Steve P
Contributor
Is there a best of time of year to go regarding weather & dive conditons? Obviously the next few months are prime hurricane season. We're looking at next May. Do Live Aboards ever head to Grand Turk or is that too far?
Turks and Caicos Explorer II July 20 - July 27 2013 review (very long)
- Thread starter ptn72
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Definitely weather dependent, as others have said. We were lucky when we did the trip two years ago. Captain Ken saw the weather forecast called for higher winds at the end of the week, so he reversed the itinerary and we got to spend two days at French Cay right at the start. We then spent the rest of the trip "hiding" behind West Caicos and skipped Northwest Point altogether. A great tradeoff, as the diving at West Caicos was terrific. Plenty of protection there, so winds weren't an issue.
Steve P, I couldn't tell you the best time, but we did the trip at the very end of April, and had great conditions, other than some wind.
James
divingamy
New
I really appreciated this long review when I was planning, so I wrote one to return the favor (also because there was no internet on board so I crafted these notes to prevent boredom 
Hope it's useful!
Trip report: Turks and Caicos Explorer II, Aug 8-16, 2014
Starting at the beginning, when you arrive at the no-frills airport, a van will be waiting for you and other boat passengers. Taxi is a bit of a misnomer, it's really a shared ride van, and we ended up waiting two hours before leaving the airport. Luckily there is a restaurant that is air-conditioned and has free wi-if but it would have been nice to know there might be a wait of this kind ahead of time, particularly if you are coming off a very long and/or red eye flight. Cost was $20 per person - I tipped but also noticed others did not, I don't think there's really a rule here. To Grace Bay from the marina after the trip was between $10-12 each. Prices I think are very reasonable by island standards - I got ripped off going back to the airport on Sunday when the ride I booked didn't bother showing up (not the company used by the Explorer - it probably would have been a good idea to try to arrange a ride with them). Don't use Dre from Uprising Taxi - I booked with him via email based on a recommendation from this board and he didn't show up!! When the hotel called him he just said he couldn't come, no explanation. Lame.
On arrival to the boat, you say goodbye to your shoes and congregate in the salon as people arrive. Drinks are available. The boat is spacious. Most rooms are on the main deck with cabin 7 right next to the salon.. you may want to bring earplugs if you are assigned to this cabin. There is plenty of drawer space and a small (flat) closet with hangers. Someone complained about the size of the shower and while it's true you have to watch your elbows, you are living on a boat and I thought it was a pretty nice bathroom relative to previous liveaboards I've been on. The pics on their website of the salon and sun deck are pretty accurate, and the shaded uppermost deck is quite nice to hang out on.
The diving was good. I often have a hard time interpreting these forums without knowing anything about the writer for perspective, so I'll start with that. This was my first time diving in the Caribbean. I've done a lot of diving in Thailand (Andaman sea, not Gulf of Thailand - mostly Similans and the amazing Richelieu Rock but also farther south), Sipadan, Great Barrier Reef, and Palau. With the exception of one brilliant dive (that ended with a hammerhead!!!!!), I think the diving in the Indo-Pacific is generally better, but it was certainly very good and worth doing. For me the first couple days were more engaging because I was seeing new kinds of sea life specific to the Caribbean (or was it because we were at French Cay?.. The most obvious difference to me was that lobsters and crabs are much more abundant here and they are ENORMOUS. I also saw more octopuses in this one week than I had previously seen together, which was fantastic. There were plenty of reef sharks, two nurse sharks, the aforementioned hammerhead (!!!), stingrays, and some small turtles. I missed two sightings of an eagle ray On the macro side, there's not much compared to Indo-Pacific, a ton of flamingo tongues (new to me but bored of them by the end) and only a couple other types of nudis. There were plenty of shrimp and fish, and the coral seemed healthy. Some really massive barrel sponges and plenty of soft and hard corals. On the night dives you can see the coral releasing all its polyps looking like a white shag rug which I hadn't seen before and was pretty cool. Visibility was OK at best which some of the divers blamed on the tropical storm the week prior, but I'm not convinced that 10 days after a storm passes through the sand wouldn't have settled by then.
