716 replies to this topic

[WreckWench]

Kamala,

I don't seem me listed on the spreadsheet, but I assume that's because I was a last minute add on.

dd

You are correct...I am working on the spreadsheet that Kim aka fingrabber did and we hope to have everything squared away tonight!

[WreckWench]

WW...
I would pay the money just to get the chance to dive with you!
DiveAK

Ah Mark aka DiveAK...you are the best! Of course you can always dive with me!

And I'll even practice long hose drills with you!

[DIVEAK]

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT UPDATES:

1. for the feedback so far on what type of diving you want to do! Kim and I still need to do the boat rosters for the trip so all the input you can give us will help tremendously!

2. We have JUST finalized with the resort all our schedules, extras, etc. NOW I have the fun task of finalizing with each of you any balance owed etc. I will be using the spreadsheet that Fingrabber did located in the FIRST MAIN POST at the bottom as my guide. If there is a mistake there we now have a mistake with the resort. PLEASE let me know immediately if you see one so that we can rectify it prior to you arriving. Otherwise we'll do our best to do it once we are on island. Thank you, kamala

3. Cash...please bring sufficient cash for tips, taxi's, the small amount of food not covered and any shopping you may do as well as island extras like sightseeing, etc. I would bring at least $100 in small bills and another $100 in say 20's. Not that you will need this much but with tips ranging $100+ per person (approx $20 per day of diving) you will want to plan accordingly. Its better to take it back home then to need it when traveling. Also traveler's checks are a hassle. They are hard to cash and difficult to use generally needing a bank to cash them.

4. Overall flavor for this single's week....some single's weeks focus on games and activities to get people to know one another through participation. SingleDivers.com naturally does this via its mixers and Happy Hours EVERY trip we take. We have rec'd very little input requesting games and contests other than a costume party during the week or on our last night.

So our costume party will be....YOUR BEST TOURIST IMITATION! So don't forget to pack your BEST TOURIST costume or just wear one of the outfits you brought with you! Now this can really be fun and the wacky your look as a tourist...the better your costume will be!!!

Rather than focus on activities we have not heard a lot of favorable response for we'll instead work on planning other activities on the island that you can participate in and/or pick and choose to participate in. Either way we'll have a fun filled week for you that will focus on diving and having a great time learning about the lovely people of Grenada.

5. School Supplies...DO NOT FORGET YOUR SCHOOL SUPPLIES!!! We will be visiting several orphanages who are in need and donating school supplies for them. We will also be featured in several diving chronicals so I'll need an official photographer to take shots for the article for us!

6. Trip Leaders...as you may have guessed your trip leaders are myself and fingrabber. Both of us are at your disposal to help with any issue that arises. The only thing we can't do is to read your mind. If there is a problem and you wish to address it yourself that is fine...just let one of us know so that we can see if others are having the same issue and/or assist in another way. Please don't wait to the end of the trip to let us know that you didn't like something...by then its too late to fix it. As trip leaders we are here for your safety, your comfort and to facilitate fun! While we might not be able to hang as long as you all do (too much stuff to do behind the scenes at hours that the rest of you are probably sleeping) we will participate in all the activities and events including extra diving! I know...its a rough job but SOMEONE has to do it right? And finally, we derive satisfaction from making people happy. It is part of our personalities so whether you need help with a specific issue, have a room or roomate concern or just need a suggestion...we are here to help you in anyway that we can!

7. Happy Hour...it is customary to have a HUGE SingleDivers.com Happy Hour! The hotel has a great bar at the resort that is the local college hangout! We will be throwing a cocktail party for everyone but will still have our official Happy Hour. I was hoping we'd be able to take the whole resort but we are taking 3/4's of it. So we'll still have to be mindful that other guests are there. I am not sure of the final location for Team SingleDivers.com Happy Hour but trust me that it will happen! Kim and I will be going down a day or so early to scope out the best venue and time so all you need to do is be prepared. Twister anyone? SD Twister is loads of fun! Anyone have a game? Bring it along!

