Picking a Caribbean Live-Aboard

[drrich2]

Recently had some decisions to make planning my 1st (Lord willing and providing) live-aboard trip this coming year in May. I fly out of Nashville, TN, prefer warm water, high viz., aquarium-like conditions with beautiful reefs, tropical fish & pelagics would be nice though one can seldom have it all, aiming for a reasonably 'budget' trip with the plane trip under a day & no single flight over 4 hours at a stretch. While Blackbeards is much loved for very economical diving, it's called 'camping at sea' for a reason, and while I hear they do it very well, to be stuck on a boat for a week with strangers, I wanted more space/comfort.

Reading reviews & discussions on ScubaBoard and on UnderCurrent.org and elsewhere has been helpful. I thought it might be interesting to lay out my decision-making process, and see how some of the rest of you pick a live-aboard operator and location.

My plan was diving the AquaCat hitting the southern Exhuma islands. My thinking - reef diving the Bahamas is said to be much better by live-aboard locations than near the mainland, while not considered the best in Caribbean diving I hear it's quite good, the Bahamas seems to be the go-to place for sharks, and of course the Bahamas have so much name recognition it seems worth sticking on the bucket list. AquaCat has a strong reputation on the forum & elsewhere, is probably about as nice a boat as I'm likely to pay for, reputedly has good food, and it's a good, 'safe' conservative choice for a 1st live-aboard.

But they book up in advance, and in the past week or so, the one week they had a space for in May would tie me up the weekend my wife is scheduled to graduate from college (she's been doing online coursework to move from an Associate's to a Bachelor's Degree, and it's been a long time coming). I'd like to make it a big deal as an example to our pre-toddler daughter (who will see this from photos & such).

I looked at Explorer Ventures Turks & Caicos offering. E.V. will let solo-certified divers solo and rent you the equipment for it if you wish (from what I understand the AquaCat doesn't rent pony bottles). Suh-weet!!! It's geographically fairly close to the Bahamas, I believe. Reading online, it's my understanding that whereas in the Bahamas you've got deep and shallow diving, and can often spend the latter part of your dive working your way up reef, that in Turks & Caicos the topography is deeper, so once you go shallow, you're off the reef. But reputably good diving with a number of shark sightings.

Problem is, if I can't do the AquaCat this year, I might next year, and T. & C. is close enough I might prefer to do something else if I'm going to do AquaCat anyway. Maybe next time, E.V.

St. Martin/St. Kits/Saba - Of the 3, only Saba seems to get consistently strong reviews, although some people speak well of the other 2 sites. But if Saba is only a piece of the action, why pick this as a 1st Caribbean live-aboard? Unless I'm missing something, I don't see it.

Cayman Aggressor - well-liked by reviewers. Sounds good. But a minority of times it doesn't make it to Little Cayman (where the best diving is) due to weather, which would be a let down though Grand Cayman also has good diving. But if I want to diving Grand Cayman, why not Cobalt Coast or Sunset House? If I want to dive Little Cayman, why not Little Cayman Beach Resort so I make sure I dive it? More dives via live-aboard, I suppose. A strong contender.

Belize - I hear good things. Some resorts on islands, rather than the mainland, can get you to the good diving, but live-aboards are popular here. The Aggressor Boat didn't have a good opening for me, but the Sun Dancer 2 did.

Turns out the Sun Dancer 2 live-aboard diving Belize is very well reviewed. People love the boat, captain & usually the crew, and the diving. They don't allow solo diving, but put a dive master in the water so I assume I can follow along with the guide? Seemed to me a combo. of Sun Dancer 2 in 2015 & maybe AquaCat later would give me a more diverse experience vs. Turks & Caicos Explorer in 2015 & maybe AquaCat later.

So I booked with Sun Dancer 2.

Anybody see any misconceptions in my understanding of all this?

I assume that a lot of people face the same perplexing decision about which Caribbean live-aboard destination & provider to use so I thought it might be interesting to see how the rest of you go about it.

Richard.

