Liveaboard newbie looking for a first liveaboard

[Scott from LongIsland]

Both Saba and St. Martin were hit hard by hurricanes, but I understand that the Caribbean Explorer II is back in service diving around St. Kitts and Saba out of St. Martin. It was a great trip when we did it years ago but I don't know the impact of the recent hurricane damage. Typical Caribbean diving but the sea mounts are interesting. St. Martin can also be a fun place for a pre/post cruise, land-based trip - depending on the status of recovery efforts.

Just to be clear...Saba fared rather well with the storms and had minimal damage. I would not want to discourage anyone from considering going there as they need the tourism money. St Martin got whacked yes, but nearby Saba is just fine.

 

[<*)))><]

Bahamas Liveaboard Diving

Juliet for Caribbean diving is an option worth investigating.

 

[scbaNE2179]

Welcome to livaboard diving! You WILL be spoiled as I rarely do land-based trips anymore. In any event, one thing in keep in mind with the lower-cost livaboards: Blackbeards/Juliet is that the dives are UNGUIDED. Which means the DMs are not in the water with you so it's up you and your buddy to navigate yourself back to the boat. The higher cost livaboards, Aggressor, EV, etc-all their dives are guided with a DM in the water at all times if you just want to follow them. Considering this may be your fist venture into livaboard diving, I wasn't sure if you wanted that option to follow a DM.

 

[Shasta_man]

Note to self: Ask KathyV about any destination being considered.

BTW, the info on this thread is exactly why I come to Scubaboard. Thanks to all.

 

[KathyV]

Note to self: Ask KathyV about any destination being considered.

BTW, the info on this thread is exactly why I come to Scubaboard. Thanks to all.

Thank you! But most of my experience is limited to Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. We have also taken dive trips to Cabo, the Red Sea, and Hawaii, but sadly I have never been diving in the far Pacific. But we have been doing recreational dive trips for a long time and I am happy to share what I've learned along the way!

 

[normdog]

Southwest flies direct from Denver to Belize City. Land at 4:00 on Saturday and shuttle direct to boat. Get off boat on Saturday and head to airport for direct flight back to Denver - does not get easier. Or of course you can add time before or after but the non-Saturday flights have a layover in Houston. We are booked for our first liveaboard on Aggressor in March.

 

[KathyV]

Finding flights to Roatan can sometimes be expensive and/or a little difficult so I wanted to mention that Cayman Air is now operating direct flights from Grand Cayman to Roatan twice a week on Thurs and Saturdays - and it may be easier to find convenient, direct flights to GCM.

And since the OP and his wife would like to also spend some land-based vacation time before and after the liveaboard, they might be able to work out for a few days on GC, followed by a LOB dive trip to Roatan, and then some time topside on either Cayman or Roatan, see the link below:
https://www.caymanairways.com/CALtoRoatan

The new Roatan Aggressor has been getting good reviews on this board, see link below, and it is currently a less-expensive itinerary, because it is new, see info below.
https://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/roatan-aggressor-trip-report.551760/


Travel for $1999 on the Roatan Aggressor
Book a new reservation starting Oct 10, 2017 on any of the following weeks for $1999 per person.

Nov 11 - 18, 2017 Nov 18 - 25, 2017
Nov 25 - 2, 2017 Dec 2 - 9, 2017
Dec 30, 2017 - Jan 6, 2018

 

[scbaNE2179]

Another thing with livaboards to keep in mind is that due to high number of dives offered per day, it's highly recommended to dive Nitrox. If you dive Air(and you most certainly can), your bottom time will be limited as you are absorbing that much more nitrogen for each dive. Granted this Nitrogen load monitoring may vary based on the algorithm of your dive computer but if you are looking to dive at least 4-5 a day, I would definitely look into getting NX certified. You can take the NX course online, through your local dive shop, and even on the actual livaboard boat itself. Me personally I would not choose to do the course on the boat as you may lose some relaxation time on your vacation due to having the take the course.

 

[Hoag]

Right now there is a thread which is offering $500 discount on the Aquacat for the 16-23 Dec trip. A quick search on Orbitz.com showed numerous flights with 1 stop that are between $500-$600. One of the best options IMHO would be this one:

That would almost be like paying regular price for the LOB and getting return airfare to Nassau for about $55. It may be a good introduction to LOBs.

 

[scbaNE2179]

I'm with Hoag on this one, the Aquacat will be an excellent first time intro to LOB-I've done their trip twice and it was definitely a great time. Also keep in mind that both the Aquacat and it's younger sibling Blackbeards Cruises, are one of the only LOBs I've been on that offers a Shark Feed dive on every trip. The Cat also offers non-diving activities in the event you don't want to dive or have a spouse that does not even dive. I personally think missing dives on any LOB is a tragedy but hey, I want to get my money's worth!