Suggestions:
Mixers: are harder to come by if you don't want simple mixers. The resort does sell coke, sprite/7-up and juices. However some of our industrious divers bring a liter in their suitcase as it is pennies here.
Wine: is always hard to come by on an island so if you drink wine you'll want to bring a bottle or two with you for the HH.
Beer: The resort has plenty of beer for sale and its always cold!
Hard Alcohol: The resort has a full bar but divers usually buy a bottle to split at Duty Free for the week. So check with some of the others you'll meet on your flights and chat up what you'll bring. Or do it on the site now prior to the trip. Keep in mind we are not a diving club with a drinking problem...but we certainly do have fun socialing and drinking and diving responsibly!

Snacks: Special snacks ie. chips, candy bars etc are also hard to come by. Please bring your own stash if you need them!

8. Scavenger Hunt: SD will have its first Scavenger Hunt. You'll be given a list of items and places you need to find and have checked off to participate and to win. It will be fun and will help you learn more about the island and your fellow divers. The hunt will begin June 9th when the official Single's Week begins and will end June 16th when it closes. More details will be provided at the resort!

9. Final Agenda...the final agenda for the week is being completed this week. We'll have it ready for you when you arrive at the resort on the 9th. We'll do a brief orientation for the week that night as you get a bite to eat after your flights arrive. Anyone missing the Saturday Nite Orientation will be briefed Sunday morning.

10. And finally...this is the first time the resort has tried something like this and they are excited that we've reached a total of 30 people for our first year but they are nervous about pleasing us. I've assured them that as long as they do what they normally do we'll have a blast! If they do anything more it will be a bonus! So bear with the resort as they attempt their first ever singles week and be prepared to have a load of fun! -kamala and kim

One little thing on the spreadsheet... I arrive on 6/9. I leave Anchorage 6/8 but it is a 24 hour trip. All else good.
DiveAK

[WreckWench]

One little thing on the spreadsheet... I arrive on 6/9. I leave Anchorage 6/8 but it is a 24 hour trip. All else good.
DiveAK

Ouch...I think they show you arriving the 8th not the 9th. I will advise asap. Hopefully we caught this in time! kamala

[WreckWench]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!

Please check the final spreadsheet we sent to the resort for processing on the first page of the resort. We've now found one error on Mark's info and we know that Deb is on the final but was not on this list.

Please check it over. We have paid in full for whatever is listed on the main sheet so any mistakes may not be able to be corrected. HOWEVER we need to know if we have any so we can try to rectify them anyway. Thank you, Kamala

[shadragon]

Many of our previous clients have improved air consumption from a 20 minute dive to over a 40 minute dive by the end of the week.

That is because they were sucking in their guts and had less lung volume trying to impress the DM lasses...

Spreadsheet - I volunteered to use a computer on the trip also. Rest looks fine.

Edited by shadragon, 06 June 2007 - 07:03 PM.

[sparky103]

Re: Spreadsheet-- Ok except I've paid for Grenadines and faxed waiver/survey 2X Re: Diving preferences--- Wrecks Baby! When would I need to decide to" Rent -a-DM "(obviously before the 15th ) Jeff

[sparky103]

Eric / Howard -- Where are your seats? I'm in 25C. See you on the plane. Jeff

[WreckWench]

Bearing With Us....

WOW! I can't believe this trip starts tomorrow for me and on Friday for fingrabber...boy do we need to get wet!

Someone did a calculation as to how many different pkg options you could create with the different pkgs and different add-on's and the number was staggering.

Kim and I have probably encountered most of the those variations at least once. This trip has been a bear to figure out what people want and then what they owe and have paid.

And the fun continues.

