Live aboards what to expect?

[scubajoe86]

I went on SOF last Dec and they stored items you didn't want to take aboard at their office which was a help. I definitely can tell you, take as little as possible. I like to take old shirts I might never wear (those way in the back of the closet/dresser) on vacation and then just discard them along the way. You can always grab a few souvenir tshirts if you need more. Hints I got prior to my trip that I thought were very helpful were the dive socks. Saved my feet after 26 dives. A small power strip for your cabin. I left mine on the boat for the next guest. Cains has a discount store in the mall downtown I think $8 for a power strip. There are never enough outlets if you are a camera person. NUUN or ZYM hydration tablets. Easy to carry and drop in a water bottle. Good for Hydration and go a long way towards preventing a hangover. New skin liquid bandaids. Great for covering the little scrapes you get along the way. You're going to have a great time. Just remember be flexible and don't to let the little things get on your nerves. Things happen but at least you're diving which beats work any day.

 

[ChainDiver]

I did the Taka liveaboard in 2007. They have a locked room for extra suitcases in the office. I brought my mask, snorkel and wetsuit. Rented the rest of the gear. It was in ok condition. I wished I brought my own reg. I would not bring a BC.

Loved the Taka boat and crew.

 

[glocklt4]

I did the Taka liveaboard in 2007. They have a locked room for extra suitcases in the office. I brought my mask, snorkel and wetsuit. Rented the rest of the gear. It was in ok condition. I wished I brought my own reg. I would not bring a BC.

Loved the Taka boat and crew.

Great to hear and thanks for the input to you both. We are pretty sold on Taka due to the savings over Mike Ball, and none of the others fit our schedule.

We will definitely get some dive socks. We are both pretty partial to using our own equipment which is why we wanted to bring everything we can.

 

[jmartz]

I just got back from the Caribbean Explorer II and I packed really, really light and rented everything from them when I got there. This was a great topic to read before hand and it pretty much hits the nail on the head. I'm not going to post a long message comparing this topic to that specific boat, but for the most part it fell pretty much inline.

I will say that there are some things available on the boat that I did not expect from reading this topic. Sun block was on the boat. It was in a bin on the sun deck, and was probably left by other guests in previous trips. We all kinda just tossed our sun blocks in that bin and just used it.

Towels were readily available, towards the last two dives they thinned out, but the crew always had them dried off by the morning. They had like 6 driers on the boat to dry towels, it was really nice having dry towels in the AM dives.

Electrical outlets for charging were plentiful. They had a charging station setup for the cameras, and yes, there were a lot of cameras. The room, at least the one I was in, had 4 outlets in it. Yes, the bigger brick chargers took up a lot of space, but the crew had multiple power strips available and they were more than accommodating for all the electrical needs. Most of the charging was done at a charging area on the dive deck.

There were no grumps, and because of that we dived a shipwreck in Saba Banks... it was not on the schedule originally, but the weather was so nice that we just had to do it... it was a deep dive, so the number of dives was limited, but it was the most amazing thing I have ever, ever seen. If the crew recommends something -- take 'em up on it, because they are the local experts... don't jeopardize 3 REALLY AWESOME DIVES because you want to do 5, kinda good dives. Listen to the crews, we are guests for a week, they live on that boat for 3 months, they know when the seas and conditions are favoring special treats for guests... even if it means limiting the amount of diving.

 

[TSandM]

RJP, your posts are often very good, but that one took the cake. Boats! A blessing and a curse, all at once.

There have been a lot of good ideas already given. I strongly second bringing along a few A-clamps. Things will get wet. Hanging them out to dry is a good thing, but clothespins are useless against ocean winds.

EVERYTHING will be damp by the end of the trip. If you want really dry clothing, towels, books or anything else, bring a dry bag to put them in.

If the boat's layout and the weather permit, try to sleep up on deck. Cabins are stuffy and smell like damp, and none of them has a view of the stars. One of the best nights I've ever spent was sleeping on the top deck of the MV Tala, on the way back in from the Brothers Islands. I've never seen so many stars in my whole life. I didn't sleep all that much, and I didn't care at all.

Cultivate patience and a sense of humor. One of my favorite sayings is that you are either in the middle of a great experience or a good story. If you are not having a great experience, you should be thinking about how to word the good story -- and you will have both on a boat.

Don't forget an adequate supply of any prescription medications you take. That seems to be something people forget on trips.

Have fun -- we LOVED Australia, although we didn't dive the GBR. The people were so incredibly friendly and outgoing and nice, and the diving we did do was fabulous.

 

[Pseudocyber]

I've been on Nekton Rorqual and Explorer Venture Turks and Caicos.

From my "friends" at Nekton (love the crew you ex Nekton peeps), I learned to pay for the trip with a credit card. Then, if the company suddenly ups and goes bankrupt, after you've paid in full for your trip, you might get your money back from the credit card company. However, if you pay with a check, you're FUBAR'd. Also, get trip insurance, and consider gear insurance depending on how expensive your gear is. Carry your bathing suit, reg, dive computer, and camera(s) as carry on. Check the rest of the gear in your luggage.

On the boat - just apply all the kindergarten lessons - share, play, have snacks, stick with your buddy, take naps, laugh, have a good time. Can't let the small things bother you - and don't be an A-hole and ruin it for others around you. When diving with groups of people, be aware - there will be people with more experience, and less experience, better equipment, worse equipment. Be a nice/fun kindergartner - share, be nice, helpful.

