Caribbean/Central America liveaboard recommendation

[Mr. Manfrenjensenden]

Hello,

I went on a Blackbeard's liveaboard a year ago as one of my first diving trips and very much enjoyed it. I'd like to do another in the Caribbean/Central America/Mexico area but don't want to repeat the same experience. As far as complaints about Blackbeards -- the only thing I didn't like was that there wasn't much comfortable seating on deck -- the "camping on the seas," etc. was all fine by me. Thought the dives were very interesting. What other liveaboards would anyone recommend for someone with the following priorities?

• At least four dives per day
• Flight from the east coast of the US relatively easy
• Far more interested in corals/sea life than wrecks.
• All else equal prefer shallower vs. deeper for brighter colors, longer bottom times.
• Like sharks, bigger animals, but perfectly happy with an abundance of smaller fish and interesting corals.
• Air conditioned
• Price matters but isn't the sole determinant. Prefer not to go over $3k/week. Ideally less.
• Don't want a party boat. Prefer a lower key group.

The Aggressor III and IV in Belize seem interesting (at the top of my price range but do-able). Are the dive sites in the Bahamas the Juliet visits that different from what I've already done with Blackbeards? How interesting are the Marquesas and Dry Tortugas? What else is out there in my price range?

Thanks,
Peter

 

[Damselfish]

As I'm sure you've found most of the Aggressors and similar boats in the Caribbean bump up against the $3k/week. But if you get on their mailing lists there are often specials - sometimes with a good amount of lead time, sometimes not.

The Caribbean Explorer II is a lower priced boat, closer to 2k, and there are sometimes deals on top of that. It's not as comfortable or roomy a boat as most of the Aggressors or other Explorer boats, but certainly more comfortable than Blackbeards. Cabins have A/C, and there is a sundeck with lounges, but it does not have the usual inside A/C dining/lounge of most - the dining area is an area of the sundeck level enclosed in plastic with zippered windows. I think they have A/C for it, but I don't know how often they run it or how well it would work (it was pretty sticky last April and we were always hot and peeling ourselves off the seats, so would have been nice.) Getting to St Kitts and St Martin is pretty easy.

The Explorer Turks and Caicos boat also has a few cabins at $2500. I haven't been on that boat but have heard it's pretty nice. You dives will probably average deeper on that though.

Party boats are hard to predict, but we've rarely run into anything like that, and don't worry about it. (As it happens there were 2 couples when we were on the CE2 that were annoying heavy drinkers and constantly nagged others to party with them - and no place on that boat to escape them if you didn't want to hide in your cabin or hang out on the dive deck - but no reason to assume it would happen on another trip.)

I imagine there are a few other ideas out there that people will be along to suggest. We tend to go for cushy, so I don't keep up with those options.

 

[Mr. Manfrenjensenden]

As I'm sure you've found most of the Aggressors and similar boats in the Caribbean bump up against the $3k/week. But if you get on their mailing lists there are often specials - sometimes with a good amount of lead time, sometimes not.

The Caribbean Explorer II is a lower priced boat, closer to 2k, and there are sometimes deals on top of that. It's not as comfortable or roomy a boat as most of the Aggressors or other Explorer boats, but certainly more comfortable than Blackbeards. Cabins have A/C, and there is a sundeck with lounges, but it does not have the usual inside A/C dining/lounge of most - the dining area is an area of the sundeck level enclosed in plastic with zippered windows. I think they have A/C for it, but I don't know how often they run it or how well it would work (it was pretty sticky last April and we were always hot and peeling ourselves off the seats, so would have been nice.) Getting to St Kitts and St Martin is pretty easy.

The Explorer Turks and Caicos boat also has a few cabins at $2500. I haven't been on that boat but have heard it's pretty nice. You dives will probably average deeper on that though.

Party boats are hard to predict, but we've rarely run into anything like that, and don't worry about it. (As it happens there were 2 couples when we were on the CE2 that were annoying heavy drinkers and constantly nagged others to party with them - and no place on that boat to escape them if you didn't want to hide in your cabin or hang out on the dive deck - but no reason to assume it would happen on another trip.)

I imagine there are a few other ideas out there that people will be along to suggest. We tend to go for cushy, so I don't keep up with those options.

Thanks. If I do end up going with ~$3k/week for a Caribbean liveaboard, thoughts on which islands/areas would offer the most impressive not-super-deep diving? Kind of a "diving impressiveness per dollar" question.

 

[Haleyeah]

The Caymans seem to fit your dive preferences. We did the Aggressor there and were very happy. Lots of space and great dive guides. Five dives a day, definitely not a party boat, and AC. Quick flight down there from the east coast (especially if you are coming from Atlanta like us). Caymans are relatively shallow. Not a ton of large stuff though. If the weather allows, the bloody bay wall on Little Cayman is supposed to be absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, the wind didn't cooperate for us.

 

[drrich2]

Got a few thoughts for you. First, we've got a thread, Picking A Caribbean Live-aboard. I did a trip aboard the Sun Dancer 2 (now Belize Aggressor IV) & loved it; also loved my later trip aboard the Cayman Aggressor IV.

This year & last year, Aggressor Fleet ran a big sale late winter (roughly February or thereabouts), which knocked off some money.

While claims vary as to what is, or is tied with, the 'best diving in the Caribbean,' Little Cayman is what I've probably seen most claimed, followed by Turks & Caicos (by live-aboard) and the outer atoll regions of Belize (e.g.: Lighthouse Atoll, Turneffe Atoll). I think there's value in trying the 'best.'

