Air conditioning on liveaboards in Socorro

[diversteve]

Vents don't necessarily include individual room thermostats which was your question. You can assume all you want but I just posted what they list.

although I've never been on a boat w/o them

 

[Wookie]

Vents don't necessarily include individual room thermostats which was your question. You can assume all you want but I just posted what they list.

although I've never been on a boat w/o them

My guess is that the room is air conditioned, maybe not individually controlled.

It’s important to remember that the Explorer was built for summers in Canada, and Belle Amie was purpose built for Socorro. Explorer would have heating as well as ac. Belle Amie probably only has cooling.

 

[Hoag]

I have been on at least one LOB (not on a Socorro trip) that only had air conditioning in certain areas of the boat. The cabins were air conditioned but the galley & salon were simply cooled by the sea breeze.

After you narrow it down to one or two boats (or maybe to the Nautilus Fleet if you go that way), it might be worth it to check the company to confirm the status.

 

[Diver Dave1]

The Rocio Del Mar has A/C that was controlled in the room. We kept our room chilly for sleeping. Dining and salon are also A/C. Door frame to Salon sometimes flexes with waves/boat movement and the door opens and has to be re-closed so it could be warmer for short periods. If you want to stay in A/C, the only place you cannot is the dive deck. It is totally shaded except for rear entry/exit from Panga's. They dive Panga's that have no shade but are short rides.
I suggest you contact them directly for more info.

 

[borisphotosafari]

SolmarV had individual thermostats in each room. I usually turn AC down at night for my ears sake. It was chilly in the salon every morning, normalized by the time everyone was coming in and out from outside.

 

[Joaz Banbeck]

SolmarV had individual thermostats in each room...

The Rocio Del Mar has A/C that was controlled in the room...

Nautilus explorer had no AC in my lower deck triple...

Thanks. These are the types of answers that I am looking for. ( I'm hoping that this thread might not only be useful for me in the short term, but that it might become a long term document keeping track of who has what type of A/C )

But a picture from their description of the boat shows what are almost certainly A/C vents in the ceiling...

I was wrong on that one. I was thinking like a landlubber. Vents like that on land would be A/C.

Boats have to have ventilation systems, even if they don't have A/C. That is what the vents are. Their A/C systems are separate.

 

[shrkdive]

I was on the Belle Amie this past January and can confirm we had air conditioning in our lower level room with I believe individually controlled thermostats. The rest of the main deck (Dining room and salon area) was also air conditioned. The outdoor gear area where you suit up is below the wheelhouse deck so there was plenty of shade.

 

[moorish8idol]

Nautilus explorer had no AC in my lower deck triple. I’m a pretty big guy and like it cold. (Not ‘broken’ actually no AC) It was stifling hot at night and the engine was very loud. I slept in the salon most nights. Other than that it was great and the sofas were actually comfy never a shortage of ice although the top deck has no cover (probably why they call it sun deck). No issues in the prep area though. I would go again, but only in an upper deck stateroom and that’s just because of the heat/engine noise. I had a great time otherwise.

Did you go recently? I understand that the Nautilus Explorer (on which I am booked for December!) did a big refurb for 2018 and now have air-conditioning in all the cabins, including individually controlled in the triple and single and centrally-controlled in the rest...

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

Did you go recently? I understand that the Nautilus Explorer (on which I am booked for December!) did a big refurb for 2018 and now have air-conditioning in all the cabins, including individually controlled in the triple and single and centrally-controlled in the rest...

Nope, it was Nov 2017, so sounds like you have an upgrade you will have a great time. I really enjoyed it. I would certainly take:

Ear Plugs: you sometimes motor between destinations at night and it can be loud, at least if you are in the cabins in the stern ( triple cabin is closest)

Kool Aid drops for the water: I'm a bit precious, but i found the water to be better with flavor in it and you really need to stay hydrated.

Water bottle: to fill up and carry with you on deck

I also had some issues with the 'vanilla glade plugin' in every socket in the salon. I found the smell to be very strong when i was feeling a little seasick and I spent a lot of time on deck because of it...or pulling them out. If you are sensitive to strong smells, you may want to carry vicks with you.

Take lots of alka seltzer/lemon drops/nazal spray/sudafed for the ears and nose/athletic tape to deal with any blisters

Don't overeat any big cooked breakfasts, especially before you dive sites like 'the boiler' it can be a bit of a swim against the current to get to the wall and on a rough day you can get thrown around a lot. lots of people were 'feeding the fish' through their regulators You will have an amazing time. It's bucket list palegic diving and the topography of the islands underwater is superb. I took hundreds of photos, just of the rock formations.

 

[avatar]

I'm pretty sure that is a mini-split unit in the upper right corner of Joaz's picture,
These allow in room AC with their own controller, if it is working. I've never been on a live aboard, but if I was in your position , I would try to get the best room money could buy.( probably better maintained ) Make sure you talk to the head guy when you are booking the trip to let him know you are not just being picky.