Anyone Can Run Dive Trips

As we wrote last month in our article on travel agents, people who lead trips on their own are seemingly quite free to do what they want in most states, since few regulate travel and many don't have strong laws protecting consumers.

In May, we became aware of complaints about a Texas-based trip organizer where several divers were airing their problems. We were referred to Facebook pages (e.g., Coral Dreams Scuba) for these complaints. In reviewing these complaints, we saw that one person reported being dropped from a trip without receiving a refund. Another said they flew to the Maldives in May, only to find the liveaboard had no reservations for their arrival and had not received payment. We also learned from these complaints about another complaining client who paid Coral Dreams for a trip to Fiji, only to discover shortly before her trip that Coral Dreams had cancelled the trip, and had not paid her airfare or the resort, according to emails from Bega Lagoon Resort, Taveuni Dive Center, and Air Fiji. She was denied a refund. And there were other complaints, as well.

After reading the reports containing these complaints, we contacted many who had posted, and they referred us to others who had booked dive trips with Coral Dreams Scuba to the Caribbean and elsewhere. Coral Dreams Scuba is a trip operator in New Braunfels, Texas, run by Jolene Stephens, a PADI instructor and RN by trade. Her clients sent us emails between themselves and Stephens, as well as emails from resorts or liveaboards that claimed they had no reservations or had not been paid, although the clients said they had paid Coral Dreams Scuba in advance of their trips. The following are comments from just two of several people who contacted us.

The Expensive Maldives Trip

One of the people who had booked and said they prepaid more than $3000 for the Maldives trip (May 4 to May 14, 2025) with Coral Dreams Scuba was Mark Speights, a Master Diver and professional musician who lives in Las Vegas. He wrote to us:

"Coral Dreams Scuba advertised [the trip] on a luxury yacht operated by EcoPro. A week before the trip, many of the divers began questioning Jolene via a Facebook Messenger chat group she had created for us. We had no details.

"Someone on the Facebook thread noted we were going to be switched to Spirit Liveaboards, which was below EcoPros' standards by several levels. It was a five-day cruise as opposed to the eight days we had booked and paid for [to Coral Dreams Scuba] with EcoPro. Jolene said she had booked us three days at a BnB on the island instead, prior to the different vessel's departure schedule."

The divers were on different flights, and when they met up in the Maldives, Speight says:

"We still had no name or address of the BnB and little more information. EcoPro said they knew of Jolene, but she had never confirmed or made a deposit . . . Spirit Liveaboards did have our names on the manifest [for Spirit of Maldives], but no money from Jolene.

"Spirit Liveaboards offered each of us a substantial discount, but we wanted the eight days of diving and . . . everyone in the group made the same decision and paid, for the second time, for the cruise with EcoPro, the same price . . . we already paid to Jolene.

"This group of nine divers who had never met [before] were united by a common cause and are now seeking retribution because Jolene has said she offers no refunds."

Jolene Stephens Responds

To get Coral Dream Scuba's side of the story, we had one conversation with Jolene Stephens (after many unanswered phone calls) and a few email exchanges, but we didn't get a clear explanation about the clients' complaints. For example, on May 28, she wrote, " I just had back surgery for the 2nd time this month. Can I have a bit of room to rest now? Thank you in advance." We wanted to hear more of her story, so we emailed her several times in June and July, but still did not get a responsive explanation.

On July 29, we received an unexpected email from Jolene. As for the nine people who arrived in the Maldives, she wrote:

"All accommodations were paid for with documented receipts were provided as proof. the individuals on this trip chose at their own accord to select another dive boat and pay for it at their own expense, accommodations were booked and paid for as well as a 1-month NEW dive boat [sic] for their guaranteed comfort, however they made their decision to go another route without any notice, this is a false claim for the Maldives Trip.

"However, on the return date of the Maldives Dive Trip, A DEATH threat was received from one member of that said trip to Coral Dreams (Jolene Stephens) This was immediately reported with the evidence to the Houston Police Department, the information for this report will be supplied at the bottom of this email. The FBI was also notified and an Investigation is currently ongoing. With the evidence on hand and the ongoing investigation, Coral Dreams was ADVISED by law enforcement to cancel and withdraw from all future trips based on the severity of the statement made on the said threat until the investigation is or has been completed."

She added:

"ALL Divers as part of Coral Dreams Terms and Conditions were clearly advised to obtain Trip Insurance, as stated on the Coral Dreams website at that time. However [they] may or may not have failed to acknowledge this requirement and proceeded to file insurance claim, while still seeking a cash refund from Coral Dreams plus Demanding free trip as Compensation for their loss, However there were no losses to anyone following the Company's Policy, and has indeed committed and act of Fraud by filing Fraudulent claims."

