If you could do just one liveaboard in your life ...

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Not saying this would be the best diving and it's probably something a lot of people have done, but I'd like to take a liveaboard around the Virgin Islands and dive some remote coves and off tiny islands. Nothing crazy but really exploring the small islands and hidden places. Lagoons, coves, keys, etc.
Hah! You did the Sundancer II a few weeks before my wife and me. Now, you are suggesting the same wish I have. Actually, you could do it (and so could I, of course) by sailing on your own, taking all the time you like, around the Virgin Islands. Learn to sail a decent sized boat, then charter one on your own. Bring along your dive gear plus several air tanks, then meander to your heart's content. Become a sail/dive bum.:)
 
My wish is that I would have dove on enough liveaboards throughout the world that I would really know the answer to this question!!!
 
North Vancouver Island sounds interesting - heading that way in a couple of weeks do dive from Hideaway. The problem is that I can only handle 3 dives a day in those waters so the liveaboard cost per dive goes way up over a tropical 5 dive a day trip.

So far - Mike Ball Code Hole trip - Belize 3 times on Nekton and Peter Hughes - Cayman on Nekton and Raj Ampat on Paradise Dancer - hands down Paradise Dancer and going back for a trip on the Arinui in December. All were excellent and would go back to any one and do it again.

Next will be Fiji, Palau or Galapagos

So many possibilities! Hard to pick just one.
 
No one has mentioned the Tuamotus?
 
I can't narrow it down to one so top three:

Socorros on Solmar V or Rocio Del Mar
Cocos on Argo with the 1000' Deep See Sub option
Galapagos on Humboldt Explorer.
 
Can't get out there anymore Mossman

Agreed hands down on the Paradise Dancer for quality of boat, crew diving and location. Roomiest liveaboard ever.
Hey, I was taking the "in your life" part seriously. Maybe it could happen again.

If we're talking existing boats, I'd probably rank my Galapagos Aggressor II trip as tops if you include the entire range of factors: incredible diving, great food (outdoor kebab-a-que was outstanding one night), excellent staff for the boat and the diving/land-touring, comfortable cabins (side by side, not bunks in my room), and no "issues" of any sort the entire time. Next might be a tie between the Palau Aggressor and the Truk Odyssey, both practically flawless boat experiences as well as dive experiences, but they didn't have the whale sharks that catapulted GA II into my #1 spot.

The Tahiti Aggressor might have topped them all, not in terms of boat quality, but for the diving - no whale sharks, but it was still pelagic heaven and much warmer water!

Cocos was great diving, but the Okeanos had too many issues on my trip to keep it from any serious ranking.

I do plan to dive Raja sometime soon having heard from too many that it really may be the best diving in the world, though not sure yet if I would try Dancer (wasn't so impressed with Sky Dancer) or Arenui or ??? (I also tried the Kararu, when we did Komodo, but it would be an entirely different boat in RA.) That's well over a year off, probably more, so I'm sure the list will be slightly changed by then and I'll make sure to be a prudent consumer and check reviews in all sorts of places.
 
I would go for Raja Ampat down to Ambon with the Damai , I cannot imagine better conditions for UW photography. :shocked2:
 

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