trip is of greater value the balance must be collected in full at the time of rescheduling)
• This offer is applicable for those who have made at least one deposit payment.
• Anyone choosing not to travel due to fear of the outbreak is subject to normal cancellation terms.

Solitude Liveaboards & Resorts
Official Announcement : Bookings that were made directly with us, you will be contacted by our reservations team and for bookings that are made through a booking agent, we will be contacting you through your booking agent. We like to thank you for your patience and understanding that we are doing our due diligence prior to making any recourse options.

Mexico

Nautilus Liveaboards (Update as of January 31, 2020)
Official Announcement : We ask that any divers scheduled to join one of our trips that have recently travelled to affected regions in China and are experiencing any flu-like symptoms, to please contact us. If travel is not advised, we will waive any cancellation fees and rebook you onto a later trip without charge.

The Pelagic Fleet (Solmar V & Socorro Vortex)
Official Announcement : If any of our divers are scheduled to join one of our trips have recently travelled to affected regions and are experiencing any type of flu-like symptoms, please contact us immediately. If travel is not advised, we will waive any cancellation fees and rebook you onto any available future trip without charge.

Rocio Del Mar & Quino El Guardian Liveaboard
Official Announcement : Should you arrive at the boat with a cough, fever, or flu-like symptoms, you may be denied boarding for the health and safety of the other passengers and crew. We will be happy to provide you documentation for your travel insurance provider. Should you not have travel insurance and we deny you boarding, we will provide you with the opportunity to return on another trip in the next twelve months.

Philippines

Discovery Fleet
Official Announcement : If you inform us that you will be cancelling your reservation 60 days or more before your scheduled departure for Tubbataha, we will give you a credit note for the trip at 100% value (dive package only); If you inform us 31 days to 59 days before your scheduled trip, we will give you 50% credit note of your dive package; If you inform us 30 days or less before the scheduled trip, this will be considered a no show and any payments will be forfeited. Credit notes or trip credit can be applied to any trip after the travel ban is lifted, it can also be transferred to another person. Credit notes will be honored for 1 year after the travel restrictions are lifted. (Only suitable for some country's residents)

Atlantis Dive Resorts and Liveaboards
Official Announcement : As the Philippine government closed the Philippines several days ago and introduced a myriad of internal travel restrictions as well. We will rescheduling reservations affected by the closure. If you have questions on how this affects your future reservation please contact your travel professional or an Atlantis representative. Atlantis is committed to doing everything we can to assist our extended family during this trying period.

 

[Dive and Cruise]

1st
Nautilus Liveaboards (Update as of January 31, 2020)
Official Announcement : We ask that any divers scheduled to join one of our trips that have recently travelled to affected regions in China and are experiencing any flu-like symptoms, to please contact us. If travel is not advised, we will waive any cancellation fees and rebook you onto a later trip without charge.

Nautilus Liveaboards

Previous Announcement (Update as of January 31, 2020)
We ask that any divers scheduled to join one of our trips that have recently travelled to affected regions in China and are experiencing any flu-like symptoms, to please contact us. If travel is not advised, we will waive any cancellation fees and rebook you onto a later trip without charge.

NEW Announcement (Update as of Feb 20, 2020)
Official Announcement from the founder : We will continue to run all scheduled departures as promised if there is even one diver who wants to head out to Socorro Island unless the government shuts down tourism boats. Nobody has to worry about getting back to USA and Canada. #sharkexpress is on standby if needed for rescue flights.

Contrast the new announcement with previous announcement : It seems that unless if you have been to affected regions in China and experiencing flu-like symptoms + the doctor says travel is not advised, then you can rebook your trip without any charges. For all other divers, seems the normal cancellation policy will apply as you are choosing not to travel due to fear of the outbreak.

 

[soonerwink]

Nautilus Liveaboards

Previous Announcement (Update as of January 31, 2020)
We ask that any divers scheduled to join one of our trips that have recently travelled to affected regions in China and are experiencing any flu-like symptoms, to please contact us. If travel is not advised, we will waive any cancellation fees and rebook you onto a later trip without charge.

NEW Announcement (Update as of Feb 20, 2020)
Official Announcement from the founder : We will continue to run all scheduled departures as promised if there is even one diver who wants to head out to Socorro Island unless the government shuts down tourism boats. Nobody has to worry about getting back to USA and Canada. #sharkexpress is on standby if needed for rescue flights.

Contrast the new announcement with previous announcement : It seems that unless if you have been to affected regions in China and experiencing flu-like symptoms + the doctor says travel is not advised, then you can rebook your trip without any charges. For all other divers, seems the normal cancellation policy will apply as you are choosing not to travel due to fear of the outbreak.

Very unprofessional of Nautilus in my opinion. You would think with the travel ban that they would at least offer a 100% credit on future trips.

 

[Dan]

Tomorrow’s departure was cancelled today. By Nautilus. Oh well.

So their website is not up to date then? It shows it’s a go with 32 spaces left.