Aqua Cat, Bahamas - Advice

[arkstorm]

I just booked a week on the Aqua Cat LOB in the Bahamas for this coming August 2025 for me and my 16 y.o. daughter.

I'm looking for any tips/tricks/advice relevant to this particular LOB.

For instance, are the boarding ladders comfortable for bare feet if I was using full foot fins, or am I better off with open heel fins and booties?

How many dives a day should we expect? How many night dives?

Do they have tanks with din valves?

Can you tip the crew using credit card? How much cash did you bring/use?

Any relevant info would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[Chrisk919]

For instance, are the boarding ladders comfortable for bare feet if I was using full foot fins, or am I better off with open heel fins and booties?

I remember looking at AquaCat as the local dive shop has some outings with them.

On one of the photos on their site it looks like a fin-on flat-stepped ladder. Not sure what the tops look like but I suspect bare feet would be fine.

For the rest I'd call All Star and confirm, but they say "up to 26 dives" for their 7 night package. Looks like 4 a day plus some optional 5th night dives.

 

[Ukmc]

It has been 2-3 years for me. I don’t remember all the details but remember liking the trip. I brought cash with me for the tip, but I am certain they accepted credit cards. There were 2 night dives (5 dives/day on those days) and 4 dives per day except the last day. The weather was kind of wonky that week, so I am not sure if there would have been more night dives otherwise. I dove yoke. I liked their tank setup, as you always dive the same tank and they refill it during SI, at your designated station that is the same for the entire week. Your BCD and weights do not leave the tank.

 

[uncfnp]

Without doubt the Aqua Cat (dove 2022) is my favorite boat so far if you exclude the diving. I saw that because no Carribbean trip can match Indonesia. The boat is comfortable with a nice outdoor eating area. The food was very good but the staff was exceptional. I mean in service but also just plan fun. And when I plan a LOB I expect to just dive. But the Aquacat offers some pretty nice alternatives including a trip to feed the iguanas, lounging on a nice beach, swimming pigs, knee boarding and even fishing. We had dinner twice with the catch of the day!

You really don’t need much cash. CC are accepted.

Full fins should be fine and you can go down to the platform to enter but jumping in at the upper lever may not work well (you can judge this better than I). Just noticed in one of their trip videos the guide has full foot fins.

We dove yoke but most boats offer convertible values. Just confirm with them to be sure.

Aqua Cat does a very good trip video that they offer to purchase. If you search youtube there are several posted including trips from January and March from this year. You will certainly get an idea of their sense of humor!

Which cabin are you in?

 

[arkstorm]

We are in cabin 11. Thanks also for the info.

 

[uncfnp]

We are in cabin 11. Thanks also for the info.

I thought that might be the case. Bathroom is large but the room is TINY. Barely room to turn around. They will store your luggage for you so plan carefully what you will need in the room. Eric and I alternated unpacking so only one person at a time. As i recall each of you will have a drawer and then a shared closet.

I have attached one of my favorite uw photos ever. Gives you an idea of Aqua Cat humor.

 

[arkstorm]

…Yeah, I figured that room would be close quarters, but we travel light.

 

[uncfnp]

…Yeah, I figured that room would be close quarters, but we travel light.

The good news is that once unpacked and organized you’ll hardly be in your room unless sleeping!

 

[TravisD]

Bring a short light-duty extension cord for the things that you need to plug in while in your room - outlets aren't aways convenient. They have a charging station for lights and such out on the dive deck.

Packing cubes or other ways to contain your stuff isn't a bad idea - you'll have to unpack your big luggage and they take it and stow it somewhere on the boat to keep from cluttering up your cabin.

Even though our room on the two trips we've done had en-suite showers, I think I did most of my showering out of the dive deck.

Dinner on the last night is on your own, so plan $ for that.

If the boat isn't full, there's a chance you might get moved to another cabin.

Pretty sure that both trips I've taken, we got all 4 night dives offered.

Decide if you prefer being closer to the ladders, or the central camera tray. Usually the side entries are open as well - if you're comfortable doing a ~6-foot drop it saves walking down the stairs to jump in at water level.

Bring some layers since the AC is usually cranking to keep things dry, and with up to 5 dives a day you still start losing body heat.

There's some shops just across the street from the marina if you forget anything.

Enjoy! It's my favorite dive boat...