Risk a Liveaboard

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Derffie

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We love our dive shop. Trouble is, they only have two trips planned for next year. One is to Asia. I'd rather not be on a pane for a day as we would be leaving from Chicago. The other is a liveaboard. February is a perfect time to be away from Chicago. We would really like to see the area, Saba and St Kitts. Both my wife and I have had atrocious sea sickness experiences. What to do?
 
Just because you love your dive shop doesn't mean what they are offering you this year is perfect for you. There are many worthwhile dive experiences to choose from. Do something else this year and hope that next year your LDS has more viable options for you.
 
Ask your dive shop where they would recommend, explaining why their trips don't fit you plans. If they are any good they will not be offended.
From Chicago in Feb I would think that the Caribean would be a perfect solution for you.
Belize, ABC Islands Aruba, Bonaire, Curacco, maybe BVI
Your first trip without the support of the diveshop is a bit of a challeng but choose a recognised dive destination and going solo is no big deal.

Bounce their responses off people here and I am sure a suitable destination can be found.
 
It's nice that you want to patronize your local dive shop, but why not just plan a trip yourself? It's so easy nowadays to contact a dive operator anywhere in the world, book a week of diving with them, book some accommodations and plane tickets, etc. Of course, there are also dive-specific travel agents who will book a package for you, just like your local dive shop.

Edit: see next post!
 
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They are concerned about sea sickness, not going on a liveaboard without their dive shop.

Sea Sickness in all in your head. Of course, when it's in your head and you spend 4 of your 7 days barfing, it doesn't matter that some guy on the internet said it's psychosomatic, you're still barfing. I have found the best preventative is the Transderm Scop patch. Be aware, don't just stick it on and think you've done enough. It will come off while diving, and you will get sick. Also, don't put it on and rub your eyes, or you may blow a pupil for a week, making you extremely sensitive to sunlight. Also not a fun way to spend a week. Put the patch on after cleaning the area behind your ear with alcohol to remove any skin oil. Cover the parch with a good waterproof bandaid. Wash your hands. Wash them again. The patch is good for about 4 days, I'd change it on day 3 for the second half of the trip. A prescription comes in 4 packs, so you will each have one to play with at home to be sure you don't have a bad reaction, one to lose on the first dive, and 2 to get through the week with.

Have fun in Saba/St. Kitts. I used to work on the predecessor to that boat, I love the diving there. You are in the lee of the islands, so it isn't like you're facing the waves and wind all day every day, and the crossings are at night. I get seasick too, although my time on the Caribbean Explorer passed without turning into a barf machine myself.
 
If sea sickness is an issue you there are many land based options that can give you as much diving without even having to touch a boat. The most obvious that comes to mind is Bonaire where you could dive 5-6 times a day and never get on a boat.

As wookie said though many of the live aboard options do travel in calmer sees and another option would be Belize where the liveaboards are mostly protected by the reef and the islands.
 
Have you tried any of the motion sickness medications? I used to be quite prone to motion sickness when I was younger and was pretty concerned about going on a liveabaord. Fortunately the medication proved to be quite effective and allowed me to overcome this issue. Since then I have been on many liveaboards and don't even need to take medication any more. If you can perhaps give yourself a "test run" - maybe on a day boat trip - to see if these medications work for you and your wife... a liveaboard trip is one of the most enjoyable experiences you can have and will allow you access to great sites, lots of diving, and meeting new an interesting people from all over the world.

I very highly recommend it.
 
On my last trip there was a guy that is prone to being seasick. He took the meds and he did OK. However, the weather was calm and we spent most of the time tucked in behind a couple of islands. Even taking the meds he spent his nights sleeping on the top deck, not in his cabin. Of course his room mate was very happy to have the room to himself.:D

Not saying that the meds won't work but I would want to test it on a shorter trip. I can't imagine barfing for several days being much of a vacation.
 
As someone mentioned before Cardonna has trips with flights out of Chicago.

Scuba diving isn't limited to your shop. You can go dive without them.

You will be pretty miserable and make others miserable around you if you are constantly sick on a live aboard. Why don't you go to bonaire or Curacao where you can shore dive mostly and take some boats to see how you handle them.
A little closer to home is Key Largo. It's in the gulfstream so you get corals and tropical fish. THe boat rides are 5 miles or so. This way you can get some boat diving experience. There is no shore diving in Key Largo though because the reef is off shore 5 miles.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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