There were 3 guides who were all great. Pippa in particular looks for macro so if you have an interest in this keep an eye out for what she is pointing at. The only downside is that they only put one guide in the water per dive, and we had 18 divers on the boat. This didn't end up being a problem most of the time as the majority of divers went off on their own, but even six or eight divers with one guide leads to the frequent experience of whatever was being looked at being chased off before you see it, unless you plan to be really aggressive and cut in every time (not my style). Also things do get congested, particularly at the beginning at a new dive site, with one group of 19 divers practically on top of each other for the first 10 min
The dive deck is spacious enough - of course you might bump elbows with your neighbor but generally speaking never felt overcrowded. Everyone has a 'cubby hole' underneath their tank for your things and they provide a plastic box with a lid which I thought was a really nice touch to keep your clothes/cover up dry and handy. There are four rows, 2 on each side of the center area where the wetsuits hang, and this is cleverly above the compressor so that the heat helps to dry the wetsuits between dives. Nitrox mixture was in the 29-30 range. I would definitely do Nitrox or your bottom time will be like 8 minutes by the end.. you'll be at a minimum in the 20-24m range on the walls, and even the sandy shallows are at 16-18m. If you don't do Nitrox, make sure you bring an air-breathing buddy with you to go up earlier, as no one on our boat was on air.
The food was good enough that I ate too much almost every meal. Having not spent much time in the Caribbean before, I learned that Caribbean food is similar to food from the Deep South in the US - a lot of BBQ meat and things with mayonnaise, cheese, butter, etc. Every dinner is followed by a dessert of some kind. Food was tasty but certainly not healthy or light... I enjoyed the food but it felt quite indulgent and I am probably going to eat salad or fish every day this coming week! I am from California and admittedly there is a greater emphasis on healthy eating in the SF Bay Area so it's entirely possible others wouldn't notice this. Every dive that is not followed by a meal is followed by a light snack - fresh-baked muffin or cookie or bread or watermelon slices, etc. Everyone gets a cup with your name on it to stay hydrated (additional glasses/coffee mugs/wine glasses also available), you can drink water from any faucet on the boat which is great at night in your cabin, and coffee/tea/crystal light/sodas are always available. Light beers (Turks head local beer and a pilsner from I think Dominican Republic) are also always available though if you do all five dives there's really not much time to drink after the night dive. Wine and liquor are put out after the 4th dive.
I was the only diver who rented gear but it was all good quality and in good shape. The fins were a little soft but there wasn't really any current so this was never a problem.
Other than this, there were a number of small details that I thought were really great: each night they come in and pull back the sheets and put a little chocolate on your bed. Small but I thought really nice. Also I did my 100th dive on this trip and they were really sweet in making me wear a hot pink suit and giving me a sign for a picture! I felt like it was my birthday Another diver had her 50th birthday on the boat and I don't want to spoil any surprises but they were very sweet in making her feel special. Finally, the best part of the night dives is they pour hot water into your wetsuit, and once you get it off they wrap you in a hot towel which is seriously amazing. It's all finished off by waiting hot chocolate and kahlua/rum. All in all, it summarizes the trip - a great and thoughtful crew making sure you have a great time.
Hope it's useful!Trip report: Turks and Caicos Explorer II, Aug 8-16, 2014
Starting at the beginning, when you arrive at the no-frills airport, a van will be waiting for you and other boat passengers. Taxi is a bit of a misnomer, it's really a shared ride van, and we ended up waiting two hours before leaving the airport. Luckily there is a restaurant that is air-conditioned and has free wi-if but it would have been nice to know there might be a wait of this kind ahead of time, particularly if you are coming off a very long and/or red eye flight. Cost was $20 per person - I tipped but also noticed others did not, I don't think there's really a rule here. To Grace Bay from the marina after the trip was between $10-12 each. Prices I think are very reasonable by island standards - I got ripped off going back to the airport on Sunday when the ride I booked didn't bother showing up (not the company used by the Explorer - it probably would have been a good idea to try to arrange a ride with them). Don't use Dre from Uprising Taxi - I booked with him via email based on a recommendation from this board and he didn't show up!! When the hotel called him he just said he couldn't come, no explanation. Lame.
On arrival to the boat, you say goodbye to your shoes and congregate in the salon as people arrive. Drinks are available. The boat is spacious. Most rooms are on the main deck with cabin 7 right next to the salon.. you may want to bring earplugs if you are assigned to this cabin. There is plenty of drawer space and a small (flat) closet with hangers. Someone complained about the size of the shower and while it's true you have to watch your elbows, you are living on a boat and I thought it was a pretty nice bathroom relative to previous liveaboards I've been on. The pics on their website of the salon and sun deck are pretty accurate, and the shaded uppermost deck is quite nice to hang out on.
