Considering Bahamas Liveaboards in November

[Ironborn]

I am evaluating potential Bahamas liveaboards in mid-late November and would appreciate any input, feedback, or suggestions from anyone who has done any of these trips: Aggressor, AquaCat, Cat Ppalu, and Blackbeard's.

1) What would the diving and weather conditions typically be at that time of year?

2) I have heard mixed reviews about the quality of the reefs and marine life. Some felt that it was mediocre or lukewarm, unless one has a special interest in sharks. Would you agree or disagree, and why? Does the quality of marine life and the reefs vary with the different itineraries of the various liveaboards? If the marine life is mediocre, as some claimed, then why are there so many different Bahamas liveaboards?

3) Some of the cheaper liveaboards do not offer Nitrox. It seems to me that the lack of Nitrox would significantly limit the number of dives that one could do or limit one's bottom time, thereby defeating one of the primary purposes of a liveaboard. How do they pull it off without Nitrox? Are the dive sites shallow?

4) The Aggressor and AquaCat are more expensive, while the Blackbeard's and Cat Ppalu are cheaper. The Aggressor and AquaCat have longer itineraries by one day, seem like more comfortable boats, and they offer Nitrox at an extra cost. Are there any other differences that would justify the higher price tag for those two?

 

[KathyV]

I think the Cat Ppalu is mostly for charter groups not individuals, but you might find a group willing to sell you a spot.

 

[Damselfish]

Describing the Aquacat as more comfortable than Blackbeards is like saying the Marriott is more comfortable than a tent.

My only experience in the Bahamas was 2 weeks on the Aquacat, and mediocre reefs with lots of good shark action was a pretty good summary. Yet I would consider it again, because the boat was such a good experience. And they are good at making the most of the diving available. I imagine proximity to Florida and the east coast in general is one thing that works in favor the Bahamas. Sometimes easy and cheap to get to beats other considerations. Sometimes you can't have it all...

 

[drrich2]

Haven't been; like you, I've been interested but chose other options so far. Some you didn't mention:

1.) Bahamas Aggressor: part of the year offers a Tiger Beach itinerary I've read good things about. Seems to be a more mid-range offering.
2.) Juliet - more upscale than Blackbeards; posts by @Wookie were complimentary IIRC (including about what dive sites they've hit), and I've read good reviews.
3.) Lost Island Voyages. I seldom see a review, but when I do, it's good.

If Blackbeard's is of interest, some thread links I keep handy:

T.C.’s Report on Blackbeards May 2014 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bahamas/484271-trip-report-blackbeard-s-cruises-24-30-may.html
Kimbalabala’s Blackbeards review 2013 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/wo...-liveaboard.html?highlight=Blackbeards+review
Craig66’s Question thread about Blackbeards - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/li...stion-about-dives-blackbeards-liveaboard.html

It's my understanding Blackbeard's doesn't do as many dives as Aquacat (19 for the week I've read somewhere); perhaps 4 dives/day is easier to stay within NDLs than 5?

Richard.

 

[Ironborn]

It's my understanding Blackbeard's doesn't do as many dives as Aquacat (19 for the week I've read somewhere); perhaps 4 dives/day is easier to stay within NDLs than 5?

Richard.

@drrich2

My main reservation about Blackbeard's is the lack of nitrox, not the Spartan accommodations that so many others have emphasized in their descriptions of it. (I live in a shoebox in Lower Manhattan and have thus adapted to the lack of space and privacy.) Cat Ppalu also does not have Nitrox, but it seems more spacious and comfortable.

My concern is that, even with only 4 dives a day instead of 5, one might be pushing the NDLs without Nitrox. I definitely needed Nitrox for my four dives a day on Cozumel, but that might have been because many of the most popular sites there were so deep. I found this old Cat Ppalu trip report; it is dated but extremely detailed, with depths and bottom times for each site. It looks like they stayed within the NDLs with a combination of either shallow sites or short bottom times. I actually prefer shallower dives, but some of the bottom times were quite short.

 

[KathyV]

What do you think people did before Nitrox? We were diving tables when we went on our first liveaboard! (Have you ever heard of tables?) When the first dive computers came out we couldn't believe how much more bottom time they gave us! You can certainly do 4-5 good long dives a day on air, you just have to adjust your profile. Don't do repetitive deep dives, come up shallower halfway through deep dives, give a good long interval between dives - which is easy to do on a LOB, do shallower dives as the day wears on, and pay attention to your computer.

 

[Hoag]

I have done 4 trips so far on the Aquacat and I will be on it again next month for my 5th trip so it is pretty safe to say I like it. The last time that I was on it was in 2013, however, so it has been a few years.

The boat has the largest cabins of any LOB that I have ever been on. They are about the size of a very small hotel room. The cabins are fully equipped to the point that they have a mini fridge (bar fridge) in each of the cabins.

The food on the boat was plentiful and very good. It was "served" as a buffet for most meals.

Being a catamaran, it is relatively wide across the beam, so it is very stable. This also means that the "Main Salon" area and dive deck are relatively large as well.

Now, as for the diving, the big thing that struck me (in 2013) was that the proliferation of Lionfish throughout the region had caused other fish populations to diminish significantly. Reefs that were once full of life were now full of Lionfish and little else. I have no idea what next month's trip will hold, but I hope to do a "Trip Report" when I come back.

Another option that might be worth considering is the Turks and Caicos Explorer. I have done a trip on it and enjoyed it very much. It is not as luxurious as some of the boats out there, but I don't think that I have ever been on a LOB where you were made to feel more at home by the crew. The reefs in the TCI seemed to be a bit healthier with fewer Lionfish and larger populations of other species. The TCI also tends to be very "sharky" and it was not uncommon to see sharks on several dives each day.

