Nekton Caymans - follow up

[DVK]

ECPaul:

I have been doing some research on Cuan Law (and others) as I am planning to take the family on a liveaboard sometime this December. The general consensus seems to be that it is an upper tier level dining and accommodation boat that is a fairly laid back in their approach. This is not a hard core dive dive dive outfit, and the reports seem to bear out that it is a great beginning to intermediate level diver experience. If you are looking for walls, drift dives, intense shark encounters, you won't find it here. This will be our first liveaboard, and as my family are all newly baptized (they have less than 50 dunks in the pool), I think I will try the Cuan before I begin to move them towards an Aggressor trip. Hope this helps...

p.s. whatever boat you go with, plan on booking soon, as they fill up fast and some trips are actually filled more than a year or two out.

 

[ECPaul]

ECPaul:

I have been doing some research on Cuan Law (and others) as I am planning to take the family on a liveaboard sometime this December. The general consensus seems to be that it is an upper tier level dining and accommodation boat that is a fairly laid back in their approach. This is not a hard core dive dive dive outfit, and the reports seem to bear out that it is a great beginning to intermediate level diver experience. If you are looking for walls, drift dives, intense shark encounters, you won't find it here. This will be our first liveaboard, and as my family are all newly baptized (they have less than 50 dunks in the pool), I think I will try the Cuan before I begin to move them towards an Aggressor trip. Hope this helps...

p.s. whatever boat you go with, plan on booking soon, as they fill up fast and some trips are actually filled more than a year or two out.

Good to know - thanks!

 

[Doc]

any knowledge of the reputation of this (Cuan Law) operation?

It is highly regarded.

Remember that when divers are exposed to a good operation, they walk away knowing that they experienced the best of the best. As our base of experiences broaden, we can compare and contrast similar operations.

Understand the differences of these two equally attractive operations.

Cuan Law is a catamaran sailboat. The cat was designed to afford larger main cabin square footage over a standard mono-hull boat. When underway, there is a barely perceptable circular lurching motion, not a bad thing. At anchor, it does move with the waves. It is marketed as a sailing cruiser, and on a different website, it is marketed as a dive liveaboard. Diving is done from nice little RIB boats. Great and attentive staff.

The NEKTON is a SWATH (http://www.nektoncruises.com/Liveaboards/SWATH.aspx), and although it looks like a catamaran, it is not. It simply does not rock. A mild, mono-hull-like sailboat "surge" is about all you feel. At anchor, it sits absolutely still. The biggest downside to a SWATH design is that the ship needs a lot of horsepower to move- not my problem! The "dive deck" is lowered down to sea level. You can waddle in and pretty much so roll back aboard. Huge salon open spaces. Designed as a dive boat.

I not only agree with #10, but many years ago when I first mentioned this to the staff of the Nekton, I said it reminded me of CoCoView... but without the sand flies!

Nekton- far and away the best in the Caribbean. The crew? That's just icing on the cake... a big square blue and white cake.

 

[DeputyDan]

Looks like point #10 is a winner!

Only problem is - my kids want to go now! total cost X three = Wallet drain!

 

[MentalMarine]

I totally want to do go on this liveaboard! As most divers, my wife is not a diver. If we go to a resort she loves to sit by the pool. I would rather pound my head into the wall rather than waste my time sitting at a pool I love doing things ie diving. For those that have been on the nekton, do you think a non-diver would still enjoy it?

 

[fda483]

I love Nekton and my wife does not dive. She would go crazy sitting on the sundeck for a week on the ship full of divers!

 

[MentalMarine]

sighhh...you could just lie to me...jk

 

[robint]

sighhh...you could just lie to me...jk

It depends on what she enjoys. I found it very quiet and relaxing and peaceful at sea for a week. She can bring a laptop, too. No internet service at sea but she could do other things on it. Also movies in salon if she doesn't read. The top deck is so nice and open (part is shade, part is sunny). I could do a week if I wasn't diving just because of the open feeling of the Nekton boats. I don't think I could do it on a boat like PH or Aggressor - they are too closed in.

On my trip to Cay Sal Bank, one diver brought his mother who was a diver but 70+yrs old. She only did 3 dives all week (shallow, easy), the rest of the time she read books (she told us she finished 2) and sat up on deck or watched movies in salon. She told us she just loves being at sea and it reminds her of her younger more active years. She didn't mind not diving so much, she had done many in her lifetime.
Everyone else on our boat was a diver though.

robint

 

[DiveMaven]

We had 3 ladies on our NW Bahamas trip this summer who didn't dive (well, one did 2 dives), but snorkeled instead. They basically enjoyed the sun deck and just hung out. I think it would be boring as heck, but they seemed really happy and apparently it wasn't the first time they'd done it.

 

[DeputyDan]

I guess it would depend on the non-diver but the only one I would even try it on is the Nekton line.

At least the upper deck is like being by a pool.

I agree 100% about the pool and beach thing!