First Liveaboard -- what to consider and expect....

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Bearkeley

Contributor
Messages
101
Reaction score
29
Location
Virginia
# of dives
200 - 499
Hi all - considering our first liveaboard and wanted to get some advice on what it's like / what we should consider when booking a trip....initially thinking of Bahamas / Caribbean (easy flight from the US and calm waters / interesting vista....) this Nov/Dec/Jan timeframe.....


Some initial questions....

  • I am used to open air boats (own a center console) but history of getting sea sick (fine on a big cruise ship but had issues with being indoors when seas are rolling (deep sea fishing charters) --- obviously can't be on Dramamine (maybe lower dose?) while diving, so thoughts on catamarans, vs other ships? Destinations that might be a good place to start?


  • People you dive with....usually enjoy meeting new divers...but not sure how I feel about larger groups (12 divers sound more like us than 20 divers, for example). Also, hoping for a relaxing trip.....is it common to see loud kids on some of these trips we should watch out for?


  • Seems like there are a lot of great deals out there -- tips on what to consider before booking?


  • Favorite 'first timer' liveaboards and why?

Thanks!
 
I have been on 2 live aboard trips. One in April and one in July. The seas were calm in both cases, but I don't get sea sick anyway. My wife does and she takes Bonine without a problem, she just takes it before she gets on the boat and uses the smallest dosage.

My first liveaboard was on the Aquacat, a catamaran, I found it to be very stable and I hardly noticed any rolling or moving. The second was on the Cayman Agressor. Not much problem there either. There was 1 guy on the trip that suffered from sea sickness and spent his nights on the top deck sleeping. He just didn't go below deck where he couldn't get the air and see the ocean.

There were around 16 people on both trips (plus crew) and I only found 1 person I couldn't seem to get along with. I just stayed away from her, there is more than one deck and I could generally stay far enough away for it not to be a problem. There were some young ones that liked to party late into the night. They didn't really bother me, I usually hit the cabin fairly early as I am older and need my rest.

Both of these boats were a really great experience and I would go on another trip on either without hesitation. I will say the diving was much better on the Cayman Aggressor. I also know that in the months you mention the seas can be up and the Aggressor does not always make the 90 mile crossing over to Little Cayman so you do all the dives around Grand Cayman.

The food on both boats was very good and plentiful. The cabins on the Aquacat were bigger and more comfortable but I didn't spend much time awake in either so it really isn't a big issue for me.

I thought the Aquacat was a good trip for the money. We got a deal for 10 days for the price of 7 on the Cayman Aggressor so both trips were a great deal for me. On both boats 4 or 5 dives are offered per day. I got in 36 dives on the Cayman trip with 39 being offered. So either boat you will get in a lot of diving, more than you would from a land based operation.

I am sure there are others that have far more experience than I do that will be able to help you more but thought I would add my thoughts.
 
Belize, either Aggressor or Peter Hughes. Easy diving pretty protected waters so good for new divers and first time liveaboard guests - relatively inexpensive as well. Was my second liveaboard and went back two more times. I am about the same re sea sickness and find that in most weather the boats are so stable that I don't get seasick at all. However I have had issues on the Cayman crossing and in heavier weather on other boats. Just end up going outside and watching the horizon for a bit.

By and large the people that go on these trips are serious divers and don't party late into the night - cuts into the diving the next day. As a rule of thumb the more expensive the trip the fewer "party animals" you get. In 9 liveaboard trips I can only remember one individual that I could not abide and he was easy to avoid. Did end up on a trip with a group of Eastern Europeans that was not my favourite trip as their dive behaviour was not great and they were into partying, but even then the boat was big enough to avoid most of the night life and I just did my own thing in the water and just didn't look at what they were doing to the coral. You are far more likely to meet really interesting people than you are to meet someone you don't like in my experience.

The only liveaboards that you might want to avoid would be the ones that recommend divers have a minimum number of dives - for example would not do Galapagos or any other Pacific side liveaboard as a first trip. Otherwise you get pretty much what you pay for. Blackbeards is camping on the water - some of the South Pacific liveaboards are luxury spas on the water.

