Pseudocyber
Contributor
This is my trip report for the live aboard the Nekton Rorqual sailing from Peurto Rico to St. Croix and Vieques. We left on November 15 and returned November 22.
Background: My wife Lara and I are new to diving and live aboards we had a lot of firsts: First live aboard, salt water dives, and "real" dives after our checkouts. So, take everything I say from a "newbie's" point of view without any other experience to compare to.
Pre-Trip: Lara and I had the basics from our OW certification fins, mask, snorkel, and 3mm suits (hers a Henderson Hyperstretch and mine is a Pinnacle Elastoprene with Merino lining). So we signed up to rent BC's, reg's, and computers. Nekton called me a week before the trip and said they wouldn't have a BC my size (I wear a XXL T-shirt with a big gut) despite the fact I had already purchased a cumberbund extender. So I had to scramble to my LDS to get a BC and was fortunate to pick a basic one up for sale at about the same cost as renting Nekton was going to charge $125 and I bought it for $160. So, irritating but got it handled.
We had purchased our plane tickets well before the trip and before the new regulations on checked bags. We flew from Charlotte to Peurto Rico (PR) for $800 round trip for 2 from Charlotte cattle car class.
We signed up with Nekton to ride in the shuttle from the airport to the port for $100 each. I would NOT recommend the shuttle they packed about 15 of us plus our bags in an extended van there was not enough room so Lara had one cheek on a seat for a one hour trip. Additionally it was apparent we stopped at an overpriced understocked liquor store run by a friend of the driver, where everyone purchased some beer and liquor for too much. THEN we went to the grocery store where they had a better selection for less cost. Although there were three vans on the return, we were overcrowded again and were afraid of seperating our not riding with our luggage. Arrange your own transportation you'll get better service, better treatment, more room, and save money.
Ground transportation aside, the rest of the trip was great.
We arrived early at the port so our group, and the rest of the people on the trip, went to eat at a restaurant in the Marina and boarded the Rorqual at 8 PM.
The crew was very helpful and carried all our gear to our rooms from the dock.
The crew as best I can remember everyone (my apologies to the crew if you read this and I forget your name or position)
Tucker Captain
Todd 1st Mate
Robert Engineer
Chris assistant engineer
Kimberly Chef
Grace Steward
Kendal Divemaster
Eric Divemaster & purser
Amy Divemaster
Denise Divemaster
Rhys Divemaster
Skeeter Divemaster
Tim Divemaster
We sailed out of Fajardo Harbor PR about 9PM. We were on the tail end of some bad weather so our crossing from PR to St. Croix was rough with 10'-13' seas. Despite being built with SWATH technology, let me tell you, the boat DOES rock we were going into the waves, so we would go up and then crash down. I didn't stock up enough nausea medicine in me ahead of time (Triptone) so I was sick most of the night until we got to St. Croix. Our cabin was in the top deck (where the salon is) and we were in cabin 1, the handicapped cabin, next to the galley. I was told it was a little better amid ships on the O2 deck (one deck down) and worse in the bow of the boat. This was the only time I was sick the rest of the time the boat was pretty stable, although some slight rocking could always be felt.
Sunday we woke up to beautiful water, sky, and island. However, we were still limited by high wind, so Captain Tucker would choose dive sites based on weather and unfortunately Vieques never did improve during the week so we were forced to stay in St. Croix not a bad place to be forced to stay!
My only complaint about being on the boat when we went down for our first dive, I said we had rented regs and computers. I was immediately told they didn't have any computers. My aggravation must have been evident I said I had signed up to rent the equipment several months ahead of time and should have computers and regulators. I think they scrounged and came up with some but the computers didn't work (both mine and Lara's) on our first dive, so we had to abort the dive. They tried to replace them, and the replacements didn't work. I had the feeling they were coming out of spare parts. To their credit, they did fire up the skiff and make a run into town and pick up two computers for us unfortunately, since we were newbies we didn't really know how to work them and neither did anyone else. We finally did get the hang out of looking at our last dives, reading the ascent rate, and changing the nitrox blend but it was aggravating.
