Blackbeards vs. Cribbean Explorer 1
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I have been on both. The CEXI is much nicer. 2 to a room instead of 4-8, for a maximum of 18 instead of 22 passengers, the 5 below decks rooms have 2 heads between them, The 4 above decks rooms have a head in each, they have Nitrox, they have 4-5 dives/ day; where Blackbeards has 3-4/ day, because there are 3 decks & a larger boat, there is generally more room for everyone (I liked having a little more personal space), the "warm- up surprise" (at least on my cruise) after the night dives was warm towels & hot chocolate (that made the whole trip in my opinion). The CEXI is overall much nicer than Blackbeard's for just a little more money. Don't get me wrong Blackbeard's is a good outfit also (I'm going again with them again this summer), but the CEXI offers more & nicer accommodations than the sail boats. Both outfits were very professional & both offered great service in their own ways. Each trip has its own feel. Blackbeards is rather more adventuresome in ways, but is also more rugged & as it says is "camping at sea", where the CEXI had more to offer. I will also say, even though the outfits have very little, if any control over it, the diving on CEXI was generally better than my Blackbeards cruise. The reefs were in much better condition & there was generally more fauna & flora to see. As for booking, you can always call & find out. Sometimes they have open spots. Of course, they always prefer to go out with a full vessel. Hope that helps you a bit.
divengolf
Contributor
My vote is for CEI, hands down. For all the reasons cited above. Plus the CEI itinerary is better. You spend about 3 days at west side of SanSal which is some of the best wall diving in the Bahamas, IMHO.
Double "D"
Guest
My vote would be for CEX1. I dove blackbeards and as the other posters indicate, 4 to a room instead of 2. Also, if you get a top bunk in the front of the ship, there circulation is not very good and the top bunks are VERY hot, you wouldn't realize that the boat had AC.
Also, we had a horrible time with air fills on blackbeards. IE, the compressor kept breaking down, we had to follow the other 2 boats to get air - the crew were shipping tanks back and forth on the dingies. Although this was extremely annoying (we only got in 1/2 the dives listed on the web page), this was made worse as other passengers who were repeat customers said they had problems like that before. So, they never fixed the compressors and we got the short end of the stick. THey also turned around and used that same compressor for the following week. WE WERE NOT COMPENSATED FOR THEIR MECHANICAL PROBLEMS.
Hence, we did not have quality dives on blackbeards.
We dove the CEX last year. We were amazed. For only 100iish more dollars (in 2007), you have tons more comfort (cleaner, less congested bathrooms - if you stay on top, you have your own). You also have unlimited hot fresh water inside and on deck. (On blackbeards, we were limited to 30sec a day of fresh water). You could clean off all your gear and yourself with a hot freshwater shower after ever dive on the CEX if desired. You also were given fresh, hot towels when you took your wetsuit off after night dives- and hot chocolate was brought to you. Meals were better. Dive sites were much better.
Hands down, we will dive CEX next time.
Also, we had a horrible time with air fills on blackbeards. IE, the compressor kept breaking down, we had to follow the other 2 boats to get air - the crew were shipping tanks back and forth on the dingies. Although this was extremely annoying (we only got in 1/2 the dives listed on the web page), this was made worse as other passengers who were repeat customers said they had problems like that before. So, they never fixed the compressors and we got the short end of the stick. THey also turned around and used that same compressor for the following week. WE WERE NOT COMPENSATED FOR THEIR MECHANICAL PROBLEMS.
Hence, we did not have quality dives on blackbeards.
We dove the CEX last year. We were amazed. For only 100iish more dollars (in 2007), you have tons more comfort (cleaner, less congested bathrooms - if you stay on top, you have your own). You also have unlimited hot fresh water inside and on deck. (On blackbeards, we were limited to 30sec a day of fresh water). You could clean off all your gear and yourself with a hot freshwater shower after ever dive on the CEX if desired. You also were given fresh, hot towels when you took your wetsuit off after night dives- and hot chocolate was brought to you. Meals were better. Dive sites were much better.
Hands down, we will dive CEX next time.
cowdog77
Contributor
Ditto..............hands down CEX
Shouldn't be a major issue to travel alone. I'm single, but went with a friend. There is usually a Dive Master in the water (not every time, but most of the time). Good luck to ya!
laurelgsc
Contributor
Wow, I just looked at the CEX 1 price and it's more than $300 bucks more per week, plus it departs out of Georgetown, Exuma so you can double your airfare from just about anywhere. FWIW I love Blackbeards. I have been 3 times and have had a great time every time. Never had mechanical problems (no one on our boat had ever experienced any), amazing diving, great crew, mostly great passengers. There is always the odd passenger that you would like to throw off the boat by the end of the week. I am not financially challenged, but if saving $500 bucks means that I can do more diving vacations then I am there. I have averaged 18-20 dives on each of my Blackbeards trips. IMHO hot towels and hot chocolate are not worth $300 + bucks. As a single passenger I always stay in the galley area, just bring your ear plugs. You get a double bunk as a single passenger. I am planning on going back this summer in July for another trip. Whatever you do, have a great time!
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