Jeff Sobchek
New
I just wanted to share what a great experience I had in the Bahamas on Cat Ppalu. I chartered the boat with my family in December and it was perfect! For a fairly low-cost trip, it was definitely more than we expected. Getting to the Bahamas was pretty easy, too.
It's one of the All Star Liveaboards boats (I went on a Blackbeard's trip a few years ago), so I had a good feeling that it would be another fun trip...but I didn't expect it to be as family friendly as it was. My brother, his wife, and myself were the only divers. We logged 10 dives (they offer 19 but we skipped quite a few to do things with the non-diving folks) and they were all great.
While we dived, the rest of the family stayed busy snorkeling and kayaking, etc. I was so glad I didn't have to sacrifice too many dives to keep everyone else from getting bored! They loved all the shore excursions and water toys. When we weren't out adventuring, everybody hung out around the big table inside or out on the deck...pretty great places to be.
The food, cocktails, and rooms were unbelievably good, too. I probably could've just stayed on the boat with rum drinks and snacks while we sailed around for the whole week and been happy with it, haha.
Day 1
We made it onto the boat nice and early in the day, and the captain let us know that we'd be able to get in our first dive before mooring up for the night. We got to dive PacMan Reef, which was a blast. Then all of us got to relax on the boat for the night, having drinks and enjoying the warmer weather.
Day 2
The crew got an early start and we were already heading to our first dive site of the day, Lobster No Lobster. It was a great shallow reef absolutely covered with sharks and even a spotted moray. After our second dive at Barracuda Shoals, we took the afternoon off from diving to go to the beach and feed the iguanas on Allen's Cay. The kids loved it, and we ended up spending hours on the beach. Then, more hanging out under the stars with the family while the crew sailed us south for another good dive site.
Day 3
We dived Hammerhead Gulch and Black Tip Wall (two more great sites) and then departed for the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. It was a long trip, but absolutely worth it. We all went for an excursion on Shroud Cay. On the island, we hiked up to an amazing view and visited Camp Driftwood. Some of the group snorkeled in a mangrove creek.
Day 4
On Tuesday, we decided to take a day off from diving, and we got to meet the famous swimming pigs near Staniel Cay! I think the kids wanted to spend the rest of the week there, haha. We ended up making our way to Thunderball Grotto - make sure you make a stop here next time you're in the Exumas! It was incredible. We even got to do some fishing (caught a decent sized mahi) while we were cruising toward the Rocky Dundas. It's a beautiful cave and pictures don't do it justice at all. We saw Rachel's Bubbblebath, a really interesting pool of water that "bubbles" as the water is sucked through a pile of rocks. Definitely a fun stop for those who make it so far south.
Day 5
After a dive on Jeep Reef, we kept sailing north to dive Amberjack Reef. We even got in a third dive at Cracked Coral next to Norman's Cay since it was mostly a travel day. Everyone enjoyed the loved the sailing and having a bit of down time after 4 days of adventuring was a nice way to wind down the trip. We moored up for the night and played games while we enjoyed some more rum drinks.
Day 6
Our last day at sea, and it was a really good one. Our morning dive was a shark feeding at the Austin Smith Wreck, and it was incredible. The more adventurous non-divers actually snorkeled on the surface during the feeding, too. They were just as blown away as we were! Dozens of sharks came out and we spent the rest of the dive looking for shark teeth and exploring the wreckage. We did our last dive at Hammerhead Gulch, where I mostly stayed around the grass looking for seahorses. We got to visit one more beach, everyone looking for shells and souvenirs from a really nice week, before we had to go back to port in Nassau. Once we got back to the marina, we sat out by the pool and actually spent time with the crew while they were off duty. They were a lot of fun and it was the perfect sendoff!
Bottom line -- If you want to try out an awesome new family vacation, Cat Ppalu won't disappoint.
It's one of the All Star Liveaboards boats (I went on a Blackbeard's trip a few years ago), so I had a good feeling that it would be another fun trip...but I didn't expect it to be as family friendly as it was. My brother, his wife, and myself were the only divers. We logged 10 dives (they offer 19 but we skipped quite a few to do things with the non-diving folks) and they were all great.
While we dived, the rest of the family stayed busy snorkeling and kayaking, etc. I was so glad I didn't have to sacrifice too many dives to keep everyone else from getting bored! They loved all the shore excursions and water toys. When we weren't out adventuring, everybody hung out around the big table inside or out on the deck...pretty great places to be.
The food, cocktails, and rooms were unbelievably good, too. I probably could've just stayed on the boat with rum drinks and snacks while we sailed around for the whole week and been happy with it, haha.
Day 1
We made it onto the boat nice and early in the day, and the captain let us know that we'd be able to get in our first dive before mooring up for the night. We got to dive PacMan Reef, which was a blast. Then all of us got to relax on the boat for the night, having drinks and enjoying the warmer weather.
Day 2
The crew got an early start and we were already heading to our first dive site of the day, Lobster No Lobster. It was a great shallow reef absolutely covered with sharks and even a spotted moray. After our second dive at Barracuda Shoals, we took the afternoon off from diving to go to the beach and feed the iguanas on Allen's Cay. The kids loved it, and we ended up spending hours on the beach. Then, more hanging out under the stars with the family while the crew sailed us south for another good dive site.
Day 3
We dived Hammerhead Gulch and Black Tip Wall (two more great sites) and then departed for the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. It was a long trip, but absolutely worth it. We all went for an excursion on Shroud Cay. On the island, we hiked up to an amazing view and visited Camp Driftwood. Some of the group snorkeled in a mangrove creek.
Day 4
On Tuesday, we decided to take a day off from diving, and we got to meet the famous swimming pigs near Staniel Cay! I think the kids wanted to spend the rest of the week there, haha. We ended up making our way to Thunderball Grotto - make sure you make a stop here next time you're in the Exumas! It was incredible. We even got to do some fishing (caught a decent sized mahi) while we were cruising toward the Rocky Dundas. It's a beautiful cave and pictures don't do it justice at all. We saw Rachel's Bubbblebath, a really interesting pool of water that "bubbles" as the water is sucked through a pile of rocks. Definitely a fun stop for those who make it so far south.
Day 5
After a dive on Jeep Reef, we kept sailing north to dive Amberjack Reef. We even got in a third dive at Cracked Coral next to Norman's Cay since it was mostly a travel day. Everyone enjoyed the loved the sailing and having a bit of down time after 4 days of adventuring was a nice way to wind down the trip. We moored up for the night and played games while we enjoyed some more rum drinks.
Day 6
Our last day at sea, and it was a really good one. Our morning dive was a shark feeding at the Austin Smith Wreck, and it was incredible. The more adventurous non-divers actually snorkeled on the surface during the feeding, too. They were just as blown away as we were! Dozens of sharks came out and we spent the rest of the dive looking for shark teeth and exploring the wreckage. We did our last dive at Hammerhead Gulch, where I mostly stayed around the grass looking for seahorses. We got to visit one more beach, everyone looking for shells and souvenirs from a really nice week, before we had to go back to port in Nassau. Once we got back to the marina, we sat out by the pool and actually spent time with the crew while they were off duty. They were a lot of fun and it was the perfect sendoff!
Bottom line -- If you want to try out an awesome new family vacation, Cat Ppalu won't disappoint.