From my dive log here are the dives we did:
11/16 Alien Nation
11/17 Kings Cross
Kings Cross
Swirling Reef of Death
Swirling Reef of Death
11/18 Pavillions
Pavillions
Cane Bay
Kings Cross
Kings Cross (Adventure Night Dive)
11/19 North Star
North Star
Cane Bay
Swirling Reef of Death
11/20 Deep Wrecks
Deep Wrecks
Frederickstead Pier
Frederickstead Pier
11/21 Swirling Reef of Death
Swirling Reef of Death
---we had to stop for 24 hour flight interval ------
I found a good map of the sites here: GoToStCroix.com: Map of St. Croix Dive Sites, Sightseeing with Google Satellite Maps
There were more diving opportunities about 5 a day. It was a tough schedule for us newbies with equipment malfunctions, inexperience, taking our AOW class, breathing too fast, tuning weight and buoyancy, and aggravating each others as new divers and miscommunicating underwater.
All the diving was 82 degree water but visibility was "low" for St. Croix ranging from 30' to 70'. We had strong current at Cane Bay for all our dives there - which was challenging and a bit scary.
The wildlife we saw: Puffers, French Angels, Grey Angel, Queen Angel, Scorpion Fish, Octopus, Green and Hawk Billed Turtles, Wrass, Morray Eels, Golden Spotted Snake Eel, Southern Stingrays, Baracuda, Trigger Fish, Parrot Fish, Barrel Sponges, See Fans, Lobster, Christmas Tree Worms, Garden Eels, Crab, Coral Banded Shrimp, Trumpet Fish, Frog Fish, Peacock Flounder, regular Flounder, Blue Damsels, Sea Urchins, big Sea Cucumbers, Fire Worm, Jelly Fish.
The crew was awesome as far as helping us pre and post dive. There were good dive briefings, the tanks were always refilled and ready for the next dive, our air analyzed and logged, then they would help us into our BC's, they would defog our mask, help us put on our fins, and always hold the tank valve as we waddled to either the side entries or the stairs. They were always there to grab our fins coming out, help us up the stairs, and get back to our assigned spot. There were always two crew on bubble watch tracking us and ready to come get us in the skiff if we got into trouble which Lara and I did on one dive when we tired ourselves out fighting current and surfaced to signal for a pickup. There were freshwater barrels for camera eaquipment by the stairs for entering and exiting and the crew would hand divers cameras and pick them up as we entered and exited the water. There was a barrel with freshwater and anti-biological cleaner for us to dunk our suits in as we went up stairs and two hot showers for an immediate freshwater rinse/warm up. On the O2 deck, there were warm towels and a camera care station with towels and compressed air for drying. On the sundeck, there were a lot of wet suit hangers secured to the boat to allow wetsuits to dry without them being blown off the boat in high wind.
The boat had enough fuel so an extended port call in St. Croix wasn't required. The boat docked and gave everyone 2-3 dive opportunities on the Pier (including a night dive) and a chance to go into town. Lara and I went ashore and left about 1/4 mile to a local dive shop, N2 the Blue. The owner there was nice and they had some shirts for sale - one with a cool turtle outline design with St. Croix and another "I survived the Swirling Reef of Death" with the Grim Reaper on it. The shirts are $25. We went back into town and little right of the peer to a art consignment shop where there was local artwork for sale and spoke with the owner, a nice woman from New York who moved there after being in NY for 40+ years!
Our quarters were cleaned every day with fresh towels if we wanted. Our beds were two singles pushed together the mattress was a little thin for my taste, but it was OK. I asked for extra pillows pre-trip and they were provided as asked. We kept our air conditioner on 70 during the day and turned down to 60 at night with an extra blanket we did not have any problem with the cabin "sweating" Water pressure was good in the shower and we always had hot water even with an almost full complement of guests (31 with a max of 34) and 13 crew.
I was completely satisfied with the food we usually had a hot breakfast and eggs cooked to order were available by asking for protein ahead of time (special dietary request). We had a mixture of different cusines asian, Mexican, American and meats, pastas, breads, and salads. There was a hot snack in between breakfast and lunch. Drinks were a choice of orange juice, crystal light sweet tea, crystal light lemonade, lemonade, brewed tea, coffee, and water. At night, guests would gather in the salon to talk about the day, look at pictures, listen to the evening presentation on different sea life, or play games. Some would drink beer or mixed drinks and some would not. Smoking was allowed outside on the stern of the upper deck.
