Alexandra
Contributor
Trip Report: Caribbean Explorer II from St Marteen to St Kitts (diving Saba & St Kitts)
May 2013
Travel:
I flew on USAir from Washington DC with a connection in Charlotte. The flight was relatively easy. Upon arrival in St Marteen, the driver from Caribbean Explorer was no where in site. There were 2 other guests from my flight but I didn't know them so I ended asking all the other drivers waiting around if they knew where the Explorer Adventures guy was. Turns out he had the other 2 guys and was ready to head out - saying he hadn't found me. Needless to say, if you don't have an int'l phone plan, don't hesitate to ask the other taxi/tour operators, they will be glad to help and even offered to make a call for me. One of the recognised the Explorer guy and his van so I caught up with them right before they left the airport. All is well.
On the return trip,the pick up at the boat in St Kitts was right on time and we got to the airport way ahead of time. Amazing surprise, there were only 2 people ahead of us checking in so we had absolutely no problems leaving. We did not pay any departure tax as we were told it was included in our ticket. It would have been nice to have had the customs form given to us to fill ahead of time but since there were so few people leaving at the time we were, it wasn't a problem filling it out then and there.
Note - it seems most airlines charge baggage fees on international flights now, at least to caribbean, south america, canada.
Boat and Crew:
Upon arrival, we were asked to set up all our dive gear and then were shown to our rooms. You basically set up your dive gear once and that's about it till you disassemble it on the last day. They can fill the tanks without removing them from your BCD. I was traveling alone so paired with a roommate and we were in room #9 on the bottom level. It was tiny as most rooms on a liveaboard are. There is a little storage area/room under the bed for suitcases, handbags or a few clothes. I brought so little, space wasn't an issue. The bathroom and shower were also small but fine. The rooms on the upper levels seemed a bit nicer, especially since they had windows. So if you book early or know the ship configuration, definitely ask for one of those. We were a almost full ship with 17 (one off from full) and it definitely felt a bit crowded - from the dive deck to the common area and dinning room.
The Crew was extremely welcoming and helpful. It was a pleasure chatting with them and getting to know them.
Food wise, you definitely will not go hungry. Having said that, the menus are simple and tend towards the fatty carbs category. Most meals have a protein but not a choice between meat or fish. Overall the food was ok. Below is a full breakdown of our meals.
Dinner Saturday: steak on grill - all cooked medium well, baked potato and fixings, corn on cob, vanilla ice cream
Sunday: breakfast eggs and bacon, lunch: cheese ravioli or meat tortellini, cheese sauce or pepper tomato sauce (no lean protein), salad, dinner: overcooked salmon, mixed veggies, carrot cake
Monday: pancake and bacon, lunch: Mexico tortilla lunch with chicken or beef, guacamole, grated cheese, sour cream, dinner: pork ribs coleslaw green beans, berries crumble
Tuesday: omelet sausage, lunch: white rice, rice noddles and veggies, beef stir fry, coconut shrimp, spring rolls, cheese and crakers snack, sweet potatoes chicken feta spinach in filo, broccoli and cauliflower, brownie and ice cream
Wedn: French toast sausage, brownie snack, lunch: chicken skewers, tabbouleh, hummus, cuc salad, salad with feta, olives, tomatoes, pita bread, fresh caught grilled mahi mahi, corn, green beans, roasted potatoes, salad, birthday cake yellow cake and coconut frosting, late night popcorn
thurs: eggs and bacon, pecan pie squares snack, lunch hamburger and hot dog, potato salad, chips, relish, dinner pork loin, cabbage, scalloped potatoes, banana bread desert
Fri: eggs and turkey sausage, lunch: slightly undercooked breaded chicken cutlets, pasta salad, salad -- dinner off the boat. We went to Shiggity Shack on the beach which had a fab ambiance but food was so so and overpriced.
