First Liveaboard Trip Advice

[Abbymcd]

I'm a 29 year old female looking for a great first liveaboard trip. I would be traveling by myself and am looking for a nice, but not too uptight trip to go on. I am currently living in Panama and am open to go anywhere! I don't have any gear of my own and am also wondering if this something that can be rented on most boats. I am Advanced Open Water certified and have been on about 20 dives.

Any suggestions?

 

[Wookie]

One of the nice things about liveaboards is that they are not uptight. You have the Yemaya (which gets good reviews) which leaves from Panama to Coiba, Malpelo, Cocos. If you want to travel a little, there is Belize Aggressor and something Dancer or another out of Belize City, travel to Los Cabos for any of 3 boats going to either the Socorro islands or Baja, Sea of Cortez, maybe down to Ecuador for a trip to the Galapagos.

Almost everyone rents gear.

 

[Darnold9999]

With only 20 dives you may want to wait on the Pacific side, some of the diving on that side can be a challenge. Pretty much any of the Caribbean boats would work for you and as Belize is pretty close that would be my first choice. Either of the boats that go out to the reef from Belize City would be a perfect first liveaboard.

Mostly liveabord divers are pretty focused on the diving. Rarely is there a party crowd on the boat as it cuts into the diving, so if that is what you are looking for you probably won't find it (except possibly on the last night after you are done diving). After 10 or so liveaboard trips I can only recall a couple of people that were seriously annoying and by and large the boats are big enough so that you can avoid that person pretty easily.

 

[mala]

liveaboards are generally full-on dive orientated and some will have a minimum experience level.
Most if not all guests will have there own gear.

 

[mantajohn]

I agree with Darnold. Caribbean region will meet your needs. I did my first lob a few years go when I had very few dives - Cayman Aggressor. Wonderful experience & lots of scenic yet easy dives. Others on here have posted similar positive experiences on the Explorer lobs in the same general region.

 

[tajkd]

One of the nice things about liveaboards is that they are not uptight. You have the Yemaya (which gets good reviews) which leaves from Panama to Coiba, Malpelo, Cocos. If you want to travel a little, there is Belize Aggressor and something Dancer or another out of Belize City, travel to Los Cabos for any of 3 boats going to either the Socorro islands or Baja, Sea of Cortez, maybe down to Ecuador for a trip to the Galapagos.

Almost everyone rents gear.

Let's not forget the Spree itself which doesn't leave out of Panama but is very not uptight. Frank runs a great operation and I guarantee you'll enjoy it. Choose from a number of trips out of South Florida, I believe. I've done two trips with the Spree, both were very nice, lots of cool dive sites and great new friends.

 

[jameseg]

In the Caribbean, I've done Explorer Ventures' Turks & Caicos Explorer II boat twice - once on the Turks & Caicos itinerary and the other on the Bahamas itinerary. Both were excellent trips, with great diving and fun people onboard. Highly recommended if it works for you travel-wise. As far as gear, you may want want to look into buying at least a wetsuit and a mask (or renting the wetsuit back home). That way you can ensure you get a good fit. Everything else is pretty adjustable. The selection of gear on some liveaboards can be a bit limited.

James

 

[diversteve]

With only 20 dives you may want to wait on the Pacific side, some of the diving on that side can be a challenge.

I agree, it's colder, rougher and the crossing takes one whole day each way.

Rocio Del Mar - one of the boats - also does Sea of Cortez trips in the summer. That's shallow, easy diving, you will optionally see Humpback whales at certain times of year and you will get to dive with seals/sea lions - often hundreds of them. Oddly enough, the easiest way to get to that trip is fly to Phoenix, AZ then take their shuttle down to the boat - they berth in Puerto Penasco which doesn't have much of an airport.

+1 for the Turks/Caicos Explorer also. There's also an Aggressor there. Both boats go to the Dominican Republic in mid-winter to snorkel with the Humpbacks but there's no diving on those trips. I think they return to T/C in early April.

Here's a link to Mike Southard's excellent Explorer trip report - we saw mostly the same stuff a couple years later. http://www.awoosh.com/Saudio/Saudio_Turks&Caicos.html

The Belize boat Wookie referred to is the Sun Dancer - another good option. Both Dancer/Aggressor run similar itineraries in Belize - they're owned by the same people. Aggressor is probably a little nicer, Dancer a little bigger.

The nice thing about Aggresor/Explorer - at least in Belize and Turks/Caicos is that they'll pick you up at the airport and transport you to the ship. I believe Cayman Aggressor might also but they dock downtown which is a simple 10min. cab ride from the airport also.

As a single femaie traveler you'll likely have to pay a single supplement - typically about 1/2 again as much as the rate - for your own room. Otherwise the liveaboard will match you with a same-sex roommate. One option that might get around that is that on partially full trips the boat might give anyone who asks their own room if they have the space - it happened to my buddy once. 10 people on a 20 person boat - they all had their own rooms except the couples.

Most liveaboards will provide a DM to dive with you every time if asked. Or buddy up with some of the others. On our last trip we dove in groups of 2,3, 5 and once 8 of us. Night dives everybody generally stayed in larger groups - often there's more light that way also.

The Aggressor fleet partners with Aqualung for their gear. Often when you book your reservation you pre-pay for that and they'll have it on the boat for you. I'd check on arrival to be sure as they don't necessarily store all the rentals on-board weekly.

A woman on our Explorer trip rented everything - they had a female BC for her. We loaned her better lights etc - many of us carry way more gear than we need since you don't know how competent the repair person on the crew is. Or whether they'll have the parts.

