We are back from our trip and I wanted to wait a bit before posting. While there were many wonderful attributes to the trip, this vacation didn't pan out as hoped.
Me, my wife, and 16 other friends all booked the Caribbean Explorer II out of St. Maarten. Our group had the entire boat. I had never done a live aboard and was excited as it was definitely on my bucket list. Eat, Sleep, Dive, Repeat is my idea of an ideal, if not perfect, vacation. We left OKC to Charlotte NC, then on to St. Maarten with no travel drama whatsoever. All of us had to have a negative Covid test within 24 hours before leaving the US, which we all had. We arrived at the airport and Customs took about an hour and a half to clear due to several flights arriving at the same time. I'm slow with a bad knee so it takes me longer. We easily met the two vans that the boat had arranged for us and some how got all 18 of us in the vans with our luggage and made the 25 minute-ish ride to the dock. For our return trip, they brought a flatbed truck for the luggage.
The boat is older and showing some wear but perfectly ship shape as is. The air conditioning was fine mostly and we only felt hot a few times. We got on board and had a brief meeting and welcome aboard and were immediately shown to our rooms. Rooms are small, but that was expected. My wife and I were in Cabin 2 with a full sized bed with a smaller bunk on top. If you have read any live-aboard reports before this, you know that space is a premium. The upper bunk gave us room for clothing, extra gear, backpacks, large save a dive kit, etc. Our large hard suitcases fit under the bed. There was one small drawer All my clothes fit in it and we had toiletries under the sink in the vanity. We had our own bathroom with a toilet and shower with the sink and vanity in the cabin. The mattress was very comfortable and I slept like a baby. If you are the slightest bit claustrophobic, make sure you get one of the rooms with a normal bed and no bunk on top. The distance from the mattress to bottom of the top bunk was less than 2 feet. If you tried to sit up at night...it will remind you that the distance from your butt to your head is greater than two feet. I was concerned about my wife being seasick but she had started taking Bonine and had no problems at all. She has gotten seasick on cruises before so I can say the stuff works!
The food was amazing. Our chef Julian was from Scotland and was truly gifted in the culinary arts. He even made me a version of Haggis upon request, but none of the traditional ingredients. For three full meals a day and snacks he continued to impress. All of it was done with a typical household electric stove like you would see in any home in America, along with a standard microwave. Even something simple like waffles and eggs was better than any I have had before. Meals are served buffet style and I promise you wont go hungry. I'm 6'1, 250 ish and love to eat and there was always plenty of food left for the crew. The bar is well stocked and serve yourself. If you have a preferred brand, you may want to pick up a bottle or two before boarding. They had Corona, Heineken, and eventually a case or so of Carib (the local beer) in a stainless chiller along with coke, diet coke, sprite, ginger ale, club soda, and tonic water, along with juices. There is a wine cooler as well with several varieties, with a perfectly good chardonnay. They did run out of Diet Coke but replenished within 24 hours.....maybe 12....it didn't bother me, I'm fat. Tap water is safe to drink. They provide a plastic cup with your name on it but Id suggest taking a yeti type cup along. The ice melts really fast.
Diving was typically Caribbean. From incredible visibility to maybe 50 foot. They do put a divemaster in the water with you, sometimes 2, but they are not there to babysit like a Cozumel type DM. We had 15 divers and if the visibility went bad, parts of the group would get separated. The DM's sort of lead the dives and if you were close when they saw something, they were happy to show it to you. If you are a newer diver, I would suggest you stay close to the DM (maybe just ride their tank). You can always pop up and shoot a bearing to the boat and swim to it, but there were currents at times that a long swim would not be fun. One person had to have some help a couple of times. There is a dingy for lost pick up if needed.
All the typical reef creatures are there and the Lionfish are MONSTERS. Read that again...MONSTERS. They are protected in the marine park and even the DM's cant shoot them. If Jullian could have make his version of Lionfish Marsala, that alone would be worth the price of the trip. Surprisingly though, the juvenile "pretty fish" population does not seem to be adversely affected.
