Caribbean live aboard deals currently available?

[scubadada]

Thanks all.

... and they're just reef shark, nurse sharks right lol. No tigers, great white i hope

All Reef Sharks

 

[drrich2]

I got a deal with aggressor via caradona.... for sep29. Good thing about it i can use award tickets to fly phl to provo.

How's that compared to aqua cat?

Haven't dove the Bahamas, but I was blessed to do the Turks & Caicos Aggressor II last week of April. If your trip goes like mine, it'll be something like this. Reef and nurse sharks, southern stingrays, assorted other Caribbean creatures. Had a good time.

Richard.

 

[KathyV]

Haven't dove the Bahamas, but I was blessed to do the Turks & Caicos Aggressor II last week of April. If your trip goes like mine, it'll be something like this. Reef and nurse sharks, southern stingrays, assorted other Caribbean creatures. Had a good time.

Richard.

Eagle Rays, too! And some turtles and morays.

 

[miserkris]

Haven't dove the Bahamas, but I was blessed to do the Turks & Caicos Aggressor II last week of April. If your trip goes like mine, it'll be something like this. Reef and nurse sharks, southern stingrays, assorted other Caribbean creatures. Had a good time.

Richard.

Great report! Just read pieces here n there... will read fully later.

Just in general is TCI LOB diving comparable to bonaire boat dives....i mean with respect to what you see underwater? I loved bonaire!

Is Turks and caicos referred by TCI or T&C!

 

[drrich2]

Just in general is TCI LOB diving comparable to bonaire boat dives....i mean with respect to what you see underwater? I loved bonaire!

I found the diving out of Provo and West Caicos, compared to Bonaire (where I've done 2 boat dives, probably > 150 shore dives, and in Bonaire they don't seem that different):

1.) T&C had reef sharks & nurse sharks; 8 trips to Bonaire & never saw a shark. Saw more rays at T&C than a typical week in Bonaire.
2.) T&C wall started deeper & often had a much steeper slope; Bonaire's wall had maybe a 45 degree angle.
3.) No 'wreck,' just the leftover stuff at the site called Thunderdome; Bonaire had the Hilma Hooker, and some smaller stuff (e.g.: wreck of the Bakanal and Our Confidence, but I don't know what shape they're in since it's been some years since I was there).
4.) Some shallower areas on the better Bonaire sites were lusher; Karpata up north, Sweet Dreams down south.
5.) More decent-sized grouper (e.g.: Nassau) at T&C; in Bonaire, any grouper larger than a graysby or coney was generally a tiger grouper, although Bonaire had Cubera snapper.
6.) Saw lots more French angelfish in Bonaire. Don't know why. I think I saw gray angelfish in T&C; never saw them in Bonaire.
7.) In addition to horse-eye jacks, also seen in Bonaire, on night dives I saw another kind, I think someone said 'black jacks,' which I didn't see in Bonaire. But Bonaire has plenty of tarpon; saw none in T&C.

In a nutshell, it's different.

I, too, love Bonaire, but it doesn't have the best of everything. It's a set up for disappointment if you hit a new place strongly hoping it'll be 'just like' (or even better than) an old favorite, because each has its strengths and weaknesses.

To make some sweeping generalizations, you'll average deeper, see more 'big stuff' (including sharks), but I don't think you'll match the lushest shallower areas of Bonaire's reef. But you can pack a lot more boat dives in, and you don't have the work of tank changing & gear hauling from Bonaire shore diving. Set your BCD up on your tank once. Take it off at the end of the week.

Richard.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I swear I saw a leopard shark there at one time but I may have it mixed up with another locale.

 

[miserkris]

I found the diving out of Provo and West Caicos, compared to Bonaire (where I've done 2 boat dives, probably > 150 shore dives, and in Bonaire they don't seem that different):
but I don't think you'll match the lushest shallower areas of Bonaire's reef. But you can pack a lot more boat dives in, and you don't have the work of tank changing & gear hauling from Bonaire shore diving. Set your BCD up on your tank once. Take it off at the end of the week.

