Your thoughts on a Refund or Credit

[Griffo]

I'm curios to hear peoples opinions on whether they would ask for a credit or refund in the following situation. My fellow live-aboard guests were very divided according to their backgrounds.

Long story short - I just got off a 7 day liveaboard. While I have absolutely no complaints about the ship or crew or such, the problem started when we boarded. The dives guides were sick with some kind of flu/cold. They battled on throughout the cruise, sometimes with one or the other taking days off and staying in bed, or you would see them rugged up fighting fevers between the dives, and taking copious amounts of drugs. Full credit to their work ethic in what must have been miserable circumstances for them.

The problem was that on day 3 I woke up with their flu, did one dive, and sat out the rest of the trip being either laid up with a bad fever, coughing up a lung, or just being unable to equalise. So I managed 7 out of the 22 dives on offer.

While sickness is no excuse for a refund, the fact that the ship sailed with a sick crew who then passed it onto me just plain sucks. It's low season there, so i'm sure a dive guide or two could have been found fairly easily - even if the other guides remained to stay in charge, but were kept away from the guests. Other guests got sick too but luckily only on the last day, I was the only one who succumbed so early.

 

[lamarpaulski]

Would not hurt to ask, esp for a credit or partial. You made your case pretty clearly and while you can't 100% be sure, it seems highly likely the sick staff caused you to miss 2/3 of the dives.

 

[Dsix36]

My opinion will probably not be very popular. I think that you got what you paid for, period.

The boat picked you up and took you diving for the planned duration. You had a captain, crew, and DM's at your service. You had ample opportunity to dive.

The fact that you got sick on this trip really sucks, but you could have just as easily had your apendix rupture. Some things are completely out of our control and this is one of them.

If the DM's were really that sick, then I think it should have been brought up the instant that you got to the boat, otherwise I have to say kudos to them for still performing their duties.

The liveaboard operation still has expenses for the trip regardless of wither you dive or not.

A friend recently went to Mexico for a week of cave diving. She went with a group and got a package arrangement. All the fees, flight, dive guide, food etc were paid for. She did one dive and was sick for the rest of the time, including the flight home. It sucked for her, but never once did she have the idea of a refund or credit.

 

[Wookie]

Let me tell you how I see it from the other side.

We discourage guests from coming when they are sick. When someone gets on the boat sick, we make extra effort to wipe down every surface many many times per day to keep from spreading the germs around. One guest sneezing in the buffet line ruins it for the rest of the guests and the crew. Sometimes, the crew gets sick too. We still take extra precautions when a guest is sick, like massive amounts of vitamin c, theraflu, all of the home and pharmacy remedies so we don't get sick. It happens. Hopefully, there are enough crew to keep the sick crew in their cabin during the time when they are contagious, but it doesn't always work out that way. If you have full time crew like I do, where would you leave them on the beach, it isn't like they have apartments or another place to stay. So, we sometimes sail sick. It's part of liveaboard diving. Sometimes guests show up sick and they don't even know they have it, like in your case. You got sick on day 3, the incubation period for a common cold is 2 days, so you must have been smooching the stewardess the day you got there.

Now, you want the owner of the boat to reach down into his pocket and refund you or give you consideration for free future travel. He (or she) didn't wish this cold on you. They do everything in their power to prevent this from happening, because when someone catches a cold, they ask for a refund or voucher, even though the operator did everything in their power to prevent you from coming on sick, or you getting sick on the boat. WHy should they give you consideration for this? Is it really their fault that some Typhoid Mary came along and infested the boat?

What if you had taken a holiday at the beach with the family, and you had gotten sick there? Would you have asked the beach for a refund? Maybe the hotel you stayed in? The local council? You took a ride on a boat. Most boats don't guarantee any number of minimum dives, what you are buying is passage on a vessel, 3 squares and snacks a day, a bunk, and the opportunity to dive. Due to no fault of the operator you got sick (maybe you didn't wash your hands enough?) and were not able to avail yourself of the opportunity to dive. That's beyond the control of the operator. Like weather. Had they cancelled the trip because the crew was sick, you'd have wanted a refund of your airfare and other travel expenses, and so would the other 15 folks.

At least that's how I see it. I would neither refund nor credit you. I'm a little disappointed anyone would even ask.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

And if the crew is really that sick, I'd rather they stay in their cabins unless absolutely necessary and let me fend for myself on dives, gearing up, I know how to fill tanks, and if necessary could even cook a meal. Galley might be a mess when done, but helping out to me would be the decent thing to do. That they tried to soldier on sick and still take care of guests is service way above and beyond. Hope they were left an extra generous tip. Hell I'd a tipped em not to breathe on me.

 

[vladimir]

Déjà vu!

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...-compensation-live-aboard-operator-if%85.html

I predict a 60-40 split in favor of a refund.

 

[cbm32]

From the description of what happened, it certainly sounds to me like the OP got the bug from the crew. If the owner exposed guests to sick crew when he there was another option he should make it right with passengers that end up sick and having their vacation ruined. In this case it would appear he got off light in that only one guest ended up having his trip ruined.

Wookie, I generally agree with most of what you post and find you to be level headed. In this case though it seems you are not real consistent. If you discourage guests from coming onboard sick, why would you have crew come on board when they are sick? One is as big a threat to your passengers as the other.

If the crew got sick after departure and there was no way to put them ashore to protect the guests it is one thing but to start the voyage with sick crew is just asking for trouble. Looks to me as though the owner got lucky in that only one guest had his trip ruined and he should take some steps to make it right with that guest.

 

[chrpai]

This is just a risk that comes with liveaboards and there is no insurance for it that I know of.. Everyone is in such close quarters.

 

[cbm32]

chrpai, I agree that it is a risk one takes on liveaboard with people in such close quarters. However, the risk is far greater when the boat sets out with someone on board that is already sick. It would just seem to me that the operator would want to mitigate the risk by not knowingly leaving port with a sick person, or sick people, on board, whether they be guests or crew.

 

[Wookie]

chrpai, I agree that it is a risk one takes on liveaboard with people in such close quarters. However, the risk is far greater when the boat sets out with someone on board that is already sick. It would just seem to me that the operator would want to mitigate the risk by not knowingly leaving port with a sick person, or sick people, on board, whether they be guests or crew.

Where would you put the crew you had to leave behind? How would you feel if you were the guest that the captain said had to stay behind because you had sniffles, and how would the vessel operator shift the massive costs of such a decision to the guest who brought the sickness on the boat?

Shoe on a different foot. You come on the boat and get sick. No one in the crew is sick until your last day, and everyone in the crew gets it. Now, the Captain and owner says to you "You got the crew sick, and we have to cancel the next trip. Direct loss of revenue is $35,000, and refunding everyone's airfare on the next trip will cost an additional $18,000. Please write a check for $43,000 to compensate for the losses while we sit in port and get healthy.

Or doesn't it work that way?