Lara and I took our Advanced Open Water certification dive, along with a few other guests. The dive master instructors were very competent, patient, and excellent teachers and we thoroughly enjoyed our class and thought it was an excellent value.
All of the crew were very friendly and thoroughly accommodating all of our requests. They were very interesting to talk with and had lots of stories of diving and their many travels and experiences around the world. I found myself envying their lifestyle and wish I had done some of the thing they have done at their age.
Some tips and tricks we picked up on the trip:
We didn't need so many clothes just a couple sets of clean clothes and "dive clothes"
Baby shampoo makes excellent defog.
Get your own computer.
Breathe slow.
a good sign language down with your buddy.
Pre-dive: take tums, Sudafed, and head ache medicine.
Post-dive: take a dive jacket.
Night diving: get a brighter light.
Can't have too much Triptone.
Invest in an underwater camera housing.
Learn fish identification before you go.
Don't buy liquor/beer at the liquor store in PR wait for the grocerystore.
Get your own transportation from the airport to the harbor.
We did NOT need passports we did fine with drivers license and birth certificates.
You can look at my Picassa Web Album with 150 pictures (above water) of the Rorqual, St. Croix, and my friends and the crew.
All in all if live aboard diving is any better I'd like to know who and where. Although I don't have any other experiences to compare it to, I'd have to say my experience on the Rorqual was excellent and only wish I could afford to do it again this year. I have been very impressed with Nekton Cruises, the Rorqual, and especially the crew of the Rorqual and can't wait to dive with them again.
Ps. Everone agreed the highlight of the trip was coming down the mooring line to the pin in about 45' of water. Right at the pin, there was a large barrel sponge with a young turtle just laying right in the middle of it. Someone said the turtle was probably about five years old. It just sat there and let us gawk at it from about two feet away and take pictures. It was just so cool.
Background: My wife Lara and I are new to diving and live aboards we had a lot of firsts: First live aboard, salt water dives, and "real" dives after our checkouts. So, take everything I say from a "newbie's" point of view without any other experience to compare to.
Pre-Trip: Lara and I had the basics from our OW certification fins, mask, snorkel, and 3mm suits (hers a Henderson Hyperstretch and mine is a Pinnacle Elastoprene with Merino lining). So we signed up to rent BC's, reg's, and computers. Nekton called me a week before the trip and said they wouldn't have a BC my size (I wear a XXL T-shirt with a big gut) despite the fact I had already purchased a cumberbund extender. So I had to scramble to my LDS to get a BC and was fortunate to pick a basic one up for sale at about the same cost as renting Nekton was going to charge $125 and I bought it for $160. So, irritating but got it handled.
We had purchased our plane tickets well before the trip and before the new regulations on checked bags. We flew from Charlotte to Peurto Rico (PR) for $800 round trip for 2 from Charlotte cattle car class.
We signed up with Nekton to ride in the shuttle from the airport to the port for $100 each. I would NOT recommend the shuttle they packed about 15 of us plus our bags in an extended van there was not enough room so Lara had one cheek on a seat for a one hour trip. Additionally it was apparent we stopped at an overpriced understocked liquor store run by a friend of the driver, where everyone purchased some beer and liquor for too much. THEN we went to the grocery store where they had a better selection for less cost. Although there were three vans on the return, we were overcrowded again and were afraid of seperating our not riding with our luggage. Arrange your own transportation you'll get better service, better treatment, more room, and save money.
Ground transportation aside, the rest of the trip was great.
We arrived early at the port so our group, and the rest of the people on the trip, went to eat at a restaurant in the Marina and boarded the Rorqual at 8 PM.
The crew was very helpful and carried all our gear to our rooms from the dock.
