PALAU: Exotic Adventure... Reasonable Cost! (Part II)

UPDATE: This event is closed for signups.

Join Power Scuba for an adventurous scuba trip overseas!

Free Nitrox and/or Refresher course for all attendees (if desired)!

Same exact trip as the other event page, but different hotel (near to the first).

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Yes, this is another one of those "trip of a lifetime" trips! Sounds cliche, but ask anyone who's gone and they'll tell you the same. Palau is an exotic bucket list destination and here's your chance to do it for a decent, non-profit price!

WHAT: A 13-day trip to the gorgeous island nation of Palau. NINE DIVING DAYS... 3 dives per day!

WHEN: Nov 1-13.

COST: $1,619.00 ... airfare not included. (This is the final cost to you after all numbers have been crunched.)

AIRFARE: Airfare is not included. Will be ~ $1,300 - $1,800... or you can use your miles) You can pursue and purchase your own airfare.

GROUP AIR: We didn't have enough displayed interest in this option, so I took it off the table on Feb 28.

TRANSFERS: The dive op will pick us up at the airport and return us there according to our flight schedules. The dive op will also pick us up each morning at our lodging and bring us home from diving in the afternoon.

PERKS:

Free nitrox for our entire stay. (Al 80 tanks standard, but some steel to be had as well.) Free underwater caverns dive in lieu of an afternoon boat dive. Free beach bar b q party at end of our stay. Free D-Log (log book with CD and log pages that has description of dive sites) Free Nitrox and/or Refresher course for all attending members before we depart. Dates to be posted soon. (There will be 3 opportunities/dates for each course. You must attend one of these sessions if you want to participate.) Possibly more to come! Conversations about our trip can be had here: Palau Forum (https://www.meetup.com/Scuba-Diving-San-Diego/messages/boards/thread/19126432)

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We'll actually be doing this exciting dive with the (sting-less) jellyfish of Jellyfish Lake!

YOU MUST SUBMIT THE TOTAL BALANCE IMMEDIATELY WHEN YOU RSVP. Mail check, made out to "Power Scuba" to: Power Scuba 12546 Heatherton Court Unit 41 San Diego Ca 92128. Alternatively you could paypal the money to powerscuba1@gmail.com , but you'll have to add 3% fees to your deposit. That's $12.

BALANCE: Your balance is due immediately upon your RSVPing here.

DIVING: Fish 'N' Fins (http://www.fishnfins.com/v2/en/welcome.html) - Well-regarded island dive op with a great reputation for customer service. We will do NINE DIVE DAYS there. Three dives per day. (Additional (night) dives available for slight extra cost.)

LODGING: West Plaza Hotel http://www.wphpalau.com/eng/rooms.html This hotel is very near our other group, staying at the Guest Lodge and is also in the downtown area.

MEALS:

Lunch: Dive op provides lunch and soft drinks/water. Breakfast: Can be had at the dive shop restaurant for our group discounted rate of $8 per day (normally $10). State in your RSVP comment if you want this deal. Otherwise you'll eat (in town?) before you are picked up at our lodging each morning. Doable, but a little "rushed". Dinner: You're on your own for dinner each day. MANY restaurants to choose from with just a few minute walk to town. (Group dinner towards the end of our trip. TBA) http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/1/7/7/4/event_19986004.jpeg

411 BREAKDOWN:

This is not an "all-inclusive trip" per se. The dive op and the lodging are separate entities, but the dive op is taking care of our lodging booking. The method we're using gives you the option of choosing your own restaurant each day... and there's a bunch of them in the nearby town. You want to arrange your flight so that you arrive in Palau on Nov 2nd in the PM (remember, you lose a day going over). For most of us that'll mean leaving on Nov 1st in the morning. We leave Palau on Nov 13... most likely very early in the am. (2:30 am or so.) We'll arrive back in Ca still on the 13th (since we gain a day). Our first full day of diving starts on Nov 3rd. The dive op will pick us up at our lodging each morning and bring us back in the late afternoon. There is secure storage for gear on-site at the dive op. (Cameras may be left there each day, but will not be accessible until the next day.) Jellyfish Lake will be done after one of our dive days is complete (in the late afternoon). We'll be doing a Quad Tour of the island during our "off-gas" day. Charge for this is extra.
DETAILS:

