Best Liveaboard in the Caribbean

[fun2chase]

If money were no object which would be the best livaboard with a private head? The carribean is an easy flight from FL, but I am willing to go other places if the airfare doesn't make the trip unreasonable.

Thanks for any advice!
-stacy
-fun2dive

 

[diveborg]

www.cuanlaw.com if you are traveling with a non-diver or are not truly hardcore about needing 5 dives a day. They usually only do 3 dives a day, but they are flexible.

I'd pick one of the Aggressor boats. Turks and Cacios would be my first choice.

 

[diversteve]

One of the Caribbean Aggressors, the Turks/Caicos Explorer, one of the Dancer's(Pete Hughes) maybe AquaCat - your choice, they're all similar.

I recently did a Nekton trip, it's not as nice.

In the Sea of Cortez it would be an executive suite on the Nautilus Explorer.

If money/travel costs were really of no concern, either a private Cat charter or the Four Seasons Explorer in the Maldives.

 

[Damselfish]

Another really nice boat in the Caribbean is the Sun Dancer II in Belize.

As far as other places, well there's a variety of nice boats in the Pacific etc. You just have to define unreasonable.

 

[Darnold9999]

You need to define what you mean by "best". For me best means a stable boat where I don't get seasick, I can dive non stop, and I can get lots of macro photos - luxury touches are not relevant as long as I am comfortable. This means I like the Nekton boats. Others want a bit of pampering when they are on holidays, they will choose another boat, others want big animals, they will choose yet another boat.

 

[DiverBeth]

I did the Belize Aggressor. Food was great. Diving was great. The only complaint about my trip was I had to go home. Some of the people on board had done some of the other Aggressors and gave equally high marks.

 

[Trwmodela]

Are you looking for a luxury yacht that is modified for live-aboard diving? Then I would recommend the Aggressor Fleet. But you will have rules and restrictions to follow. Do you want a roomy comfortable vessel that you don't get sea sick on? Then I would recommend Nekton Diving Cruises. Nekton's diving platform is superior to any vessel I have ever seen.

Tim

 

[pir8]

I liked Nekton because I could do at least 5 dives a day. One day I did 6 dives. I go on a liveaboard to dive don't need major pampering.

 

[fun2chase]

The AquaCat would be ~2000/per person with airfare under $200 each to get there. The idea of our own head is really appealing. The other stuff is icing on the cake. How does the Nekton and the Agressor compare to the AquaCat?

Also, what is the best time to go? I am thinking April/May avoiding Hurricane season.

Thanks,
-stacy

 

[DiveMaven]

When I look at liveaboards (or cruises), I first check dates, itineraries, and point of embarkation. That often narrows my choices down considerably, depending on my desires for a trip. Next is definitely the accommodations and number of divers...is there a private head per cabin...how big are the cabins....how much common space is there....how many divers....what's the layout of the vessel.....etc??? Then would be number of dives offered per week and cost (including all the taxes, fees, etc.). At this point I'm usually narrowed down significantly to maybe one or two choices.

Nekton is the only liveaboard that I've seen in the Bahamas and Caribbean that offers 6 full days of diving, including dinner on Friday night. For example, AquaCat offers only 5 days of diving and returns to Nassau on Friday at 2pm. The Aggressor doesn't have a boat in the Bahamas. Nekton also departs out of Fort Lauderdale, saving money on having to fly into the Bahamas.

Nekton is also approximately $200 cheaper per person than AquaCat, but also carries about 10 more divers. Nekton charges about $200 for Nitrox vs. AquaCat charging $100. So you can see there are some subtle differences...in addition to AquaCat having a reputation of being more luxurious than Nekton and having more gourmet foods.

The Peter Hughes tragedy in Belize has made me very sensitive to who owns the boat I'm embarking upon, and what country the boat is flagged under. Because of this, the Nekton fleet has become my first choice for a Caribbean liveaboard since they are US flagged. The safety requirements and inspections that the USCG requires for US flagged vessels is far above what I have been able to acertain other nationalities require. ***This is an extremely personal preference on my part, and in no way is intended to say that any other liveaboard operation is unsafe in anyway. ***

The trick for choosing a liveaboard IMO is simply finding the one that appeals to you the most, then going for it!