Liveaboard: Nekton or Peter Hughes

[Darnold9999]

Agree with all - liveaboard is a better place to go as a solo diver. I have been on five live aboard trips as a solo diver and have had great buddies on all. We had to go as a team of three on one trip as there were 3 single divers, but this worked well.

The diving off the Belize liveaboards is quite a bit better than the diving from AC and once you take in the hotel bill, cost of food, transportation etc. the liveaboard is probably cheaper per dive. The only down side for some is that that is all you do - dive/sleep/eat. Personally I think it is great - I take a couple of days after to sightsee.

 

[Desert_Diver]

thank you all, as ever, for the great advice. just a few more questions if you don't mind!

- will it be ok doing the liveaboard on my own as a relatively new diver??

- is the liveaboard diving likely to be a lot better than what i would experience, for example on ambergris caye

- finally (!) does anyone know the approximate price a week on AC or CC with diving, food, accom would be and how this compares to the liveaboards

Thank you in advance!!

I have been on two Nekton trips, one on the Pilot and one on the Rorqual, but neither was in Belize. I certainly enjoyed both Nekton trips.

I dove Belize while staying in the Mayan Princess and dove with Amigos del Mar. That trip was so long ago that I honestly don't remember the prices and I suspect they are badly out of date by now. I had a great time in Belize and there was nothing bad to say about Ambergris Caye. You will dive more on a liveaboard but the town has a unique flavor that you will miss on the boat.

I was a reletively new diver during my Ambergris Caye trip. I had probaly in the neighborhood of 25 to 50 dives. I dove with instabuddies but had no problems. Blue Hole is a waste of time, however the other two dives we did that day were great. Unless getting the T shirt is important, skip the Blue Hole. Badly overhyped.

Both of my Nekton liveabord trips were as a single diver. I had no problems finding dive buddies. On the Cayman trip, very few divers did the night dives, so I tended to dive in a threesome (same group each night). The only exception was when the captain of the Rorqual did a guided night dive at Atlantis, another badly overhyped dive. Then there were probably 10 t0 12 divers in the water.

The only significant difference between the liveaboard and the resort diving is probably the number of dives you will do. Both offer great dives and a memorable trip.

Dive safe.

Art

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

thank you all, as ever, for the great advice. just a few more questions if you don't mind!

- will it be ok doing the liveaboard on my own as a relatively new diver??

You'll be fine on the live aboard as a new diver. Do as many or as little dives (up to 6 a day) as you feel comfortable with or up to.

- is the liveaboard diving likely to be a lot better than what i would experience, for example on ambergris caye

We stayed on Ambergris for a few days before going on the Nekton. We didn't dive but we did a day snorkel at Hol Chan/Shark Ray Alley which is about a 15/20 minute boat ride away. As I understood it, most of the diving was a good ride away from AC (which is mostly where the Live aboards are around Turneffe, Lighthouse, Half Moon Caye, etc..). So you would probably see similar sites but you'd spend a lot more time getting there and back. I wouldn't classify any of the sites we were at as difficult for a new diver.

- finally (!) does anyone know the approximate price a week on AC or CC with diving, food, accom would be and how this compares to the live aboards

I would say you'll get better overall value/cost on the live aboard because all your food/diving/board is already included. We loved Ambergris but it's not that cheap. Food for 2 people was almost always $75-$100. The Blue Hole trip which includes two other dives nearby is about 2 or more hours away and costs around $250-300 per person to give you an idea. Unless you stay near town, you have to pay to rent golf carts or the water taxi which adds up.

Thank you in advance!!

Not sure if this is your first dive trip or just live aboard but you'll love the convenience of everything on the boat. Almost makes it hard to want to go anywhere else when you have to take apart all your gear and stuff it in a locker overnight. Sleep, Eat, Dive, Eat (maybe suntan, Dive, Eat....It's pretty great. As for going alone, we had about 15 people on board and I think only 6 of us had a spouse/relative. All the single/nitrox people seemed to hook up at the beginning of the week and usually all went out together so don't worry at all about having someone to dive with. My husband and I never mind if someone wants to tag along with us as long as they aren't crazy. We've all met those ones...:wacko:

 

[castawayds]

I have friends who work on both the Nekton Pilot and the Belize Agressor. The friend on the nekton pilot has had mostly bad things to say about the captain and the ship, and my friend on the Aggressor has had mostly praise for his crew and company. Both individuals are friends who I know who don't exaggerate or speak in overdramatic fashion. I don't know if this helps, but I too am trying to make the same decision for next year.

