NCL intinerary change - Banana Coast (trujillo), Honduras

[scubamom4]

Clearly, the idea is that the port would develop *into* something that benefits both the locals and the industry. We "early adopters" have set our expectations appropriately (at least I have - I imagine others have as well).

 

We'll visit the orphanage and relax at a beach run by an ex-pat. Should be fine.

 

Hello TheMister - we will be in Trujillo next month and would be interested in the orphanage. Can you give some information on this? (where, going yourselves or tour?) Have you already gone? You can also email me: scubamom4 at gmail dot com.

 

Loads of thanks!

[tanyaheart]

Trujillo is beautiful! We went to Banana Beach Resort.

 

 

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[The Mister]

Hello TheMister - we will be in Trujillo next month and would be interested in the orphanage. Can you give some information on this? (where, going yourselves or tour?) Have you already gone? You can also email me: scubamom4 at gmail dot com.

 

Loads of thanks!

We ended up not making it, due to a combination of miscommunication and a VERY rainy day. However, the website is http://www.farmofthechild.org.

 

There is contact info there, and depending on what else you are doing in port, they will be happy to arrange a visit. It is a short walk from Tranquility Bay Beach Resort, and the proprietors there are friends of the Farm.

[scubamom4]

We ended up not making it, due to a combination of miscommunication and a VERY rainy day. However, the website is http://www.farmofthechild.org.

 

There is contact info there, and depending on what else you are doing in port, they will be happy to arrange a visit. It is a short walk from Tranquility Bay Beach Resort, and the proprietors there are friends of the Farm.

 

Thank you much-we will look into this. What a great program!

[bkcoogler]

We took Victor Bodden’s “Trujillo Fishing Experience” on January 7th out of the new port in Trujillo, Honduras while on a 7 day cruise out of Houston aboard the Norwegian Jewel. The price was $90 per hour, with a two hour minimum and we booked the excursion for three hours for the morning. Prior to our trip I had a couple of email exchanged with Mr. Bodden and was very impressed at the prompt response to each of my questions. It was explained to me that we would travel about 15 minutes from the pier (which is within walking distance of where the cruise ship disembarks it’s passengers) and fish for large catch like Wahoo, Mahi Mahi, Barracuda, Tuna, Marlin, Jacks, Grouper and Snapper. I was assured that if there were any problems or concerns to contact Mr. Bodden directly and immediately while in Honduras and to not wait, so that he could rectify the situation. My brother and I, both in our 20’s have both fished all of our lives and we were really looking forward to something so incredible.

Upon arrival to the kiosk to check in for our excursion we were met with a group of men that seemed somewhat confused and disheveled that morning. The weather was a bit drizzly and cloudy, the streets were muddy and I just assumed that the entire town was in a bit of frenzy with the ship being in port. We asked if the weather was going to hold up for our excursion and were told that “everything should clear up and they were expecting sunny skies within an hour”. We were escorted through an alley, behind a bar and over to a pier that was partially collapsing in areas to board a 15 ft boat that looked as if it were out of a National Geographic magazine. This is absolutely not what I was expecting, from the pictures displayed on their website http://www.bestoftrujillo.com. Jumping down to our small vessel we met the captain, who spoke absolutely no English. At this point, we were joined by a young man within the age of 17 or 18 who spoke some English and we were on our way. After about 15 minutes we were given our fishing rods (equipment that was partially broken and easily 15-20 years old) and told that we could start trolling at this point. It was to our surprise that we were not set up in any way to fish for the aforementioned fish. Instead we would be trolling at depths of around 5 feet to catch fish of a much smaller variety. We continued out into the open sea for about an additional 30 minutes, catching two small fish along the way. Again, we are trying to make the best of the situation at this point, given it is raining pretty hard and visibility was starting to become an issue. We stopped at one point because our lines had become entangled, this is where our trip turned from bad to miserable. The rain was coming down so hard that our captain was scooping water from the boat with a cut up liter bottle. The swells were so high that our boat nearly capsized at several points. We had to ask the young guy to tell the captain to head back as we were not enjoying ourselves and we were both truly scared. He drove the boat around for nearly an hour and a half before he regained a sense of direction. We were lost, fighting the wind, rain and waves to make it back to the pier. All in all we spent about 2 ½ hours in the ocean, 45 mins of which were spent fishing for much smaller fish then we were told to expect. When arriving back to shore we immediately went to Bodden’s tour kiosk and ask to speak to Victor immediately. We were told he was not available, we asked again and was told “he is coming”. After waiting for about 15 minutes a man (who’s name I cannot recall) come up and asked what was the issue. We asked if he was Victor and he stated no, but he was the manager. We explained the situation and after exclaiming that we were in great danger, did not feel safe and that the tour was not what we expected he asked “So what do you want?”. We told him that we felt that the tour should be refunded. He disagreed and said that the weather wasn’t that bad “look, you cannot see rain from here”. To wrap this up, after arguing for nearly 30 minutes, demanding to speak to Victor on the phone and being told that our recollection of the experience wasn’t true… we received 2/3 our money back for the tour.

I understand that Bodden Tours cannot control the weather or if fish are biting. However, we were sold on an excursion that was NOT offered. When asking about the weather we were not told of rain off the coast nor do we feel as if they took appropriate measures to ensure our safety. The boat was not equipped with a radar, they didn’t have a phone to check the weather… nothing. There was no navigation system aboard the boat, no depth finder… nothing! The life jackets onboard were minimal and we were only told to put them on before disembarking when the young man spotted a navy vessel saying that “they require them to be worn”.

Most off, the customer service provided was inexcusable. This was absolutely the worst traveling experience in my life. We were fearful for our lives and no empathy or reasoning was given. I DO NOT recommend Victor Bodden or his tour company to anyone. I understand that I am in the minority here and that this is apparently unheard of with his group but please be forewarned! DO NOT USE THIS TOUR COMPANY! Their disregard for the safety of their guests, their misrepresentation of the tour itself and their lack of genuine customer service should be enough reason for you to look elsewhere when planning a memorable vacation experience.

[The Mister]

Most off, the customer service provided was inexcusable. This was absolutely the worst traveling experience in my life. We were fearful for our lives and no empathy or reasoning was given. I DO NOT recommend Victor Bodden or his tour company to anyone. I understand that I am in the minority here and that this is apparently unheard of with his group but please be forewarned! DO NOT USE THIS TOUR COMPANY! Their disregard for the safety of their guests, their misrepresentation of the tour itself and their lack of genuine customer service should be enough reason for you to look elsewhere when planning a memorable vacation experience.

That's pretty bad, I agree. I can tell you that, based on his successful business model on Roatan, he will fix this situation for you and do everything he can to fix it going forward. You are right, there is no excuse for the way that his staff treated you, and I am confident that Victor himself will agree.