I know you are looking for a boat that has Nitrox, and both the Aquacat and the Explorer do. I would have no hesitation in recommending either the Aquacat or the Turks and Caicos Explorer with only one caveat. Do not forget that the areas that both of these boats operate in were hit by both Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria and it may take a little while for things underwater to get back to normal.

 

[KathyV]

...I know you are looking for a boat that has Nitrox, and both the Aquacat and the Explorer do. I would have no hesitation in recommending either the Aquacat or the Turks and Caicos Explorer with only one caveat. Do not forget that the areas that both of these boats operate in were hit by both Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria and it may take a little while for things underwater to get back to normal.

I haven't dived the Aquacat but over the years we did several liveaboards in the Bahamas that sailed out of Florida, Freeport, Nassau, and Bimini and I would characterize them as lots of fish life and sharks, but the reefs were not spectacular - the best Bahamian reefs were off Nassau and the Tongue of the Ocean, and the Exumas IMO. And they were all great trips.

We haven't dived the Bahamas since the Lionfish invasion hit but it sounds like a serious issue. Our first liveaboard was Blackbeard's and it was a lot of fun and a great bargain, but I actually like having a bit of privacy, and the chance for a fresh water shower and some sleep at the end of a long dive day, so we haven't been back.

Other Caribbean liveaboards we have dived included boats in the Turks and Caicos, Saba and St. Kitts, Belize, Cayman, and St. Croix, and they were all great, but as @Hoag says, I don't know how some of these areas were affected by the recent hurricanes. The T&C reefs start a little deeper so they may have been a bit more protected - don't know.

The first time we dived the Russian Frigate (the Tibbetts) off of Cayman Brac, it was intact and and sitting upright on the sand. The next time we got there was a few years after Hurricane Ivan had hit the Caymans, and the boat was twisted and split in two and there was a major debris field between the 2 halves. So I don't underestimate the impact of a major tropical storm; but I have also seen that reefs can recover quickly after bad storms - maybe not in just a few months - but quickly.

I know that the OP wants a cheap and quick trip to the Caribbean, but keep in mind that there are liveaboards operating in many other parts of the world like Baja, South America, the Red Sea, Hawaii, and more distant areas such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the South Pacific, and Australia.

There is a world of diving opportunities out there, but they are all subject to risks. We have had more issues with rain, wind, and poor vis (and ear infections!) on both land and liveaboard trips than with significant tropical storms. So you make your best decision, buy trip insurance, and take your chances.

 

[Ironborn]

I have done 4 trips so far on the Aquacat and I will be on it again next month for my 5th trip so it is pretty safe to say I like it. The last time that I was on it was in 2013, however, so it has been a few years.

The boat has the largest cabins of any LOB that I have ever been on. They are about the size of a very small hotel room. The cabins are fully equipped to the point that they have a mini fridge (bar fridge) in each of the cabins.

The food on the boat was plentiful and very good. It was "served" as a buffet for most meals.

Being a catamaran, it is relatively wide across the beam, so it is very stable. This also means that the "Main Salon" area and dive deck are relatively large as well.

Now, as for the diving, the big thing that struck me (in 2013) was that the proliferation of Lionfish throughout the region had caused other fish populations to diminish significantly. Reefs that were once full of life were now full of Lionfish and little else. I have no idea what next month's trip will hold, but I hope to do a "Trip Report" when I come back.

Another option that might be worth considering is the Turks and Caicos Explorer. I have done a trip on it and enjoyed it very much. It is not as luxurious as some of the boats out there, but I don't think that I have ever been on a LOB where you were made to feel more at home by the crew. The reefs in the TCI seemed to be a bit healthier with fewer Lionfish and larger populations of other species. The TCI also tends to be very "sharky" and it was not uncommon to see sharks on several dives each day.

I know you are looking for a boat that has Nitrox, and both the Aquacat and the Explorer do. I would have no hesitation in recommending either the Aquacat or the Turks and Caicos Explorer with only one caveat. Do not forget that the areas that both of these boats operate in were hit by both Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria and it may take a little while for things underwater to get back to normal.

It sounds like everyone who has been on the Aquacat speaks very highly of the boat and the crew, but many of them also find the actual diving, reefs, and marine life to be underwhelming - even by Bahamas standards and possibly due to the particular itinerary that the Aquacat follows. That is why I have not decided on it yet.

I had originally been considering the Turks & Caicos Explorer II, as you suggested, but Hurricanes Irma and Maria persuaded me to look at other options (hence this thread). However, some people think that the reef damage should not be too bad there, given the greater depth of many of the sites there, and that any sedimentation might clear up by the time of my trip (the week of Thanksgiving), given the vertical topography of its walls. Would you agree?

It has also now occurred to me, looking back at the reviews and trip reports, that the reef health may not be the primary selling point of the Turks & Caicos anyway. Most reviews and trip reports emphasized the abundance of larger species - sharks, rays, turtles, and perhaps the occasional manta or dolphin, or even a whale song in the distance. I did not see as many glowing reports about the reef health as one might expect from say, Bonaire, and a lot of people observed the impact of hurricane damage even long after hurricanes, so perhaps that is a fact of life there at any time anyway. Based on your experience, does that sound right to you?

 

[Hoag]

@Ironborn if you are hoping to hear whales in the TCI, your best bet would be to go there in the spring (March). The whales are not "local" to the TCI, but in March the whales migrate through the area.