The only drawback to liveaboards as far as I can tell is that they are addictive - you can't do just one. :wink:


Be aware that there is a hurricane risk in at least part of the time frame you are considering in the Caribbean. Have a look at the NOAA site to get a sense of the risk.
 
I will say the diving was much better on the Cayman Aggressor.

Interesting, as I've had my eye on those two. Haven't done a live-aboard yet but hope to. If the C.A. had not made the crossing to dive Little Cayman & Cayman Brac, do you think the diving just at Grand Cayman would've still been much superior to the Bahamas diving on the Aquacat?

Richard.
 
IMO I think Grand Cayman Diving is better than Bahama/Exumas but if you make the crossing Little Cayman and Brac blow the Bahama/Exumas away. I will say if you dive on the Aquacat I don't think you will be disappointed but I do think the Cayman's are better for coral and fish. I think there are more sharks in the Bahama/Exumas. I really enjoyed both trips and glad I was able to both of them.

Interesting, as I've had my eye on those two. Haven't done a live-aboard yet but hope to. If the C.A. had not made the crossing to dive Little Cayman & Cayman Brac, do you think the diving just at Grand Cayman would've still been much superior to the Bahamas diving on the Aquacat?

Richard.
 
We've done a number of liveaboard trips over the years, around 13 I think, and they are great for dedicated dive trips. I am also very prone to seasickness and I have gotten quite ill the first night on some of the trips. The biggest factor in seasickness for me is doing a deep water crossing. And crossing over to the Bahamas from Florida has always been a difficult crossing for me - and the diving isn't as good in the northern Bahamas as locations further south IMO.

This is how I handle the seasickness, I don't eat very much before boarding and I take motion sickness tablets and try to stay hydrated. If I stay up on deck in the fresh air on the first night it usually helps a lot. But after the first day my body adjusts and I am not bothered by motion any longer and I don't have to keep taking the pills.

A good liveaboard working in a great location during good weather is the best possible dive experience. The diving is so easy and you go to the most pristine locations and do many, many dives. Living on a boat is not as comfortable as in a hotel. The rooms are small and you don't have access to all the amenities available on a land based trip, but the diving can be fantastic and you often meet nice people and have the chance to enjoy good food. I don't recall ever seeing any children on a liveaboard.

Liveaboards are definitely more economical than land-based trips with boat diving. The price includes food, lodging, and lots of diving. If you figure out the cost per dive for liveaboard versus land-based trip with boat dives, the liveaboard is really a bargain, and you don't have to deal with long open boat rides out to the reefs.

There are 2 very good liveaboards out of Provo in the Turks and Caicos, the aggressor and the explorer. We were on the T&C aggressor last October and the diving was spectacular. We did a Peter Hughes T&C liveaboard trip a number of years ago and it was great too. I've never gotten sick on a T&C liveaboard trip.

The Cayman Aggressor was fabulous but we spent most of the week diving the bloody bay wall off Little Cayman. I would have been less pleased if the weather was bad and we dived off of Grand Cayman all week, although I did get sick the first night when we crossed over to LC. The Explorer trip to Saba was great (but I got sick during the crossing from St. Martin.)

The Red Sea trip was fabulous and I am so glad we did it but I probably wouldn't go back to the Mideast right now.

I didn't get sick on liveaboards that didn't involve deep water crossings, like Kona, Belize, and St. Croix. I got sick in the Sea of Cortez but the weather was pretty rough. And like I said, it goes away after the first night.

If the weather is iffy than often a liveaboard can provide options you can't get on a shore-based trip. The Captain will monitor the weather and move the boat to the best available locations. But when the weather is bad everywhere, it would be better to be on shore because you will have more opportunities for non-diving entertainment.

I definitely think that you should give a liveaboard a try; do your research and pick a good boat and a good location and see how you like it, good luck!
 