More in Part 2-
Jay
Me, my wife, and 16 other friends all booked the Caribbean Explorer II out of St. Maarten. Our group had the entire boat. I had never done a live aboard and was excited as it was definitely on my bucket list. Eat, Sleep, Dive, Repeat is my idea of an ideal, if not perfect, vacation. We left OKC to Charlotte NC, then on to St. Maarten with no travel drama whatsoever. All of us had to have a negative Covid test within 24 hours before leaving the US, which we all had. We arrived at the airport and Customs took about an hour and a half to clear due to several flights arriving at the same time. I'm slow with a bad knee so it takes me longer. We easily met the two vans that the boat had arranged for us and some how got all 18 of us in the vans with our luggage and made the 25 minute-ish ride to the dock. For our return trip, they brought a flatbed truck for the luggage.
The boat is older and showing some wear but perfectly ship shape as is. The air conditioning was fine mostly and we only felt hot a few times. We got on board and had a brief meeting and welcome aboard and were immediately shown to our rooms. Rooms are small, but that was expected. My wife and I were in Cabin 2 with a full sized bed with a smaller bunk on top. If you have read any live-aboard reports before this, you know that space is a premium. The upper bunk gave us room for clothing, extra gear, backpacks, large save a dive kit, etc. Our large hard suitcases fit under the bed. There was one small drawer All my clothes fit in it and we had toiletries under the sink in the vanity. We had our own bathroom with a toilet and shower with the sink and vanity in the cabin. The mattress was very comfortable and I slept like a baby. If you are the slightest bit claustrophobic, make sure you get one of the rooms with a normal bed and no bunk on top. The distance from the mattress to bottom of the top bunk was less than 2 feet. If you tried to sit up at night...it will remind you that the distance from your butt to your head is greater than two feet. I was concerned about my wife being seasick but she had started taking Bonine and had no problems at all. She has gotten seasick on cruises before so I can say the stuff works!
The food was amazing. Our chef Julian was from Scotland and was truly gifted in the culinary arts. He even made me a version of Haggis upon request, but none of the traditional ingredients. For three full meals a day and snacks he continued to impress. All of it was done with a typical household electric stove like you would see in any home in America, along with a standard microwave. Even something simple like waffles and eggs was better than any I have had before. Meals are served buffet style and I promise you wont go hungry. I'm 6'1, 250 ish and love to eat and there was always plenty of food left for the crew. The bar is well stocked and serve yourself. If you have a preferred brand, you may want to pick up a bottle or two before boarding. They had Corona, Heineken, and eventually a case or so of Carib (the local beer) in a stainless chiller along with coke, diet coke, sprite, ginger ale, club soda, and tonic water, along with juices. There is a wine cooler as well with several varieties, with a perfectly good chardonnay. They did run out of Diet Coke but replenished within 24 hours.....maybe 12....it didn't bother me, I'm fat. Tap water is safe to drink. They provide a plastic cup with your name on it but Id suggest taking a yeti type cup along. The ice melts really fast.
Diving was typically Caribbean. From incredible visibility to maybe 50 foot. They do put a divemaster in the water with you, sometimes 2, but they are not there to babysit like a Cozumel type DM. We had 15 divers and if the visibility went bad, parts of the group would get separated. The DM's sort of lead the dives and if you were close when they saw something, they were happy to show it to you. If you are a newer diver, I would suggest you stay close to the DM (maybe just ride their tank). You can always pop up and shoot a bearing to the boat and swim to it, but there were currents at times that a long swim would not be fun. One person had to have some help a couple of times. There is a dingy for lost pick up if needed.
All the typical reef creatures are there and the Lionfish are MONSTERS. Read that again...MONSTERS. They are protected in the marine park and even the DM's cant shoot them. If Jullian could have make his version of Lionfish Marsala, that alone would be worth the price of the trip. Surprisingly though, the juvenile "pretty fish" population does not seem to be adversely affected.
More in Part 2-
Jay