Having worked a few jobs that rely on service and tips, plan to tip. Don't be "that guy". Take extra money for T-Shirts. I love my scuba T-Shirts. Take money for shore excursions - hit the LDS and buy more T-Shirts!!!

Ship board living is tight. Make the best of it by showering with soap, and using deodorant. Lay off the perfume/cologne. As a guy, I don't care if women do their hair or makeup - everyone looks "rough" - no problems mon. No matter how few clothes you take, you probably won't wear them all. One boat confiscated shoes - all week - NO shoes (except for shore).

I really like the buy the crew some movies idea - I'm going to do that.

Stuff breaks, and they aren't always able to have it fixed. Get over it. (unless it's the engine(s) - then I'd understand). (missing the damn hot tub all week .... )

Night dives are cool - invest in a nice (expensive) underwater light/torch.

This year, my big investment so far - is a digital video camera - with a housing. They'll be NewB videos - but they'll be MY NewB videos!!! Take extra critical equipment - batteries/memory cards etc. Get gear's annual service done ahead of time. Triple confirm any gear rentals. Go with Nitrox - either extra time/or dive on air tables with extra safety.

I'm a nerd - so I like to throughly document the dives, what I saw, a map, etc. Helps me when I forget everything 10 minutes later ...

Friend the crew on Facebook - it's cool to keep up with your crew friends (even though they get paid to make you think they're your friends) - I live my "live on a boat and sail around the world all the time" fantasy vicariously through my Facebook crew friends.

Hope this helps,

PC

 

[tenley]

I have done a couple liveaboards. Mostly it's eat, sleep, dive. Repeat. Diving makes me very tired (esp since I take motion sickness pills) so when I'm not eating or diving, I'm sleeping. What else do you need?

My schedules have been like this:

7:00am Wake Up, Continental Breakfast
8:00am Dive
9:00am Real Breakfast
10:15am Dive
11:00am Nap
12:00pm Lunch
1:00pm Dive
2:00pm Nap
3:30pm Dive
4:30pm Relax / Nap
6:00pm Dinner
7:00 Night Dive
8:00pm Hang out / drink a couple beers / read a book / watch a movie. Go to bed.

You don't need to bring much. A couple swim suits, a couple beach towels, a couple sundresses, something to sleep in, and toiletries. Maybe a book or two and an iPad / iPhone with movies loaded. And of course, your gear. Some boats allow you to bring alcohol and store it in their fridge. You might want some snacks. The boats I've been on didn't allow shoes or flip-flops (too slippery) so I was barefoot the entire time. Don't forget sunglasses.

Like I said before, I get seasickness, so I take dramamine as often as bottle recommends.

Enjoy!

 

[ktetzaff]

Ears, get that funny tickle or itch in your ears after day three, and your seven day tropical livaboard experience can turn into a nightmare.
1. So, I bought an ear dryer from a swimming store and dry my ears once/ twice a day.
2. Talked to Alex the Diver MD on a dive boat and use his ear drop recipe,
3 parts rubbing alcohol, 1 part vinager and 2 parts distilled water, put in a one ounce plastic bottle with a top that lets you place a few drops in your ears every other day.
3. Also, Alex likes to drop in a drop of mineral oil/ ear every morning. Not sure about that one.
When I do the liveaboards it's 4-5 and occassionally six dives/ day. Wet ears need care. Have fun.

 

[jjgwarren]

Thanks for the great posts!
This is timely for me - doing my first trip in Sept - to the Maldives.
Have most everything together - any recommendations on basic camera and dive rollerbag?
Any other recommendations from the gals for particular items?
And I'm glad to read about the ears - mine have been more sensitive lately - been using the rope to make sure descent/ascent are slow.
Thanks!
Jane

 

[mjarens]

jjgwarren,

Ideas from me, a liveaboard junkie:

If there are 5 dives a day, I use three bathing suits: one for the first two dives, the second for the two afternoon dives, and the third is for the night dive (yes, a dry suit for the night dive).

If you have ear issues, here is my trick: use the blow dryer in your cabin, on low, with your spare hand cupped around the air nozzle as a spacer, and dry your ears out with that once or twice a day.

Bring 1/3 the amount of clothing that you think you need. Seriously, you won't be wearing anything for more than an hour at a time, so it isn't dirty or smelly. Rotate three outfits (light weight tops & shorts or pants, one or two sun dresses), and don't bring shoes. I wear my tevas for travel, and bring one pair of flip flops, which usually don't get worn all week. Everyone goes bare foot.

Leave the make-up kit at home. You won't use it at all. You shower on the back deck after each dive, and they have shampoo out there. The only time all week that I shower in my cabin head is the morning I am departing for home.

As a solo female diver, you very often get the bonus of a cabin all to your self. In the last five years, on eleven live aboards, I have shared a cabin with another solo female diver only twice. And luckily, both times the gals I ended bunking with were very good cabin mates. But space is very limited. So pack light, especially clothing.

Regarding rolling dive travel bags: I bought a large Eagle Creek to pack all of my dive gear, including wetsuit, BCD, absolutely everything. Packed it weighs in at 42 pounds, but going home (when gear tends to be heavier) it tops out at about 48 pounds. I bought the smallest Eagle Creek rolling bag for my clothes, and packed with limited clothing and a couple books, it weighs in at 24 pounds. My small rolling carryon, with my regulator, Canon Elph & u/w housing, etc. weighs in at 18 pounds.

Have a wonderful trip. You will be hooked.