Live-Aboard--what do I need to take?

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If you're on the Spoilsport the hull clangs pretty loudly while you're trying to sleep; after a day of diving I can sleep through pretty much anything, but you might want earplugs for that first night's cruise.

Oh BOY is that right - I was in a forward cabin in rough seas and I would say "BOOMING" is a better word than "clanging"!!!

All of the above, plus a good sense of humour! :D
 
10-15% and 2 pairs of shorts 4 t-shirts and some deodorant.

If you're including deodorant and clean t-shirts in the tip...consider tipping at the START of the trip.

:cool2:
 
Pack your clothes then open up and take out half!

Then take out half again. You'll still have too much.

Then - since you won't believe us - do as Wookie suggested; at the end of the week take the 2 pairs of shorts and 4 t-shirts you never wore and give 'em to the crew.

You can literally get by with ONE pair of dry shorts for the week. Don't bother with sneakers and flip-flops and Crocs etc. You will be barefoot the whole time you're on the boat. On one trip I went on they collected everyone's shoes when you boarded and gave them back when we docked.

If you're there for work before/after talk to the boat about storing the luggage/items you won't need. They have some secure on-shore facility they can put your stuff in.

Bring some new books to read. Leave them behind for passengers. (I prefer audio books on my ipod - less to carry.) Bring some new DVDs to watch. Leave them behind for the crew. Bring plenty of batteries for anything you have that needs batteries. Leave them behind for the crew.

Bring a sense of humor and a generally good, positive attitude. If you're not familiar with boats - much less living on one - here's a few FACTS about boats:

  • everything on a boat breaks
  • everything on a boat leaks
  • everything on a boat gets wet
  • nothing on a boat every really dries
  • everything on a boat smells like a boat, where things break, get wet, and never really dry
  • anything that doesn't smell like a boat smells like people who live on a boat
  • everything mechanical on a boat is very loud (until it breaks; then it's very quiet)
  • everything non-mechanical on a boat creaks and/or rattles (until its broken in; then it's very quiet; that's usually the day before it breaks)
  • everything on a boat is small
  • if something is not small, it's not on the boat
  • if something is not available on the island/mainland, it's not on the boat
  • if something is not on the boat, it's not on the boat
  • if you need something specific but didn't bring it, it's not on the boat
  • even things that are usually on the boat are often not on the boat
  • most things that happen on a boat happen simply "because it's a boat"
A thousand major/minor/uncomfortable/disgusting/annoying/inconvenient things can go wrong on a boat over the course of a year. That means that statistically 20 of them will happen the week you're on board. You won't notice 15 of them. Will any of the the other 5 things ruin your trip? Honestly, other than a condition which presents a clear and imminent safety issue, whether or not something ruins your trip is entirely up to you. I choose to focus on the things like diving that make my trip enjoyable; folks who choose to focus on things that will ruin their trip can always find something that will.

But, as an optimist keep in mind that you also get to take the good with the bad...
  • everything GOOD that happens on a live-aboard happens "because it's a boat"
  • you're never more than an hour or so from the next dive, the next meal, the next nap, or your first drink - because it's a boat
  • you set your gear up once and don't worry about it again - because it's a boat
  • you're right over the dive site - because it's a boat
  • two hours later you're right over the next dive site - because it's a boat
  • it's a twenty foot walk from your last bite of desert after dinner to your night dive - because it's a boat
  • it's a ten foot walk from your night dive to a hot shower - because it's a boat
  • it's a twenty foot walk from the hot shower to a cold beer - because it's a boat
  • it's a twenty foot walk from the cold beer to your bed - because it's a boat
  • when you wake up the next morning to the smell of coffee and waffles...you're right over the next great dive site - because it's a boat
GoodViz2.jpg


Tipping? I can only provide my American perspective. But first, if you're reading this and you a.) are not American, b.) disagree in principle with the societal convention of tipping in certain cultures, or c.) are otherwise too cheap to tip --- don't bother reading on if you're simply going to dog-pile this thread with general "I don't believe in tipping...crew should be paid...not my fault...I don't need their help...I already paid enough for the trip...no one tips me when I do my job" type of responses. There's plenty of threads elsewhere for that.

