Originally Posted by DragonZim
http:///forum/post/3006984
Would you mind letting us know the cost of a trip like that?
Sure. Happy to share.
One week Whale trip with Aquatic Adventures
7 day expeditions - $2,695/person
port and sanctuary charge - $150/person
cruising and fuel surcharge -$200/person
suggested gratuity for the crew - 15 - 20% minimum (trust me - they earn it - absolutely fantastic treatment and help by the crew).
Experience of a lifetime - priceless!
What's Included -
Three meals a day, snacks throughout the day/evening, all coffee, tea, juices, all linens, hot showers, air conditioned staterooms and amenities, video library, CD library, sea kayaks and all tender activity.
What's Not Included
Airfare to/from Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic
tourist cards needed for arrival ($10)
transfers to and from the ship or hotels (about $45 round trip)
carbonated /alcoholic beverages (BYO - they do a run to the liquor store before leaving port if any passengers are interested)
vacation videos, sundries, etc.
They suggest arriving a day or two previous to the trip just to make sure you get to the boat on time. (In this instance, if you miss the boat, you REALLY miss the boat!)
Because of the possibility of blizzards here in the Northeast this time of year, I went down 3 days prior to the departure date. Most of the passengers arrived the day of the trip. A couple of them almost missed the boat due to airline problems!
One nice thing about the hotel/resorts down there, most of them are all inclusive (including meals and alcohol) and very reasonably priced.
Expeditions run from the end of Janaury till the middle of April. Before and after these dates, the whales are either in their Arctic home or migrating to or from there.
There are only 3 dive operators licensed to do trips to the Silver Banks - all very well known in the diving industry and very experienced. The boat capacities are small - only 26 passengers on our boat - the others are smaller. So, it's advisable to reserve a space about a year in advance. This outfit had the largest, roomiest and most stable boat. (Not to mention the sun deck with jacuzzi!)
This is a snorkeling trip. One does not need to be scuba certified. In fact, scuba is not allowed with the whales. You just ineed to be in good health and comfortable in the water. In fact, you don't even have to go in the water if you don't want to. A couple of the guests were happy enough just to go out on the tenders and watch the surface action.
One thing to keep in mind though, unlike a trip to Disneyworld, this is nature and nothing can be guaranteed - though the owner and his captains and crew do everything in their power to make it a great trip.
At times the weather prevented us from leaving the ship. Winds over 30 knots made it unsafe to take the tenders out. One and 3/4 days were washouts due to the wind.
Sometimes we couldn't find co-operative whales to interact with. If a whale we approached turned away from us 2 times, we would have to leave that whale to look for another. Sometimes one tender would have a lot of action going on, while the other, a mile or more away, had less luck. But when you finally find a roudy surface group, or a mother and curious baby, or a singer in the water, the down time was quickly forgotten.
I was fortunate enough to be in the company of a fantastic group of people. If there was no action going on, we kept ourselves amused and had a lot of fun. (I can't tell you how many whale shanties we made up as we went along!)
Was it worth the planning and effort - absolutely!
Would I go again - absolutely!
Will I go again - I thinks it's inevitable!
