Anyone going on Blackbeard's around October 2016?

[Ayisha]

Hi there, yes I'm in Southern Ontario. Have only been to Nova Scotia in your neck of the woods, which was beautiful, and I've seen gorgeous pics of New Brunswick too.

Yes, we're making it a 10 day trip. We are staying in Paradise Island next Friday from around 12:30 PM, and we'll have until later Saturday morning before we head to Nassau and Blackbeard's. After Blackbeard's, we're staying in Nassau from the Friday late morning till we leave Monday afternoon. We were thinking of staying on Green Turtle Caye after Blackbeard's and swimming with wild dolphins and doing some more diving, but we thought it is kind of expensive and a lot of changeovers, so we're keeping it open to explore as we go.

I've been to Paradise Island and Nassau, but way back in 1988, so things have changed a lot. When I stayed on Paradise Island, there was very little on it, and no Atlantis, so I'd like to see that. Since Paradise Island had almost nothing on it then, we walked over the bridge/took a water taxi or cab every day to do fun stuff in Nassau and go to the nicer Cable Beach. Now apparently Paradise Island is more built up. We wanted to have a little R&R and space, especially if the liveaboard is crowded.

You could do 1 week from Friday to Friday to ensure you make it before Blackbeard's or any number of days before or after depending on the airline. We're flying with Westjet, which has multiple flights each week at decent prices.

We booked our 1 night hotel before Blackbeard's on Priceline, make your own deal. We booked with airbnb for the 3 days after. We found that we got way better quality for a similar price to what the cheaper hotels cost, and in a better area at the beach and closer to restaurants, shopping, etc.

Whether it's worthwhile will depend on what you're looking for on your holiday. It doesn't seem like the dives would be worth it around Nassau/Paradise. We looked into Stuart Cove's, but it looks similar to what we'll be doing on the liveaboard, so we didn't book. The beaches will be beautiful on the islands we visit from Blackbeard's as well. There's some sightseeing and shopping in Nassau. So it depends on what you want...

Have fun planning your trip!

 

[bee kay]

thanks for the information. i am a solo traveller, so not looking for fancy digs.

in looking at the itinerary, i am thinking along the same lines as you, perhaps a couple of days in nassau and a couple of days on paradise island (prices are high though).

thank you for the reminder for priceline. I forgot about that option.

thanks! have a good trip!

 

[Ayisha]

Prices were relatively high for even 2* hotels, as expected in the Bahamas, but we paid the same prices as the 1* - 2* hotels but got a 3 1/2* hotel suite (Best Western on Paradise) with Priceline and a beautiful 2 bedroom apartment across from the beach in Nassau on airbnb at www.airbnb.ca

The reason we looked at other choices in the same price range was that the reviews we were reading of the cheap hotels said they were a dump, run-down, not in a good area, and worst of all, buggy and sometimes dirty. So we decided to try and up our stay while keeping the cost similar.

Thanks, have a good trip too!

 

[Cantina]

You and me both!

I am not so sure about the close quarters and I like my creature comforts, so we'll see how this goes. I have been on 2 liveaboards in the past, one was off Catalina Island set up similarly to Blackbeards except only our LDS was on it at half capacity, so we each had extra space and an extra bunk for luggage. Last year I was on a very nice liveaboard in Jardines de la Reina, Cuba with private cabins, private washrooms, top notch service, and lots of space. They were very different experiences but I had an awesome time on both and had fantastic dives.

I also wonder how the diving will be, especially after the hurricane. I am going in with an open mind, however, and I'm sure I'll enjoy whatever I find. From when I last checked, there seemed to be some minor damage around Paradise Island, a bit around Nassau, but I didn't hear anything about the out islands like the Exumas, Eleuthera and San Sal. So hopefully the reef and life weren't too affected.

I'll try and post about my trip after I return from my few extra days away after the liveaboard and catching up with photos and life after.

Which company/boat was the liveaboard you liked in Jardines de la Reina?

