153 replies to this topic

[TexasDiver]

After 2 weeks of diving with the pelagics on the reefs of the Maldives, top off the trip with another 10 days of the finest muck diving in the world. Kamala has agreed to assist me in booking this, please join me for a unique diving opportunity.

I know TexasDiver aka Craig, and scubabjs aka Brian are interested in this add-on. Would anyone else like to join us???

Bill

I would also try to meet up with diver_runner_artcollector for another week or two (or more) of diving after Bill's extension!

[WreckWench]

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Due to the economic unrest in many parts of the world, some issues have arisen that may impact this trip. We are doing a full assessment and will have a final decision on Monday as to whether we will still be diving the Maldives or switching to another equally awesome venue. Under no circumstances will we go diving in an area of unrest and/or the possibility of problems for our group.

If more information arises over the weekend I will keep you apprised.

Regardless of our decision on Monday, IT WILL ONLY BE PREDICATED ON DIVING WHERE IT IS SAFE AND IF WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT WE'LL GET THE FULL LEVEL OF SERVICE AND AMENITIES THAT WE HAVE CONTRACTED FOR.

I am confidant that we'll have an acceptable outcome regardless. More on this as it is available. Kamala


p.s. I am asking one of our trip coordinators to send this message to everyone on the interested list.

[TRINITY]

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Due to the economic unrest in many parts of the world, some issues have arisen that may impact this trip. We are doing a full assessment and will have a final decision on Monday as to whether we will still be diving the Maldives or switching to another equally awesome venue. Under no circumstances will we go diving in an area of unrest and/or the possibility of problems for our group.

If more information arises over the weekend I will keep you apprised.

Regardless of our decision on Monday, IT WILL ONLY BE PREDICATED ON DIVING WHERE IT IS SAFE AND IF WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT WE'LL GET THE FULL LEVEL OF SERVICE AND AMENITIES THAT WE HAVE CONTRACTED FOR.

I am confidant that we'll have an acceptable outcome regardless. More on this as it is available. Kamala


p.s. I am asking one of our trip coordinators to send this message to everyone on the interested list.

Hello Kamala! (How are you? )

Yes, that part of the world does have its problems, sure glad there arent any here in the US . I'd be interested in joining.
Thanks! Terry

[secretsea18]

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Due to the economic unrest in many parts of the world, some issues have arisen that may impact this trip. We are doing a full assessment and will have a final decision on Monday as to whether we will still be diving the Maldives or switching to another equally awesome venue. Under no circumstances will we go diving in an area of unrest and/or the possibility of problems for our group.

If more information arises over the weekend I will keep you apprised.

Regardless of our decision on Monday, IT WILL ONLY BE PREDICATED ON DIVING WHERE IT IS SAFE AND IF WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT WE'LL GET THE FULL LEVEL OF SERVICE AND AMENITIES THAT WE HAVE CONTRACTED FOR.

I am confidant that we'll have an acceptable outcome regardless. More on this as it is available. Kamala


p.s. I am asking one of our trip coordinators to send this message to everyone on the interested list.

After doing a news Google search, I failed to find any unrest occurring in Maldives at this time. What have I missed about that part of the world????

Has the Gulf of Mexico oil slick reached Maldives?

[ScubaTex]

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Due to the economic unrest in many parts of the world, some issues have arisen that may impact this trip. We are doing a full assessment and will have a final decision on Monday as to whether we will still be diving the Maldives or switching to another equally awesome venue. Under no circumstances will we go diving in an area of unrest and/or the possibility of problems for our group.

If more information arises over the weekend I will keep you apprised.

Regardless of our decision on Monday, IT WILL ONLY BE PREDICATED ON DIVING WHERE IT IS SAFE AND IF WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT WE'LL GET THE FULL LEVEL OF SERVICE AND AMENITIES THAT WE HAVE CONTRACTED FOR.

I am confidant that we'll have an acceptable outcome regardless. More on this as it is available. Kamala


p.s. I am asking one of our trip coordinators to send this message to everyone on the interested list.

After doing a news Google search, I failed to find any unrest occurring in Maldives at this time. What have I missed about that part of the world????

Has the Gulf of Mexico oil slick reached Maldives?