Jolene Stephens said she had contacted both the FBI and the Houston Police Department and listed several people "that are currently under Fraud Investigation."

She sent us her "Coral Dreams Terms & Conditions Policy" as it was on the website." Here are some of the pertinent sections.

"Trip Deposits and Payment. All deposits and payments for Coral Dreams trips, including group airline tickets, are strictly non-refundable and non-transferable under any circumstances."

"This policy applies to all trip components, including but not limited to accommodations, diving services, and group airfare."

"Note: Coral Dreams retains the right to cancel any trip before departure. Coral Dreams is not responsible for the additional expenses incurred by trip members in connection with the trip. This includes, but is not limited to, non-refundable air tickets, visa fees, equipment, medical expenses, and damages of any kind if your trip is cancelled or rescheduled for ANY reason."

"Also, if a prospective traveler acts rudely or offensively, or in any way attempts to create drama in the dive group with the group leader or any of the other divers, he/she may be removed from the trip before or during the trip. If this happens before the trip, the diver/traveler will lose the trip deposit and all monies paid toward the trip. . ."

"Mandatory Travel Insurance Requirement. All drivers must purchase comprehensive travel insurance that specifically covers scuba diving activities, trip cancellation, trip interruption, medical emergencies, and emergency evacuation related to diving accidents.

Proof of appropriate travel insurance must be provided to Coral Dreams before trip departure. Failure to provide proof of insurance may result in the denial of participation without a refund."

Mark Speights emailed Undercurrent:

" I have filed a complaint with the police department in New Braunfels, Texas. Some of us have filed a consumer fraud report with the Texas Attorney General's office. A few folks got a robo-reply saying this was out of their wheelhouse.

"Some of my Maldives dive trip people are still holding out hope that a reimbursement will be forthcoming. Unfortunately, it will cost money to hire an investigator and an attorney to track this down and no one wants to throw more money away."

No Refund

Previously, we had been in touch with another Coral Dreams Scuba client, Billy Reedy, who told us Stephens had cancelled his trip to Honduras because he had complained about a change in rooms, and was refused a refund. In an email dated May 23, she told us that "Reedy was kicked off the trip after being very verbally abusive to me and threatening me." Reedy denies that.

On March 27, Reedy obtained a judgment of $2083.85 in Fannin County, TX, against "Jolene Stephens trading as Coral Dreams Scuba." Stephens failed to appear for the hearing, and Reedy has been unable to collect from Stephens.

In the July 29 email she wrote:

"The financial Judgement awarded to Billy Reedy was awarded and Signed By A Justice Of the Peace, NOT A judge from a Civil or District Court, and will be Appealed after all law Enforcement Investigations are Completed."

In her email to us, she said that some people who went on that trip are:

"Currently being Investigated by the Law Enforcement and the FBI for International Fraud, as they stole Coral Dreams (all divers') documents in Honduras, Roatan Bay Resort (Turquoise Bay) Those documents contained the personal CC information as well as personal address Names and Medical information which violates all HIPPA & PPI laws."

Website Questions

The Coral Dreams Scuba website has been taken down. It featured her name, details about many trips she offered, and her rules, including no refunds and the requirement for insurance. In late June, when one of our subscribers emailed her about booking a trip with Coral Dreams, she replied, "Let me forward your information to my friend who owns CDC Dive." No one from CDC Dive responded.

But, they have a website -- CDCDive.com -- which appears to be a carryover from the Coral Dreams website. It specifies that:

"All trip cancellations made between the date you place your deposit reserving your place on the trip and the day of departure will incur a 100 percent cancellation fee. . . No refunds will be issued for cancellations made after the date the deposit is made (funds will have been paid directly to the entity (resort or liveaboard, flights, etc. and not refundable to CDC). This is why we require dive travel insurance prior to departure of the trip."

As at least one client of Coral Dreams Scuba has discovered, travel insurance does not cover claims where the booking agent cancels the trip.

The CDC Dive website also states:

"We love our customers, so feel free to visit during normal business hours."

No address is listed, not even a city, a state, or a post office box.

-- John Bantin and Ben Davison

PS: In her July 27 email, she noted: "As of May 1, 2025 The Company Coral Dreams was Sold to an individual In PA United States. I am no longer the owner of Coral Dreams. Please proceed to Disclose this information at your own discretion during ongoing Investigation." On August 2, she added "my health started failing and I had to sell my business. At the time of the sale I could no longer walk."