Undercurrent Online Update for Subscribers

For David Denson Whiteside (with username 'dwhitesi', exp: 2024-08-20, at dwhite95815@hotmail.com )

March 18, 2020

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Coronavirus Update

As you can imagine, most divers who have booked an international trip for the coming months are do not wish to travel and are asking the operators either for refunds – few have travel insurance policies that cover these conditions -- or for an indefinite postponement until the virus threat is no more. Most resort and liveaboard operations we have contacted say “It’s business as usual” and are reluctant to offer refunds under such circumstances. If you are a resort or liveaboard operator that is prepared to offer refunds or rebooking at no charge, please contact us so that Undercurrent can compile a list for publication in the April newsletter. Write to: BenDEditor@undercurrent.org

Useful Travel Ban Info

For an up-to-date list of those countries applying travel bans, and details and conditions associated with those bans, go here.

Coronavirus in the Maldives

The Maldives government has built a coronavirus quarantine resort. Built in just 10 days on an island called Villivaru in Kaafu Atoll, the luxury resort has 30 air-conditioned rooms available for tourists who test positive for Covid-19. Medical care will be free-of-charge and includes three room-service meals, and a flat screen television. There are currently eight confirmed cases in the Indian Ocean island nation. We can’t think of a better place to sit it out.

Italy in Lock-Down

At the moment supplies of products from scuba brands with manufacturing based in and around Genoa, including Mares, Cressi, Scubapro, Ocean Reef and Seac Sub, appear unaffected despite the whole of Italy being put in Coronavirus lock-down until April 3, (and depending on the stocks held by your local distributor). However, the same cannot be said for those items from the Far East.

Helpful Airlines

The following airlines are offering flight booking changes without incurring charges during the approximate period until the end of March/beginning of April. For more details contact the particular airline:

Aer Lingus. Air France, Alitalia, All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, JetBlue, Qantas and Jetstar, Qatar Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Ryanair, SAS, Singapore Airlines and Silk Air, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines. Many scheduled services on American Airlines have been altered or canceled due to the reduction in demand thanks to Coronavirus. For full details go here.

Last Chance to Get Shark Bytes at Half-Price

A book beautifully illustrated with the author’s own photographs, it charts how direct experiences developed his own understanding of sharks and how he grew to love diving with them. Quote this promotional code SHARK50 to get Shark Bytes for only $15.30 plus postage. This offer ends March 31. www.tinyurl.com/t4lya2b

Coming Soon in Undercurrent

Guanaja is one of lesser known of the Bay islands about 40 miles from the north coast of Honduras. Our undercover reporter visits a special resort with great diving . . . How to avoid finding yourself floating lost in the ocean after a dive . . . Be sure rented diving equipment is hygienically clean before you use it . . . Can you trust your dive guide? . . . Which operators are accepting no-charge postponements and altered booking dates due to Coronavirus travel problems? . . . Points-of -view on BMI and diving . . . and much, much more.

Undercurrent Readers Need Your Views

Your experiences with dive resorts and liveaboards are important enough to share, whether good or bad. Your independent reader’s reports are what make us unique among diving media. They join more than 10,000 others archived in the Undercurrent database and accessed by any subscriber, as well as in our annual Travelin’ Divers’ Chapbook published each December. We’re also asking subscribers to report on the use of single-use plastic at dive resorts and liveaboards they visit and details like whether a resort’s day boat has an accessible marine head. Your reports are invaluable. You can even add photos if you wish. Don’t forget to file it of your last dive trip at: www.undercurrent.org/SubRR

Thanks for being a loyal subscriber.

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
Contact Ben