Blackbeard - Liveaboard - Questions

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Toboggan:

(Southern US, especially South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia) A knit cap, designed to provide warmth in cold weather.
- Wicktionary

Learned some new vocabulary today. We call them toques. :wink:

I got a bald head once and they’re great for warmth while sleeping!

Aaaaand they’re “beanies” out west and often times in the product catalogs that I look at. (I buy a lot of snow/winter apparel for work.) I’ve seen “toque” before but not “toboggan” outside of a sled-like object. Interesting! I also learned something new.
 
Your list looks good! Do you log your dives? If so then you should add your log book.

It's always a good idea to make copies of your passport and c-card and insurance cards and keep them separate from your wallet, because if you forget or lose them you will need that information available.

Remember that you will need to tip the crew at the end of the trip, but I think you will probably be able to put the tip on your credit card at the end of the week. I know that carrying a lot of cash isn't smart but I like to have some cash with me. Cash is almost always acceptable wherever you travel and it often comes in handy.

Make sure that your credit card doesn't charge foreign transaction fees; some cards add 1, 2, or 3% to purchases when traveling outside the US. We use the Capital One Rewards card and it doesn't charge fees for foreign transactions and we use the reward points for airfare on later trips.

I would add a pair of sweatpants (or other casual long pants) and a light long-sleeve, zip jacket to your list; the wind can get cold on the water at night and you may feel cold in the air conditioned salon or dormitory. They can also provide some protection from biting insects on land excursions.

If you have never done a lot of repetitive diving - like 4 dives a day for several days - you may find that that your fins/booties cause sores to develop on your feet. So a pair or two of socks might be worth having on hand. You can wear them while sleeping to keep your feet warm or put a pair into service to protect your feet while diving if needed. You will see a lot of "sock divers" out there - scuba socks work well but you may not need them if you don't have this problem.

Personally, I would add a couple of more t-shirts because wearing the same one or two shirts over and over gets stinky IMO but that's up to you. They used to sell Blackbeards t-shirts on the boat so that may be an option, but I don't know if they still do that. As others have said, you will definitely need some kind of safe footwear because they may offer shore excursions.

I would also include one or two paperpack books or download a couple of e-books in advance for light reading. They may help to pleasantly pass the time in airports, on planes, and up on the sundeck or in your bunk when you are relaxing between dives.

Is the Benadryl you've listed an ointment or a tablet? Be careful mixing Dramamine and other motion sickness meds with other oral medications. Blackbeards was my first LOB and we did a deep water crossing from Florida and I got very seasick. I was taking the motion sickness meds along with my daily anti-histamine allergy medications and the combination caused permanent changes to my eyes and vision.

I developed "floaters" that are like small shadows that randomly float across my vision - they are most annoying in the strong sunlight - and they will never go away. The ophthalmologist said that the combination of the motion sickness and allergy meds increased the pressure in my eyes and caused the formation of floaters. So you might actually want to read the tiny print that comes with the motion sickness meds for warnings about mixing drugs, or ask your doctor.

You mentioned sunscreen (good idea) but how about mosquito repellent? I always take some to the tropics. You won't need it for most of the trip while you are on the water, but it can come in very handy while on land. They sell it in small cans/bottles or in towelette packages, just be careful to properly dispose of the trash.

Have a great trip!
 
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Your list looks good! Do you log your dives? If so then you should add your log book.

It's always a good idea to make copies of your passport and c-card and insurance cards and keep them separate from your wallet, because if you forget or lose them you will need that information available.

Remember that you will need to tip the crew at the end of the trip, but I think you will probably be able to put the tip on your credit card at the end of the week. I know that carrying a lot of cash isn't smart but I like to have some cash with me. Cash is almost always acceptable wherever you travel.

Make sure that your credit card doesn't charge foreign transaction fees; some cards add 1, 2, or 3% to purchases when traveling outside the US. We use the Capital One Rewards card and it doesn't charge fees for foreign transactions and we use the reward points for airfare on later trips.

I would add a pair of sweatpants (or other casual long pants) and a light long-sleeve, zip jacket to your list; the wind can get cold on the water at night and you may feel cold in the air conditioned salon or dormitory. They can also provide some protection from biting insects on land excursions.

If you have never done a lot of repetitive diving - like 4 dives a day for several days - you may find that that your fins/booties cause sores to develop on your feet. So a pair or two of socks might be worth having on hand. You can wear them while sleeping to keep your feet warm or put a pair into service to protect your feet while diving if needed. You will see a lot of "sock divers" out there - scuba socks work well but you may not need them if you don't have this problem.

Personally, I would add a couple of more t-shirts because wearing the same one or two shirts over and over gets stinky IMO but that's up to you. They used to sell Blackbeards t-shirts on the boat so that may be an option, but I don't know if they still do that. As others have said, you will definitely need some kind of safe footwear because they may offer shore excursions.

I would also include one or two paperpack books or download a couple of e-books in advance for light reading. They may help to pleasantly pass the time in airports, on planes, and up on the sundeck or in your bunk when you are relaxing between dives.

