I was on the T&C ExII for a week in November 2019.
This was only my fourth liveaboard trip, and was the first dive trip I ever made traveling by myself.
Overall, it was a fun relaxing adventure, and I came away feeling very good about Explore Ventures, the T&C Explorer II, and the captain and crew.
I also received some excellent advise and assistance from Caradonna Travel, who booked the trip and flights for me.
Some observations:
- The reefs and corals seemed to be in excellent health to me, although I'm no expert. The water was consistently clear.
- The divemasters were excellent guides. Like most of our group, I chose to follow along with the guides on all the dives. On every dive the guides pointed out things I certainly would have missed otherwise.
- This was the first dive trip when I did not take an U/W camera. I really wanted to relax and have a broader experience of the whole environment on this trip. Glad I did
- The boat swung a lot on the anchor, so finding the boat at the end of the dive could be a little confusing.
- The food was very good. Dinner choices changed from one day to the next, with several dishes to choose from.
- My cabin was kinda small compared to other liveaboards I've been on, but I used it just for sleeping, so it really didn't matter. Because I booked a shared cabin and was traveling alone I was assigned a roommate. Fortunately, he was a great guy. We became good friends, dive buddies for the week, and we shared a lot of laughs together during the trip.
- The dive deck can get a little crowded. I gear-up very quickly, so I'd put my wetsuit on then wait until some of the divers moved toward the water. Then I'd slide in and put on my gear and go.
- I like to travel light. I carried only the basic gear that I took in the water, which fit well in a medium sized duffel bag with backpack straps. I took a spare inflator which came in handy, but no tools or other spares, except for a back-up mask. There's plenty of tools and spares on the boat.
- For clothing I took a pair swim trunks, a pair of convertable pants (zip-off legs) for the plane, a pair of elastic waist shorts for the boat, and two t-shirts which I rinsed out and dried in our cabin sink. That's all I needed. They took our shoes away the minute we stepped aboard.
Would I do this trip again?
Yes, it was a great trip, but there are a lot of other places I want to dive.
K.
