Belize, T&C or Cayman for Liveaboard????

[Hesslerca]

Hi. We are experienced divers (certified in the 1980s!) and are looking for our first livaboard experience. After 10 years in South East Asia we just can not do resorts that limit us so our questions are:

Which area? We LOVE walls. Husband dives with a camera and I dive with a magnifying glass so we are very slow and love expoploring walls and swims throughs, caverns, caves
Which company: Agressor, Dancer, et....

Thanks!!!!!!

Carol

 

[Pedro Burrito]

Carol,

If you like walls then Bloody Bay Wall at Little Cayman is the place to go. That's the place that I judge all other dives. I spent 5 days there on the Cayman Aggressor IV last October. The CA IV does not go there every week and they usually don't stay there for 5 days so they cannot guarantee where you will be diving.

I did not see any walls in Belize unless you count the Blue Hole which is a waste of time.

The Carib Dancer had some problems during the summer, there's a thread about how bad it was. They have since lured a former CA IV mate, David Paterson, from GoPro on Grand Cayman to the Dancer to help fix things. I would dive with Dave anywhere.

My first choice ... Cayman Aggressor IV but look at the captain's logs from the previous years around the dates you want to book to see if they went to Little Cayman. That's still no guarantee that they will go during the week that you book.

Edit: Sorry, the Carib Dancer is in the Bahamas, not T&C. Thanks diversteve!

Also, Aggressor and Dancer are owned by the same company.

 

[Darnold9999]

Can't comment on T&C as I have never been.

Bloody Bay wall is very nice and I would rate it just slightly better than the walls in Belize. (Yes there are walls if you dive from liveaboards.) Lots of sand chutes out to walls that start around 60 feet and go down forever. Don't know where Pedro was diving as in the three liveaboard trips I did most of the diving was on walls.

If you could be sure of getting to Bloody Bay I would choose Cayman, however if you can't get to Little Cayman because of weather and have to dive around Grand Cayman then Belize is significantly better IMHO.

You really can't miss with either unless weather forces you to stay on Grand Caymen then just so so diving.

In Belize I would choose Dancer over Aggressor - cheaper and the same sites. Similar boats re accomodation and diving so save your money.

Don't know if anyone but Agressor dives Cayman.

Neither are going to be as good as South East Asia however.

 

[diversteve]

Just about every dive on the Turks/Caicos Explorer is a wall dive. At both West Caicos and French Cay the boat moors just on top of the wall and it drops deeper than rec. limits. And it's lush - coral on coral, fish everywhere.

West Caicos Walls, Turks & Caicos -- Many miles of 6000 foot vertical drop-offs, canyons and pinnacles. Thermal-forms are created from cooler ocean waters intersecting with the Caicos Bank... a complete spectrum of corals, sponges, small tropical fish, mid-sized groupers, barracudas, and many larger pelagics... keep one eye in the blue for constant visuals of reef shark, eagle ray, plus occasional hammerhead and manta. Also, sea turtles, nurse shark, stingray and more reef shark.

and

French Cay, Turks and Caicos -- Small inhabited reef island with 6000 foot vertical drop-offs all around. Dramatic combination of reef and wall diving, with many reverse angle undercuts. Eagle rays by the pod, sometimes in groups of 4 to 5. Schools of friendly shark plus sea turtles, nurse shark, moray eel. Occasional manta, hammerhead and humpback whales in winter.

Some trips they go to Salt Cay or Grand Turk instead:

Columbus Passage, Grand Turk or Salt Cay, Turks & Caicos -- Dramatic walls mark the interface between the island's shallow reefs and the abyssal depths of the Turks Island Passage. Great year round Caribbean diving for corals, sponges, small tropicals or larger pelagics. Most famous for humpback whale migratory path to Dominican breeding grounds during winter months.

^from: http://www.caicosadventures.com/ca_walldives.htm so there might be a little bias. But they mention Bloody Bay Wall also. It's on my list of best wall dives also. Check out: http://www.bloodybaywall.com/ on it you can zoom in on a detailed image of a section of the wall.

One of the divers on our boat was a macro photographer, he shot some excellent stuff. Surprisingly a lot of under the coral heads on top of the wall near the mooring. I found several fish nurseries there also. A better idea of what to expect: (with thanks to Mike Southard) Saudio's Trip Reports



Aggressor is the only liveaboard in the Cayman Islands. They sometimes can't make Little Cayman due to weather - typically that's from about now to Dec. There's a recent thread about it here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/liveaboards-charter-boats/433451-cayman-aggressor-nov-2012-a.html

 

[Doubler]

Little Cayman is great no doubt but getting there on the Aggressor during certain months is an impossibility. September through January try the Little Cayman Beach Resort. I have been on all three Aggressors you mentioned and I like the Belize Aggressor the best. Easy to get to and great walls. The Blue Hole is also there but is nothing really great. All the boats have great crews. Avoid the Caribe Dancer, she has issues that need a lot of ironing out. More to do ashore in Grand Cayman than Belize

 

[parrotheaddiver]

I think diversteve has summed it up for T&C I have been to all three destinations you are asking about...my pick is (1)The Cayman Aggressor...(2) T&C Aggressor (3) Belize I cannot comment on either boat in Belize when I was there I was on The Wave Dancer...I think the divng is better in The Caymans...yes the icing on the cake is Little Cayman....it just doesn't get any better than this IMO...try to go in early summer pre hurricane season but after the Norte's are done....your chances of making the crossing are better both times I have been on the boat were in June and they made the crossing both times...but like others have said ck the Captains logs....

 

[Damselfish]

More to do ashore in Grand Cayman than Belize

That depends what you want to do. If you are talking Belize City, yeah - it's a place to pass through (as quickly as possible) for most people. But head inland for a few days at least after diving and there's tons of interesting stuff to do - cave tubing and canoeing and hiking, river kayaking, Mayan ruins, ziplining, the zoo, lots of nature - and it doesn't look like Miami. Even if you don't stay, you can usually schedule some kind of excursion the afternoon you're back in port. Personally I don't think GC is all that interesting, you've mostly got your usual dining, shopping, and water activities.

 

[Darnold9999]

That depends what you want to do. If you are talking Belize City, yeah - it's a place to pass through (as quickly as possible) for most people. But head inland for a few days at least after diving and there's tons of interesting stuff to do - cave tubing and canoeing and hiking, river kayaking, Mayan ruins, ziplining, the zoo, lots of nature - and it doesn't look like Miami. Even if you don't stay, you can usually schedule some kind of excursion the afternoon you're back in port. Personally I don't think GC is all that interesting, you've mostly got your usual dining, shopping, and water activities.

Agree with this. I spent three weeks in Belize exploring inland and the cays. Couldn't imagine spending three days in Cayman. But everyone has a different idea of "things to do".

 

[Lynne.Cda]

I love Belize, but haven't dived there yet. I understand April to June is considered by some to be the best time to go, but I need a vacation before then! Would you advise against November?

 

[Brodydog]

I was on the Cayman Aggressor at the end of April this year and we were not able to get over to Little Cayman so even though the probability of getting to Little Cay is better if you do not go Sept thru Dec there are still times you will not make it over. It was such a let down not to get to see Bloody Bay after all I had heard about it.

I have been to Turks & Caicos on Explorer Ventures' live aboard a couple of times and would greatly prefer the Turks over Grand Cayman. The walls at T&C are outstanding and I highly recommend Explorer Ventures to travel with. Great company and a great boat.