Richard.

Yes rich, i agree in Hawaii, bonaire there's more life in mere 20-30 feet ... very lush.

Ever been in aqua cat? They have variety like cayak, snorkel, remote beaches etc.... wonder what's more bang for the buck!

Btw i use up air faster too like typically i end dives 10-15 min earlier than pro.

I'm still debating this agressor TCI vs CBBR vs aqua cat bahama (has variety)

 

[drrich2]

I never hit the AquaCat, but reviews are so strongly positive I'm confident it'd be a fine choice. While FDog's Jan. 2012 review is a bit old and the pics aren't showing up for me, it's the review that stuck in my mind for what it'd be like.

My biggest problem with the AquaCat is that:

1.) I'm cheap and I don't get the sense the parent company runs regular sales on par with Aggressor Fleet's big (recently annual?) sales.
2.) Aggressor Fleet in recent years has been running roughly 1/3rd off sale for most of their fleet, sale in winter, really cuts the price. Catch one of those sales and the Bahamas Aggressor would be way cheaper, and still offer a lot of diving. Be aware the BA does different itineraries at different times; depending on when you go, if you like diving with tiger and lemon sharks you might be thrilled, but if you don't, well...

I think AquaCat might hit 27 dives if weather cooperates; Blackbeards 19, Juliet similar, I recall an old post on another thread that left me with the impression Juliet hit some really good sites, at least some years ago, so if I were considering a Juliet Bahamas trip, I might ask around whether it hits different sites than the competition.

To keep the debate from driving you nuts, maybe plan on hitting all 3 over time.

Bang for the Buck is hard to call. You could add airfare, housing, diving, car rental or cab, etc..., take total trip cost & divide by number of dives. If we assume all dives across different comparators are equal (note: they aren't), that's a useful metric.

But do land excursions from AquaCat matter? Exploring topside at CBBR? A live-aboard may (weather depending) get you something on the order of 25 - 27 dives, low effort, very little trip planning hassle, at the cost of doing little else besides eat/sleep/dive/recharge camera batteries/chat with others. Some live-aboards offer a few 100-cf tanks, though the website often doesn't say so; check with them and reserve one early if they do.

When traveling alone, I'd rather dive than kayak (My chubby self ain't built for little boats) or snorkel, and as for beaches, I don't like intense heat, bright light, and sand tends to get places it doesn't belong, so... But you might be a beach lover who enjoys kayaking.

Richard.

 

[miserkris]

My biggest problem with the AquaCat is that:

1.) I'm cheap and I don't get the sense the parent company runs regular sales on par with Aggressor Fleet's big (recently annual?) sales.
2.) Aggressor Fleet in recent years has been running roughly 1/3rd off sale for most of their fleet, sale in winter, really cuts the price. Catch one of those sales and the Bahamas Aggressor would be way cheaper,

To keep the debate from driving you nuts, maybe plan on hitting all 3 over time.

Richard.

Good points!

I also like shallow diving....40-50ft.... with sandy bottom,occasional reef here and there.
Shallow gives more depth perspective and thrilling to see the shimmer , boat ...above.
Air lasts longer too.. and it's bright.

Is there any caribbean LOB that offers shallow diving ?Is Bahamas agressor or aqua cat like that? Kinda remember seeing that including excursions to nice beaches daily etc, some near exumas IIRC.

 

[KathyV]

Good points!

I also like shallow diving....40-50ft.... with sandy bottom,occasional reef here and there.
Shallow gives more depth perspective and thrilling to see the shimmer , boat ...above.
Air lasts longer too.. and it's bright.

Is there any caribbean LOB that offers shallow diving ?Is Bahamas agressor or aqua cat like that? Kinda remember seeing that including excursions to nice beaches daily etc, some near exumas IIRC.

This is not a liveaboard, and I've never been to Aruba so this in not from personal experience, but I've read that Aruba has quite a few shallow dives - around 60 ft. but @Joneill could tell you more about diving Aruba.