Live aboard for nondiving spouse?

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Saboteur

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Hi. Just looking for your experiences with live aboard vacations for a nondiving spouse? On the surface (ha ha) they seem like they could be great; lots of dives, not gone almost all day on a boat away from the spouse and get to spend SI's on board together etc. The downside I guess is lack of activities for the non diver and too much dive talk.
 
My girlfriend/future wife cannot dive. She does love to snorkel, so if I could find a liveaboard with great snorkeling opportunities, that'd work as she loves to swim.
 
Hi. Just looking for your experiences with live aboard vacations for a nondiving spouse? On the surface (ha ha) they seem like they could be great; lots of dives, not gone almost all day on a boat away from the spouse and get to spend SI's on board together etc. The downside I guess is lack of activities for the non diver and too much dive talk.
As long as the spouse is happy to relax, chat, eat and sleep it will be fine.

We commonly see spouse's that do different amounts of dives. On our last trip the husband only did 3 a day. His wife routinely did 4.

We once were on a boat that was mostly a family reunion: 4 divers out of 18. The non divers played board games, chatted, got in the way of the divers and generally just relaxed.

If the non diving spouse is interested in sea life then they will have lots of opportunity to look at dive photos and videos after each dive. There are sometimes things to see above water: we had a bait ball last over an hour one trip.
 
Liveaboards can be pretty boring if your not diving IMO. If you find a boat that includes some shore excursions it might be of more interest. The Explorer trip to St. Martin, St. Kitts and Saba has some shore trips.

BTW, you may be gone for much of the day on a LOB because you can easily do 4 - 5 dives per day.
 
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I would definitely look for a boat that does land excursions. The majority of the boats I have been on usually only have 4 dives a day with the exception of the Aggressor. Most people are pretty tired after 4 dives and quite a few divers don't do night dives. There are often opportunities to snorkel. We just did the Bilikiki (who did offer 5 dives a day but no one did them) in the Solomon Islands and there was a snorkeler. She had more opportunities than I thought she would to snorkel. Another good one might be a sea of cortez trip. No coral but lots of opportunities to snorkel with sea lions. And you end the trip with snorkeling with whalesharks. Belize might be another good choice, you get to visit booby birds! and you can add on some jungle/cave stuff on the mainland before or after.

I think LOBs are wonderful...even if you aren't diving. You get to see a new sunset and sunrise every day and we often see whales, dolphins etc.
 
Hi. Just looking for your experiences with live aboard vacations for a nondiving spouse? On the surface (ha ha) they seem like they could be great; lots of dives, not gone almost all day on a boat away from the spouse and get to spend SI's on board together etc. The downside I guess is lack of activities for the non diver and too much dive talk.
This one looks like it might work for a non-diving spouse:

Aqua Cat - Luxury Scuba Diving Liveaboard in the Bahamas
 
Not exactly a lveaboard, and not inexpensive, but the Paul Gauguin in French Polynesia has diving with a dive op and a great dive platform off the stern. Xlnt small cruise ship.
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Cuan Law is good for that. it's a big Trimaran that runs around the BVI's. And I mean big, they have stairs down to the water and the upper deck is almost half as wide as it is long. They advertise it as the largest trimaran in the world.Inside the cabins are more like small motel rooms - ensuite with queen sized beds. All off a big lounge with couches etc. - the boat size affords them the sprawl room.

www.cuanlaw.com

I believe they can arrange shore excursions at most of their island stops - we were in Soper's Hole once and at the next table over was a non-dive group from the boat moored out in the harbor. They also carry Kayaks, Zodiacs to ski behind and even two Hobie Cats. One for your wife - snorkeling at the world famous Baths on Virgin Gorda.

Nice diving in the BVI's also but mostly shallower. The Rhone wreck is famous, they just put down the Kodiak Queen and there's some very fishy sites. We often saw turtles, reliably a shark or two per day and lots of soft corals/fans.

You can fly into St. Thomas then over to Tortola to meet the boat on the fast ferries - takes about an hour - Beef Island on Tortola is not a commercially long airstrip. The ferry docks in Roadtown as does the boat but it's a big harbor - contact the boat to have a cab waiting - in St Thomas the ferry dock is 10? mins. from the airport.

I have seen it moored, motored by it and watched it fly by us once - they really do sail. Have not been on it though.
 
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From Cuan Law's website:

"Three dives are planned each day, including a morning dive before or after breakfast, an afternoon dive after lunch and a night dive. In between there is time for kayaking, Hobie Cat sailing, snorkeling or even more diving if you wish. When the dive bell rings to announce the next dive, interested divers gather at the aft deck for a briefing."

How many dives/day do you wish to do?

What does your wife like to do?

Part of the reason I ask is because, considering the cost involved, there's an option that on the face of it looks less desirable, but once you mull it over might have some appeal. Just in case, I'll throw it out there.

A mainstream cruise, like Carnival, Royal Caribbean (what we do), Norwegian Cruise Line or Celebrity Cruise Line. Fewer dives scattered over a variety of destination (I think of it as 'appetizer plate' diving), but your dining & topside activity options are strong. Southern Caribbean itineraries departing out of Puerto Rico can be nice, and some of the smaller ships (e.g.: the Jewel of the Seas) can get you pretty cheap prices. I like sailing out of Fort Lauderdale because Southwest flies there & doesn't charge us baggage fees, but your mileage may vary.

If it were me, I'd probably prefer the Cuan Law option, right up to the point I got a look at the price. Then, I might holler 'Honey, would you like to go on another cruise?'

Richard.
 
This one looks like it might work for a non-diving spouse:

Aqua Cat - Luxury Scuba Diving Liveaboard in the Bahamas

I can attest to the Aquacat being good for a "non-diving spouse". I have been on a couple trips where one (or more) members of our group was traveling with a non-diving spouse. The non-diver was never at a loss for things to do. Of course there were the obvious take a nap or catch some rays types of things, but they also have sea kayaks that the guests can use, the crew would have someone run a couple side trips to nearby islands for the non-diver. On one occasion, they even did a Discover Scuba on a very shallow reef for a non-diver so that they could get a feeling for what we were doing. (That non-diver was hooked and now dives regularly.)

If you are looking for a live aboard that will have something for your non-diver spouse to do, I recommend the Aquacat. As for the "too much dive talk", well every live aboard will have that. Its like going to a restaurant in Whistler in January. You are going to hear people talking about skiing. That's just the way it is.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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