P.S.: For a working family man who finds getting a week off often challenging, a 7 day solo trip in my region is the goal.

 

[PACKRMAN]

Don't group the Bahamas trip and T&C trip together. Do both trips, they are quite different and you would enjoy both. I haven't done the St Maartan/St Kitts/Saba trip but I have done all of the others. You can't go wrong with any of them(we did get over to Little Cayman). If I were going to suggest a first time trip it would be Belize. It's a bigger boat, very laid back, EASY. don't worry about traveling alone, you have something in common with everyone on the boat. They are big enough(other than Blackbeards) that you can be with a group or choose to be alone.

 

[Damselfish]

I agree, the one thing I would also say is that Aquacat in the Bahamas and one of the T&C liveaboards will be vastly different and shouldn't be grouped together.

I've been on the Sun Dancer 3 times and it's a nice boat and trip, definitely a good way to dive Belize. (About the only think I don't like about it is the Blue Hole day, because they skip 1-2 of the other dives that day and have a picnic on land - all of which may appeal if you want to do the BH and prefer hanging out on a hot buggy little island, rather than eating in a comfy A/C dining room and doing another dive. But that may just be me.)

 

[diversteve]

I'd skip Aquacat entirely and do the T/C Explorer instead...I wish they'd spend the whole week at French Cay instead though - the diving was so much better there, or at West Caicos that it's a shame to kill the first couple days off Provo.

I don't see any reason to dive in the Bahamas if you can dive in Turks/Caicos instead. And I've done both.

why pick this as a 1st Caribbean live-aboard? Unless I'm missing something, I don't see it.

You're not. Decisions on where to base the boat aren't always based on the best diving. Sometimes it's where the boat owner decides to keep it.

A good example is MV Pearl - the DivEncounters boat - formerly the Utila Aggressor based on Utila instead of Roatan - even though they go there and you fly into Roatan to fly over to Utila to meet the boat. It's because the owner of Laguna Beach Resort on Utila also owns the boat.

Another DivEncounters boat - Solmar V - has been doing the Socorros trips form Cabo San Lucas for decades. They recently joined the DivEncounters alliance but all that changed for them is a new source for booking. You can still book Solmar V directly on their website. Same money so it's a wash.

None of the liveaboard companies are much more than booking agents.

Aggressor even tells you that - read any of the trip reports posted here where there has been problems on the boat and the standard response from Aggressor management is always that they'll alert the owners to resolve the problem and get back to them directly.

 

[drrich2]

Don't group the Bahamas trip and T&C trip together. Do both trips, they are quite different and you would enjoy both.

I agree, the one thing I would also say is that Aquacat in the Bahamas and one of the T&C liveaboards will be vastly different and shouldn't be grouped together.

Thanks, guys. What do you see as the main differences that matter (either in operator, or the diving)?

As for the Blue Hole, I think I'd go with what the group wanted. Would be interesting to say I'd done it. Skipping it would probably mean more better diving elsewhere. I could enjoy either scenario.

Richard.

---------- Post added November 15th, 2014 at 12:26 PM ----------

P.S.: Diver Steve, didn't see your post till after I made mine. Thanks. I keep hearing about the DiveEncounters network of live-aboards; I'm not as familiar with it as yet. Some people love the Socorros; I'd like to hit it someday, but would ideally prefer to have a known good buddy with me since from what I understand it's not quite the tropical aquarium conditions I've come to love in the Caribbean? I have been reading the Aggressor-related posts you mention; basically, the Aggressor boats are privately owned and if you have problems, (e.g.: end up on a different boat with worse conditions) Aggressor itself is not necessarily going to solve them for you. So judge a boat by it's reputation, not so much the Aggressor label.

Richard.

 

[Craig66]

-? I have been reading the Aggressor-related posts you mention; basically, the Aggressor boats are privately owned and if you have problems, (e.g.: end up on a different boat with worse conditions) Aggressor itself is not necessarily going to solve them for you. So judge a boat by it's reputation, not so much the Aggressor label.

Richard.