Break it down this way: Imagine the same dive trip but not living aboard. You're dining out three meals a day for 6 days, having a drink or two at a bar every day for 6 days, you're doing do a 2-tank morning charter, a 2-tank afternoon charter, and a night dive charter every day for 6 days. With even conservative tipping on boat dives and budget-minded meals, you'd be looking at handing out more than $300 in gratuities over the course of the week. Well, the crew on the liveaboard are "the servers" for all the things listed above. So PapaBear's 10% figure is a reasonable number, and a good start. Now further consider that the crew also works 16hrs a day doing everything else that needs to get done on a boat. Including tidying your cabin daily, making your bed daily, cleaning your toilet daily, etc. Good crews on good boats - luckily never experienced a bad one - will wait on you hand and foot above water and below while you're awake. When you fall asleep they're working a few more hours to make sure tomorrow is even better. Then, when they go to bed, it's four of them in a cabin smaller than yours, under/behind/adjacent to the engine room and generators, that they live in for several months at a stretch with effectively everything they own during that time. (Seriously, it would be illegal to house convicted felons in the same fashion. They deserve a good tip merely for mustering a smile once during any given day.) From what I understand, on the typical liveaboard the salary they receive for that week's work is on the order of US$100-$150 a week.

For a week-long trip I budget for $300+ pretty much regardless of the cost of the charter. The + usually takes the form of a couple of extra $20's slipped into the hands of a few individuals who's efforts made my trip particularly enjoyable. I also tend to leave the boat shy a backup light or two, maybe a guide with a rusted out illegible SPG finds my backup in his bin after I've headed to the airport, and there's one fabulous guide who has an Atomic Frameless mask now instead of the genuine piece-of-**** he was diving with when I got on board.

Ultimately, the advice of "tips are at your discretion, whatever you feel is appropriate is the right amount" is the right advice. I simply tend to believe that you should give some real consideration to "what's appropriate" before deciding on the amount. I tip a lot. I've never over-tipped.
 
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Tipping is not necessary in Australia, no one here tips. That being said the crew would appreciate a tip even more so.

Ear plugs to help you sleep. If the boat is travelling overnight, you can sometimes hear the engines.

Some cash for bar and snacks. Even if all meals will be provided, there's normally alcohol and chocolate bars ect.

Long sleeve thin shirt (like an old business shirt or outdoor adventure shirt) to coverup incase you get sunburn. The first few days you need to be cautious not to get too burnt. (Northern Australia especially)

Sunscreen, brimmed hat, sunglasses (preferrably polarised for looking into the water)

Seasick medication just in case.
 
One thing to think about is the luggage itself. Ask some questions to make the right decision.

The last liveaboard I was on had us unload our stuff, and then they took our luggage off the boat and returned it when we were back in port. In that case, it doesn't matter.

In most of the ones I have been on, including the Great Barrier Reef, we had to store our luggage in very cramped quarters throughout the trip. If that is going to be the case for you, use a duffel bag that can collapse and take up next to no space.
 
Make sure you do a pool dive to check out your gear before the trip, leaving enough time to get any problems fixed and get to the pool again before the trip to check out the repairs.
 
RJP

Very informative post. Just getting into diving it answered a ton of questions I had on live aboard ships. Also I have the same views of tipping as you do....thanks
 
I have a meeting this July in Austrialia and have an opportunity to dive the Great Barrier Reef. This will be my first Live-Aboard dive experience. What do I take along besides my dive gear?

Thank you in advance!
You've gotten some good responses, but we can better guide you if you tell us which boat you'll be on. Do you know? Things like towels, for example, will certainly be supplied on a luxury liveaboard--they'll stick a warm one in your face every time you emerge from the water. I have never been aboard a vessel that didn't supply them. On the other hand, I spent a week in Sri Lanka using a t-shirt as a stand-in because it hadn't occurred to my pampered ass that I might need to bring one.
 
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