So, I'll start by saying the crew was great. They were fun, friendly and really knew how to throw a party. I witnessed a girl being nervous, she was by herself, and one of the crew members was so sweet checking in on her, making sure she felt comfortable. I loved that. The boat ride was beautiful at sunset. Fun music. They provided waters and sodas. Treats and got chocolate after we were out of the water. It was a fun experience.
The reason for 4 stars - Our expectations were very high in regards to seeing giant mantas. Lots of them, swimming right under our noses. The advertisements, reviews and crew all really built it up. My husband, who booked and planned most of our trip, was most excited about this "bucket list" item... But we only had one "smaller" manta come with in 6 ft of us. There were two babies at the bottom of the ocean floor, maybe 30 ft down. ..... Now, I don't want to sound ungrateful. The whole thing was great. We saw some bioluminescent fish too, which were neat. We just expected so much more - I know this is out of their control so, I am not blaming this on Kona Style. Just wanted to say that it is possible to have a "bad night" where there aren't any/many out.
Відповідь від хоста
Sep 2021
Aloha, Megan. Mahalo for leaving us a kind review. Your analysis of this occurrence is completely fair. We have some reviews that rave about seeing 15+ manta rays, so it can certainly be a let-down when you only see one or two. And while we do offer a "manta guarantee," we will rebook, pending availability for you and us. Unfortunately, we cannot offer a broader guarantee or we might have a lot of rebookings building up on us. We sincerely appreciate that you understand the nature of this experience - sometimes there's 15 and sometimes there's 0.
We definitely don't think you're ungrateful, but you are understandably disappointed. For everyone's sake, we wish for 15+ manta nights every night, and we do everything we can by maneuvering the group and using the best light gear money can buy to give us the greatest chance at an amazing manta viewing experience.
Thank you, again, for your patience and understanding. Mahalo for joining us - The Kona Style Ohana.