Help me find the best liveaboard fit!

[lv2dive]

i am looking for a liveaboard in the Caribbean. Following criteria important:

• Prefer 7 night
• Need two beds in a room
• 3 hour or less flight from FL
• Not Aggressor - I refuse to use them again after a bad experience.

Best experience I’ve had was on Explorer Ventures Turks & Caicos - looking for similar. EV T&C and/or Saba/St Kitts are definitely possibilities, but I’m looking for other non-Aggressor recommendations.

Please respect my request and don’t recommend an Aggressor option- I absolutely will not with them again. Otherwise, I’m very open to any and all suggestions, and look forward to reading your recommendations!

 

[Damselfish]

There is the Aquacat in the Bahamas. I wasn't super impressed with the diving we saw in the Bahamas, but it had it's moments and they made the most of it. And the AC itself is a great boat, crew, etc. You might also look at the other All Star group boats, but I haven't been on any of the others myself.

I personally didn't like the EV CE2 Saba/St Kitts. The boat was well run but I found it uncomfortable - the dining area is only a deck enclosed by plastic and they didn't run the AC that it supposedly has, so meals were sticky. It's a smaller boat and the only other place to hang out - if you could peel yourself off those vinyl seats without ripping skin off - was the adjacent sundeck. (Not a good thing on our trip, as there were a few obnoxious heavy drinkers on our trip - not the boats fault, but the only escape was to hide in your cabin.) Didn't think the diving we did around St Kitts was that great, and we had poor conditions at Saba, so sadly the diving didn't make up for the rest of it.

 

[lv2dive]

Thanks for your response! I’ve heard not-great things about EV SSK and you just made me understand why it probably would not be a good fit. AC and not enough lounge space does not work for me!

I’ll look into the AquaCat

 

[elgoog]

When I was looking at Caribbean liveaboards a couple of years ago, the Juliet was recommended. They have a Bahamas trip that is to and from Miami so you won't even need to fly.
They don't seem to run many open trips so you're most likely going to have to book with whichever dive shop has the boat chartered. Also, they get booked pretty far in advance so there's that too ...

 

[drrich2]

There are other Bahamas options - Blackbeards, the Juliet (which does some other destinations and might be a 'sweet spot' more upscale than Blackbeards but cheaper than AquaCat). I've read of Lost Island Voyages, too. For advanced divers, there are live-aboard trips to Tiger Beach.

By restricting your destinations options to a 3-hour flight from Florida, specifying a live-aboard ruling out Aggressor boats, you narrow your options down to fairly few.

So perhaps not for this trip, but after you've tried those, it may be useful to ask what it is about the live-aboard option you like best? If it's a high dive count, a range of non-live-aboard options come to mind - CocoView Resort in Roatan, shore diving Bonaire and Curacao, Key Largo (did with Rainbow Reef Divers) or Cozumel if you're up for 4 dives/day...

Richard.

 

[AdivingBel]

Might try the Juliet in St. Croix (if you're not crazy about the Bahamas out of Miami). Not sure about the 3 hr. flight but the Rocio Del Mar in the Sea of Cortez (fly into Phoenix) or Socorro Islands (fly into Cabo)...

 

[diversteve]

Phoenix is probably a 3hr flight from MIA but Rocio is doing the Midriff Islands every summer from Puerto Penasco which is about a 4-5 hr. van ride from Phoenix - they set it up. Cousteau called the area the "worlds aquarium", there could be some whales summering/calving there. Also they visit a sea lion rookery and they like to play. Probaly see some sharks as well, Rocio Del Mar Liveaboard

Socorros is probably out (Cabo departure) - besides the flight to Cabo those are 10 day trips since it takes almost a full day of sailing to get there. If interested, look into the Nautilus Belle Amie - it's a nice upscale boat. Rocio also does those trips in season. Technically it's not the Caribbean but the west coast of Mexico - if that is a requirement. More of a rocky substrate so less coral growth.

What about the BVI's? it's nice, shallower diving. Some sharks, a few wrecks, and you can visit 3-4 islands in a week. Cuan Law is a huge sailing catamaran with real rooms (cabins) so they probably have separate beds. AllStar Liveaboards books them now. IMO a step down from T/C diving because it's all pretty shallow. otoh, we did some really long dives. Dive + Sail the British Virgin Islands (BVI) Aboard All Star Cuan Law

I've seen Cuan Law up close since they moored once at a site we were diving. Also one night we met some of their pax in a bar in Soper's Hole. The boat dwarfs everything - it has jetskis and hobie cats for guests. Plus two tenders - the boat is so big they can't use some moorings - or some of the smaller harbors. It's very roomy - the lounge in the center of the boat has multiple seating areas with the cabins off it. And a huge open deck between the hulls - it's a tri-maran. Dwarfed our 35' dive boat.

I think you fly into St. Thomas then take the fast ferry over to Torrola - takes about an hour or less depending on if you catch the ferry in Charlotte Amalie or the East End - which is a 45min. shared cab ride over (they're vans) Not sure about the AC situation but the BVI's are very windy - our villa didn't have it and we never noticed. They actually sail the Cuan Law.

 

[diversteve]

Aquacat is not something we consider due to where they dive - that area has been hit by an invasive crown of thorns invasion and more recently (due to it) an invasive algae infestation - in the past decade.

I don't believe Blackbeards (camping at sea, limited fresh water showers, shared bunks in common spaces), Cat PPalu or Lost Island would work - both are smaller boats with small cabins - just two bunks and a sink - the heads are down the hall. Sometimes the Cat sells leftover space if not a full charter but you live all week on the trampoline deck betwen the hulls. It sounds like you want nicer than that.

 

[Pedro Burrito]

i am looking for a liveaboard in the Caribbean.

• Not Aggressor - I refuse to use them again after a bad experience.

The experience could not have been too bad ... that’s where you met me!

 

[lv2dive]

Lol! Of course it had some good points, but they were offset by the incident of the lost fins (brand new) as well as new springstraps and a new mask with a new slapstrap. Aggressor handled the situation terribly and lost a customer who would have taken 1-2 trips / year with them.

The experience could not have been too bad ... that’s where you met me!