I have been on 17 liveaboard cruises around the world thus far and enjoyed all of them. IMO, where the facility is available, liveaboard diving is far better than land based provided you are a dedicated diver. There are several advantages, the most important being that the liveaboard boat goes to the more remote dive sites that are not accessible on a Day Trip. Equally, once you settle down on a liveaboard, everything becomes so much easier - the gear is all set-up and ready for you and all you have to do is come out of your room or sun deck, listen to the briefing, don your gear and dive. No hassle lugging kit around, wondering which boat you are going on etc. Also, weather conditions permitting liveaboards stick to a schedule so that you are not going to miss out on an important dive because the logistics (new guests coming and going for example) demanded it - a problem rather common on land-based ops.

Unlike day boats, the number of divers on a liveaboard is limited by the number of cabins available and so the boat seldom feels crowded. There is usually loads of deck and lounging space and you almost seldom tred on another diver's toes. If a liveaboard boat has a capacity for, say, 20 divers, it will be proportionately large.

On a liveaboard, you can join or miss any dive you want. For example, if you prefer to get-up a bit late and so miss the early morning dive on a particular day, you can do so and happily join the late-morning dive. Of course, this will not be the case where a land based resort is doing a '2-tank' morning trip - there you either catch the boat or miss both dives. Also, conditions permitting liveaboard boats offer night dives every day, unlike land based ops where they are often at a premium.

From the US going to the Caribbean / Central America area, you have a lot of liveaboard options. I assume that by the time you get this organised the North American hurricane season will be over and you'll be getting towards winter - generally a good time to dive in that part of the world. The Bahamas as you say are a good option but better diving is to be had in Turks & Caicos, Cayman Islands, Belize and Saba & St Kitts, all of which have excellent liveaboard operations. Going with established operations like the Aggressor & Dancer Fleet or Explorer Ventures, you cannot go wrong.

Of course, liveaboard trips tend to be rather more expensive than corresponding land-based operations but IMO you pay for quality. I suspect you knew that already while planning your first liveaboard. You will find that you'll need to pack less for a liveaboard trip since your day clothes are usually a pair of shorts and a T-shirt (or less if you are sunning yourself).

Go for it!
 
Yes liveboard may seem to be more expensive but when you count price per dive, they are not. Plus the quality of the dive is better because the boat can easily reach remote sites or can dive sites that cannot be reached by day boats before 11 am.

The only thing that I would not recommend is to brinf a non diver with you. The divers onborad are so much into diving that the poor "non diver" can easily get borred. Plus very little to see on a boat if you are not a diver.

10+ Liveboards
 
I would like to add one thing not mentioned. Bring lots of cash for the tip. At the end of a trip, you will get an envelope for the crew. You can normally use a credit card but occasionally they prefer cash. Add this to the total cost as well as all park fees, etc. It is a hidden (but necessary) cost they often forget to mention.

I second the T&C explorer - great boat as well as the Cayman aggressor. Two good and relatively inexpensive options for the first live-aboard experience. I have only been seasick on the Galapagos boat - most boats have a wide enough beam to minimize seasickness.

Email ahead asking what goodies the crew might like from your country. They often go a long time away from home and may need some dive gear, snacks, books or movies to exchange on the boat. It is appreciated greatly and gets you some courtesy points.
 
The other thing about liveaboard diving is that the whole day is much more relaxed. If you are doing 4 dives per day via a land based op, so much time is wasted getting out of the boat and going for lunch, rushing back to your hotel room to charge batteries, lugging things back & forth etc. On a liveaboard, it is all set-up for you. After a dive, you strip off the wetsuit, have a quick shower, don your shorts and relax somewhere with a book or your laptop editing your photos. Facilities for charging batteries etc are close at hand and until you actually jump into the water, you have the chance to retrieve something you forgot to take - like the dive computer left on the bedroom desk. You'll be amazed how much the surface intervals seem to stretch-out on a liveaboard cruise even with doing every dive, making the whole week more relaxed.
 

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