Trip Report St.Kitts/Saba aboard Caribbean Explorer II- Jan 19th-26th, 2013

[Karen Schofield]

Aboard The CEX II Jan 19th-26th, 2013

I needed a last minute dive trip STAT, and landed onto the Caribbean Explorer II quite by chance with the help of my diving travel agent. She booked this trip for me just 2 days before it set sail.
We had some serious underwater photographers on board, and some seriously funny divers! A very interesting mix indeed.
There was never a dull moment above or below the surface. I have never laughed so much or so merrily on vacation with perfect strangers.
The crew worked tirelessly to insure our dive safety, and skillfully handled our gear & cameras.
Captain Ian runs a tight ship, and keeps things on schedule. Most of the crew did seem a bit stoic at the onset, but they got a bit better as time went on. It's fun to try to get the captain to crack a smile.
The DM's were knowledgable of the area & helped us find some critters. Not a Batfish in sight, though Claire went out of her way to seek them out. When I would ask Stephen what he could help me find on a dive, he responded, "The boat!" Always a good answer!
Kate was also an excellent DM to dive with. She found the Drumfish.
We were given thorough dive briefs before all dives. We had the opportunity to do five dives per day. Don't miss out on the night dives, I wish I had done them all.
One crew member in particular went out of his way to help the divers. Any issues with scuba gear, cabin maintenance problems, or camera gear challenges were skillfully handled with a smile by Robert Wolfe, the ship's engineer. He was courteous, professional, and went above & beyond to meet the needs of everyone on board.
Robert was always on the dive deck to give guidance on which camera to take on a particular dive depending on the site. He kindly accompanied me on a few dives so I could get the shot I was looking for. He even got the guests to together at various points on the trip for photo opportunities that we would have otherwise overlooked.
I was honored to log my 300th dive at Diamond Rock with the chief engineer on this trip. I couldn't have planned for a better dive site for this milestone nor could I have asked for a more capable & skilled dive buddy to lead our dive and find photo opportunities for me.
At the end of the voyage Captain Ian Marriott gave me a printed certificate acknowledging my 300th dive which was unexpected and appreciated.
Many thanks to the Explorer II crew. A special thank you goes out to Mr. Wolfe who exceeded all expectations & made St Kitts & Saba a trip to remember.​

To see the photos of this trip go to:
DiverinDeep.com under galleries, then click on St. Kitts. You can scroll through 95 photos showing the reefs and critters.

St. Kitts & Saba Islands, Caribbean - Diver In Deep Photography

Karen Schofield, R.N.

 

[BDSC]

Thanks for sharing Karen! Overall, how would you describe the health of the reefs around that area? We have a group going on the Turks & Caicos Explorer II in late April and this liveaboard is another possibility we may consider in the future. Also, how was the food?

 

[Karen Schofield]

Dear BDSC,
The reefs looked pretty good on the dives I did. The Caribbean is not as "lush" as Indonesia or Malaysia, but it was
okay diving. You can view the reefs & the underwater life on my website: DiverinDeep.com. Go into galleries, St.Kitts, then scroll through the pages as I have 95 photos up.
I ended up losing 5 lbs. on this trip since the food was not exactly 5 star, BUT you get what you pay for. The best meal all that week was at the end of the voyage at a restaurant in St. Maarten where we disembarked.

 

[BDSC]

I've been diving the Caribbean for years but I am going to the Philippines for two weeks at the end of the month. It's time to get to that side of the world and see what I have been missing. I'll check out your pics. Thanks!