 

[flyndive2003]

Had a great week on the Nekton Pilot 3/8-3/15/08. See the trip report posted by another guest by searching the forums under "Nekton Trip Report"

 

[rossandmaureen]

As flyndive2003 mentioned above I did submit a trip report for my recent trip on the Nekton and it is in the Live Aboard Forum. I also did one about my land portion spent on Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker.

I did have a great time on the Nekton and considered it good value, very stable, comfortable and staffed by a responsible and friendly crew. Both the Peter Hughes and Aggressor ships look great, get good reviews and are also worth considering and a lot will depend on you and your needs. Nekton is less money and, depending on when you go, you might be able to get a private room if their load factor is low. The dive deck configuration didn't bother me since we were lightly booked and I thought hanging my wetsuit on the upper sundeck was a good idea since it received the most sun and the suit dried very quickly. As a result I was able to rotate between two toasty dry suits for the week. Motion sickness is not a concern for me so I doubt that I would have been unhappy on either the PH or the Aggressor and do hope to try both brands on different itineraries in the near future.

As for cost comparison between the Pilot (or PH/Aggressor) and land based diving....here are some rough numbers:

On Ambergris Caye you can pay anywhere from $30.00/$25.00 per day for basic accommodation such as Pedro's or Rubys or in the $70.00 area for mid-range places like the Spindrift and then around $125.00 and up for the better hotels and resorts. Factor in meals at approximately $35.00/$45.00 a day (you have to stay away from the well known restaurants). Then there is diving....on San Pedro you will be able to negotiate the operators down to about $30.00 to $35.00 per dive for local dives if you are purchasing a lot of dives with them. The better ones will keep and wash and set up your gear between days so you won't be lugging it back and forth every day. Based on these prices you can probably do a land based trip, with basic accommodation, simple meals and with as many dives for similar dollars to a live-aboard. Tipping, as a percentage, I have left out as it would work out to be around the same.

But...would you want to? While I very much enjoyed Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker and hope to return, I do think a solo diver is better served on board a live-aboard. Over the course of the week you will likely fit in socially much easier than being on your own ashore and the environment is relaxed and easy. I also think live-aboard diving allows you more freedom than diving with a land based operator as you (as long as you have a buddy) are free to explore on your own with the only limits being air and deco time. Most land based operators offer guided dives. (which is not terrible since they do know where to take you and what to show you but most people seem to prefer to be on their own).

I didn't do enough dives off of San Pedro to qualify as an expert but I must say that the walls we dove off the Nekton in the southern atolls were very impressive.

When I travel as far as I do from the West Coast of Canada I find that one week is insufficient and, if you have the luxury of adding some days, then I would do a live-aboard and then a bit of time on land.

Either way...go and have a great time.

Ross

 

[torqd]

I have friends who work on both the Nekton Pilot and the Belize Agressor. The friend on the nekton pilot has had mostly bad things to say about the captain and the ship, and my friend on the Aggressor has had mostly praise for his crew and company. Both individuals are friends who I know who don't exaggerate or speak in overdramatic fashion. I don't know if this helps, but I too am trying to make the same decision for next year.

I will have to second the opinions expressed here. The crew makes ALL the difference in the world for having a good time aboard any liveaboard. I was just on the Pilot and was disappointed with the condition of the boat, a smell of cigarette smoke in the guest cabins, and the chronic condensation problems of the boat. One guest room had a reported six layers of towels on the floor to absorb the moisture all week long.

Now, two years ago I was aboard the Aggressor and had a much more favorable experience. The staff worked very well together and took care of all the guest needs, and the extra money was well worth the upgrade. This, for me, was a classic case of getting what you pay for.

I would expect that the Peter Hughes boat would be a similar experience to the Aggressor, so my recommendation would be to spend a bit more money, and go for the extra 'pampering'.