21 replies to this topic

[WreckWench]

This is on every diver's bucket list and there is a reason. Sell the cat, eat ramen noodles, save your pennies but make it to Chuuk before you give up diving!!!

Or before damage to our oceans irrevocably changes diving.

[Scubatooth]

I glad the trip reports are coming in and good ones at that. This is a bucket list item for me and with 30-33 months I can get the $$$, my back in shape and in the water, get my skills back up to snuff as well as finish up some additional training(CCR by then hopefully).

What i meant is the trip to be open in enough time to get a FF ticket. There was talk about this trip for over a year and a half.... but final details/open for booking less then 6 months in advance and by then award tickets had been gone for 3+ months and the island hopper business fare had tripled (the difference between coach and business/forward cabin was only $200 initially)if one didnt take the contract option.

The ticket i had on hold was timed perfectly for me as it had stops in Tokyo(18hour) and Guam(23 hrs) on the way there, and Guam (23hr) and Hong Kong (19hrs) on the way back. Then again my circadian rhythm is almost non-existent due to the nature of my current profession and previous work travels where i would hit 3 separate continents in less then 5 days before returning home to process all the images/graphics and shipped out the door before a week had elapsed. It was a wash with the injury to my back

[WreckWench]

Again planning a complete 2nd trip in conjunction with the first one caused most of the aforementioned delays.

The plan will be to have TWO trips entirely planned out and ready for booking early. However it is unclear at this time if we will use an air contract or not. Protocol is that when using an air contract preference for seats goes to the contract and then any extra spots can use miles.

All accounts showed that miles were never really available for the Truk Flight due to such limited air travel into this region and no competition. The only carrier is CO and even their highest elites could not upgrade on this flight despite paying more money for flights that would allow upgrades. It was wasted money.

[Scubatooth]

The ticket i had set was miles getting me as far as Guam, which is the farthest i could get one OneWorld alliance. Then from Guam would be a paid ticket on Co/UA/AirMike... what ever they call themselves this week due to the merger.

I know from having looked at the fare buckets data(via a couple of search tools +- 1 year) that mile upgrades are blacked out for the most part or show up once in a blue moon on the island hopper, and HNL-GUM/GUM-HNL flights. You have to buy the cabin of service you want for the most part. As a reference point for the island hopper flights when i first looked was $900(Y-Coach)/1100(J-Biz) which was typical pricing for the island hopper but this was either 90 or 120+ day advance purchase and really went up from there. The contract rate you got was extremely good considering all that has gone on with ticket pricing in the last 90days.

If you want a eye opener on mile upgrades, google "star net blocking" as this is Modus operandi for United and Continental.

[Going Postal]

Truk Dives according to my Logbook:

4/25: Kiyosumi Maru (2), Yamagiri Maru (2)

4/26: Fumitzuki Destroyer (1), Shinkoku Maru (3)

4/27: I 169 Submarine (1), Gosei Maru (1), Rio De Janeiro Maru (3)

4/28: Hoki Maru (1), Fujikawa Maru (3)

4/29: Nippo Maru (2), Heian Maru (2)

4/30: San Francisco Maru (1), Kensho Maru (1)

I hope I covered all of them.

February 2014, we do it again, Woo Hoo

[WreckWench]

Mikey you ROCK!!!

[Jerrymxz]

I thought I'd bring this thread back to the top for anyone considering the 2014 "Return to Truk" trip. If anyone has any questions I'd be glad to give you what I have, including number of dives depths etc. I have graphs from both computers of all my dives so if you're interested let me know.