KentB
Contributor
great Ill look into it thanks!I've had two outstanding trips on the Juliette. It's not lux, but very comfortable (and priced accordingly.) 6 cabins, so 12 divers max. Everyone eats together in the galley, so you tend to get to know your fellow divers very well, leading to a great sense of camaraderie. On both trips most of the divers were repeat customers (often for their 4th or 5th trip.)
You're pretty much assured 4 dives / day, but they let me squeeze in a couple of extra dives so I could hit #100 by the last day.
Liza (captain and owner) is awesome.
They dive a lot more than just the Bahamas, despite the name of the link:
Bahamas Liveaboard Diving
Not sure about the 100s (or Nitrox) but if you are not picky and if cost is an important factor then look at the Blackbeard's cruises in the Bahamas out of Nassau. A trip costs US $1000 per week per person and that includes accommodations, 19 dives, food, and drinks.
The Blackbeards accommodations are Spartan - think camping at sea - but it is a bargain and it was our first liveaboard experience.
Blackbeard's Cruises Bahamas Dive Liveaboards - Official Website
If you want more comfort and can afford a higher price, there are other mid-priced options, like the Aquacat or the Juliet in the Bahamas, or the Juliet in St. Croix/Virgin Islands, or the Caribbean Explorer that sails between St. Martin, St. Kitts, and Saba.
The Aggressor Fleet is generally a higher-end, more expensive LOB, but they have a number of specials going on right now:
Scuba Diving Trips & Vacations on Liveaboard Boats | Aggressor Fleet
If you can wait until next year, Aggressor usually offers a big sale for the first quarter of the new year, like 35% off.
And Explorer Ventures has some specials going on right now also:
Summer Specials | Explorer Ventures Liveaboard Fleet
ive been looking at those, the camping at sea comment makes me nervous lol I HATE camping, I like higher end accommodations myself but the rest of the group has already said they are not into a $5000 week. i think were gonna be somewhere in the 1000-1600 USD range. plus flights
crossed my mind but my friends that have gone to Asia have said flights there are quite expensive so I havent really looked into it. I will now!This is going to sound a little off the wall but from Vancouver the Philippines are very close - a direct flight and the diving is WAY better than the Caribbean. Komodo is a bit further and better again. Hawaii is also an option and a really short direct flight. Most of the Caribbean options are not direct flights and actually take longer to get to than some places in Asia where the diving is significantly better.
When you mentioned doing a week of shore diving in Belize, did you mean to say Bonaire? The main destinations I know of where shore diving all week and getting a lot of dives packed in are Bonaire (been 8 times) and Curacao (hoping to go); we could add Grand Cayman and St. Croix, but for 'shore only,' I'd be looking at the 1st two.
Assuming you're not looking at cold water diving out of California (where trips can get quite cheap and shorter, albeit with more basic accommodations), I assume you're looking at the Caribbean or Bahamas. And you want to control costs.
Bahamas - Blackbeards, the Bahamas Aggressor (mainly if you hit it on an Aggressor sale; be aware they've got 2 different itineraries, one hitting Tiger Beach - and if your friends are scared of sharks, well...) or the Juliet (hits Bahamas & some other places). I left out AquaCat (loved by many, but pricier) and Cat Pplau (however you spell that; chartered by groups, but you might could join one), and Lost Island Voyages (not familiar with them). A note on some of the cheaper Bahamas live-aboards; you may not get as many dives (for example, 4/day instead of 5 (counting night dive)/day. IIRC, with Blackbeard's it's around 19 for the week, several more on the AquaCat.
I used to plan to try Blackbeard's, but reading report after report & thinking about my 49 year old chubby self trying to sleep...I think I'd pay the extra for the Juliet or Bahamas Aggressor. But if the siren song of low cost called you to Blackbeard's, check these out:
JlcNuke’s 2017 My Blackbeard's Cruise Report.
T.C.’s Report on Blackbeards May 2014.
Kimbalabala’s Blackbeards review 2013.
Craig66’s Question thread about Blackbeards.
Aggressor's winter sales at over 30% off the past 3 years have been big money savers for me. I think the Cayman Aggressor IV, or one of the 2 Belize Aggressors, could make you guys happy. But not so cheap.
My 2015 Review of the Sun Dancer II (now Belize Aggressor IV).
RCB1882’s May 2017 Belize Aggressor IV trip report.
Ironborn's 2017 Review of the Belize Aggressor III (so much went wrong I hesitate to point it out, but Life doesn't always go our way, so in fairness, here you go).
Trailboss123's 2018 Review of the Belize Aggressor III.
My 2016 Review of the Cayman Aggressor IV. Ain't cheap; you need a sale!
Ironborn's 2018 Review of the C.A. IV (Things didn't go as well as they did for me).
Explorer Ventures has some sales, and the Caribbean Explorer on a sale could be sweet; be mindful some Saba dives can be deep. Haven't been; hope to someday. St. Kitts is a pretty island.
I enjoyed the Turks & Caicos Aggressor II, but it's deep diving and not what I'd suggest for your 1st run.
Here's a thread on Choosing A Caribbean Liveaboard.
Richard.
I definitely meant Bonaire. out of the group theres 2 of us that would want 100s if available the rest have lower air consumption so would be pretty closely matched with 80s