You'll need your passport. (Must have six months validity from date of our return.) The Palau currency is the U.S. dollar. Language is English. Electricity voltage is same as in the states. No converter needed, though a surge protector would be wise. You'll definitely want to bring a dive computer that does Nitrox. There are no safes in the rooms, but the dive shop complex has safes and armed security. Fresh water showers available on the docks. All scuba gear may be left at the dive op each day. No need to cart it back and forth from the lodging. MUCH more information can (will) be had at our Questions and Answers page on the message board: Palau Forum (https://www.meetup.com/Scuba-Diving-San-Diego/messages/boards/thread/19126432) ADVANCED: You should have an Advanced scuba certification to go on this trip... or ANY overseas trip. Some of the dives will be over 60' of depth... and PALAU is known for some pretty exciting dives. (Some overseas dive ops REQUIRE an Advanced cert to go to certain sites.) There is plenty of time between now and then to get your cert at a local shop. A 2/3 mm wetsuit will be a good thing to bring, but you may not need it. Dive boats are of the "panga" variety. Average time to dive site is 40 minutes. There is a decompression chamber and medical facilities on the island. Bring that sun block! If you're a single, we'll pair you up with another person in your room. (Same sex if at all possible.) Don't wait until just before the trip to buy your airline ticket. You'll regret it. Bring your Dramamine/Bonine. No use letting seasickness spoil your trip. Bring your Immodium/Anti-diarrheal. Just to be safe! No car rental is really needed.

Your Checklist:

_______ Liability Release submitted (found in the "Files" section of this group).

_______ Medical Questionaire submitted (found in the "Files" section of this group).

_______ Packout List: Packout List (https://www.meetup.com/Scuba-Diving-San-Diego/boards/thread/19126432/0/)

_______ Passport (with at least 6 months of validity AFTER your return date).

_______ Send Bill Powers your Emergency Contact Info and info on any medical conditions.

_______ Verify the Roommate list (found in our "Files" section).

_______ Verify the Boat Assignment list. (TBD)

_______ Read this event page in its entirety.

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED:

Dive park permit: $35 $100. Price was just increased by Palau government in June 2012. Peleliu permit ($25) and fuel surcharge ($25)... if we decide to go. Dinners (many restaurants in town to choose from) Breakfast (but can be had at dive op restaurant for $8 per day). Palau departure taxes: $35 Scuba gear (but available for rental).

Full Disclosure:

A free spot at the hotel and dive operation is provided to the trip organiser by those vendors. Additionally, $45 is being added to each person's trip cost to help defray the expense of the trip organiser's plane flight. As the trip organiser is needed on-site Palau to administer to the group and laison with the vendors this is considered a necessary expense to the group. No other outside costs or profit is added to your trip fee. The vendors give the organizer a 20% commission. This is NOT taken by the organizer. Rather this savings is factored back into everyone's cost. The dive shop gives one free dive spot for every 7 paid divers. The first spot is taken by the organizer. The other spots will be factored back into everyone's cost.

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ADMIN STUFF:

The Virtual Donation Jar (https://www.meetup.com/Scuba-Diving-San-Diego/messages/boards/thread/9702303) will be out (for the Meetup site costs and general fund). It's strictly voluntary, but is very much appreciated and needed: DONATION JAR (https://www.meetup.com/Scuba-Diving-San-Diego/messages/boards/thread/9702303)

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If you have not filled out a liability release for Power Scuba Meetup, please follow this link to the file, print, sign and bring to the event, along with your C-Card (scuba certification card). You only need to do this once a year: Liability Release and Assumption of Risk (http://files.meetup.com/1307107/New_Liability_Release.doc)

You must also read this: Disclaimer and Clarification... AKA Terms and Conditions (https://www.meetup.com/Scuba-Diving-San-Diego/messages/boards/thread/5914647)

Anyone with a medical condition possibly counter-indicitive to diving must have a doctors signature on a diving waiver form and submit signed form to Bill Powers (or an organizer) before they may attend any Power Scuba event. YOU MAY NOT ATTEND AN EVENT WITH AN UNDISCLOSED MEDICAL CONDITION. Doing so is grounds for expulsion from the group. Here is our medical statement: Medical Statement (http://files.meetup.com/1307107/Medical%20Statement%20and%20Questionnaire.pdf) Therein you'll find a Doctor Waiver form as well.

Attending any scuba event Power Scuba facilitates constitutes attendee's affirmation they are medically fit to dive, have read the Terms and Conditions, and have submitted a signed Liability Release to an organizer.

Important Note: It is not the organizer's role to lead your dive. He/she merely facilitates you getting to the pre-dive meeting location. The Organizer will not assign you a buddy nor will he/she be leading the dive as a "group dive". Liability does not allow for that. Nor will the Organizer tell you whether you are skilled enough to make any particular dive. That is for you (only) to decide. When you enter the water, you (and your buddy) are on your own. You must plan and execute your dive with your dive buddy only. Once members arrive at the meeting spot, the Organizer becomes simply another diver.

Your participation constitutes your affirmation you agree to these above rules and disclaimers.... and that your buddy(s) (if applicable) has read and agrees to the same.