Rich, My feelings with aggressor are very mixed. I too came up against that "blanket" answer of: "Well we would love to help you but we cant as it is up to the boats owner" and there is a very recent thread of a divers poor experience on a pacific aggressor that should give pause for anyone to think about whether or not they really are all the advertise themselves to be. I also have found them to be a little overpriced compared to other outfits for basically the identical dive experience. Having said that I did dive with them and had a rave of a time and certainly would have no issues diving with them again on certain boats. I think Belize diving would be great for a single diver and although they don't officially sanction single diving I think most of the liveaboards kind of take a dont ask dont tell approach similar to that in Bonaire.

 

[diversteve]

DivEncounters is the new(er) Peter Hughes venture. They've got a about 8 boats in the Alliance from allover the world. It also clearly states that each is Independently owned and managed. It's possible that when he sold Dancer Fleet to Aggressor there was a timed non-compete clause as he seemed to disappear for a few years afterwards. DivEncounters Alliance Live-Aboard Diving, Luxury Liveaboard Scuba Diving

I wouldn't have a problem with Aggressor stating that any problems will be resolved between you and the owner if they occur. But I can't find that anywhere on the site - they recommend using them to book the entire trip - including flights - they'll take care of everything for you.

I haven't been to Belize but Turks/Caicos is by far the best diving I've done in the Caribbean. And I've done most of the "top 10" except Coz.

 

[Craig66]

D

I wouldn't have a problem with Aggressor stating that any problems will be resolved between you and the owner if they occur. But I can't find that anywhere on the site - they recommend using them to book the entire trip - including flights - they'll take care of everything for you.

Steve, furthermore not only is it not mentioned but there is no mechanism for you to actually interact with the owners.

I would agree that Turks/Caicos is superb and especially if you are interested in sharks.

 

[Damselfish]

Thanks, guys. What do you see as the main differences that matter (either in operator, or the diving)?

I can't compare directly, as I wasn't on either of the current T&C liveaboards. (I was on the Wind Dancer when it was going out of Grand Turk, and have done land based diving from Provo mostly to West Caicos.) For the Aquacat I was on a special 2 week charter, a week of which was somewhat exploratory and a week of which I believe was pretty much their normal itinerary.

The interesting thing about the Aquacat was, while the Bahamas sites were on average generally not as good as most of the popular dive destinations in the Caribbean including T&C, overall it's one of the most enjoyable liveaboard trips I've been on - it's simply extremely well run. The boat is very roomy and well maintained, the food was very good, the crew was great. They have a lot of repeat customers and I think it's a bit like Little Cayman Beach Resort in that they manage to do everything well and keep it up consistently year after year, which seems to be a challenge for some ops. While the reef health may not have been as good, the dive sites were more varied than some places and it had it's share of unique dives and critters. There was also interesting snorkeling and side trips, though I don't recall which ones were part of the normal itinerary and which came with going further afield.

As far as the Blue Hole, you have no choice but to go with what the group wants. One of my 3 trips, the whole boat voted against the BH.

 

[KeithG]

we alternate between the turks & caicos explorer and the belize dancer and bonaire. every now and then we go on the caribbean explorer. have no bahamas experience.

the belize dancer is an experienced operation with a long time crew. the dive sites offer good variation with ample shallow bits under the boat to stretch out your bottom time so NDLs are generally not an issue (unless you just race to the bottom). Jerry puts together the best meals of any liveaboard (sorry stan!). the blue hole is a ho-hum short dive (28 minutes total) that is done as a group dive. we sit it out as it is way too short and a group dive. there is always a dm in the water. you can follow them with the group or dive your own profile with a buddy. dives are limited to 70 minutes.

the t&c explorer is fairly similar operation,but the boat is a little posher (it was a corporate party boat before). the top of the wall along west caicos is generally deeper than in belize, so NDLs can become an issue. we always see sharks on this trip. sometimes only 1 in a day, sometimes 4 is sight at the same time.

both places provide a good selection of walls and reef top sites. lots of macro opportunities.