For those who know Captain Bob and Soualiga Destinations...

[Dug720]

I just heard from him - I'd emailed to check and see how he had fared during Irma...

"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"

Here is hoping that they are able to get the infrastructure up enough that things can begin to return to the "new normal" they will have now.

 

[lklgoodman]

Although I'm not familiar with him, l'm glad to hear he is going to be able to continue with his business. I feel so bad for everyone who was affected by Irma. We're on the March 4 Wonder sailing that's scheduled to stop at St. Maarten. I really hope we are still able to stop there.

 

[KristiMc]

Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear he is safe. It is so sad to hear how destroyed the island is. Prayers that they will be able to rebuild.

 

[SteveMP]

Glad to hear he is ok! Ironically one of my teenage daughters woke up with her St Maarten shirt on earlier this week. I asked her if she saw what Irma did to the island. She said she didn't know, only saw Florida on the news(hadn't yet hit FL). So i showed her some vids on YouTube, such a tragedy for that beautiful island. Looked like a war zone.

 

[JW9DVC]

Wait. He is still keeping 5%? Seriously?

 

[Dug720]

Wait. He is still keeping 5%? Seriously?

It's the PayPal fee. Plus given the tininess of the deposit, it's less than $2.

The way he does it is you pay a deposit (small) via PayPal and the balance in cash when you arrive at the dock for your excursion. The tiny 5% is the PayPal fee, and applies to all cancellations.

 

[lklgoodman]

Wait. He is still keeping 5%? Seriously?

Considering the destruction that has happened there, I don't think keeping 5% is unreasonable. I read an article yesterday that said it's going to take around 1.5 billion to rebuild, every little bit helps.

 

[lklgoodman]

PayPal should let him keep that 5%, he needs it, they don't!

 

[Dug720]

Considering the destruction that has happened there, I don't think keeping 5% is unreasonable. I read an article yesterday that said it's going to take around 1.5 billion to rebuild, every little bit helps.

Especially when that is his standard procedure anyway. It's not like he said "Oh, there was destruction. I'm going to charge for cancelling." The same fee applies if you choose to cancel or if the excursion is unable to go. It is simply the amount that PayPal keeps from the transactions - so really if the excursion does go, he isn't getting that small amount. It just is a break-even on the deposit thing.

 

[Dug720]

PayPal should let him keep that 5%, he needs it, they don't!

It's their TOS for business transactions.

 

[mhconley]

We just spent 10 days on St. Martin this past June after visiting on the Fantasy in October 2015. We liked St. Martin so much we planned to buy property there. It saddens us greatly to see the devastation wrought on that lovely island and her friendly people. We booked with Soualiga Destinations on both our visits and are very happy to hear all are safe and that they'll be back. We want to return. Still looking for the best way to help. Unfortunately, efforts like Hand in Hand are notoriously bad at actually getting money and help to those that really need it and the completely unecessary politicking just turned us off. We're looking at the Salvation Army and UNICEF. I encourage anyone who can to help in any way they can.

Martin

 

[DisneyGirlMI]

We just spent 10 days on St. Martin this past June after visiting on the Fantasy in October 2015. We liked St. Martin so much we planned to buy property there. It saddens us greatly to see the devastation wrought on that lovely island and her friendly people. We booked with Soualiga Destinations on both our visits and are very happy to hear all are safe and that they'll be back. We want to return. Still looking for the best way to help. Unfortunately, efforts like Hand in Hand are notoriously bad at actually getting money and help to those that really need it and the completely unecessary politicking just turned us off. We're looking at the Salvation Army and UNICEF. I encourage anyone who can to help in any way they can.

Martin

Another excellent organization is Samaritan's Purse. And I know that they have already been to St Martin a few times since the hurricane, delivering supplies and aid support.

 

[JW9DVC]

Considering the destruction that has happened there, I don't think keeping 5% is unreasonable. I read an article yesterday that said it's going to take around 1.5 billion to rebuild, every little bit helps.

Every dollar counts in my pocket to. If it's a $1-2. That's not bad. Some excursions are really pricey.

A simple call to a credit card company though gets back.

 

[Dug720]

Every dollar counts in my pocket to. If it's a $1-2. That's not bad. Some excursions are really pricey.

A simple call to a credit card company though gets back.

He only requires a small deposit. You pay the remainder in cash when you arrive for the excursion.