Sat: cold breakfast only
Cold breakfast everyday: white or wheat bread, plan or blueberry bagels, english muffin - toaster, jams, peanut butter, Nutella, banana, orange, apple, yogurt, cereals (raisin bran, corn flakes, Cheerios), milk, juice, instant coffee, choco milk, teas
drinks: crystal light, iced tea, lemonade, beers, red and white white, gin, vodka, whiskey, baileys and kalua
late evenings: a few nights they offered to make us popcorn which really hit the spot and they always had hot chocolate available after the night dive
Diving:
As a whole, most of us on the trip preferred the diving in St Kitts to Saba but all dives were lovely. I was a little surprised that we didn't visit that many dive sites. Many if not most of the dives were 2 or even 3 on the same site. Go figure, the one spot we really did want to do 2 dives because there was so much to see was the one place we only did one dive on (M/V Corinthian). Dives were around an hour, of course if you wanted to do less that was fine and they asked that you not be longer than 70mins. Apparently the visibly we had was less than fabulous (mostly around 50'-60' but some days closer to 30'-40' or less). The water temp was around 80-81ºF and I personally was happy with a 3-4 or my 3-5mm wetsuit. There were a few people with a 5mm and some who dove with just skins.
All dives were lead by a dive master but honestly one DM for a group of 17 is just not enough. Given differently people's diving/buoyancy skills, it was just too crowded. For 2 or 3 dives we were broken up into 2 groups but after 2 days of too many people, my buddy and I decided to go on our own, and if possible in the opposite direction of the larger group.
Dive briefings before each dive site were very good and definitely helped with navigating the site.
What did we see: lots!! From the rare octopus (during the day of all things), some fabulous juvenile fish like the tiny juvi trunkfish no bigger than a chickpea, lobsters, crabs, turtles and the other caribbean water usual suspects.
For the most part, we had easy diving - very little current and few spots with lower visibility. One on the Pinnacle in St Kitts did we have a kick ass current.
Photos: https://plus.google.com/photos/1095...ms/5877436246745655809?authkey=CO2ozJa736_hLA
May 2013
Travel:
I flew on USAir from Washington DC with a connection in Charlotte. The flight was relatively easy. Upon arrival in St Marteen, the driver from Caribbean Explorer was no where in site. There were 2 other guests from my flight but I didn't know them so I ended asking all the other drivers waiting around if they knew where the Explorer Adventures guy was. Turns out he had the other 2 guys and was ready to head out - saying he hadn't found me. Needless to say, if you don't have an int'l phone plan, don't hesitate to ask the other taxi/tour operators, they will be glad to help and even offered to make a call for me. One of the recognised the Explorer guy and his van so I caught up with them right before they left the airport. All is well.
On the return trip,the pick up at the boat in St Kitts was right on time and we got to the airport way ahead of time. Amazing surprise, there were only 2 people ahead of us checking in so we had absolutely no problems leaving. We did not pay any departure tax as we were told it was included in our ticket. It would have been nice to have had the customs form given to us to fill ahead of time but since there were so few people leaving at the time we were, it wasn't a problem filling it out then and there.
Note - it seems most airlines charge baggage fees on international flights now, at least to caribbean, south america, canada.
Boat and Crew:
Upon arrival, we were asked to set up all our dive gear and then were shown to our rooms. You basically set up your dive gear once and that's about it till you disassemble it on the last day. They can fill the tanks without removing them from your BCD. I was traveling alone so paired with a roommate and we were in room #9 on the bottom level. It was tiny as most rooms on a liveaboard are. There is a little storage area/room under the bed for suitcases, handbags or a few clothes. I brought so little, space wasn't an issue. The bathroom and shower were also small but fine. The rooms on the upper levels seemed a bit nicer, especially since they had windows. So if you book early or know the ship configuration, definitely ask for one of those. We were a almost full ship with 17 (one off from full) and it definitely felt a bit crowded - from the dive deck to the common area and dinning room.
