Blackbeard Cruises?

[scubaboy44]

you won't regret it! Went with a group from my LDS in July, did 18 dives,(night, shark, 2 fantastic drift dives, wreck)had a ball, our group had our own little world on Pirate's Lady. Good food, great crew, LDS owner is trying to talk me into Bonaire for next summer, but I want to go back on Blackbeard's!

 

[SueMermaid]

Just got into Miami today from the boat, and can easily recommend this operation to anyone. It. Was. Fabulous.

I am very prone to seasickness, and I did do my share of puking on the crossing, but the rest of the week was just...well, great. All the retching was worth it.
I did bail out on the crossing back to Miami this morning, and opted to take a seaplane on Chalk's from Bimini. (the seas were REALLY rough!). I did get to briefly meet boardmember Brady this morning on my way to the "airport" (and I use that term loosely), we were on separete boats.
I plan to go back in a calmer season, they say May, June and July are the times to go.

A big thumbs up to Blackbeard's!

 

[AllenG]

Just got back from a week on the Pirate's Lady and can offer strong recommendation for the Blackbeard Cruises!

Re the crossing, we were a little more lucky than SueMermaid and had okay seas for the first crossing (no seasick passengers!) and really calm seas for the trip back. But the crossing really is the luck of the draw as they were predicting nasty seas for tomorrow's crossing.

But on to the good stuff. 18 dives during the 5 diving days and except for Stevie's Wonder/Redneck Reef, each dive was outstanding. Stevie's Wonder/Redneck Reef had poor visibility, but every other dive was a good mix of fish, reef, and visibility. We got in 2 shark dives at Bull Run (one with a feeding, one without). My daughter and I got to pet one of the nurse sharks for about three minutes!! Encountered Carribean reef and nurse sharks on about five other dives and had two dives with some of the hughest turtles I have ever seen.

The Blackbeard operation is smooth, friendly to experienced divers, and obviously committed to quality and satisfied customers. The crew made it a fun trip, gave divers lots of freedom, and were very accomodating. High marks for Chef Ron, who delivered consistently delicious meals and a Thanksgiving feast with stuffed lobsters (and kudos to Captain Paul for catching them all while snorkeling!). Given the price, the ability to dive most or all of one's last day (depending on your departure time), and the savings from not having to cough up $$ for an international flight, this has got to be one of the best values in diving!

The operation also seems to attract a comfortable, friendly class of guests that makes the trip fun. Imagine a week WITHOUT:
- newbies killing reefs at a rapid pace
- testosterone-jacked "I'm gonna dive to 180' on this one" divers
- diving couples who surface screaming at each other

Is it a plush, spacious boat? Obviously not. Were there little things that I might have wanted to see done differently? Yes. But overall, the Blackbeard operation seems to work quite well. We'll certainly be going back!

(And no, I don't have any affiliation with Blackbeards!)

 

[SueMermaid]

I received a letter yesterday from Blackheard's that was apologetic for the weather, and for our missing out on some dives due to it, and that should I book another trip, I will receive $100 off to compensate me. That's very nice of them, I thought, since I never complained about that. I mean, who could complain about the weather?
We did have some situations on our boat--one passenger had to bail because of health problems, and that cut out two dives, then the weather and bad seas cut out two more dives, and then my own decision to bail on the crossing cut out three more dives. But like I said, it was nothing to complain about. I will most certainly do that trip again, and will most certainly take them up on the discount offer.
And no, I don't work for them either.

 

[DMAC]

Sue,

A buddy and I are going on the Nov 13, 2004

 

[JC Fedorczyk]

Girlfriend and I are getting certified next month and plan on making the Dec 26th-Jan 2nd trip. Allen G. - We'll try not to be the "newbies killing reefs at a rapid pace."

 

[christopher1260]

You will not be disappointed with the trip. It was one of the best experiences i've ever had. I'll be on again next year.

 

[Spidey]

Got back on th 15th from Miami. Had a great time. Great people, great dives and great weather. It was much more windy than it should have been in May (something about global warming!) and that cut down on visibility on some of the dives, and made the going a little rough at times on the water, but what the wind did was keep us cool topside. A few people on our boat had gone this time last year and it was calm as could be... no wind, fantastic vis, but they baked topside because they really couldn't escape the heat (except under the tarp they put up from time to time). Guess you can't have it both ways. But great trip overall and would do it again in a heartbeat. Shark dive was an absolute blast! And the marine life was great.

If you're going, have fun!

 

[tiggrr]

Girlfriend and I are getting certified next month and plan on making the Dec 26th-Jan 2nd trip. Allen G. - We'll try not to be the "newbies killing reefs at a rapid pace."

I'm in the process of getting certified right now and will also be on the christmas/new years trip. I'll try not to be "killing reefs at a rapid pace" either. LOL

See you then!!

 

[Kay]

Thanks for posting this about this outfit. I was reading their stuff and thinking that it would be fun, but I was afraid it would be like one of those cruise horror movies.