Caribbean Liveaboard

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tubbyka

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Location
Garland, Texas
# of dives
100 - 199
My wife and I are looking at doing our first liveaboard this coming Xmas break. We both are teachers and want to take advantage of our time off. I have done as much research as I can, but still could use some advice. We are looking at doing something that enables us ease of travel from DFW and won't break the bank with airfare or the actual charter. I see that Aggressor and Dancer Fleet both have great baragins for that time of year and are highly thought of. Here is what we have narrowed it down to:

Belize--Dancer Fleet sale is $1900 for this December
Turks and Caicos--$2200 via Aggressor
Utila--brand new boat and well priced; Aggressor fleet

I have researched the Bahamas as well and hear great things about the Juliet, but my wife is not sold on them as much as she is Aggressor or Dancer Fleet. Blackbeards looks like it's not for her at all.

We've dove Cozumel for years now, always staying at all inclusive resorts, and this past year we did Nassau and Curacao. So, going for this whole liveaboard thing is new territory for us, but the all inclusive style fits us very well.

Can anyone give me feedback on these and guidance on what we should do?

Airfare is very expensive right now, at almost $900 per person to any of these places.

We are both in our early 30's, I love to dive, but she's just doing this to shut me up. (If we can see dolphins in the wild, then her life will be complete)

Any places to find last minute deals on liveaboard trips or airfare?

Thanks for any help you all can provide!

Best wishes,
 
I had an unbelievable time on the Sun Dancer II in Belize this past June. Great, modern, clean boat. Great diving, not too advanced. Not far at all from DFW. Do a search for Sun Dancer II trip reports and mine will probably be the first report to pop up. It's a great trip and a great time.
 
My favorite liveaboard in the Caribbean is the Aquacat in the Exumas, Bahamas. I was very pleasantly surprised at the beauty of the walls, the number of sharks, the pristine nature of the reefs, and number of fish. (Of course I have to qualify this by saying that I'm not comparing the diving to the Pacific - just other Caribbean diving.) The Aquacat is huge: you can practically bowl in the lounge and the dive deck is enormous. And the crew is fantastic! Maybe you can find a last minute special... One of my biggest diving disappointments was the PH Sundancer in Belize in August of 2009. I was very underwhelmed with the dive sites and found the lack of fish kind of depressing. Though I do recall seeing fishing boat trollers off the coast of Belize City. Have never been to T&C or Honduras.

I'm envious of your being able fly out of DFW - that is my home and I can't wait to move back next year. Flying to warm water out of N. Michigan usually takes me two days and an extra overnight - talk about adding $$:( Good luck finding a good deal.
 
I guess I need to quit my complaining about living in Dallas then. Northerners have it much worse.

Thanks for the great info!
 
What dates are you going? From DFW you should be able to get a direct flight on American to Belize or T&C for around $600-700. I haven't been on the Utilla Aggressor, but I've been on the other two and I would choose the PH boat as they have larger staterooms with a much larger window and it's cheaper too. Decide quickly or else you might not find a spot! I'm certain you'll enjoy any of the three!
 
December 25-January 1. Is this a busy time? How will the water temp and conditions be?

Thanks for the help.
 
This is my take on it. We did the Turks/Caicos Explorer last May and have been to Utila and Roatan in the last couple of years.

By far the best diving was at French Cay south of T/C. Pristine walls, sharks, turtles on just about every dive. The initial diving off NW Point (Provo) wasn't great though. West Caicos was better also. Neither boat runs to Turks (big disappointment for me) either.

One thing I would point out about the Aggressor is that the deluxe cabins are a double berth with a single above it. And on a lower deck so all you have is a wide porthole. By comparison for the same money (til Feb 2011) the T/C Explorer rooms are up a deck and you get a queen bed with a real window. It's a fairly good sized room also, ours had a small desk/chair squeezed into one corner. Bath was a little small but they all are. You don't get a flatscreen/DVD player in your room though. Or the hot tub. I suppose service might be a little fancier on Aggressor but we go to dive.

