Any tips for Guadalupe trip?

[Pyro_]

Heading out with nautilus liveaboards for one of their season opening trips week after next, just wondering if anyone has any tips or recommendations for things to bring along or to watch out for?

 

[togatown]

Heading out with nautilus liveaboards for one of their season opening trips week after next, just wondering if anyone has any tips or recommendations for things to bring along or to watch out for?

We went with them in October on the Explorer, and had a fantastic trip. The highlight was seeing "Lucy" for most of the time we were there. She is one of the largest GW's that has been sighted there over the years, but it may be too early now for the big females to show up. While the deep cages are cool and give you a unique perspective, the surface cages actually are better for action photos, since they are close to the bait on the surface. I wore 7mm and a hood at the time and was fine.

As far as the boat and crew, I'm sure you will have a great time, they are an excellent outfit. Enjoy!

 

[FettSolo]

Bring seasickness medicine if you are prone to that. It's a long boat ride to and from, and when you're in the cages you're basically just bobbing for hours.

If you're serious about the whites, I'd stay in the cage as much as possible - even when nothing is happening for a while. I spent 29hrs in the cages on my last trip and I had some amazing experiences, oftentimes alone because I was willing to be patient.

 

[dirtfarmer]

A wool cap helps you warm up after the cage. Nice cozy sweats too.

 

[nippurmagnum]

One thing to watch out for is the Nautilius insistence that “in this part of the world it’s traditional to tip $300” for the shark trip. I like to tip generously for good service, but I thought that was a ridiculous request considering that it was a 5-day liveaboard trip (on the Belle Amie, in my case), that the trip was very expensive for what it was, and that the service, while certainly decent, was not particularly special. I ended up tipping $150.

Another thing to watch out for is that on the boat, Nautilius heavily promotes the sale of a marine GPS unit that the company founder developed, for $175. They tell you on board that the unit is orders of magnitude cheaper than comparable units if purchased on board, which is not true, as I found online after I returned from my trip. The only savings really is that they throw in a free t-shirt or a cap. I’m not saying that the GPS unit is not a useful product, only that you shouldn’t buy it on impulse on board.

Finally, I would highly recommend doing some shore diving in La Jolla Cove in San Diego either before or after the trip. The cove has sea lions and kelp beds, and has to be one of the best shore diving sites in the world. There is also great shore diving with leopard sharks off La Jolla Shores, right off the beach in front of the Marine Room restaurant. The Nautilius trip was interesting but I was definitely glad that I supplemented it with a day of shore diving in San Diego. Nobody else on my Belle Amie trip seemed to even be aware of La Jolla Cove .,.

 

[togatown]

One thing to watch out for is the Nautilius insistence that “in this part of the world it’s traditional to tip $300” for the shark trip. I like to tip generously for good service, but I thought that was a ridiculous request considering that it was a 5-day liveaboard trip (on the Belle Amie, in my case), that the trip was very expensive for what it was, and that the service, while certainly decent, was not particularly special. I ended up tipping $150.........

.

I totally agree with this, we tipped the same as you did.

 

[FettSolo]

One thing to watch out for is the Nautilius insistence that “in this part of the world it’s traditional to tip $300” for the shark trip. I like to tip generously for good service, but I thought that was a ridiculous request considering that it was a 5-day liveaboard trip (on the Belle Amie, in my case), that the trip was very expensive for what it was, and that the service, while certainly decent, was not particularly special. I ended up tipping $150.

Another thing to watch out for is that on the boat, Nautilius heavily promotes the sale of a marine GPS unit that the company founder developed, for $175. They tell you on board that the unit is orders of magnitude cheaper than comparable units if purchased on board, which is not true, as I found online after I returned from my trip. The only savings really is that they throw in a free t-shirt or a cap. I’m not saying that the GPS unit is not a useful product, only that you shouldn’t buy it on impulse on board.

Finally, I would highly recommend doing some shore diving in La Jolla Cove in San Diego either before or after the trip. The cove has sea lions and kelp beds, and has to be one of the best shore diving sites in the world. There is also great shore diving with leopard sharks off La Jolla Shores, right off the beach in front of the Marine Room restaurant. The Nautilius trip was interesting but I was definitely glad that I supplemented it with a day of shore diving in San Diego. Nobody else on my Belle Amie trip seemed to even be aware of La Jolla Cove .,.

I tipped a similar amount. And I agree about La Jolla, I went shore diving with leopard sharks the day before my trip and it was great! Nobody on board had any clue about La Jolla either, I guess people are a little too laser-focused on the great whites.

 

[mcohen1021]

To those who have done the Guadalupe trip - does it get boring after 2 days?

I have a feeling I'd be bored & ready to go home after 2 or 3 "dives" in the cage

 

[FettSolo]

It just depends on how much you love great white sharks! I logged 27 cage hours the first time I went, 29 hours the second time. I once spent 4 hours in a cage without surfacing. I couldn't get enough! The crew would just wrap up a lunch and leave it on the deck "for when Chris reappears".

However... as both trips went on I spent more time in the cages by myself. I think most people see it as a "bucket list" thing. They go, see a couple great whites, and after day 2 they start losing interest. Which was fine by me (I like alone time with the sharks!), but if you're not super interested, it may or may not be worth the expense and effort.

 

[mcohen1021]

You might be the exception? lol.

Don't get me wrong, i eventually will do it the day i find a great sale/discoount. but I right now I consider it like belize blue hole - do it once and no need again.