Google: Hajj - this year scheduled to be between Nov. 14-18. This is just a guess, but possibly all the air from the Indo-Pacific has already been sold out.

Bill

[secretsea18]

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Due to the economic unrest in many parts of the world, some issues have arisen that may impact this trip. We are doing a full assessment and will have a final decision on Monday as to whether we will still be diving the Maldives or switching to another equally awesome venue. Under no circumstances will we go diving in an area of unrest and/or the possibility of problems for our group.

If more information arises over the weekend I will keep you apprised.

Regardless of our decision on Monday, IT WILL ONLY BE PREDICATED ON DIVING WHERE IT IS SAFE AND IF WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT WE'LL GET THE FULL LEVEL OF SERVICE AND AMENITIES THAT WE HAVE CONTRACTED FOR.

I am confidant that we'll have an acceptable outcome regardless. More on this as it is available. Kamala


p.s. I am asking one of our trip coordinators to send this message to everyone on the interested list.

After doing a news Google search, I failed to find any unrest occurring in Maldives at this time. What have I missed about that part of the world????

Has the Gulf of Mexico oil slick reached Maldives?

Google: Hajj - this year scheduled to be between Nov. 14-18. This is just a guess, but possibly all the air from the Indo-Pacific has already been sold out.

Bill

Hmmmm. I don't think the Hajj, which is in Saudi Arabia would cause unsafe conditions in Maldives. However you have a valid point with air.

[peterbj7]

I don't see either of these points as significant.

[secretsea18]

I don't see either of these points as significant.

In fact it it were the state department warning, then Mexico and Philippines would also be off limits as they are on the travel warnings list. But, Maldives and India are not.

Singapore and Thailand were also cited and placed upon the same list for "human trafficking" that Maldives was placed on. And Fiji and Malaysia were already on said list. In all these cases, visitors are not the ones at risk; the local population are the risk group.

[Landlocked Dive Nut]

I believe the point is simply that Kamala tries very hard to run safe, worry-free trips. I've been on 7 trips with her in the past 2 years, and typically more than half of the group (in Egypt, 18 out of 24!) are single females, many still young, healthy and attractive. It would only take one very unfortunate incident on one of her trips to 1) make Kamala feel guilty or responsible, and 2) possibly have adverse consequences on her dive business.

There are many places in the world to dive! If she cannot plan for & provide adequate safety for her group, she will likely switch venues. But let's wait & see what she decides, as she did state that she was doing a full assessment of the situation over the weekend.

[secretsea18]

I believe the point is simply that Kamala tries very hard to run safe, worry-free trips. I've been on 7 trips with her in the past 2 years, and typically more than half of the group (in Egypt, 18 out of 24!) are single females, many still young, healthy and attractive. It would only take one very unfortunate incident on one of her trips to 1) make Kamala feel guilty or responsible, and 2) possibly have adverse consequences on her dive business.

There are many places in the world to dive! If she cannot plan for & provide adequate safety for her group, she will likely switch venues. But let's wait & see what she decides, as she did state that she was doing a full assessment of the situation over the weekend.

The question is "what is the unsafe situation in Maldives"?

[ScubaTex]

I believe the point is simply that Kamala tries very hard to run safe, worry-free trips. I've been on 7 trips with her in the past 2 years, and typically more than half of the group (in Egypt, 18 out of 24!) are single females, many still young, healthy and attractive. It would only take one very unfortunate incident on one of her trips to 1) make Kamala feel guilty or responsible, and 2) possibly have adverse consequences on her dive business.

There are many places in the world to dive! If she cannot plan for & provide adequate safety for her group, she will likely switch venues. But let's wait & see what she decides, as she did state that she was doing a full assessment of the situation over the weekend.

Tammy you are correct, this is Kamala's business and her decision to make.

The State Department report covers every country in the world, including the U.S.A. Essentially, there's nowhere in the world you can travel, which doesn't have some sort of human trafficking.

Life is full of risks, some we avoid, some we insure against, some we are ignorant of, and some we are willing to accept in order to live our lives to the fullest. Years ago my father tried to dissuade me from scuba diving, saying it was too dangerous. This was after he had taken up snow skiing at 62, then having to have both knees replaced 12 years later. Each of us made the decision to accept the risk, and were/are willing to accept the ultimate outcome. Just think how dull and boring our lives would be if we totally eliminated risk, it wouldn't be worth living.