Take note of the Bahamas Aggressor. IIRC, Blackbeards aims for around 19 dives for the week; I think the Juliet is similar. There are 2 itineraries; Exuma Caye and Tiger Beach. The latter focuses on the island of Grand Bahama and tiger shark encounters. I'd previously assumed the reef diving wouldn't be as good, but I've heard otherwise. Per the website the Tiger Beach itinerary offers up to 5 dives/day; I think on a 7 day trip that might crank out to around 26 or 27 dives for the week if all goes well? Ask to be sure, but factor in # of dives on offer when you price check vs. other Bahamas live-aboard boats.

And when you're ready for a chance of scenery & ocean life, and willing to accept cold water diving to get it, be sure and check out a trip report on diving the Southern Channel Islands of California via Truth Aquatic's boat the Vision. It's more rustic than mainstream Caribbean live-aboards, but drastically cheaper, you get a lot of independent and you can do a lot of diving. What's getting buzzed by a sea lion worth to you?

Richard.

 

[NYCNaiad]

I was on the Belize Aggressor IV when it was called the Sundancer II. (I think this was just a rename. I went around 3-4 years ago.) It was lovely.

• At least four dives per day
  
• Flight from the east coast of the US relatively easy
  
• Far more interested in corals/sea life than wrecks
• Air conditioned
  
• All else equal prefer shallower vs. deeper for brighter colors, longer bottom times
  Yep to all of the above.
  
  
• Like sharks, bigger animals, but perfectly happy with an abundance of smaller fish and interesting corals:
  Some sharks, but not a lot of bigger animals. Lots of wonderful fish & corals.
  
  
• Price matters but isn't the sole determinant. Prefer not to go over $3k/week. Ideally less.
  It's right around there, but I agree with @Damselfish that you can find specials. For instance, one of their recent emails just announced a new Aggressor liveaboard out of Roatan for $1,995! I've been diving in Roatan as well though not on a liveboard & it also fits your shallower preference. Here are their current specials.
  
  
• Don't want a party boat. Prefer a lower key group.
  It really depends upon the group, but I've never heard of anyone having problems with huge parties on the Aggressors.

 

[gbf]

In re: value..

Belize Agressor IV runs a buy 7 get 10 nights deal at the end of august , into september. I Did it last August and am scheduled again with my young daughter this sept.

Warning: it is hurricane season. Earl got us last year and I had to delay a couple of weeks. Thru the efforts of aggressor fleet it worked out.

Another warning: our upcoming trip had a lot of moving parts, involving braves game in atl, arriving in Belize a day early for the Mayan ruins thing and to avoid airline mishap.

Mishap became purposeful screw-job - delta cancelled our Tuesday atl-bze flight and rescheduled us on wed, the day of boarding. It was an "advance schedule change" so no compensation for any additional cost. It's not just United...

Edit: fix iPad typos.

 

[Wookie]

Even if Juliet offers fewer dives, (they don't), do not overlook them. Juliet goes where no one else does, and their itinerary going down old Bahama channel is second to none. I used to dive many of their sites (Thanks, guys, for sharing your mooring numbers) on my way to Cay Sal, and they are just not dived by anyone else. The price is very reasonable, and I'm told that the crew is awesome. I get along well with those I know (Liza, Chris), and have shared crew with them in the past.

 

[Damselfish]

Belize is a good place to do a liveaboard, as the best stuff is a long haul from land resorts. Again some walls but not necessarily deep all the time. One possible drawback may be the morning they usually do the Blue Hole, which is deep. They generally only do that one dive that morning, then do a stop for a beach picnic thing. So if you don't want to do the Blue Hole dive, you lose a half day of diving. (Plenty of opinions to read about that dive on other threads.)

The Cayman Aggressor can be good, especially if you get to go to Little Cayman, which is somewhat seasonal - ranging from more likely in summer to less likely in winter, but you never know. Even if you don't make it to Little Cayman/Brac, I still think it's a good and relatively economical way to dive Grand Cayman and get lots of dives in. Cayman is partly about walls but it's not all walls, and there's plenty of shallower diving done too. Little Cayman is of course famous for a wall that starts in very shallow water.

Most of the standard Bahamas trips leave from Nassau and cover the same general area that's within range on a week trip, so I imagine there's a fair amount of overlap in where you dive on Blackbeards, Cat Ppalu, their other boat Aquacat, or the Bahamas Aggressor (aside from the Tiger Beach itineraries.) It would still be a fairly different experience on a different type of boat. Note the Aquacat has a weird and I think smaller cabin in the center with a skylight and no windows that is less desirable and goes for 2k, so that's a good deal on a nice boat.

The Roatan Aggressor is supposed to start running (again) in June. The same boat was running sporadically as the Caribbean Pearl, and I think as the Utila Aggressor before that. It will be interesting to hear what shape the boat is in and where they really dive (I've talked about our trip on the CP on other threads.) In any event if you can get a good introductory deal that might be worth considering.

 

[Damselfish]

Even if Juliet offers fewer dives, (they don't), do not overlook them. Juliet goes where no one else does, and their itinerary going down old Bahama channel is second to none. I used to dive many of their sites (Thanks, guys, for sharing your mooring numbers) on my way to Cay Sal, and they are just not dived by anyone else. The price is very reasonable, and I'm told that the crew is awesome. I get along well with those I know (Liza, Chris), and have shared crew with them in the past.

The Juliet sounds interesting, I knew of the boat but paid little attention because we like ensuite cabins and it sounds the couple they have are somewhat new? I didn't realize they do the different places they do.