Mayaguana trip report, Nekton Rorqual 3/20-3/27

[H2O Gal]

I haven't given up on them yet....they treated me very well last year after a problem on the Pilot the week before caused our trip to be scrubbed--not only did they let us go out the next week, they gave us a free trip this year, which we are using in June. I really hope they can get it worked out because I thoroughly had a great trip last year and have high hopes for the next one! Is there a patron saint for boats I can pray to that the Rorqual stays afloat that long?

 

[Wookie]

Either St Nicholas or St. Elmo, depending on where you are.

 

[tarponchik]

Or I hope they go totaly belly up, and a new operator fills the niche for divers who want a stable dive platform that is comfortable.

And why do you think this isn't happening already? The idea that the whole niche is filled with just 2 Nekton boats is an overstretch.

No matter how good they are in boat maintenance, Nekton's customer base is vanishing because American middle class is eroding.

 

[diverdoug1]

And why do you think this isn't happening already? The idea that the whole niche is filled with just 2 Nekton boats is an overstretch.

No matter how good they are in boat maintenance, Nekton's customer base is vanishing because American middle class is eroding.

Tarponchick, I don't agree that Nekton's base is eroding because the middle class is disapppearing. As I said, other liveaboards seem to be doing quite well. I had nine liveaboard trips last year, and Nekton were the only boats in disrepair, and Nekton were the only boats that were not filled to or near capacity. Nekton used to be the same way. I meet a lot of divers on my trips that used to be "Nekton junkies" that won't dive with them anymore. In the 90's, Nekton was a luxury liveaboard that was very stable. As time has gone on, many customers continued returning (in spite of a decreased level of service) because of the good stability, and entropy. If Neton's slow demise was being caused by the larger economic picture, then we would be seeing most other liveaboard companies going down the tubes as well.

 

[tarponchik]

I do not know about 90s but our trip on Rorqual in 2008 was very smooth. Everything on the boat worked fine, the food was excellent, the quality of diving was above our expectations (well, maybe except for the Bimini area), and if not for our persuit of new experiences, we'd do this trip again. But...This was mid-July, the boat took off from Fort Lauderdale that can be reached by a non-stop flight from almost anywhere in US, the price for the trip was reasonably low, and yet there was just a dozen of us on the boat, meaning 1/3 of full boat capacity. Not that we were unhappy about this 'cause obviously the deck was less crowded, as was the lunch room. But what happened? Where were all the divers?

 

[Wookie]

Tarponchick, I don't agree that Nekton's base is eroding because the middle class is disapppearing. As I said, other liveaboards seem to be doing quite well. I had nine liveaboard trips last year, and Nekton were the only boats in disrepair, and Nekton were the only boats that were not filled to or near capacity. Nekton used to be the same way. I meet a lot of divers on my trips that used to be "Nekton junkies" that won't dive with them anymore. In the 90's, Nekton was a luxury liveaboard that was very stable. As time has gone on, many customers continued returning (in spite of a decreased level of service) because of the good stability, and entropy. If Neton's slow demise was being caused by the larger economic picture, then we would be seeing most other liveaboard companies going down the tubes as well.

Ummmm. Again, I won't comment on another operator, but Explorer Ventures has a vessel wet-stacked in Bayou La Batre, AL, Blackbeards reduced by one, Gulf Diving sent one boat to Florida, Gulf Stream Eagle has been sold to Trinidad, Aggressor Fleet is re-branding, moving boats, some boats are leaving the Peter Hughes franchise, Explorer Fleet is only operating 3 of their 7 vessels. Nekton Pilot may or may not ever float again.

4 years ago there were about 6 liveaboards on the market worldwide, and I was offered a million dollars for mine. The main liveaboard "for sale" website is currently listing over 100 vessels, about 25 of them outfitted as diving liveaboards.

The economy is very much to blame for the greatly reduced number of liveaboards worldwide.

 

[diverdoug1]

Wookie, what do you mean when you say Aggressor is rebranding? Just curious because we have 2 upcoming trips with them.
Thanks, Diverdoug

 

[Wookie]

The catamaran that was once in the Salomon islands or Fiji (I think) is now a Peter Hughes boat in Palau.

 

[EVFleet]

Frank, just so you know, it's not Explorer Fleet, it's Expedition Fleet - though all their boats are named Explorers. There's a reason for that....

Is your head and a wall dented from turning down that $1m offer???

- Clay

 

[robint]

diverdoug1 - I have to agree with Wookie on this.... all liveaboard companies are struggling right now, even the Aggressor line. I have read numerous posts recently about trips getting cancelled as the boat didn't meet minimum paid guests. When we were in Palau a few years ago, the Aggressor was full but our boat was only half full (luckily they didn't cancel on us) and we heard that the Ocean Hunter boat didn't fill so those people were stuck landbased. The Aggressor pulled out of Fiji this past year and out of Indonesia and Tahiti both a few years ago because of low attendance. Look at the current websites for both Peter Hughes and Aggressor - they are both running huge discounts on trips! You only do that if you are having problems filling slots.

robin