Deep Blue (Galapagos)

[train_ga]

I am considering booking a trip with my father-in-law on Deep Blue for August 2010 (a Dive Shop from Brazil rents out the boat for three consecutive months during whale shark season each year so it looks like I might be the token Gringo tagging along). I was hoping someone could patch me to a thread of any earlier discussions (I couldnt find any) or give me any postives/negative experiences they have had with this LOB before I commit (being it is quite an investment)?

Thx in advance.

GA

 

[WetLens]

We did Galapagos trip w/Deep Blue about 5 years ago. Very comfortable boat, good meals, hospitable crew. Trip guide for both shore excursions and diving was not the greatest - appeared to be a lot of tension between him and other crew as he was quite full of himself. Nice guy, informative and all that, but as a divemaster left a bit to be desired. That is likely to have changed as I expect crew moves around quite a bit. Captain ran a good ship - if the boat has been maintained (no reason to think it hasn't, but it has been 5 years), I would highly recommend them.

We spent a lot of time at Wolf and Darwin Islands and were very successful at spending time with the whale sharks. Great experience.

 

[Manuel Sam]

I've been on the Deep Blue twice - October 2005 and 2007.

If you search this forum for the keywords "Deep Blue" you should be able to find quite a few postings, including my October 2007 trip report.

And if you do read that report, you will find that the Deep Blue was and is my boat of choice for Galapagos, altho I will be sure to do a little reasearch the next time I plan a trip there to see if it still deserves that accolade.

There are several others in this forum who did not have such a good experience on the boat, so it behooves you to read their opinions as well.

If you have specific questions about the boat, please feel free to ask.

Good luck.

 

[dpaustex]

Seems there are a lot of good dive operators in the Galapagos. Apparently there is some talk by the Ecuadorian government about not letting the liveaboards do shore excursions next year, but can't get a straight answer on that.

There are apparently only a handfull (less than 10) operators that have the license to do the outlying dives (Wolf/Darwin). Hughes, Agressor, Quasar Expeditions, etc. all have nice setups for doing the outlying "islands". All of these trips are pretty pricey ($4500+), but the boats seem to be nicely rigged.

One item to note, is that on most of these boats, you are diving out of a hard-bottom zodiac. They simply can't take their boats close to Wolf/Darwin due to currents, surge, etc. The fact you're doing back-rolls off of support craft seems to slip most people's mind (and the various websites for the liveaboards), but it isn't a big deal, either. I haven't been (yet), but understand it can be quite an experience reboarding a zodiac in heavy swells. But hey, you're there to see whale sharks, right?

But I did do quite a bit of research on all of the liveaboards. Except for the occasional whining of some posters, all of the operations seem to run a good trip, and pretty much pamper you with good food. Seems they try and nickel and dime you with add on fees, but if you can afford it in the first place....

One thing to check is whether or not they have Nitrox. Some of the boats, it's first come, first serve. Don't know how tolerant you are of compressed air, but you'll be doing 4 dives in a day, so Nitrox sure is nice on the body, even if your MOD is about 108 feet (on 32%). That's the only glitch I have seen after perusing all of the websites. I have a trip booked on the Alta, and looks to be a sweet setup...combination of diving and pure pampering on the eating side. What could be better?

 

[dpaustex]

Oh yeah, one other thing I forgot to mention (that I found out from one of the tour operators), is spend some time either before/after your dive trip in Ecuador. The dive operators charter a 737 to get people to the island from the mainland, and it doesn't matter if you're in Quito (high in the Andes) or Guayaquil (not high).

There is a TON of stuff to do around Quito (including seeing the world's highest active volcano, going to Otavalo Market, standing on the equator, Old Town, etc), so it is a good idea to spend a couple of days there prior to your trip to the islands. You can also extend your trip on the islands, too, by staying in one of the towns there.

Ecuador has adopted US currency (as of 2000), so money exchange is no big deal. There are lots of travel deals out there right now (Sept. 09), with some of the dive operators giving some nice discounts - even in whale shark season (thru Nov). This includes free Nat'l Park fees, free airfare to the islands, etc.

But don't forget about the mainland, as there seems to be lots of very cool stuff to do. You can hire a guide/driver all day for under a $100 to cart you all over the place (or rent a car, which runs less than $30/day).

 

[ronscuba]

Getting back in the zodiac you either have the strength to do it yourself, or you get help from other people. Not really a big deal on my trip. We had a good group. Everyone was willing to help one another.

 

[RoBot]

One thing to check is whether or not they have Nitrox. Some of the boats, it's first come, first serve. Don't know how tolerate you are of compressed air, but you'll be doing 4 dives in a day, so Nitrox sure is nice on the body, even if your MOD is about 108 feet (on 32%). That's the only glitch I have seen after perusing all of the websites. I have a trip booked on the Alta, and looks to be a sweet setup...combination of diving and pure pampering on the eating side. What could be better?

When are you going? I am on the Alta during the September October switch and we booked all the Nitrox bottles.

Ron

 

[dpaustex]

I am going Oct. 24-31. I asked the Quasar person to reserve a Nitrox tank for me (wasn't sure how they did this).

thanks!