Looking for advice on trying a liveaboard

[Dive and Cruise]

Shueri,

Thanks for so much information. Really helps. although some of it is a clear as mud. I guess when I wrote "best" dives, boats, crew, etc. i was asking from the point of view as "most popular". I'm sure people can explain that "nost" people go in a liveaboard in say, Hawaii and not New York. Just the commons sense point of view. as far as you explanation of all of the fees and hidden fees, thanks, spot on. really helpful.

so to dial this in a little better. I travel alone (for now) so single supp. and I'm an advanced diver that can afford a better trip. so I'm not looking for off season and the lowest cost. I would rather go the best time of the year and rearrange my work schedule to get the best dive and best boat and best experience. I don't want to be in a hurricane. (i.e. or go to a place like Cayman during the season where they can't go to Cayman Brac- thanks to all the people that told me about this)

I rent gear. BCD, reg, tank and weights. so I need to find a place that has good gear.

Best Company. people have given the info that most companies are just booking agents and the different boats are independant and you can go with a "good" company and have a good experience on one boat and have a bad experience on a sister ship. So I ask the group, which are the best boats and the ones to stay away from.

Again, thanks for all the info you offer. in the few weeks I have been part of scubaboard I have learned so much that would have taken months or years to learn.

Best Regards,

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the reply ;-)

For the most "popular" destination and in a personal view, if you depart from States, and you are an AOW diver with many years diving experience, then i would recommend you go to destinations like Socorro (best season is from Jan - March : so you can see the humpback whales, indeed my personal favourite, you can have a look at the video i made : ), or you can also consider Caribbean destinations like Turks and Caicos, bahamas, Belize..etc. And some pacific destinations can be very enjoyable as well like Cocos, Palau. Or even Cuba (i've never did any dives in Cuba, but i heard from my clients the diving there was really worth for a visit). If you can tell me when you want to plan your trip, then i can give you some better ideas.

And for you as a solo traveller, you don't always have to pay the single supplement, unless you wish to have a cabin by yourself. Most of the time we suggest solo diver to share a cabin with another guest (same gender), like this you wont have to pay the expensive single supplement (as it's usually from 50% up to 80% of the cruise rate - depends on the boat you choose).

You need to rent gear, then you maybe also want to consider the company that provide free gears for the cruise (still not a lot of boat do that, but there are still some, like Siren Fleet), or the best is to get your own gear and take it with you. More comfortable to have our own anyway.

Happy dives!

Shueri

 

[drrich2]

I travel alone (for now) so single supp. and I'm an advanced diver that can afford a better trip

To reinforce something already mentioned, the 2 live-aboards I took, I traveled alone & they basically put a same gender person in the room with me. No problem, I didn't have to arrange anything, and no single supplement.

If you go with land-based resorts, on the other hand, you may get stuck with a singles supplement if you don't 'bring your own room mate.' You'll see people posting trying to arrange room mates for this reason.

Richard.

 

[Dan]

....If you go with land-based resorts, on the other hand, you may get stuck with a singles supplement if you don't 'bring your own room mate.' You'll see people posting trying to arrange room mates for this reason.

Richard.

Not always true. I went to Pulau Pef, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, staying in Raja4 Divers Resort 2 months ago. I shared my bungalow with another single diver.

Pulau Pef - Raja Ampat

FOR SINGLES
Book SGL-SHARE for the double room rate and share a bungalow with another person (male or female) who booked SGL-SHARE.
Depending on availability you still have the chance to get your own bungalow.

 

[Dan]

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the reply ;-)

For the most "popular" destination and in a personal view, if you depart from States, and you are an AOW diver with many years diving experience, then i would recommend you go to destinations like Socorro (best season is from Jan - March : so you can see the humpback whales, indeed my personal favourite, you can have a look at the video i made : ), or you can also consider Caribbean destinations like Turks and Caicos, bahamas, Belize..etc. And some pacific destinations can be very enjoyable as well like Cocos, Palau. Or even Cuba (i've never did any dives in Cuba, but i heard from my clients the diving there was really worth for a visit). If you can tell me when you want to plan your trip, then i can give you some better ideas.

And for you as a solo traveller, you don't always have to pay the single supplement, unless you wish to have a cabin by yourself. Most of the time we suggest solo diver to share a cabin with another guest (same gender), like this you wont have to pay the expensive single supplement (as it's usually from 50% up to 80% of the cruise rate - depends on the boat you choose).

You need to rent gear, then you maybe also want to consider the company that provide free gears for the cruise (still not a lot of boat do that, but there are still some, like Siren Fleet), or the best is to get your own gear and take it with you. More comfortable to have our own anyway.

Happy dives!

Shueri

What a cool video of Socorro. Thanks for sharing it. Socorro is now added to my bucket list!

 

[Dive and Cruise]

What a cool video of Socorro. Thanks for sharing it. Socorro is now added to my bucket list!

