Recommend a liveaboard!

[Hoag]

I have done the Aquacat (so far 4 times and I'm booked for my 5th), and I highly recommend it. Having said that, I also recently did a trip on the Turks and Caicos Explorer (TCX). It was a great trip!

The TCX is NOT a 5 star resort, but what it lacks in luxury, it more than makes up for in the crew! I would describe the boat more as "homey" rather than luxurious. The crew will make you feel like the main salon is your living room and they will soon become your family. Diving in TCI (especially on the TCX) was great (sandy shallows and shear walls with lots of life) and for the week I was on board, it could best be described as "sharky".

There are 3 primary DMs on the TCX. Bunjee Jo and her sister Pippa will give dive briefings that are, to say the least memorable. The 3rd DM, Mia, I first met when she was crew on the Aquacat. All 3 will go out of their way to make sure that you have the best week imaginable. (I think that on any given week, only 2 out of the 3 DMs are on board, but I am not 100% sure.)

If you prefer to wait to do the Aquacat, then book a trip on the Turks and Caicos Explorer and have yourself an incredible week.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Which is a better trip? Caribbean or Turks and Caicos? They are only 200 USD difference so I was wondering which would be better. Has anyone been on both to compare?

 

[Hoag]

Which is a better trip? Caribbean or Turks and Caicos? They are only 200 USD difference so I was wondering which would be better. Has anyone been on both to compare?

I have never done the Caribbean Explorer, so I can not speak to it, but I can say that I honestly believe that the Turks and Caicos Explorer was one of the best trips I have ever been on and I recommend it highly.

 

[scubadada]

Probably the best deal is a week on the Red Sea. There are many good liveaboards for around $1000 per week. Of course you have to get to Egypt, not that difficult.

 

[TulsaTime]

Which is a better trip? Caribbean or Turks and Caicos? They are only 200 USD difference so I was wondering which would be better. Has anyone been on both to compare?

I've only been on the CEII. It's also the only LOB I've done (thus far). I have dived T&C from the Beaches resort so I can at least say that based on that limited experience, the diving there is fantastic.

That said, one of the crew members on the CEII (I won't say who so as not to cause any trouble for him) told me that the CEII was the "red headed stepchild" of the Explorer fleet, meaning that it was the least plush or roughest of their boats. It's probably very good then that it was my first LOB because I thought it was perfectly fine and if I've got nowhere to go but up then my LOB future looks quite bright indeed!

So, if you had to choose one and the extra $200 (plus any potential difference in travel expenses) didn't matter, I'd probably suggest T&C. That said (again), I loved the diving we did on the CEII so really you can't go wrong either way.

 

[drrich2]

Cool topic. A few thoughts...

1.) We've got a thread on Picking A Caribbean Live-aboard.

2.) A California Channel Islands live-aboard can indeed by both cheap and sweet; it is a different kind of diving. Someone already linked you to my trip report, I think.

3.) The Flower Gardens/Stetson Bank out of Freeport, TX aboard the M/V Fling is an option. It's open ocean, the Gulf of Mexico is not the Caribbean so rough seas are possible, in winter trips can get blown out, and for best odds of a successful 'go' during warm water conditions, someone who'd know suggested planning a trip July 15 to September 15. Much of the diving is deep; the trips are short (mostly 2 day, some 3 day); if I were flying out there, I'd try to find a way to get a 2 day trip, maybe a 'day off,' then a 3 day trip. Undercurrent has a free access online article/trip report on a Fling trip to the Flower Gardens; Alert Dive Online has this recent one, and has an old one (I'm not certain they were on the Fling), too.

4.) The Caribbean Explorer II sounds like a very nice budget option that's hard to be. I'm told you dive St. Kitts and Saba, but don't actually dive Sint Maarten/St. Martin.

5.) For the Bahamas, the Juliet is somewhat more expensive but still fairly budget-priced; IIRC from another thread, Wookie was complimentary about some of the sites they hit. It's hard to pin down an exact planned dive number. For a bit more (unless you catch a sweet sale, which Aggressor Fleet has had the past couple of years, roughly around February), the Bahamas Aggressor would be nice, budget, and offer a lot of diving. Part of the year it has a Tiger Beach itinerary; decide if diving cageless with tiger sharks around is a pro. or con. for you.

6.) Be aware reports on Turks & Caicos live-aboard diving indicate it tends to average deeper than some destinations. If I booked them, I'd be asking in advance about a 100 cf tank so I didn't get stuck diving an 80.

Richard.

 

[KathyV]

Which is a better trip? Caribbean or Turks and Caicos? They are only 200 USD difference so I was wondering which would be better. Has anyone been on both to compare?

We did the Caribbean Explorer Trip diving Saba and St. Kitts once, a number of years ago, and we've done 2 T&C liveaboards out of Provo, the Aggressor a few years ago and a Peter Hughes boat many years ago. I haven't done the T&C Explorer trip - but they have a good reputation.