The diving was good. I often have a hard time interpreting these forums without knowing anything about the writer for perspective, so I'll start with that. This was my first time diving in the Caribbean. I've done a lot of diving in Thailand (Andaman sea, not Gulf of Thailand - mostly Similans and the amazing Richelieu Rock but also farther south), Sipadan, Great Barrier Reef, and Palau. With the exception of one brilliant dive (that ended with a hammerhead!!!!!), I think the diving in the Indo-Pacific is generally better, but it was certainly very good and worth doing. For me the first couple days were more engaging because I was seeing new kinds of sea life specific to the Caribbean (or was it because we were at French Cay?
.. The most obvious difference to me was that lobsters and crabs are much more abundant here and they are ENORMOUS. I also saw more octopuses in this one week than I had previously seen together, which was fantastic. There were plenty of reef sharks, two nurse sharks, the aforementioned hammerhead (!!!), stingrays, and some small turtles. I missed two sightings of an eagle ray On the macro side, there's not much compared to Indo-Pacific, a ton of flamingo tongues (new to me but bored of them by the end) and only a couple other types of nudis. There were plenty of shrimp and fish, and the coral seemed healthy. Some really massive barrel sponges and plenty of soft and hard corals. On the night dives you can see the coral releasing all its polyps looking like a white shag rug which I hadn't seen before and was pretty cool. Visibility was OK at best which some of the divers blamed on the tropical storm the week prior, but I'm not convinced that 10 days after a storm passes through the sand wouldn't have settled by then.There were 3 guides who were all great. Pippa in particular looks for macro so if you have an interest in this keep an eye out for what she is pointing at. The only downside is that they only put one guide in the water per dive, and we had 18 divers on the boat. This didn't end up being a problem most of the time as the majority of divers went off on their own, but even six or eight divers with one guide leads to the frequent experience of whatever was being looked at being chased off before you see it, unless you plan to be really aggressive and cut in every time (not my style). Also things do get congested, particularly at the beginning at a new dive site, with one group of 19 divers practically on top of each other for the first 10 min
The dive deck is spacious enough - of course you might bump elbows with your neighbor but generally speaking never felt overcrowded. Everyone has a 'cubby hole' underneath their tank for your things and they provide a plastic box with a lid which I thought was a really nice touch to keep your clothes/cover up dry and handy. There are four rows, 2 on each side of the center area where the wetsuits hang, and this is cleverly above the compressor so that the heat helps to dry the wetsuits between dives. Nitrox mixture was in the 29-30 range. I would definitely do Nitrox or your bottom time will be like 8 minutes by the end.. you'll be at a minimum in the 20-24m range on the walls, and even the sandy shallows are at 16-18m. If you don't do Nitrox, make sure you bring an air-breathing buddy with you to go up earlier, as no one on our boat was on air.
The food was good enough that I ate too much almost every meal. Having not spent much time in the Caribbean before, I learned that Caribbean food is similar to food from the Deep South in the US - a lot of BBQ meat and things with mayonnaise, cheese, butter, etc. Every dinner is followed by a dessert of some kind. Food was tasty but certainly not healthy or light... I enjoyed the food but it felt quite indulgent and I am probably going to eat salad or fish every day this coming week! I am from California and admittedly there is a greater emphasis on healthy eating in the SF Bay Area so it's entirely possible others wouldn't notice this. Every dive that is not followed by a meal is followed by a light snack - fresh-baked muffin or cookie or bread or watermelon slices, etc. Everyone gets a cup with your name on it to stay hydrated (additional glasses/coffee mugs/wine glasses also available), you can drink water from any faucet on the boat which is great at night in your cabin, and coffee/tea/crystal light/sodas are always available. Light beers (Turks head local beer and a pilsner from I think Dominican Republic) are also always available though if you do all five dives there's really not much time to drink after the night dive. Wine and liquor are put out after the 4th dive.
I was the only diver who rented gear but it was all good quality and in good shape. The fins were a little soft but there wasn't really any current so this was never a problem.
Other than this, there were a number of small details that I thought were really great: each night they come in and pull back the sheets and put a little chocolate on your bed. Small but I thought really nice. Also I did my 100th dive on this trip and they were really sweet in making me wear a hot pink suit and giving me a sign for a picture! I felt like it was my birthday
Another diver had her 50th birthday on the boat and I don't want to spoil any surprises but they were very sweet in making her feel special. Finally, the best part of the night dives is they pour hot water into your wetsuit, and once you get it off they wrap you in a hot towel which is seriously amazing. It's all finished off by waiting hot chocolate and kahlua/rum. All in all, it summarizes the trip - a great and thoughtful crew making sure you have a great time.Similar threads