Is the Benadryl you've listed an ointment or a tablet? Be careful mixing Dramamine and other motion sickness meds with other oral medications. Blackbeards was my first LOB and we did a deep water crossing from Florida and I got very seasick. I was taking the motion sickness meds along with my daily anti-histamine allergy medications and the combination caused permanent changes to my eyes and vision.

I developed "floaters" that are like small shadows that randomly float across my vision - they are most annoying in the strong sunlight - and they will never go away. The ophthalmologist said that the combination of the motion sickness and allergy meds increased the pressure in my eyes and caused the formation of floaters. So you might actually want to read the tiny print that comes with the motion sickness meds for warnings about mixing drugs, or ask your doctor.

You mentioned sunscreen (good idea) but how about mosquito repellent? I always take some to the tropics. You won't need it for most of the trip while you are on the water, but it can come in very handy while on land. They sell it in small cans/bottles or in towelette packages, just be careful to properly dispose of the trash.

Have a great trip!

I will bring a dive log. Kind of stopped logging dives for a couple years but need to start back up again. I thought about bug spray but wasn't sure. I don't take Benadryl often. It is more a just in case. Thanks for the info.
 
Learned some new vocabulary today. We call them toques. :wink:

I got a bald head once and they’re great for warmth while sleeping!
In SD we call them stocking caps. Toboggan refers to the sled.

I would definitely bring it; it's small and at night while sleeping will help you retain and build body heat.
I thought about bug spray but wasn't sure. I don't take Benadryl often. It is more a just in case. Thanks for the info.
Don't worry about the bug spray, few insects find their way out there to the boat.

I've never had a worry about foreign fees, IIRC, the All-Star company processes their transactions through their Miami office in dollars.

I do disagree with the extra shirts; I know you have 'dive shirts' on your list and a set of clothes for flying home that is left behind; I usually wore my dive shirt and swim trunks between dives; only changing to a t-shirt and shorts at the end of the dive day; so I wore them for a few hours before bed 2 got me by fine during my trips. Space is limited there.

The socks aren't a bad Idea at all; but if you choose not to; some lotion on your feet if you notice any discomfort will prevent the formation of sores.
 
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In SD we call them stocking caps. Toboggan refers to the sled.

I would definitely bring it; it's small and at night while sleeping will help you retain and build body heat.

Don't worry about the bug spray, few insects find their way out there to the boat.

I've never had a worry about foreign fees, IIRC, the All-Star company processes their transactions through their Miami office in dollars.

I do disagree with the extra shirts; I know you have 'dive shirts' on your list and a set of clothes for flying home that is left behind; I usually wore my dive shirt and swim trunks between dives; only changing to a t-shirt and shorts at the end of the dive day; so I wore them for a few hours before bed 2 got me by fine during my trips. Space is limited there.

The socks aren't a bad Idea at all; but if you choose not to; some lotion on your feet if you notice any discomfort will prevent the formation of sores.

I know that you are unlikely to be bothered by biting insects while on the boat! I was thinking about shore excursions, if they are still being offered. There were 2 shore excursions when we were on Blackbeards but that was years ago and mosquitos were a problem when we were on land.

Even though the cruise and travel expenses will be charged in the US, if he spends any time in the Bahamas and makes any purchases, he may have some foreign transaction fees. I don't know if the OP plans to spend any time in Nassau before/after the cruise?
 
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I know that you are unlikely to be bothered by biting insects while on the boat! I was thinking about shore excursions, if they are still being offered. There were 2 shore excursions when we were on Blackbeards but that was years ago and mosquitos were a problem when we were on land.

Never had much of a problem with the insects on the shore, as the excursion was during the day. The boat has some bug spray, IIRC. The second issue would be not to bring any compressed spray; the airlines will confiscate it as a flammable pressurized liquid.

Even though the cruise and travel expenses will be charged in the US, if he spends any time in the Bahamas and makes any purchases, he may have some foreign transaction fees. I don't know if the OP plans to spend any time in Nassau before/after the cruise?
I don't think that there are any FX fees; since the Bahamian dollar is pegged to the US dollar at a 1 to 1 ratio.
 
Never had much of a problem with the insects on the shore, as the excursion was during the day. The boat has some bug spray, IIRC. The second issue would be not to bring any compressed spray; the airlines will confiscate it as a flammable pressurized liquid.


I don't think that there are any FX fees; since the Bahamian dollar is pegged to the US dollar at a 1 to 1 ratio.

We usually bring some mosquito repellent towelette packets with us.

The foreign transaction fees are not the same as the currency exchange rate, they are set by your credit card. You usually have to read the fine print to see if your bankcard charges them and at what rate. They may apply to transactions in the Bahamas, but the OP may not be planning to spend much time in Nassau.
 
One suggestion is some baby wipes or the adult (hospital bath) wipes they are great for freshening up.
 
Does anyone know if they require a safety sausage for the drift dives? Thanks.
 

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