Live aboard with non diving spouse + kid?

[Landlocked123]

I would not even try it unless you know that both wife and child do not get sea sick. This would be a lot of time at sea and the last thing you want to have happen is having them get sick. As others have said I could see many issues that could come up and ruin both their time and yours.

 

[Wookie]

I would not even try it unless you know that both wife and child do not get sea sick. This would be a lot of time at sea and the last thing you want to have happen is having them get sick. As others have said I could see many issues that could come up and ruin both their time and yours.

I can't say I've ever had a worse trip than the one where someone insisted they be let off the boat. 110 miles out to sea. They were willing to swim to a platform. Except for the trip where all of the passengers insisted we put one passenger off the boat. That one wasn't pretty either. 100 miles offshore. Folks go on liveaboards to dive their butts off. If they aren't diving, they aren't having a good time. Although I did have a very newly pregnant woman come on once. She gutted it out. She wasn't happy.

 

[Quero]

We have a liveaboard here in Thailand that welcomes non-divers and children aboard. They go out of their way to take the family members to the beach while the divers are in the water or to shallow snorkel sites. This particular boat has a flexibile schedule, so that a family can stay on board for two nights, three nights, or five nights. I've had some very happy customers coming off these trips. Having said that, though, most of my divers with non-diving family members leave the family in a nice resort on shore--one that has a kids' club and a spa/golf course--while they indulge in intensive scuba. They feel less guilty this way and don't spend every minute worrying whether their family members are bored silly.

 

[JDelage]

Thank you everyone. This confirms what I thought. It makes complete sense and I'll look at something resort based.

 

[drrich2]

Facing a distantly similar situation, I've been looking into a Florida Keys trip. You can stay at a hotel on the marina, close to your dive boat, go out for 1 or 2 2-tank dives per day, yet rent a car for the week and let the rest of the family drive off and do whatever at Miami or the Everglades, etc... (Key Largo is where I'm talking about going, and they're got a couple of dolphin encounter places there, which could thrill a 6 year old - and many adults, too).

You could do much the same thing staying at West Palm Beach in a hotel, though you might have to drive to the dive shop in the morning, and do a 2-tank boat trip with one of the shops (e.g.: Jupiter Dive Center - which can rent 120 cf steel tanks, and nitrox is an option) for drift diving, seeing bigger animals like goliath grouper and maybe sharks, etc...

My point is that you don't have to choose between staying at a Sandals type resort or a live-aboard, or a 'dive-centric' location like Cocoview in Roatan, or even leave the United States, to get a dive vacation that lets you dive a lot but also entertains others.

Richard.

 

[TwilightZone]

I was on a liveaboard with a guy who brought his non-diving spouse and she said it was the best vacation she ever had. We didn't even do a land tour that trip. So like Damselfish, I would say it depends on the person. The spouse I am talking about read books, enjoyed the food and drinks, the sunsets, a little tanning... and I was worried she would hate it. But it worked out so well, the gang I dive with won't have to lose one of our good dive buddies to marriage.

I can't speak to the kid part, haven't seen that one yet!

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Overall a very bad idea. Diveboats are not fun. They are meager transports + sleep platforms that throw in areas where you can have fun. Being stuck on a dive liveaboard for a week would be miserable for non divers. There may be some exceptions but overall I would not consider it. Waste of time and money for non-divers.

 

[Doubler]

I know that bringing a six year old on a liveaboard is a receipe for disaster. Don' t do it leave him with his Grandparents. The chances of him getting hurt are extreme. And imagine the joy on your fellow divers face as Junior dumps their $10000 camera rig on the deck, or drops their mask in the water or throws a temper tantrum on the dive deck. Not a good idea. Now if just your spouse goes look at Aqua Cat. They do shore excursions for non - divers.

 

[kelly7552]

I've brought my non-diving wife on a liveaboard, she did fine and was bored. Mostly it's a difficult environment when 20 people are asking her, so why don't you support your husband and dive?' My oldest daughter doesn't dive and my younger two kids dive with me. We just spent a week at the Conch Club Condos in Little Cayman, you can walk along the beach and dive with either the Conch Club Divers ( Highly recommended) or Reef Divers. Meanwhile, your wife and non diving kid can ride along with CC divers and snorkle.