First Live Aboard - Should We Go to Australia or...

[DreamChaser]

Hello!

My wife has given me the blessing to plan ONE (1) liveaboard dive in the next few years! That's the good news. The bad news is she's terrified of boats and won't go for more than 2 nights (at least not the first time! )

I'm trying to decide where to spend my "credit" as I might not get another chance at a liveaboard. Options are Australia/Cairns (mid-September, 2015), Cozumel (January, 2016), Tahiti (November, 2016), Philippines (TBD), Thailand (TBD), Costa Rica (TBD), or Fiji (TBD). I need help choosing the best "2 night" liveaboard site out of these trips we are already planning.

What say you about Australia since we'll be there in a few months on vacation? I believe 2 nights trip limits us to the Outer Reefs in Australia (planning on using Pro Dive Cairns) because Cod Hole and Coral Sea require at least 3 nights. Are the Outer Reefs worth it? We have about 30 dives under our belts (all in Cozumel and a few in California). Both of us are in our late 20s. We mostly love pelagics/colorful fishies.

Thank you!

P.S. This community has helped convince my wife to start diving with me. I love you folks!

 

[drrich2]

I don't think any live-aboard boats operate out of Cozumel. Great land-based boat diving, yes, but not a live-aboard boat. Unless I'm wrong, and someone will pop up shortly to say so.

Operating out of the U.S. fairly early in your dive hobby, I'm wondering how far afield (read: how many & how long of flights into how foreign a place with how many layovers) are you willing to go and how many money (total cost; trip with airfare, diving, lodging, etc&#8230 are planning to throw into this?

Put another way, a week at the Hotel Cozumel diving with Living Underwater, to name one place & operator, would be a much different trip from diving a live-aboard in the Philippines. So different I'm thinking you can narrow it down if you look at cost and hassle.

If you're going to be in Australia anyway, seems like it'd be good to hit it. After all, that's a long way; when will you be back?

I'm not that familiar with the live-aboard market. The main very brief (well under a week) live-aboard options I know of are some with the M/V Fling out of Freeport, Texas, and some Truth Aquatics trips out of coastal California (such as Santa Barbara). I'm not saying that's all there are.

By the way, when most of us say 'live-aboard,' we mean you stay overnight, live, eat & sleep on the boat. Not just ride the boat out for 2 or 3 dives & come back in the afternoon to stay at a hotel. This is what you mean, too, right? I ask because asking about a live-aboard not over 2 nights seems unusual. At least in my region.

Richard.

 

[DreamChaser]

I don't think any live-aboard boats operate out of Cozumel. Great land-based boat diving, yes, but not a live-aboard boat. Unless I'm wrong, and someone will pop up shortly to say so.

Operating out of the U.S. fairly early in your dive hobby, I'm wondering how far afield (read: how many & how long of flights into how foreign a place with how many layovers) are you willing to go and how many money (total cost; trip with airfare, diving, lodging, etc&#8230 are planning to throw into this?

Put another way, a week at the Hotel Cozumel diving with Living Underwater, to name one place & operator, would be a much different trip from diving a live-aboard in the Philippines. So different I'm thinking you can narrow it down if you look at cost and hassle.

If you're going to be in Australia anyway, seems like it'd be good to hit it. After all, that's a long way; when will you be back?

I'm not that familiar with the live-aboard market. The main very brief (well under a week) live-aboard options I know of are some with the M/V Fling out of Freeport, Texas, and some Truth Aquatics trips out of coastal California (such as Santa Barbara). I'm not saying that's all there are.

By the way, when most of us say 'live-aboard,' we mean you stay overnight, live, eat & sleep on the boat. Not just ride the boat out for 2 or 3 dives & come back in the afternoon to stay at a hotel. This is what you mean, too, right? I ask because asking about a live-aboard not over 2 nights seems unusual. At least in my region.

Richard.

Thank you for taking the time to respond Richard!

Yes, I did mean going out to sea and spending the night on the boat. It does look like most liveaboard trips are longer than 2 nights, but that's all the wife will do (she's freaked out about sleeping on the boat). As far as cost, I'd prefer to stay below $3,000 for 2 people for 2 nights, but it's honestly a secondary concern since we're only talking 2 nights.

Doing a liveaboard dive, even if it's real short, has always been on my bucket list. I just want to choose "the best" 2-night liveaboard I can find out of the places mentioned since I might only do it once. Plus if I impress the wife enough with the diving and the experience, maybe she'll be good with doing more of these in the future.

I don't expect we'll be back to Australia for at least a few years, so I'd love to use it as an opportunity, but I have a real limited understanding of how nice the outer reef is basically, especially since the storm in 2011.

 

[drrich2]

Ironically, some shorter live-aboard trips may be on rougher waters than some of the week long trips.

Check out my trip report from diving Belize via the Sun Dancer 2. It's a big 'boat,' 3 deck, yes there's some occasional 'motion of the ocean,' and people who are prone to sea sickness should have proven med.s to prevent it, but it's often very stable and quite comfortable, doesn't feel small and for that matter didn't feel all that much like being on a boat to me. I'm guessing your wife is concerned she's going to get a bit claustrophobic? (If I may use the term very broadly). It's a large yacht; not quite the same as what comes to mind when you're on 'a boat.'

Richard.

 

[Damselfish]

The problem with short liveaboard trips, aside from there being few available (especially for 2 nights) is that they are often more budget oriented and for many reasons you may not have as nice an experience on them as you would on a more typical week-long "luxury" liveaboard - so it could backfire at giving your wife a good first experience. It would be helpful to understand exactly what her fears are that make her freaked out about sleeping on a boat. That might allow making a better choice or addressing her fears. In reality she might enjoy a longer trip on a nice boat much more than a short trip on a lesser boat, but I understand that will be hard to convince her of!

