Posted by Rory B. Bellows on January 12, 2001 at 16:57:11:
We took one of our first multi-day trips to the Channel Islands way back in 1994. We were visiting my wife's relatives in Buellton for 10 days and decided we required some resbit from the whole mother-in-law versus son-in-law rift.
After some referrals we booked a two day dive trip to Santa Rosa and San Miguel Islands with Truth Aquatics. We had a great time and had nothing but praise for the boat Vision and it's crew and service. We planned on coming back as soon as we could.
We returned to Truth's Vision for another two day trip this past November. It was a similar trip as 6 years ago but this time things were different. The boat's crew and captain were very gruff and unfriendly, we cannot recall ever seeing them smile or interacting with the divers other than pumping tanks. The food was very sub-standard compared to other trips we have taken in the area. We should have taken the hint when we saw the crew eating food other than what was being served to the divers for the lunches. The quality of diving was much better the second time around, but the other little things made the whole experience feel flat. The phone contact in placing the booking seemed confused and not sure about the facts of the trip like when it departed and returned, how much the trip was, and at what time could we begin loading our gear on to the boat. We live a fair ways from the ocean, so having general windows of times for such activities are inportant for us or else we require getting hotel rooms before and after the trip. Since Santa Barbara and the area Hotels fill up during the weekends, it's tough to find such rooms on short notice. There was also a bit of an issue as to if we paid in advance or not (which we did with credit card), but that problem appears to have been taken care of 2 months after the fact. I have also noticed they are doing fewer and fewer dive trips compared to hiking and camping trips to the Channel Islands.
My latest experience was very poor compared to my first with Truth. I talked to some members of our dive club who have also noticed the same thing with them, but I want to hear from others outside of our little circle.
So, is it just me - or has the standard and operation quality of Truth slipped more than a few rungs over the years?