Soualiga SXM

Capt. Bob here. The posted link didn't work for me either.

Seems this isn't working here on Cruise Critic.

go to: Go Fund Me

Then /st-martin-recovery-and-rebuilding

Cruise critic is blocking Go Fund Me for some reason.

Or send me an email to bcass1@aol.com and I can send the link directly

OK to all of you who were bent out of shape because of my clearly stated cancellation policy, The 5% is only on the 20% of the deposit and $1.19 per person. Again this 5% is paid in advance when you make a reservation, sometimes over a year in advance so there is no way the bank is going to refund me this charge and this is an international bank and has different rates and rules that US banks.

Also I have refunded everyone who booked for Sept and Oct and am working to refund the Nov bookings.

I have refunded everyone 100% and have taken the 5% as part of the disaster costs.

If you have a booking with me, please contact me if you have a problem and if you are complaining here on this forum and don't even have any business with me, well...you know where you can go.

I'm sure you're under a lot of stress right now. Don't get baited into an argument about your business with people online, and remember that anything you post on CC is permanent--they remove the ability to edit your posts after a short time. Meaning, anything you post in the heat of the moment will be here for years and years.

 

I say this because I'm confident people are going to argue with your explanation.

Thanks, I only wish people could see what we have gone through and have a heart. Again, The 5 % is not going into my pocket. The bank keeps it. Any one who wishes to dispute the 5% cancellation policy can let me know personally and I will give then the 5%. I'm just happy to be alive and not going to quibble over $1.19 per person even though the cancellation policy is clear.

He's got his cancellation policy nicely wrapped up:

 

Cancellations:

FULL REFUND IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE SHIP ARRIVING LATE OR NOT INTO PORT AT ALL.

FULL REFUND, IF I AS THE CAPTAIN DECIDE THAT WEATHER OR THE SEA CONDITIONS ARE NOT SAFE. RAIN IN THE AM IS COMMON AND NOT GROUNDS FOR CANCELLATION.

FULL REFUND IF YOU CANCEL MORE THAN 30 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE

NO REFUND IF YOU CANCEL LESS THAN 30 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE.

ALL REFUNDS ARE LESS 5%.

 

 

 

That's dreadful! It's his decision to cancel, even though the ship cannot dock, and he isn't even anywhere near the island at present!

I suppose I should have stayed on the island with no food, no water, electricity, telephone or internet , no police or military protection with looters with guns taking anything they wanted with no regard for your life. at night there was nothing but gunfire and people screaming. What would you have done? I did not cancel, hurricane Irma cancelled for me.

 

 

Wow. All nicely covered by his own policy though.

I suppose I should have stayed on the island with no food, no water, electricity, telephone or internet , no police or military protection with looters with guns taking anything they wanted with no regard for your life. at night there was nothing but gunfire and people screaming. What would you have done? I did not cancel, hurricane Irma cancelled for me.

Wow. All nicely covered by his own policy though.

I suppose I should have stayed on the island with no food, no water, electricity, telephone or internet , no police or military protection with looters with guns taking anything they wanted with no regard for your life. at night there was nothing but gunfire and people screaming. What would you have done? I did not cancel, hurricane Irma cancelled for me.

Wow. All nicely covered by his own policy though.

Yes, because it's his cancellation policy, LOL

See how long he thinks that will fly

I'm not keeping 5% for myself. its the bank that charges me 5% and it is not refundable.

That is absurd. He's keepng 5% of your money, but completly cancelled the tour ?

I did not cancel the tour, Hurricane Irma did

My cancellation policy is clearly stated in the trip description, the deposit info and the confirmation. If you were not Ok with the cancellation policy you should not have booked. The 5 % is $1.19 per person. This is not going into my pocket but are fees that are not refundable to my by my bank. It's funny how it's always the vendors fault when people do not READ their contract.

The highlighted portion of the email that you quoted means that the tour operator will give refunds every week, to whoever is booked that week and won't be getting their tour.

 

The refunds will continue on a weekly basis because the tour operator doesn't know how long his tour will be out of service. So if your tour is this week, you are in the refund group this week. If your tour is next week, you get refunded next week and so on.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thanks for understanding the situation and how I have decided what is the fairest way to make refunds.

what?????

My cancellation policy is clearly stated in the trip description, the deposit info and the confirmation. If you were not Ok with the cancellation policy you should not have booked. The 5 % is $1.19 per person. This is not going into my pocket but are fees that are not refundable to my by my bank. It's funny how it's always the vendors fault when people do not READ their contract.

Here's a letter from Captain Bob, a private tour operator in St Maarten. To those that have been skewering Royal Caribbean, what are your thoughts on his refund policy?

 

"To all my valued friends and clients,

 

I can not thank you enough for your concerns and emails about our safety during Hurricane Irma and St.Martin. As you have seen in the news, Irma made a direct hit in St.Martin on Sept 5-6. It totally devastated the island. We were lucky and only lost 3 of our 11 boats and everyone is safe.

I personally was able to get evacuated yesterday by fishing boat to St. Kitts where I was able to get on a flight to Chicago with my dog and drive a rental car to Long Island NY. I am lucky to get out with the shirt on my back and a few important belongings and papers.

 

My house withstood the storm with minimal damage but most others were destroyed. The night of the storm was particularly scary and the days and nights following the storm were also dangerous because of looting.

 

We are hoping to be back in business by the middle of December 2017 as long as the cruise ships start coming back but that all depends on how quickly the island rebuilds infrastructure.

 

If you have a reservation booked, I will be making refunds less 5% as per our cancellation policy weekly as the weeks pass until ship start coming back again so look for your refund at the end of the week of your reservation.

 

Have no fear, I am financially solvent and have the resources to refund everyone who is not able to make our tours.

 

Thanks again for your kind words and concerns.

 

Capt. Bob"

My cancellation policy is clearly stated in the trip description, the deposit info and the confirmation. If you were not Ok with the cancellation policy you should not have booked. The 5 % is $1.19 per person. This is not going into my pocket but are fees that are not refundable to my by my bank. It's funny how it's always the vendors fault when people do not READ their contract.