The T&Cs have the better diving in my opinion, beautiful walls and lots of fish life, sharks and rays (including eagle rays) on most dives. For a $200 difference I think the T&Cs is the better choice, but the water is colder during the first half of the year and both the Explorer and Aggressor offer whale-watching cruises during the early months of the year, so those boats are not always available for liveaboard cruises.

The T&C Aggressor was very nice but not luxurious. We had an ensuite bathroom in our cabin but the toilet was in the shower. They had a new cook when we were on the boat and the food was plentiful but just okay IMO. The crew was great and diving was excellent, comparable to Little Cayman. I did NOT get seasick on either of my T&C trips, the water was calm as we sailed up the cayes.

The T&C reefs do start a little deeper, as compared to Cayman, but you can usually stay up near the top of the wall if you'd prefer. I don't remember it being a problem.

The CEII was an older and smaller boat, but still nice. The diving is typical Caribbean reef life but you dive sea mounts around Saba so that's a little different. We spent a few days topside on St. Marteen, then got on the boat and dived St. Kitts and Saba. I remember preferring the diving around Saba but we had some vis problems around St. Kitts, so it may not be a fair comparison.

We were offered a couple of afternoon land excursions on St. Kitts and Saba which we enjoyed. At the end of the week my husband and I got off the boat and spent a few days on Saba and then flew back to St. Marteen for the trip home. Flying out of the Saba airport was quite a thrilling experience and I imagine that landing on Saba is even more exciting! I got very, very seasick during the deep water crossing from St. Marteen.

I think that they are both great options but in general I would prefer a T&C cruise.

 

[ezadel]

so I grew up in egypt and I know right now due to the strong dollar and weak egyptian pound a whole week on a 5 star live aboard is less than 1000 dollars (check empror asmaa)..
I remember first time I tried scuba in 2009 the "instructor" put the gear on me said this means up this means down this means trouble... jumped in the red sea and my ears were killing me because I did not know how to equalize....
Anyway check flights on egyptair..again due to strong dollar you might find cairo one way tickets for 300 dollars...
good luck

 

[EVMia]

Which is a better trip? Caribbean or Turks and Caicos? They are only 200 USD difference so I was wondering which would be better. Has anyone been on both to compare?

Hi @CaptainSinbad!
I used to work as crew on the Turks boat and had the opportunity to dive with Caribbean Explorer II travelling from St.Kitts>Saba>St.Maarten in December (I also continue to work for Explorer Ventures in an admin role in Turks & Caicos). The two locations are SO DIFFERENT from each other! The comments here have done a really good job in highlighting those differences

Turks & Caicos Explorer II (fly into PLS)
Deep beautiful blue water wall dives with white white white (did I say white?) sandy areas on the tops of the walls. The topography topside as well as underwater is similar to deep dive sites of The Bahamas, but with healthier corals and lots of active marine life. There are plenty of Caribbean Reef Sharks, Nurse Sharks, Southern Stingrays, Eagle Rays and the occasional Hammerhead sighting. We also have lots of Hawksbill Turtles, lobsters, crabs, and often pods of Dolphins swim by. If you are a macro lover, the crew are fantastic and picking out Pipefish, Blennies, Nudis and Shrimp for you!

Caribbean Explorer II (one way itineraries. Fly into SXM, depart SKB or vice versa)
The diving of this region, is so very different from Turks. Geographically, the area is super lush with mountain backdrops and volcanic soil. This means, underwater the sandy parts are quite dark and there are even some dive sites with cool "thermal" spots to check out. The underwater topography is really diverse with shallow reefs and deep walls as well as a bunch of wrecks teeming with Octopus, Nudibranches, Moray Eels, Turtles and lovely tropical fish swimming around. It's not unusual to dive down, check out a wreck, swim across a patch of eel grass, cruise a gorgeous healthy reef, and then head back to the boat. In addition to truly amazing scuba diving, the Caribbean Explorer II itinerary offers something, I've never seen anywhere else - The vessel actually travels to 3 countries in one week with a stamp in your passport for each one. You have the option to skip one dive to venture on land and have a tour exploring the island's cultural and historical places - including the UNESCO World Heritage site, Brimstone Hill Fortress. @drrich2 is correct in saying that although the start/ending port is in St. Maarten, we don't actually scuba dive there.

I wrote this article about the CEX2 itinerary, diving, boat, history, and crew if you are interested in learning more:
Explorer Ventures and the Northeastern Caribbean – a love affair for the past 30 years! - Explorer Ventures

Both of these destinations have great Caribbean diving! I'd be happy to answer more specific questions if anyone has any.

 

[scbaNE2179]

Yes, what EV Mia said. I've done the TCEX2 3x in a little over a year's time and I would go back there in a heartbeat. If you're into deep and staggering walls on every single dive this is your safe haven. Although if you are diving Turks, your computer is not going to be happy about repetitive deep dives.