7 Day Liveaboard in Sea of Cortez?

[Calle Roo]

Hey, I know this is a new liveaboard dive operation new to Puerto Penasco as of December, but...

• Is this something you would be interested in?
• Is there great diving in the Sea of Cortez?
• 7 Days for $2000 / 3 meals a day, tanks included. Is the price reasonable?

I know there are better destinations, but is the price reasonable for this kind of trip? I never have been, but for me, a 4 hour drive to Rocky Point is well worth not spending $500+ on airfare.

Included : Your accommodations and housekeeping; all meals, snacks and non-alcoholic beverages; fuel surcharges; any marine park fees; port fees; up to four guided dives per day (conditions permitting); tanks, air, and weights; use of kayaks; dinner on the day of embarkation and breakfast on the day of disembarkation

Additional fees would be Anything purchased on board such as gear, clothing and sundries, dive training and certifications, massages and body treatments, and alcoholic beverages. Tipping is entirely up to you, and we ask you to wait until the end of the trip

Rocio Del Mar Liveaboard - eat, sleep & dive....

 

[booth22]

Don't forget the 10% Mexican tax not included in the $2000

 

[Brian Gilpin]

The Sea of Cortez (Loreto) is one of my favorite destinations but only summer and fall. Not familiar with this operator but the trip seems pricey but not outrageous. I guess if you can drive to Penasco then it all works out even but I would check out the liveaboards from La Paz as well. For me the Sea of Cortez is all about pangas.

 

[shark.byte.usa]

It's taken a while for this boat to get in the water, that being said, it suppose to be really nice, from those I've spoke to, who've seen it firsthand, private staterooms, etc. It believe it's intention is to hit seldom dived destinations in the Sea of Cortez, sites you can't get to from any other op. I don't think the price is out of line, you have to think of it along the lines of say an Aggressor live-aboard, at least initially, until they act otherwise. The Sea of Cortez has great diving if you can get to it. I don't think winter is the best time to go, but Spring/early Summer would be awesome.

Compare it to most shops taking you to San Carlos, maybe they provide transpo, maybe they don't, for around $450, for 4 FRICKIN DIVES, sub-par hotel, no food, no San Pedro Island guarantee (even if the weather is good). After mex car ins, food, gas, margarita y cerveza your looking at around $650 ish. Would I skip three of these BS trips for one luxury live-aboard... HELLZ YA!!

Of course you could take that 2k+ and probably get down to Cancun, Cozumel or somewhere similar for that price as well and have a swell time.

Gotta go to work....

-Garrett

 

[divebri]

and with southwest going to Fort Lauderdale (FLL), at as low as around 230 round-trip, STILL be cheaper than going to Mexico.

I'm all for a liveaboard in the Sea of cortez (I did the ill-fated Poseidon's Mistress before it sank many years ago) but sheesh. I think the price is at least 15 percent too high, maybe 25 percent too high.

I've seen Nektons as low as 1295 for a week. Add in the airfare and you're less than 1600, add another day stay in FLL and you're maybe 1700, tops.

As much as I love liveaboards, and would like to see that one make it, the price has to be a lot cheaper to attract me there. I have seen pictures, and the boat does look awesome, however. I've not seen staterooms, or a lot of other features, though.

Hey Garrett, how goes the battle? Still working in the corporate world?

 

[Rudebob]

From an Arizonan standpoint, the idea of having access to liveaboard so close is appealing, I just donÃÕ know if it can thrive in the market, however. If it truly is a luxury liveabord (sure looks nice on its website) then the price is not be too high if that is what you are into. However, except for divers from AZ and Southern California, travel and hassle factors to get to Rocky Point from other parts of the world is going to be both a pain and expensive. The net result, IMO, is that most others would opt for something similar operation but in a more exotic destination.

I can see their strategy in that it does provide the only type venue in the north Sea of Cortez which for some, who have dove all over the world, will be attracted to because it if different. I believe that is the market they are trying to appeal to and not us Lake Pleasant divers.

For me, since I have had the experience of diving these waters out of San Carlos (many will say it is not the same), for that kind of money I would gather go somewhere more exotic and with warmer waters (at least fall - spring). Now if there were a no frills operation out of Rocky Point that operated more like the SoCal liveaboard boat for ~$150.00 a day I would be all over it. I just donÃÕ know if operation cost and range of those type boats could take advantage of some better dive sites a couple hundred miles south for that kind of money. Interesting thought though.

Mg

 

[AzAtty]

I spent less than $2k for 8 days in Cozumel last month, and that price included airfare, hotel, meals, 23 dives, nitrox, and shopping. You could easily do Bonaire, Cancun, Coz, or Grand Cayman for the price of the liveaboard.

 

[Brian Gilpin]

I spent less than $2k for 8 days in Cozumel last month, and that price included airfare, hotel, meals, 23 dives, nitrox, and shopping. You could easily do Bonaire, Cancun, Coz, or Grand Cayman for the price of the liveaboard.

Thats certainly true but the sea of Cortez near Baja del Sur is a great experience as well. Between the beginning of September and the end of November it is a world class destination. On a typical dive day you can be out on a panga all day without seeing another group. Of Course what could be more fun than getting dive bombed by twenty divers from another boat while you are doing your safety stop in Cozumel.

 

[Teamcasa]

2 Grand!:shocked2:

For that kind of dough I'd rather go to Coz or Loreto and with the change, go back again! But that's just me.

 

[divebri]

Thats certainly true but the sea of Cortez near Baja del Sur is a great experience as well. Between the beginning of September and the end of November it is a world class destination. On a typical dive day you can be out on a panga all day without seeing another group. Of Course what could be more fun than getting dive bombed by twenty divers from another boat while you are doing your safety stop in Cozumel.

The best I would say is that it's nice diving. If it was "world class" as easy as it is to get to it'd be over-the-top crowded, like coz, et al.

I wish them well. I didn't do any market research to come to my conclusion, but I HAVE dove down there, on a liveaboard, and it's nice. Not great, crystal-clear, tremendous life, just nice.

I often opined on scubadiving.com's D2D board about the liveaboards in SoCal and how spartan they were compared to the rest of the world. Bunkroom, one head to 12-13 people, three showers in the whole boat, bring yer own sleeping bag, towel, etc.
And it came to me through this dialogue that a luxury liveaboard just won't make it, because CA divers just won't pay for it. And it's not enough of a destination to attract others like a Cayman aggressor or such.
I hope I'm wrong for the owner's sake, but I wouldn't pay 700 more for that boat at that destination than I would for a Nekton, that's for sure. It costs me MAYBE three hundred bucks more to get to and stay in FLL than it takes me to get to and stay in rocky point, and that's about it.