 

[Ayisha]

Avalon, an Italian company with a permit to have liveaboards in Jardines de la Reina. It was the only company with a permit a year ago: Diving Cuba: Gardens of the Queen. Jardines de la Reina

Here is a link to my review with my photos, my friends and other passengers photos. Some people had asked for a lot of details, so I just put it all in. The formatting got messed up when Scubaboard updated their site, and it was too late to edit it at that point. Let me know if the links don't work:

Jardines de la Reina, Cuba Trip Report - September 2015

 

[Ayisha]

Sorry for the late review, but we had a great trip on Blackbeard's Sea Explorer! We had a fun group of passengers on board and an excellent crew. There were only 17 passengers, so we weren't crowded at all. It just so happened that there was a group of 11 from Newmarket, Ontario, which is only about 45 minutes north of me. So there were 12 Canadians, my friend from the US, plus 4 others from the US. We all got along great, like we had known each other forever, so we really lucked out.

Our little cabin wasn't as tight as I imagined. We were in cabin #3, which was the most like a cabin out of the four in our section. It was almost fully enclosed, with a 2-3 foot doorway closed with a heavy curtain. All of my stuff fit at the end of my bottom berth, and on a shelf, plus we had two sets of hooks in the cabin. It was no problem to change in privacy. The washroom was right beside us, so it was quick to get ready each morning. We really lucked out compared to the others in the bow, and especially the galley, which were just berths with curtains on each side of the table. We didn't go to the rooms in the stern, so not sure how they compared.

Every one of the 12 heavy duty plastic spring clamps I brought to hang stuff on lines around the boat were in use, mainly because others used them as well. The boat had quite a few already on the lines, but people definitely needed to bring more, as was recommended. I found that the 1 inch spring clamps were perfect, and I could have done without the 2 inch spring clamps, which were hard to open.

My friend brought a surge protector extension cord, as recommended, and I brought a travel surge protector with USB ports to connect to it. We needed the cord because the outlet is on the ceiling and we ran it 2-3 feet to the shelf above her upper berth. With the extension cord or USB ports, we connected our chargers for cameras, computers, lights, and cell phones.

We had a Mexican chef on board, and the food was tasty and plentiful. I have a few food restrictions, and he always remembered to substitute chicken or beef for me and often asked what type of meal I would prefer. He made a tonne of any particular dish with my name on it, and I was always able to share with the group. He was very accommodating.

The diving was decent, not as healthy or as colourful as I would have hoped, but typical of some of the better Caribbean sites. For example, not as vibrant or healthy as Jardines de la Reina, Cuba, Turneffe in Belize long ago, or much of Cozumel before the hurricanes, but more typical of maybe Grand Cayman or Paradise reef in Cozumel. There was a light dusting of sand on some of the shallower reefs, probably due to the hurricane, but they tended to go to sites that were not affected. There were a lot of fish, but we didn't see very many large pelagics. We saw only 2 sharks during the 5 days outside of the shark feeding dive, and there weren't that many even at the shark feeding dive. We were quite far from the shark feeding, and the DM offered to borrow our cameras if we wanted closer video of the sharks, so I have a video of the sharks feeding on a frozen chumsicle, as well as my photos. We saw only 3 turtles in the 15 dives. We saw many southern stingrays, a couple of them were really huge like the ones I've seen only in Cuba. We saw many grouper, many spiny lobster, several spotted moray eels, a few trumpet fish, a few porcupine fish, one octopus, tonnes of angel fish, butterfly fish, etc.

If you're interested, you can see my pics and a video of the shark dive at: Blackbeard's Bahamas 2016 | Facebook

 

[Uber Dave]

I'll be doing Blackbeard's Morning Star on February 4th thru the 10th. This will be my first LB. I'm looking forward to it. Also it will be my first time diving in a while. I appreciate your review.
P.S. I just looked at your pics, they look pretty colorful to me!

 

[Ayisha]

I'll be doing Blackbeard's Morning Star on February 4th thru the 10th. This will be my first LB. I'm looking forward to it. Also it will be my first time diving in a while. I appreciate your review.
P.S. I just looked at your pics, they look pretty colorful to me!

Thanks! That's because I get up close and find the most colourful patches, especially under overhangs. I also use my dive light as a modelling light since I don't have strobes. It's decent diving, I'm just spoiled by some of the incredible places I've seen.

The diving was relaxed and easy, and the setup on the boat was really easy as well. You never have to lift your tank. Just put your reg back on and turn it on after they finish filling it. Sit back into your rig, strap up and off you go. There were several people even getting certified, so the sites are easy. You'll probably be settled right in on your first dive. Water (and air) temp will be cooler when you go, so check the water temps so you have the right exposure protection for you. Have a fantastic trip!

 

[Uber Dave]

Thanks!