The Others

[Thanshin]

I'm going to the mv Orion in january. Now that I've read some reviews I'm more reassured about the liveaboard itself.

However, it's my first liveaboard and now I'm afraid of the rest of the people in the boat. After all, it's like a little hotel.

What if one of the passengers snores beyond reason and can be heard in the entire boat the entire night?

What if I got the last two places and the other 20 have been filled by a group of noisy youngsters?

What if it's a group of technical divers and they're annoyed by my inability to do deep caves and my presence forces them to do what they see as boring dives?

What if it's a large family with annoying kids and they aren't even interested in diving and just want to snorkel in 10ft depths?


Hmm, I can't think of any more horrible situations but maybe you have anecdotes about other passengers making yours a bad liveaboard and what would you've done different to have a better time.

 

[JeffW]

I don't think you need to worry. I've done 6 liveaboard trips in Turks and Caicos, Belize and Grand Cayman. The passengers have all been good divers with roughly similar skills. I travel alone and have always had a good roommate and dive buddy. The only bad experience I recall was a woman who wanted to talk about work during surface intervals. I'm on vacation to get away from work and didn't want to be reminded of it. Fortunately I found a place on the boat to hang out where I didn't have to listen to her; so it was no problem.

 

[Shasta_man]

I'm much more worried about missing the plane trip to get to the boat. Everything else you can deal with.
- MOST People don't pay 5 grand to send their youngster on a dive boat.
- MOST people that aren't totally into diving don't pay 5 grand to sit on a boat for nothing.
- If it's a group of tech divers, you'll be the one not getting to dive what you want.
- Letting them snorkel at 10ft leaves you the entire ocean with your divemaster buddy. It's a good thing.
- I'm certain the whole boat won't hear someone snoring. It'll be easily drowned out by the boat engine sound.

Most boats with multiple skiffs tend to polarize groups based on the skiffs, so you won't have to listen/talk to at least part of the boat anyway. Piece of cake.

 

[Doubler]

Kids usually can't afford a liveaboard. All the trips I gave been on most of the passengers ranged in age from late 30's to 60's. Unless you are on an advertised TEC trip you won't find TEC divers as they won't have the required support gases available. NITROX 32 is the standard available mix and most have a problem getting that on a consistent basis. I have never had a problem with the people on board and after a day it is more like a little family than a little hotel.

 

[Doc]

The Others?

Could be Nicole in wet rubber, right?

.... and now I'm afraid of the rest of the people in the boat. After all, it's like a little hotel.

What if one of the passengers...What if I got the last two places and the other 20 have been filled by a group of ....What if ...

What if... it's a load of Naked Swedish Virgin Divemistresses brought aboard only to have the glistening sweat dabbed from their inner thighs to be used as mask defog. This is an annual harvesting, and kind of like seeing a Whale Shark, you might get lucky.

Would you help to gently scrape it off or would you be worried about that, too?

You're only on board for a week. Meet some new people, do the diving you like. It will be over all too soon.

...I can't think of any more horrible situations but maybe you have anecdotes about other passengers.....

I have met a few former members of the Swedish group as mentioned above. It made for a very nice cruise for all concerned. Better than any Whale Shark.

 

[Thanshin]

What if... it's a load of Naked Swedish Virgin Divemistresses brought aboard only to have the glistening sweat dabbed from their inner thighs to be used as mask defog.

I'll be going with my stunning wife, so my only worry upon seeing the naked swedish virgin divemistresses would be "Is "naked" the correct attire for the next dive?"

This is an annual harvesting, and kind of like seeing a Whale Shark, you might get lucky.

Meh, we dove with plenty of whale sharks in Isla Mujeres right after the coz invasion. Now I want Shark Sharks. (Although whale whales would be pretty amazing too)

It will be over all too soon.

If there's one thing I've learned about diving is that it' always over too soon. Every dive, every diving day and every diving holidays.

They should say that in the OW manual front page. "Learn to dive. You'll be a bit sadder for about fifty weeks a year."

 

[TSandM]

A liveaboard is going to be like any other group activity you sign up for. You're going to love some people and like others, and there may be one or two you'd just as soon avoid. You usually can.

My liveaboard experience is limited, but so far, especially if you have your own buddy, you won't get shut out of doing the dives you want to do. Most liveaboards are not going to be full of technical divers, and the ones that are generally advertise that they are technical charters, and you wouldn't sign up for them, anyway. (Despite what you see on ScubaBoard, tech divers make up only one or two percent of the diving public.)

Remember, a liveaboard is about DIVING. They're generally not cheap, and I think most of the people who do trips on them are divers. And it's been my experience that, in general, divers are pretty cool people. I'd worry more about getting on a bad boat, than about having bad companions.

 

[Shasta_man]

Wow, I have a whole new respect for RoatanMan.