The crew as best I can remember everyone (my apologies to the crew if you read this and I forget your name or position)
Tucker Captain
Todd 1st Mate
Robert Engineer
Chris assistant engineer
Kimberly Chef
Grace Steward
Kendal Divemaster
Eric Divemaster & purser
Amy Divemaster
Denise Divemaster
Rhys Divemaster
Skeeter Divemaster
Tim Divemaster
We sailed out of Fajardo Harbor PR about 9PM. We were on the tail end of some bad weather so our crossing from PR to St. Croix was rough with 10'-13' seas. Despite being built with SWATH technology, let me tell you, the boat DOES rock we were going into the waves, so we would go up and then crash down. I didn't stock up enough nausea medicine in me ahead of time (Triptone) so I was sick most of the night until we got to St. Croix. Our cabin was in the top deck (where the salon is) and we were in cabin 1, the handicapped cabin, next to the galley. I was told it was a little better amid ships on the O2 deck (one deck down) and worse in the bow of the boat. This was the only time I was sick the rest of the time the boat was pretty stable, although some slight rocking could always be felt.
Sunday we woke up to beautiful water, sky, and island. However, we were still limited by high wind, so Captain Tucker would choose dive sites based on weather and unfortunately Vieques never did improve during the week so we were forced to stay in St. Croix not a bad place to be forced to stay!
My only complaint about being on the boat when we went down for our first dive, I said we had rented regs and computers. I was immediately told they didn't have any computers. My aggravation must have been evident I said I had signed up to rent the equipment several months ahead of time and should have computers and regulators. I think they scrounged and came up with some but the computers didn't work (both mine and Lara's) on our first dive, so we had to abort the dive. They tried to replace them, and the replacements didn't work. I had the feeling they were coming out of spare parts. To their credit, they did fire up the skiff and make a run into town and pick up two computers for us unfortunately, since we were newbies we didn't really know how to work them and neither did anyone else. We finally did get the hang out of looking at our last dives, reading the ascent rate, and changing the nitrox blend but it was aggravating.
From my dive log here are the dives we did:
11/16 Alien Nation
11/17 Kings Cross
Kings Cross
Swirling Reef of Death
Swirling Reef of Death
11/18 Pavillions
Pavillions
Cane Bay
Kings Cross
Kings Cross (Adventure Night Dive)
11/19 North Star
North Star
Cane Bay
Swirling Reef of Death
11/20 Deep Wrecks
Deep Wrecks
Frederickstead Pier
Frederickstead Pier
11/21 Swirling Reef of Death
Swirling Reef of Death
---we had to stop for 24 hour flight interval ------
I found a good map of the sites here: GoToStCroix.com: Map of St. Croix Dive Sites, Sightseeing with Google Satellite Maps
There were more diving opportunities about 5 a day. It was a tough schedule for us newbies with equipment malfunctions, inexperience, taking our AOW class, breathing too fast, tuning weight and buoyancy, and aggravating each others as new divers and miscommunicating underwater.
All the diving was 82 degree water but visibility was "low" for St. Croix ranging from 30' to 70'. We had strong current at Cane Bay for all our dives there - which was challenging and a bit scary.
The wildlife we saw: Puffers, French Angels, Grey Angel, Queen Angel, Scorpion Fish, Octopus, Green and Hawk Billed Turtles, Wrass, Morray Eels, Golden Spotted Snake Eel, Southern Stingrays, Baracuda, Trigger Fish, Parrot Fish, Barrel Sponges, See Fans, Lobster, Christmas Tree Worms, Garden Eels, Crab, Coral Banded Shrimp, Trumpet Fish, Frog Fish, Peacock Flounder, regular Flounder, Blue Damsels, Sea Urchins, big Sea Cucumbers, Fire Worm, Jelly Fish.
The crew was awesome as far as helping us pre and post dive. There were good dive briefings, the tanks were always refilled and ready for the next dive, our air analyzed and logged, then they would help us into our BC's, they would defog our mask, help us put on our fins, and always hold the tank valve as we waddled to either the side entries or the stairs. They were always there to grab our fins coming out, help us up the stairs, and get back to our assigned spot. There were always two crew on bubble watch tracking us and ready to come get us in the skiff if we got into trouble which Lara and I did on one dive when we tired ourselves out fighting current and surfaced to signal for a pickup. There were freshwater barrels for camera eaquipment by the stairs for entering and exiting and the crew would hand divers cameras and pick them up as we entered and exited the water. There was a barrel with freshwater and anti-biological cleaner for us to dunk our suits in as we went up stairs and two hot showers for an immediate freshwater rinse/warm up. On the O2 deck, there were warm towels and a camera care station with towels and compressed air for drying. On the sundeck, there were a lot of wet suit hangers secured to the boat to allow wetsuits to dry without them being blown off the boat in high wind.
