Dive Pristine Reefs in Cuba with All Star Avalon

[All Star Liveaboards]

Jardines de la Reina is the ultimate Caribbean dive destination. Exclusivity and remoteness provide a shield over the region, which allows the ecosystem to visibly thrive. Healthy corals and abundant marine life remind long-time divers of the beauty they saw in the Caribbean over forty years ago.

The sheer abundance of top predators like sharks and goliath groupers is a testament to the health of the reefs. Many of the groupers in the Gardens of the Queen are so used to living in protected waters that they swim right up to divers to be pet! For a unique and immensely impressive diving experience, a Jardines de la Reina liveaboard trip is a dream come true.

Onboard, passengers can expect spacious cabins, amazing food, and an exceptional crew. There's something very special about watching a Cuban sunset over the mangroves from the sun deck (with a mojito in-hand, of course). Contact us to join a trip aboard All Star Avalon and enjoy this experience yourself!

 

[DanBMW]

Jardines de la Reina is the ultimate Caribbean dive destination. Exclusivity and remoteness provide a shield over the region, which allows the ecosystem to visibly thrive. Healthy corals and abundant marine life remind long-time divers of the beauty they saw in the Caribbean over forty years ago.

The sheer abundance of top predators like sharks and goliath groupers is a testament to the health of the reefs. Many of the groupers in the Gardens of the Queen are so used to living in protected waters that they swim right up to divers to be pet! For a unique and immensely impressive diving experience, a Jardines de la Reina liveaboard trip is a dream come true.

Onboard, passengers can expect spacious cabins, amazing food, and an exceptional crew. There's something very special about watching a Cuban sunset over the mangroves from the sun deck (with a mojito in-hand, of course). Contact us to join a trip aboard All Star Avalon and enjoy this experience yourself!

LET ME RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE WITH YOU. I just got back from this so-called Live aboard 10/23 and ALL of the coral is showing signs of bleaching and dying. There is no more LIVING Pillar Coral. Our boat stayed PARKED for most of the trip and we used tenders for the 15-30 minute ride to the dive sights. It is only a live aboard in name and not in action.

I dove this same area in February of this same year and at that time the coral was in almost perfect condition. Lots of fish and the ever present sharks. It has been a long while since the Crocodile has been spotted too. Our last trip was very disappointing and we won't go back.

 

[ScubaSteve4real]

LET ME RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE WITH YOU. I just got back from this so-called Live aboard 10/23 and ALL of the coral is showing signs of bleaching and dying. There is no more LIVING Pillar Coral. Our boat stayed PARKED for most of the trip and we used tenders for the 15-30 minute ride to the dive sights. It is only a live aboard in name and not in action.

I dove this same area in February of this same year and at that time the coral was in almost perfect condition. Lots of fish and the ever present sharks. It has been a long while since the Crocodile has been spotted too. Our last trip was very disappointing and we won't go back.

would you recommend another destination in Cuba?

 

[rmorgan]

would you recommend another destination in Cuba?

Not really. And sadly—no, tragically—I agree with Dan. We spent 11 days in the Jardines last month, and there was virtually no color, and lots of algae cover. The summer of ‘23 was crushing. Lots of sharks, the goliaths are great, but overall awfully bleak.

 

[DanBMW]

I wish the news were better, but I haven't heard otherwise. The other disappointment was that once the big boat was anchored, it did not move until it was time to go home.

 

[Trilobite]

Not really. And sadly—no, tragically—I agree with Dan. We spent 11 days in the Jardines last month, and there was virtually no color, and lots of algae cover. The summer of ‘23 was crushing. Lots of sharks, the goliaths are great, but overall awfully bleak.

I wish the news were better, but I haven't heard otherwise. The other disappointment was that once the big boat was anchored, it did not move until it was time to go home.

Thanks for the info. I've never been to the Caribbean for an underwater trip before, but am planning to go on a liveaboard to the Jardines de la Reina in early 2025. Are there other caribbean locations I should consider instead, or has pretty much the whole caribbean area been "cooked" as far as coral health is concerned, so the Jardines might still be among the best? (This is a question for anyone.)

Wherever I go, I have lowered my expectations vs. how things were before the big cook, but I still want to go somewhere in the Caribbean because most everything will be new to me (all my other underwater trips have been to the Coral Triangle).

Jim

 

[rmorgan]

A couple of thoughts. First, the boat moving or not. The trip we were on, aboard Avalon III, had two anchorages, with dive sites radiating out from each. Because we were on the equivalent of a two-week trip, the boat moved from one to the other twice each. The two are only a few miles apart, but the sites were noticeably different. The big boat repositioned while we were diving, so we got long skiff rides each time to the new location. The mangroves in the Jardines are amazing, and have lots of life in them--birds, crocs if you're lucky, iguanas, etc. So for us, the quasi-stationary ship wasn't a drag.

Second, I think you're right about expectations, and in our experience, the Jardines are definitely sharkier, have a lot of variation in the topography, decent little stuff, and schooling snapper and porkfish, and you'll see goliaths on at least a few dives. We some deeper dives, to the limits of Nitrox, and saw excellent stands of black coral and colorful tube sponges. I have a set of pictures up which will give you some idea of what it was like.

Also, the Jardines are very remote. You're 50 or so miles offshore and are unlikely to see other divers, and only occasionally other boats. The remoteness is probably unique in the Caribbean.

Last, Cuba is huge, and fascinating. Havana is beautiful, although in a lot of social pain.

The advertised draw--"pristine corals"--you won't see unless there's been a lot of reperfusion of the corals (the water temperature was dropping while we were there), but there still is a lot going on. I wouldn'[t encourage you to write it off.

 

[diveloonie66]

Very nice photos rmorgan. I'm headed to Cuba in April.

 

[staggsSevin]

LET ME RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE WITH YOU. I just got back from this so-called Live aboard 10/23 and ALL of the coral is showing signs of bleaching and dying. There is no more LIVING Pillar Coral. Our boat stayed PARKED for most of the trip and we used tenders for the 15-30 minute ride to the dive sights. It is only a live aboard in name and not in action.

I dove this same area in February of this same year and at that time the coral was in almost perfect condition. Lots of fish and the ever present sharks. It has been a long while since the Crocodile has been spotted too. Our last trip was very disappointing and we won't go back.

The coral bleaching and dying you mentioned wasn't just limited to Cuba in this time frame, this was basically all of the Caribbean last year because of the water temps.

 

[DanBMW]

The coral bleaching and dying you mentioned wasn't just limited to Cuba in this time frame, this was basically all of the Caribbean last year because of the water temps.

Cuba was one of the last, if not the last area where there was no bleaching in the Caribbean. That is why we went there the previous year and then out last trip.