My 2 psi.

Bill

[secretsea18]

I believe the point is simply that Kamala tries very hard to run safe, worry-free trips. I've been on 7 trips with her in the past 2 years, and typically more than half of the group (in Egypt, 18 out of 24!) are single females, many still young, healthy and attractive. It would only take one very unfortunate incident on one of her trips to 1) make Kamala feel guilty or responsible, and 2) possibly have adverse consequences on her dive business.

There are many places in the world to dive! If she cannot plan for & provide adequate safety for her group, she will likely switch venues. But let's wait & see what she decides, as she did state that she was doing a full assessment of the situation over the weekend.

Tammy you are correct, this is Kamala's business and her decision to make.

The State Department report covers every country in the world, including the U.S.A. Essentially, there's nowhere in the world you can travel, which doesn't have some sort of human trafficking.

Life is full of risks, some we avoid, some we insure against, some we are ignorant of, and some we are willing to accept in order to live our lives to the fullest. Years ago my father tried to dissuade me from scuba diving, saying it was too dangerous. This was after he had taken up snow skiing at 62, then having to have both knees replaced 12 years later. Each of us made the decision to accept the risk, and were/are willing to accept the ultimate outcome. Just think how dull and boring our lives would be if we totally eliminated risk, it wouldn't be worth living.

My 2 psi.

Bill

While I agree with you regarding Maldives and SD, her post alluded to "security" problems, and made it sound like there was trouble in the country of the Maldives. I see no reason to keep that sort of information secret.

I think that it is altogether reasonable, if there are undisclosed, in global news, security and safety problems within the country of Maldives, that members of this site be made aware of them, in general. That would be helping all SD members know about world safety issues and increase all members safety.

[Landlocked Dive Nut]

Kamala is investigating thoroughly without propagating rumors or second-hand heresay. She is not keeping anything secret, she just wants all the information she can gather before going into detail here, and she is currently leading a dive trip which limits her free time to investigate. She said she would decide by Monday (or her usual sliding scale ) and I'm sure she will post her reasons behind whatever decision she makes. It may simply be that the resort or dive operator is being affected by something "economic" that threw up a red flag.

Regardless of our decision on Monday, IT WILL ONLY BE PREDICATED ON DIVING WHERE IT IS SAFE AND IF WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT WE'LL GET THE FULL LEVEL OF SERVICE AND AMENITIES THAT WE HAVE CONTRACTED FOR.

She posted the Update before her trip started so that anyone interested in the Maldives trip would know she was investigating, in case they were hearing anything from other sources.

Let's please put this discussion on hold until Kamala posts again.

[WreckWench]

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

First I am sorry that this thread has reached the pitch and tone that it has. That was not my intention. I am in the middle of leading one trip and when I posted this I was not and I am still not in a position to expound on my concerns that are being assessed as we speak regarding this trip. They were serious enough to warrant delaying the completion of the trip details and opening the booking process. If they are properly worked out to my satisfaction then they will be nothing more than a bump in the road. If they turn out to be more serious or can not be satisfactorily worked out then they will deter us from doing this trip at this time and we'll look to do it another time.

I will however not put anything in writing that I can not substantiate. There is one lawsuit in the diving community forums as a result of that practice. I will however take all the information available to me and use it wisely to determine if we will be doing this trip or not.

As noted by both Landlocked Dive Nut and Cmdr. Clownfish...there are MANY variables that go into planning a trip for our members some tangible and some not. ALL are valid and I would ONLY pull a trip if the circumstances warranted it; as I am disappointing a lot of people by doing so and I never want to do that. However I would disappoint far more by moving in a course of action that I felt was wrong even if I could not adequately explain to those interested my reasons for doing so. I will also not proceed with anything that does not provide me with the assurances we need that we'll get exactly what we contracted for.

I was told that I would have a full assessment of the situation today which due to timezones is probably our tonight. That being said I would hope to have our course of action decided by tomorrow at the latest.

Thank you for your patience in this matter. Kamala