 

[ewaiea]

Abbymcd,

Congrats on being newly certified and gravitating to liveaboard divng. My first trip was in 2009 on the Kona Aggressor. I'd lived in Hawaii for 10 years and had dove the Big Island (Kona) multiple times and thought it might be a bad idea to be diving basically the same kind of reefs I'd been diving forever.....but in the end not only was the diving amazing despite me being there before, the liveaboard lifestyle was outstanding. It occurred to me on the night dive on day 1 of my Kona Aggressor trip that I would never do a land-based dive trip again. Not unless it's a dive resort that I specifically want to go to (and there aren't that many).

I went to Papua New Guinea in 2010 and that trip was flat out life-changing. In 2011 I did the Tropic Dancer in Palau. Then in 2013 I went on the Wind Dancer in Cocos Island. The Wind Dancer required some advanced diving, and Palau at times required some experience diving in strong currents. But Papua New Guinea and Kona (Hawaii) were both comfortable environments for divers of all skill levels. In October (2014) I'm returning to Papua New Guinea and diving the same itinerary I did in 2010 but I'll be going with the Febrina.

I have not done liveaboards in the Caribbean but I agree with other divers on here on pretty much everything. Having your own gear is a good idea - if you want a good deal on name-brand gear (that has the same protections as a local dive shop with regard to warranty) - try leisurepro.com - you'll get a lot more out of your trip if you have your own gear. But if you need to rent most liveaboard operators will be able to hook you up.

I've found you need to find "your style" of diving. From Kona (Hawaii), Papua New Guinea, Palau and Cocos Island....I'm pretty sure I've learned that "my style" of diving is the Coral Triangle in the South Pacific/Indian Ocean. Papua New Guinea, Indonesia (multiple areas), Solomon Islands, Fiji......those far away outposts are by far my favorite. Mingling here and there with villagers, diving areas that are not hit by as many people and you don't see many boats.

Palau's "style" was that of a pretty far outpost but it was very well developed and had a fair bit of boat traffic. The diving was outstanding - but I call it the "south Pacific experience" but with more people and commercial development. Hawaii's style is very much like that too but the reefs are lower profile and more of an encrusting substrate that creates a very unique marine environment. It's not inferior necessarily - just different.

Cocos Island's style was a very far flung away from society but it's more rugged reefs, diving from panga's and it's ALL about the sharks. I was happy I had the experience but I would definitely call Cocos Island my 4th favorite of my 4 liveaboard trips. It was a lot of fun though so that's not to say it's bad. But it's probably the most "advanced" diving I've done.

Papua New Guinea (north New Britain Island) is the only spot I've made the decision to go back to. I've always relished the idea of going to new areas and Alor (east of Flores in Indonesia) was on my list, but this destination has all the features I need in a dive trip.

I definitely like the Aggressor/Dancer Fleet. I've used them for all my trips and if they hadn't discontinued their service in Papua New Guinea I'd definitely do the Star Dancer in PNG all over again. I will definitely be a repeat customer for them in the future. But I've heard nothing but good things about Febrina and they're the only show in town for North New Britain so I am confident this new experience will be a good one.

I've also shared rooms and on one lucky occasion on a fairly empty boat (Tropic Dancer, Palau) I got my own room. Febrina in PNG I was able to get one of the two "single" cabins designed for 1 person - so I'm happy about that....considering it wasn't that much more to get the single cabin slot. But cabin sharing has not ever been an issue. I've had some great roommates, and one sorta bad one....but even the "bad" one and I got along fine. If you want the room to yourself - just use it for a nap during a dive your roomie is on.....no big deal. I usually just share a room - it's totally not a big deal...you're just in there to sleep anyway. In fact - half the time I fall asleep in the salon area anyway with my glass of wine.

I hope this has been informative to you - feel free to ask any follow up questions you have.

 

[Meanpony]

Hi Abbymcd, I'm a 34 old female with 200 dives under my belt, with ~180 from liveaboard trips. After my AOW and Nitrox I've only done liveaboards, because it's the best way to rack up experience and dives in a short time. A few thoughts for your consideration:

- 95% of the guests on liveaboards are very experienced divers, ie. with minimum 100 dives (and maximum...well the sky is the limit). They know what they like, they know their gear, they are fast and efficient in setting up etc. etc. That's obv not a problem for less experienced divers like yourself, but there's little bonding over shared experiences. Having said that, I did my first liveaboard after logging 24 dives (Sipadan, MV Celebes Explorer) and it was fine. The other divers are a great source of knowledge and some will be very helpful, so a liveaboard is also a great way to learn and grow as a diver.

- don't worry about being a female single diver. You will either be buddied up with someone else or dive with the DM.

- I always choose to share with accomodation with another female single diver, which saves money and is much more fun than rooming by yourself. You spent little time in the cabin anyway, so unless you are very concerned with privacy and personal space (if yes, I wonder why you would consider a liveaboard in the first place), this should not be a problem at all.

- I bought my own gear after my first liveaboard, but renting equipment is perfectly fine. Make sure you know your size ( in case of doubt, ask if they can provided 2 sizes for you to try on arrival) and specify what you want to rent. The term "full gear" means something else for everyone and you don't want to be missing eg. booties because you thought they would be included and it turned they were not.

- Diving on the Pacific side is less suitable for you since the currents can be crazy. I concur with previous comments regarding the Bahamas as a good place to start. There's little difference between the boats, unless you are very, very picky about specific elements (duration of dives, no of dives per day, brand of rental gear etc).

- Finally: liveaboard diving is addictive! I have done 8 trips now since I started diving 2 and half yrs ago and I love it. Wouldn't dive any other way.

Good luck and enjoy!