The Crew was extremely welcoming and helpful. It was a pleasure chatting with them and getting to know them.
Food wise, you definitely will not go hungry. Having said that, the menus are simple and tend towards the fatty carbs category. Most meals have a protein but not a choice between meat or fish. Overall the food was ok. Below is a full breakdown of our meals.
Dinner Saturday: steak on grill - all cooked medium well, baked potato and fixings, corn on cob, vanilla ice cream
Sunday: breakfast eggs and bacon, lunch: cheese ravioli or meat tortellini, cheese sauce or pepper tomato sauce (no lean protein), salad, dinner: overcooked salmon, mixed veggies, carrot cake
Monday: pancake and bacon, lunch: Mexico tortilla lunch with chicken or beef, guacamole, grated cheese, sour cream, dinner: pork ribs coleslaw green beans, berries crumble
Tuesday: omelet sausage, lunch: white rice, rice noddles and veggies, beef stir fry, coconut shrimp, spring rolls, cheese and crakers snack, sweet potatoes chicken feta spinach in filo, broccoli and cauliflower, brownie and ice cream
Wedn: French toast sausage, brownie snack, lunch: chicken skewers, tabbouleh, hummus, cuc salad, salad with feta, olives, tomatoes, pita bread, fresh caught grilled mahi mahi, corn, green beans, roasted potatoes, salad, birthday cake yellow cake and coconut frosting, late night popcorn
thurs: eggs and bacon, pecan pie squares snack, lunch hamburger and hot dog, potato salad, chips, relish, dinner pork loin, cabbage, scalloped potatoes, banana bread desert
Fri: eggs and turkey sausage, lunch: slightly undercooked breaded chicken cutlets, pasta salad, salad -- dinner off the boat. We went to Shiggity Shack on the beach which had a fab ambiance but food was so so and overpriced.
Sat: cold breakfast only
Cold breakfast everyday: white or wheat bread, plan or blueberry bagels, english muffin - toaster, jams, peanut butter, Nutella, banana, orange, apple, yogurt, cereals (raisin bran, corn flakes, Cheerios), milk, juice, instant coffee, choco milk, teas
drinks: crystal light, iced tea, lemonade, beers, red and white white, gin, vodka, whiskey, baileys and kalua
late evenings: a few nights they offered to make us popcorn which really hit the spot and they always had hot chocolate available after the night dive
Diving:
As a whole, most of us on the trip preferred the diving in St Kitts to Saba but all dives were lovely. I was a little surprised that we didn't visit that many dive sites. Many if not most of the dives were 2 or even 3 on the same site. Go figure, the one spot we really did want to do 2 dives because there was so much to see was the one place we only did one dive on (M/V Corinthian). Dives were around an hour, of course if you wanted to do less that was fine and they asked that you not be longer than 70mins. Apparently the visibly we had was less than fabulous (mostly around 50'-60' but some days closer to 30'-40' or less). The water temp was around 80-81ºF and I personally was happy with a 3-4 or my 3-5mm wetsuit. There were a few people with a 5mm and some who dove with just skins.
All dives were lead by a dive master but honestly one DM for a group of 17 is just not enough. Given differently people's diving/buoyancy skills, it was just too crowded. For 2 or 3 dives we were broken up into 2 groups but after 2 days of too many people, my buddy and I decided to go on our own, and if possible in the opposite direction of the larger group.
Dive briefings before each dive site were very good and definitely helped with navigating the site.
What did we see: lots!! From the rare octopus (during the day of all things), some fabulous juvenile fish like the tiny juvi trunkfish no bigger than a chickpea, lobsters, crabs, turtles and the other caribbean water usual suspects.
For the most part, we had easy diving - very little current and few spots with lower visibility. One on the Pinnacle in St Kitts did we have a kick ass current.
Photos: https://plus.google.com/photos/1095...ms/5877436246745655809?authkey=CO2ozJa736_hLA