1. It seems that we've had an onslaught of checks in the past few days which is good but it also means that your payment info may not be accurate AND it means that you may still owe us money but we are still trying to figure it out. PLEASE forgive us for not having it all figured out but we've paid the resort for you and figure you'll get us paid as we get it all figured out. :praying:

2. In preparing the spreadsheet in the first post, the dives were accidently ALL calculated at the 5 dive pkg price of $33 each which is not the right price for the single or 3 dive pkg price. PLEASE bear with us as we recalculate your extra dive pricing and get that settled with you all.

3. Many of you have recognized the challenges we've been facing and you've graciously offered to bring your checkbooks with you and to settle up for anything you owe. I hope to finish the calculations and recheck everything while in flight tomorrow to Grenada. Thank you ALL for your patience and your assistance in trying to get this all figured out.

4. And finally...we thought the resort was going to send us individual vouchers for each of the divers that we would resend to each of you. However to expedite the process it appears that they sent us a template to create the vouchers but neither Kim nor I have the program used to modify the voucher and therefore can not send them out.

SO...since I'll be there tomorrow, the only real purpose the voucher serves is to show that you have paid for your trip and what you have paid for. Since I have paid for everyone based upon what we show in the matrix in the first post of this thread/topic minus the grenedines trip as the resort wanted that paid for on island (although many of you added it to your payments to me) we'll figure it all out with your help and assistance.

So please cut and paste the info from the excell spreadsheet into a document and then take a minute to list all your payments to SD either by paypal, check or credit card. Many of you send a summary of what you are paying for with your checks or payments and I have copies of those which will help us do a final verification. In Grenada I will verify each person's payments to what we paid the resort for you and then add in the Grenedines if you paid us for that directly. While this is not customary practice, we really need your help to ensure that we get this right. Again this is not normal nor customary...look at any trip we've done and you'll never see this type of struggle but the options and payments and variations and changes just got the better of us and poor fingrabber is STILL not the same since trying to make heads or tails of it.

On a positive note...

Several of our members i.e. Shadragon, Moose etc in conjunction with Tolly, fingrabber and myself are working on a db program and interface that will allow you to sign up for options on a trip, make changes and have the program calculate your total for you. This will help going forward when we offer complex trips like this one! We are VERY excited about this future fix and eagerly look forward to giving vital input for the project on this trip!

[WreckWench]

Payment Update:

Got a few more checks in...

1. John aka Platypusman got your check via fingrabber
2. Deb aka DiverDeb got your check for trip, nitrox and grenedines
3. Sandy aka Scubapunk got your check for bal of trip + nitrox 9+ days
4. Pam aka SunsScubaGal got your check for bal of trip
5. Simon aka shadragon got your credit card payment form for bal of payment
6. Beth aka Beth got your DM payments and your paypal fees!

Document Update:

1. Jeff aka sparky103 got your waiver and survey
2. Deb aka diverdeb got your waiver and survey


NOTE: We are still working to figure all this out and will do a final verification in Grenada with everyone. Thank you! -ww

[fairfield59]

So who is picking up us voucher-less people at the airport?

[shadragon]

Hey all,

Pack your rain gear. Extended forecast for Grenada is showing showers and thunderstorms for the next 2-3 days.

http://www.wundergro.../global/GD.html

http://weather.yahoo...t/GJXX0001.html

Satellite pic is showing a heavy squall heading in that direction. Oh well, you need the bad days to appreciate the good...

[finGrabber]

So who is picking up us voucher-less people at the airport?

once you get cleared of customs, you'll move outside to the ground transportation. Someone will be there holding a sign for Singledivers/True Blue Bay resort and they will have a list of passengers for your flight

[divzac]

Hey all,

Pack your rain gear. Extended forecast for Grenada is showing showers and thunderstorms for the next 2-3 days.

http://www.wundergro.../global/GD.html

http://weather.yahoo...t/GJXX0001.html

Satellite pic is showing a heavy squall heading in that direction. Oh well, you need the bad days to appreciate the good...

I may just have to be-a-singin' and dancin' in the rain....