Trip report Sep 2014: Palau Aggressor - VERY BAD EXPERIENCE

[flots am]

Who stocks this in Palau, and for how much?

People never get that for some reason.

What's a bottle of water worth?

• It's about a buck in a convenience store.
• It's worth everything you have, if there isn't any other fresh water and you haven't had any all day.

There's a bit difference between the value of a red filter if you're in the middle of NYC, or if you're in the middle of the ocean.

---------- Post added October 12th, 2014 at 01:03 PM ----------

instead came back to me saying they cannot disclose anything anymore. What started as innnocent complaints made me realise something fishy about this whole Franchise organization.

No business will ever tell you anything about any employee or internal investigation since it leaves them wide open for a legal process known as "getting their ass sued off".

The "fishy" part would be if they ever told you anything specific.

 

[Shasta_man]

<<Who stocks this in Palau, and for how much?>>

We are agreed that is likely no one, though I wonder about that for such a popular device. Agreed that it would likely end up being a purchase from the USA. Agreed that it would cost some money to ship, and more than I would pay to get it here, though some mention it could be only $15-20. Agreed that the delivery service isn't the best. However, these guys return to land weekly so you don't need a delivery in the middle of the ocean, and, having been there, they aren't in the middle of nowhere but in one of the major cities there. So it isn't a plane to a slow boat to a 14 hour bus ride into the jungle. It's more a plane to a truck that drops it off with the rest of the stuff they order. So to distill all that down, yes, it costs more than getting here in the US, but I suggest the price they are charging is still appreciably over what it would cost to get it to Palau as well, including any "inconvenience charge" they wish to assess. I'd also think if you were renting these things where a red filter can make all the difference between footage you would want to see and show others, or just blue, blue, blue, you would buy a few to have in case swimming around in Palau's famous currents knocks one off. It would not save much cost but it would resolve the "I need it now, it takes too long to ship" problem. I am also wondering about how they knocked it off since they are attached pretty well if correctly installed.

All these things weren't the end of the world, but there were some things that I'd expect management would not want to happen. While I don't expect a public flogging or naming of names, it seems every report we see has a followup that says "charges not proven", and many times basically say your version is not truthful, and that is troubling to me as a customer spending thousands on my big trip. It's like a traffic ticket. Without real evidence (your word is not good enough, but the officer's word on its own is), how can you prove it, and who goes along collecting such evidence just in case?

 

[Zen1300]

The filter is really a moot issue since the OP paid for it. The time to contest the price should have been at that moment. I would have offered to settle it up later when I had an opportunity to investigate the costs.

I wonder if a rental agreement for the personal GoPro was signed.

An unfortunate experience for sure, but that's where lessons are learned.

 

[CaptainHornblower]

A little harsh, but I agree. The original post sounded pretty "whine, whine, whine."

 

[kristen8416]

I was just considering liveaboards for my next trip and this gives me pause. Not because I agree or disagree with any of the above, I don't really want to get in the weeds about it. It is just concerning being stuck on a boat for a week and not being happy, whether you are right or wrong.

 

[drrich2]

Kristen:

My take on the situation is that you need to research the specific live-aboard boat you're considering. In other words, don't assume at the Aggressor name guarantees every boat marketed under that name is a 'winner.'

I've booked my 1st live-aboard trip, on the Sun Dancer 2, to dive Belize later this year. This boat falls under the Aggressor brand, yes, but that alone didn't sell me on it. I researched that specific boat on Scuba Board, Undercurrent and elsewhere online and came up with consistently glowing reviews by former customers. In a part of the world where land-based op.s, and the Belize Aggressor III itself, must offer some stiff competition.

In a nutshell, I feel good about the choice. The Aggressor name may not mean much, sad to say. But the Sun Dancer 2 name does mean something.

Richard.

 

[kristen8416]

Thanks drrich2! Yea, I'm not really concerned about the Aggressor brand in general. I agree, it's best to research the specific one first.

I've gone back and forth on liveaboards because I've never done one. I'm probably more concerned with the other passengers than the crew. Have you ever been on a boat with a group of idiots or rude people and then thought what if this was a livaboard and you're stuck with them for a week. I wish I could find a 4-5 day trip to do a trial run and see if I like it. It it does seem like you get a lot of bang for your buck and tons of diving.

I was just looking at the Aggressor Tiger Beach Bahamas and found this thread searching livaboards.

 

[Damselfish]

I've never been on a liveaboard with a group of idiots or rude people, you typically get a boat full of nice people you already have something in common with. Occasionally there might be a lone idiot, but that's not really a problem and can even provide comic relief.

There's not a whole lot of liveaboard trips less than a week long, and they tend be ones with less space and amenities. So while shorter might seem to be a lower risk way of trying out a liveaboard to see if you like it, it might not work out that way. Obviously it depends on expectations and what you're looking for. But you could easily wind up roughing it more than you'd like and hating it for 4 nights vs. spending 7 nights in (relative) luxury and really enjoying it.

Very true about the reputation of an individual boat being important, exactly because whatever umbrella they may be under is not always so meaningful (for good or bad.) While people sometimes write off entire companies (including entire airlines or hotel chains) based on isolated problems, you really need to make an educated choice. Sometimes writing off a whole company does make sense, but if you do too much of that you can start eliminating perfectly good options.

 

[lamarpaulski]

Damselfish is right...usually divers on liveaboards are fulfilling a dream and are pretty good fellow passengers.

 

[Asteve]

I find live-aboards are a mixed bag. If you go to complain you probably will not have to complain about the same thing twice. If you go down to have a great vacation/time it will be great. There is not much you can do about other people, but surprising, as small as boats are it is easy to stay away from the bad ones, and they seem to be few. The crew is another matter, they can make or break a trip. One bad crew can make a trip so so. Two would be a trip from hell. So when I am looking for a boat, the reviews better not have any crew/captain problems. I have never been on a trip with bad crew. It would be nice if operator would supply a set of rules that the boat runs by before you sign up. I like live-aboards, you get a max number of dives in a short time.