The boat had enough fuel so an extended port call in St. Croix wasn't required. The boat docked and gave everyone 2-3 dive opportunities on the Pier (including a night dive) and a chance to go into town. Lara and I went ashore and left about 1/4 mile to a local dive shop, N2 the Blue. The owner there was nice and they had some shirts for sale - one with a cool turtle outline design with St. Croix and another "I survived the Swirling Reef of Death" with the Grim Reaper on it. The shirts are $25. We went back into town and little right of the peer to a art consignment shop where there was local artwork for sale and spoke with the owner, a nice woman from New York who moved there after being in NY for 40+ years!
Our quarters were cleaned every day with fresh towels if we wanted. Our beds were two singles pushed together the mattress was a little thin for my taste, but it was OK. I asked for extra pillows pre-trip and they were provided as asked. We kept our air conditioner on 70 during the day and turned down to 60 at night with an extra blanket we did not have any problem with the cabin "sweating" Water pressure was good in the shower and we always had hot water even with an almost full complement of guests (31 with a max of 34) and 13 crew.
I was completely satisfied with the food we usually had a hot breakfast and eggs cooked to order were available by asking for protein ahead of time (special dietary request). We had a mixture of different cusines asian, Mexican, American and meats, pastas, breads, and salads. There was a hot snack in between breakfast and lunch. Drinks were a choice of orange juice, crystal light sweet tea, crystal light lemonade, lemonade, brewed tea, coffee, and water. At night, guests would gather in the salon to talk about the day, look at pictures, listen to the evening presentation on different sea life, or play games. Some would drink beer or mixed drinks and some would not. Smoking was allowed outside on the stern of the upper deck.
Lara and I took our Advanced Open Water certification dive, along with a few other guests. The dive master instructors were very competent, patient, and excellent teachers and we thoroughly enjoyed our class and thought it was an excellent value.
All of the crew were very friendly and thoroughly accommodating all of our requests. They were very interesting to talk with and had lots of stories of diving and their many travels and experiences around the world. I found myself envying their lifestyle and wish I had done some of the thing they have done at their age.
Some tips and tricks we picked up on the trip:
We didn't need so many clothes just a couple sets of clean clothes and "dive clothes"
Baby shampoo makes excellent defog.
Get your own computer.
Breathe slow.
a good sign language down with your buddy.
Pre-dive: take tums, Sudafed, and head ache medicine.
Post-dive: take a dive jacket.
Night diving: get a brighter light.
Can't have too much Triptone.
Invest in an underwater camera housing.
Learn fish identification before you go.
Don't buy liquor/beer at the liquor store in PR wait for the grocerystore.
Get your own transportation from the airport to the harbor.
We did NOT need passports we did fine with drivers license and birth certificates.
You can look at my Picassa Web Album with 150 pictures (above water) of the Rorqual, St. Croix, and my friends and the crew.
All in all if live aboard diving is any better I'd like to know who and where. Although I don't have any other experiences to compare it to, I'd have to say my experience on the Rorqual was excellent and only wish I could afford to do it again this year. I have been very impressed with Nekton Cruises, the Rorqual, and especially the crew of the Rorqual and can't wait to dive with them again.
Ps. Everone agreed the highlight of the trip was coming down the mooring line to the pin in about 45' of water. Right at the pin, there was a large barrel sponge with a young turtle just laying right in the middle of it. Someone said the turtle was probably about five years old. It just sat there and let us gawk at it from about two feet away and take pictures. It was just so cool.
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I have been on several liveaboards and +10' seas would make all boats rock violently (except a cruiseship, maybe) enough to make everyone sick. 
