Recommendations for liveaboards

[Damselfish]

Where did you get this info about no dive guides? I've never been on a liveaboard, Aggressor or otherwise, that didn't have dive guides and I'd be sort of shocked to find one in any vacation destination that didn't have them. Maybe you don't have to follow the guide, but they're there if you want to. (OTOH, I wouldn't agree with all navigation being simple from liveaboards. We rarely follow a guide on a Caribbean liveaboard, or most Caribbean diving in general, unless there's a good reason. But most Indo-Pacific liveaboards I've been on did a lot of diving in areas not simple to navigate and/or with strong currents, and I wouldn't have wanted to do many of those dives without a local guide who knew their stuff. With currents you tend to dive from a RIB or tender rather than the mothership, and all the ones I've experienced have been very skilled at spotting and picking up divers that come up wherever. You do want to dive with your own safety sausage and whistle/horn, and whatever other safety equipment is recommended.)

 

[KathyV]

Almost all the liveaboards I have been on, including several Aggressors, always had divemasters in the water during the most popular dive times - and you had the option to follow the divemaster, or go off on your own, or choose to dive at another time when fewer folks were around.

The exception was in locations where you mostly do drift dives because people tend to pop up at different times and signal for the inflatable to come pick them up. So you might start out following the guide, but you don't have to end that way.

If you get a bit confused about your location, it usually isn't a big deal, you surface and look around and the LOB is probably the only boat in the area so it is easy to spot! And a lot of times you can hear it underwater even if you can't see it because the generator and compressor may be running. And in our experience, the LOBs keep a lookout on the top deck when divers are in the water and you can surface and signal them if you get a bit far away and want to be picked up.

The other exception was our bargain liveaboard trip on Blackbeard's in the Bahamas; below is an excerpt from the FAQ on the Blackbeard's web site, so sometimes you get what you pay for!

On most liveaboards you just tell the divemasters that you want to be in the water with guide and it shouldn't be a problem.

Will there be a dive guide in the water with us?
We do not offer led dives on Blackbeard’s. The instructor on board will give you a very in depth briefing before each dive describing the conditions, the current, depth, and it will include a visual aide. The instructor and/or staff will be in the water for all drift dives and the shark feed!

 

[Jo B. Killie]

Where did you get this info about no dive guides? I've never been on a liveaboard, Aggressor or otherwise, that didn't have dive guides and I'd be sort of shocked to find one in any vacation destination that didn't have them. Maybe you don't have to follow the guide, but they're there if you want to. (OTOH, I wouldn't agree with all navigation being simple from liveaboards. We rarely follow a guide on a Caribbean liveaboard, or most Caribbean diving in general, unless there's a good reason. But most Indo-Pacific liveaboards I've been on did a lot of diving in areas not simple to navigate and/or with strong currents, and I wouldn't have wanted to do many of those dives without a local guide who knew their stuff. With currents you tend to dive from a RIB or tender rather than the mothership, and all the ones I've experienced have been very skilled at spotting and picking up divers that come up wherever. You do want to dive with your own safety sausage and whistle/horn, and whatever other safety equipment is recommended.)

I wrote to Aggressor directly and asked. They said they have dive masters in the water but but no personal dive guides.

 

[KathyV]

I wrote to Aggressor directly and asked. They said they have dive masters in the water but but no personal dive guides.

You mean guides just for the 2 of you, and not for a group? That might be hard to find on any LOB.

 

[Damselfish]

Ah. Hiring a personal dive guide is more likely to be possible if you're land-based. I don't know either if you can find any LOB where that is offered. But if you want to be with someone who will point out critters and make sure you get back to the boat, staying with the regular dive guide should accomplish that. (If you're really in need of more handholding, possibly you're not yet ready to do a liveaboard in the regions you're talking about.) In places with easy diving, especially with a load of more experienced divers, you may discover many people don't really dive with the guide and you'll have them mostly to yourself anyway. Some LOBs, especially if you're diving from smaller boats, there will be 2-3 smaller groups each with a guide.

LOB crew put in some major hours and everyone, including the dive staff, tend to be pretty heavily scheduled. If there are DMs who aren't in the water during a dive they are likely doing their turn helping people get in and out, watching for divers surfacing, etc. Sometimes you'll even have the captain guide a few dives or stand watches to help fill in. Boats don't carry (or have room for) extra people who have the day free to act as private guides, especially when it's something most guests on LOBs aren't interested in.

LOBs in some parts of the world sometimes carry large crews - more crew than passengers - many of whom you rarely even see and I dunno what they're all doing. But they're not typically people qualified to act as your dive guide.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Aggressor does have DMs. I was on Raja Ampat Aggressor and they had 3 for 16 of us divided by experience. EXCELLENT crew and DMs. We each were in groups of 4,5 or 6 depending. You get the full briefing, they point out critters, and stay with the last diver until they are low on air. Everyone comes up at different times due to air and there is a dinghy waiting. All diving done on dinghies and we took turns rotating guides and going 1st 2nd or 3rd. Really good food, great camera facilities. I will be back for sure and highly recommend. Some of the best DMs and guides I’ve had and I am well traveled for diving.

Mastro aldo is a good budget option for Komodo with air con, private rooms, private bathrooms, good food, and a good 4 diver to 1 guide ratio. Good crew.

Spirit of freedom in Australia was also good. Excellent boat, nice facilities and food. Good crew.

All have dive guides and not just DMs in water.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I wrote to Aggressor directly and asked. They said they have dive masters in the water but but no personal dive guides.

You said your concerns are navigation and critter-spotting. Why would simply sticking close to the DM not address those concerns? The DM always tries to point out critters. To ask it a different way, what do you envision a "personal dive guide" doing for you that you believe the group DM might not? I suspect your conversation with Aggressor gave you the wrong impression of what the in-water DM does.

 

[All Star Liveaboards]

Looking for recommendations for liveaboards in Indonesia, Fiji, or Maldives. We were originally looking at the Aggressor Fleet but discovered they don't have dive guides, which I would prefer. Any advice or recommendations is welcome. Thank you in advance.

Aurora is the newest member of the All Star Liveaboards fleet located in Indonesia. There is a ratio of 14 crew members to 16 passengers. Each group of four divers will be assigned a dive guide. If a personal dive guide is desired this can be provided for a supplement of $65/day.

www.allstarliveaboards.com/aurora

 

[Dan]

Mermaid Liveaboards | Liveaboard Scuba Diving Vacations | Hammerhead Indonesia

I’ve been liveaboard diving in Indonesia in the past 10 years (3x in Komodo, 3x in Raja Ampat). I like Mermaid Liveaboard the most, best bang for the bucks, very professional & eagle eye DMs, safety minded (everyone is required to launch DSMB during checkout dive), great food!

 

[Damselfish]

There may be a terminology problem here between dive guide and divemaster. The person guiding dives from a liveaboard might be certified as a Divemaster. Many are certified as Instructors. I'm pretty sure I've had a few someplace in the Pacific who weren't certified as anything by any agency, but who had lots of local experience and knowledge. But when in the water guiding a dive, they're all basically filling the same role of navigating and looking for critters, maybe managing ascents and descents if there is anything special about those, shooting a sausage at the end, etc. Details vary with the location. If they see you have a problem they can help you with, they will. Like any job, some are much better at it than others.

I'd say a big difference between a group and private dive guide is that you generally need to make sure you stay with a group guide, where as a private guide should be making sure they stay with you. Either way, you should consider yourself responsible for your own dive and safety.