explorer tours(dive operation !!)

[a k laird]

Allan
The text of your posting has been removed by me following my request that you clarified your comments, but failed to do so.

Whilst we are happy to accept constructive comments and criticisms here, yours were extremely vague and failed to identify where you went and the real nature of your difficulty. It appeared to be an unjustified rant against Explorer Tours.

You have also posted this without any contact details of an email address. So I have been unable to contact you.

I have retained a copy of your posting. If you wish to reconsider it and give a proper account of your difficulties which allows Explorer the right of reply we will happily allow the posting.

David Dixon
BSAC Travel Club Co-ordinator

[Steve L.]

A.K.

I`m sure your points are valid and I usually take time to read complaints as anyone who takes the time to write a post complaining, usually has some justification.

Unfortunately, with your post, I found it hard work. Mainly because of the lack of sentences, punctuation and capital letters where appropriate. This is Ok when texting on a mobile, but it makes very hard work when trying to read what should be normally written script.

I`m not a member of the `Grammar Police`, and my English can be as bad as the next persons, but it does help if our language is written with some degree of care.

No offence intended

Steve

[a k laird]

So sorry you had a hard time,as long as you got the point
a laird

[David Dixon]

Dear Allan
I find this posting rather difficult to understand and missing in many basic facts and details. You mention a trip with Explorers, a major dive tour operator, but do not say where you went or who were the local dive operators. We are happy to allow constructive and informative objective criticism here in the interest of encouraging safe and diverse diving. Please can you therefore amend you posting as soon as possible so we can understand the problems you may have experienced. Please also remember that Explorers must have a right of reply. Unfortunately, no one can comment on your somewhat obscure posting as it stands. Many thanks - David Dixon

[David Dixon]

Allan

The text of your posting has been removed by me following my request that you clarified your comments, but failed to do so.

Whilst we are happy to accept constructive comments and criticisms here, yours were extremely vague and failed to identify where you went and the real nature of your difficulty. It appeared to be an unjustified rant against Explorer Tours.

You have also posted this without any contact details of an email address. So I have been unable to contact you.

I have retained a copy of your posting. If you wish to reconsider it and give a proper account of your difficulties which allows Explorer the right of reply we will happily allow the posting. David Dixon, Travel Club Co-ordinator

[J Abbott]

Allan

The text of your posting has been removed by me following my request that you clarified your comments, but failed to do so.

Whilst we are happy to accept constructive comments and criticisms here, yours were extremely vague and failed to identify where you went and the real nature of your difficulty. It appeared to be an unjustified rant against Explorer Tours.

You have also posted this without any contact details of an email address. So I have been unable to contact you.

I have retained a copy of your posting. If you wish to reconsider it and give a proper account of your difficulties which allows Explorer the right of reply we will happily allow the posting. David Dixon, Travel Club Co-ordinator

David

Well actually, though it took some effort to decipher, his rant was about Ocean College and not Explorers. He has also posted an abbreviated version on the General Forum. Whilst I agree that detail was lacking, his post on the Travel Forum did show he had an unhappy experience with Ocean College. I have heard others complaining about this operation so he may have a valid point. I respect your decision to remove the post but I find it sad that such drastic action was felt appropriate. The damage was done. The post would have soon slipped down into obscurity. It was not as if it were a link to a porn site or something offensive.

John

[TerryH]

Well actually, though it took some effort to decipher, his rant was about Ocean College and not Explorers. He has also posted an abbreviated version on the General Forum. Whilst I agree that detail was lacking, his post on the Travel Forum did show he had an unhappy experience with Ocean College. I have heard others complaining about this operation so he may have a valid point. I respect your decision to remove the post but I find it sad that such drastic action was felt appropriate. The damage was done. The post would have soon slipped down into obscurity. It was not as if it were a link to a porn site or something offensive.

John

Disagree IMO it should have been dumped at the outset.

I welcome any post that tells it warts and all. Personal
reccommendation or otherwise is after all one of the main ways
of vetting firms etc. But .............
Such posts as David has said MUST be factual and be traceable.

There have been many posts on fora by disgruntled employees
whose only aim is to do as much damage as possible. So unless
the individual is prepared to be named and the firm given the
right to reply IMO any such post should be deleted without even
an explanation.

If it isnt, it should be forum policy in the same way as
a porn site etc.

As an aside to this, at LIDS this year I asked a simple question
of who I now know was one of the main movers and shakers of
Explorers. The awnser was very weak and I was almost instantly
fobbed off with a suggestion that I email. Bit of a faus pas
considering I was talking about our annual trip involving well
over 20 divers :-(

TerryH

[John Bantin]

I think it is time that all internet forums evolved away from school-boy posts by everyone declaring who they are. Anonymity devalues any opinion to the point of irrelevance or mere triviality.

[a k laird]

My rant was not against explorer tours,
Who i have gone with on many occasions(sharm el sheik)
But about ocean college
Who only dived local sites for three days said this was company policy(fiddle reef middle reef etc)
Had six kit boxes down the centre of the boat on the kitting up area because the under the cylinder racks where full is that not a safety issue,

and on one occasion had a ratio of 16 to one, my wife refused to dive with those numbers,

I would just like to state i have not problems with explorer tours hotels and staff are fine I went with three mates who hold the same opinions,
off with explorers again in march 06 but will dive with camel ,
who i believe are more customer friendly,
NOTE I DO NOT WORK IN THE DIVE INDUSTRY AND AM NOT A FORMER EMPLOYEE,

[scotpages]

Hi
My experiences with Explorers and Ocean College have been good.
I've dived with DMs/instructors Marc, Freddie, Hasan and Nina and found all of them to be informative and enthusiastic.
The boat crews have been great, I've mostly had experience of Noble Sheik and that crew would be hard to beat, very helpful.
Sometimes Noble Sheik feels a bit crowded in the kit-up area, yes boxes were stored in the middle. However we never dived with more than 8 to a group (perhaps your group of 16 came about if one DM/instructor was unable to dive?) and each group kitted up at different times so the area was never too crowded.
I would, however, like more flexibility on the Dive Sites too, although later in our recent week our guides did try to accomodate our suggested sites. I think the first two to three days of easy, local dives was to accomodate the different skill levels on our boat. I could have requested a move to a boatload of more experienced divers, but by day two I'd grown attached to my boatmates - a great bunch!
I didn't see many boats at the sites we dived which had less divers aboard, or more kit-up space. A lot of the Sharm operators are moving to bigger boats but these just seem to have even more divers on them, not more individual space.
I'd dive Explorers and Ocean College again.
scotpages

A K Laird said:
My rant was not against explorer tours,
Who i have gone with on many occasions(sharm el sheik)
But about ocean college
Who only dived local sites for three days said this was company policy(fiddle reef middle reef etc)
Had six kit boxes down the centre of the boat on the kitting up area because the under the cylinder racks where full is that not a safety issue,

and on one occasion had a ratio of 16 to one, my wife refused to dive with those numbers,

I would just like to state i have not problems with explorer tours hotels and staff are fine I went with three mates who hold the same opinions,
off with explorers again in march 06 but will dive with camel ,
who i believe are more customer friendly,
NOTE I DO NOT WORK IN THE DIVE INDUSTRY AND AM NOT A FORMER EMPLOYEE,