What I saw of the outer reef I was not too impressed with. It's nothing at all like doing a longer liveaboard to the better parts of the GBR. I haven't been on the boats that go there for a few days, or that practically sit out there like hotels and they shuttle people out there for however many days they want. While it's not the best diving, it's possible it might be an experience that calms her fears about sleeping on a boat - or not, hard to say.

If you can get her to do 3 nights that would open a few more options. There is the Taka which does 3 and 4 night trips that get to somewhat better diving than the "outer reef", though it's still a more budget option and at least back when we did it didn't have the food, service, and general amenities of higher end boats - by far the least favorite of all the liveaboards I've been on. For a much nicer trip you could do 3 nights on the Spirit of Freedom. It doesn't return to port midweek like Taka so it can spend more time out where the better diving is. If you don't do the whole week you fly out or back to meet the boat out there at Lizard Island - possibly the scenic flight over the reefs would appeal to her? Or a stay at the luxury resort there? The last night of the 3 day route they spend in the bay at Lizard Island, so in theory you might be able to spend only 2 nights on the boat and get off for the last night and stay at Lizard Island Resort, though I'm betting when the time came she wouldn't actually want to (never mind the expense of that resort on top of what you've already paid for the boat.)

Many liveaboards have 1 or 2 much larger cabins then the regular ones, called something like "master cabin" or "owners suite" and usually on the upper deck rather than below. Often the additional amount you pay for these is not that much compared to the additional space you get, and I'll hazard a guess she would like that much more than being in a tiny cabin below deck and it would be a better "intro". It might spoil you though.

 

[Darnold9999]

Did my first liveaboard on a Mike Ball boat on the GBR and the difference between the diving compared to diving on the inner reefs (where the day boats and short stay liveaboards go) was significant. This was a trip from Lizard Island down the Ribbon reefs which I don't think exists anymore. However the Spirit of Freedom does a similar itinerary which would by my recommendation if you wanted to do a liveaboard on the GBR and see some of the best of what is available there.

The problem, as Damselfish says is that a two day liveaboard really is not going to get you much more (in terms of the diving) than a day boat and the accommodation on these boats is unlikely to compare at all to a longer liveaboard. Depending on why your partner is afraid of spending the night you may be doing more harm than good on a short term boat as the accommodation on the longer trips is much more comfortable and the diving is significantly better than most resort based diving.

It would help to know what the fear is based on so we can give better feedback.

Someone did give a review of the two day trip to the GBR a few days ago and were very positive so I wouldn't take it off the table, just that the longer trip is significantly better.

You might also consider the Spree out of Florida. I believe they do shorter trips as well.

 

[DreamChaser]

Wow, I can't thank ya'll enough for responding.

I get the sense that the Spirit of Freedom Liveaboard is definitely the way to go and will be a far superior overall experience.

They key you guys mentioned is that the boat is superior. The Lizard Island resort option as a "backup" is definitely going to help too. I too doubt she'll feel unsafe when she's on the actual boat and after the first night.

As far as why she's afraid, I blame Titanic. She's just scared of sleeping on a boat. We've both skydived, bungee jumped, did hang gliding, rock climbing, etc but sleeping on a boat is a different ballgame I guess. I'll hit on the niceness of the boat and hopefully get her to budge. Keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[TSandM]

Why don't you look closer to home, and think about a weekend liveaboard trip in the Channel Islands off LA? The water is pretty warm in the shallows in late summer. The diving is super fun, and the trips are planned to be short. You can see dolphins and whales from the boats, too.

 

[Cali_diver]

What exactly is she terrified of?

TS and M has a good suggestion but it seems like most of the liveaboards that do the Channel Islands are bunk style boats and that might not make her like liveaboards much. I have been on quite a few different boats so I kind of have have a general idea of what to expect. I think that once she gets past the 2 nights she will feel pretty comfortable and spoiled if she is on the right boat!

Looking at your experience level I would highly recommend one of the Belize liveaboards (Sat-Sat). Calm seas and you dive right off the back of the boat. You can go with a guide or on your own. The boat is usually anchored on a wall so you can't get lost. You go one direction down the wall then you come back. They also tend to dive the same site twice so you feel pretty comfortable with the sites. You can stay shallow on the reef or go deeper if you would like. You can also do a little land stay and enjoy the jungle and ruins a bit before you head home. This is a great first liveaboard experience. ...and If she freaks out they could probably get her on shore to a local island resort...

I don't think you will get the right liveaboard feel with a 2 nighter. The great things about a liveaboard is you set up your gear once then pretty much eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, dive... read books, look at pictures and meet great people.

 

[Damselfish]

yes, while there are some short liveaboard trips in the states that I'm sure are great fun for many people, when you're talking bunk or otherwise cramped accommodations without private bathrooms it really doesn't seem like the way to get someone to like sleeping on a boat. Unless being in tight quarters with a bunch of people they don't know (yet) is somehow comforting, which I suppose is always possible.

While I agree Belize is a great liveaboard destination, I don't know that I would recommend it in this case. Besides that it's not on the OPs list of planned trips they were trying to work this into - it's not always calm. Might be fine once you get out to the atolls, but it involves a long unsheltered nighttime crossing. I've done it when it's pretty smooth, and I've done it when I literally had to hang onto the bed all night so as not to fall out. I'm thinking that's not a good bet for someone afraid of sleeping on a boat.