Thanks Dan, yes, Socorro has been my personal favourite for a long time (even now it still is)!! If you plan to go there, try to visit between Jan - April (from middle Jan - end of Feb is the best for humpback whale according to this year(2016)'s feedback from my clients). However, we went there in beginning of April back in 2014, and we were lucky enough to be able to see them. And not only humpback, there are group of hammerheads, oceanic Mantas, Galapagos Sharks, silver tip sharks, silkies, white tips, black tips, dolphins... even just think about the trip i made back then make me want to cry (full of emotions), I recommend Socorro to all my friends and families, as a diver, i guarantee you wont be disappointed!

 

[Dan]

Do we have to worry about Great White Sharks since we look like sea lions?

 

[Dive and Cruise]

Do we have to worry about Great White Sharks since we look like sea lions?

You mean in Socorro? Not all at, we didn't see, and we never heard any report that Great White Sharks showed up in Socorro neither.

 

[Mia Toose]

The most important thing to bring on a liveaboard is a sense of humor and a generally good, positive attitude. If you're not familiar with boats - much less living on one - here's a few FACTS about boats:

• everything on a boat breaks
• everything on a boat leaks
• everything on a boat gets wet
• nothing on a boat every really dries
• everything on a boat smells like a boat; where things break, get wet, and never really dry
• anything that doesn't smell like a boat smells like people who live on a boat
• everything mechanical on a boat is very loud (until it breaks; then it becomes very quiet)
• everything non-mechanical on a boat creaks and/or rattles (until it breaks in; then it gets very quiet; that's usually the day before it breaks)
• everything on a boat is small
• if something is not small, it's not on the boat
• if something is not available on the island/mainland, it's not on the boat
• if something is not on the boat, it's not on the boat
• if you need something specific but didn't bring it, it's not on the boat
• even things that are usually on the boat are often not on the boat
• most things that happen on a boat happen simply "because it's a boat"

A thousandmajor/minor/uncomfortable/disgusting/annoying/inconvenient things can go wrong on a boat over the course of a year. Statistically, that means that 20 of them will happen the week you're on board. You won't notice 15 of them. Will any of the the other 5 things ruin your trip? Honestly - other than a condition which presents a clear and imminent safety or health issue - whether or not something ruins your trip is entirely up to you. I choose to focus on the things like diving that make my trip enjoyable; folks who choose to focus on things that will ruin their trip can always find something that will.

But, as an optimist, keep in mind that you also get to take the good with the bad...

• everything GOOD that happens on a live-aboard happens "because it's a boat"
• you're never more than an hour or so from the next dive, the next meal, the next nap, or your first drink - because it's a boat
• you set your gear up once and don't worry about it again - because it's a boat
• you're right over the dive site - because it's a boat
• two hours later you're right over the next dive site - because it's a boat
• it's a twenty foot walk from your last bite of desert after dinner to your night dive - because it's a boat
• it's a ten foot walk from your night dive to a hot shower - because it's a boat
• it's a twenty foot walk from the hot shower to a cold beer - because it's a boat
• it's a twenty foot walk from the cold beer to your bed - because it's a boat
• when you wake up the next morning to the smell of coffee and waffles...you're right over the next great dive site - because it's a boat

Hahaha! This is awesome! Love it and so true!!

 

[Dan]

That's good to know. I just read about Great White Shark (GWS) diving tour in Guadalupe Island off Baja California, Mexico, where they put you in the cage & chum the water to get the GWS to come. I see that Socorro is further south from Guadalupe Island. That's probably why. The water in Socorro is too warm for GWS.

 

[Mia Toose]

Come join us on any of our 5 vessels with Explorer Ventures! I used to work onboard the Turks & Caicos Explorer II as Purser/Dive Instructor and continue to work for the company on Turks island in an administrative role. I know the boat and diving intimately, so don't hesitate to message me with questions! I absolutely love the diving here and our crew on board are super fun with very entertaining and informative briefings not to mention great food.

As many of the posts have already indicated, our other Caribbean vessel the Caribbean Explorer II departs from either St.Kitts/St.Maarten and dives in Saba and St.Kitts. The diving is incredible over there. I just posted the most recent Trip Report on our EV Facebook page which talks about turtles, sharks, sea horses and recently they've been sharing lots of photos of Batfish ~ very very cool and unusual animal to see.

If you are really into a bucket list trip, you definitely need to head over to the Humboldt Explorer in The Galapagos. One of our guests just posted an amazing review on Instagram stating they saw hundreds of Hammerheads, 3 Whale Sharks, silky sharks, Galapagos sharks, eagle rays and manta rays and even Orcas (on the surface). As it is a bit more difficult to get to, our EV team are able to coordinate SO MUCH for you once you arrive in Ecuador just to make it easy. This trip is truly a dream come true for everyone who goes!

Finally, we have two vessels (one brand spanking new this year!) in the Maldives called the Carpe Novo Explorer and our other vessel Carpe Vita Explorer was named by CNN Travel as one of the most luxurious dive boats in the world! We are so proud of that accolade!

Check out photos from our guests and crew from our entire fleet here:
www.Instagram.com/Explorer.Ventures

Check out some fun up to date boat photos on the local boat FB pages:
www.Facebook.com/TurksAndCaicosExplorerII
www.Facebook.com/CaribbeanExplorerII

And message me if you have any questions at all! Very happy to help