I'm sure Aggressor is similar but I also liked hanging out on the flybridge of the Explorer - it's covered, padded and they stock drinks up there.

We saw the Utila Aggressor for several days off Utila. Diving the same sites (Blacks Hills, Duppy Waters, Raggedy Cay) we did with a 1/2 hr. boat ride from our shore based resort. They also go to Roatan for part of the trip. I rented a house in Roatan off Half Moon Bay, the Aggressor moored there for 2 nights - I believe so people could go ashore to the West End after diving.

They also moved south and dove Mary's Place, from Barefoot Cay you could just about swim there. I guess what I'm saying is that you'll do a lot of dives that are easily accessible from land on that trip. Upside is you do get to dive both islands - I've heard somewhere they go to Cayos Cochinos also.

hth,
 
no matter where you are travelling to or from...anything during Christmas break is the ultimate high season for anything related to travel!

I agree with diversteve. I was reading the itinerary for the Utila Aggressor and thought that most of the sites were easily accessible from land-based operations. My idea of a liveaboard is to visit the spots that are more difficult to get to.

Also, I have done the Peter Hughes Belize liveaboard - back in 2001 (the Wavedancer...2 weeks before the hurricane that caused a freak accident which cost the vessel and 20 people's lives). We found the diving to be disappointing based on reviews we had seen of Belize. From what I've read, I think a land based trip to Ambergris Cay would be better.

The first liveaboard I ever did was Turks and Caicos. It was the Peter Hughes boat and it was about 10 years ago, but it is still my favourite diving trip ever. It was a trip full of firsts. French Cay was incredible. We saw sharks for the first time...and lots of them. I got a lot of great photos which I was just thrilled about (this was back in the day when cameras weren't digital and they did the E6 processing on board). It was a thrill to get the slides and have several great shots! But, I digress...
We also saw a ton of turtles, eagle rays, and a bunch of macro stuff too. But, the highlight of the trip was a 45 minute dive with 2 dolphins putting on a show of a lifetime while we were moored off Northwest Point in Provo on the last day of the trip.
Not to say this would happen again...but Provo is home to JoJo the dolphin...maybe this was him, maybe it wasn't.
Incidentally, we did a second week on the same vacation in Grand Turk and the diving couldn't measure up to the big animal encounters we had on the liveaboard.
End of December might be a bit early, but the start of humpback whale season is January...so you never know...you might get lucky.
If you have more than a week, you might want to stay in Provo for a few days after the liveaboard to relax. You could also do a couple more dives. I would recommend one of the shops that keep their boats at the marina on the south side of the island. Makes the boat trip to West Caicos and sandborn channel much quicker.
If you plan on doing all of the dives on the liveaboard it can be pretty tiring! And, you will want to bring layers of wetsuits - more than you think you will need. By the end of the trip you will get chilled unless you have extra layers.
 
The Dancer fleet and the Aggressor fleet will usually give you the level of luxury that your wife seems to be gravitating towards, but at a cost. You might want to look at the Explorer fleet, as they are usually very similiar to the others, and somewhat cheaper. It all depends on where you want to go, of course, as the site will dictate who services that area.
You mentioned the Juliet. I have very fond memories about that boat, but I must admit, she definitely has her quirks! Search my old posts and you will find a detailed trip report on her. Once again, it depends on whether she services the areas you want to visit. Keep researching, and I wish you luck. Woody
 
I guess because there are so many resorts on Roatan and it is often seen by the resort guests that the Utila Aggressor gets a bad rap for doing sites that can be done from a resort. It is that way with a lot of the Caribbean boats I am pretty sure. What about the Cayman Aggressor? It's more likely to be moored up next to a resort dive boat than any of them yet people never say that about the Cayman boat. Anyway...if you think you can get a good "taste" of all of the Bay Islands from a resort in one week, including Cayos Cachinos, then give it a shot. You wont do 5 dives a day and sleep the rest of the time.
 
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