Alexandra
Contributor
I just returned from a great trip to Turks & Caicos and thought I'd share the details.
Travel from LAX to PLS (Provedenciales, T&C) on AA via JFK.
8/27: Landed at Provo 30mins ahead of time. Immigration took about 30mins for every one to get through. Luggage is right on the other side and there is only one belt. They start taking bags off the belt so if you aren't first through customs then look onthe floor for your bag. I was unlucky enough to not have both pieces of luggage make it. All my dive gear didn't quite make the connection. I had to go around to the check in area and fill out a claim form with AA. A real mess for delivery since I was heading straight to the boat.
Taxi drivers wait for you right outside the terminal. V easy to find. The cab drive from the boat was way way late. He finally got me around 12:30. Since the boat does allow check in till 3pm, he took me to Turtle Cove hotel where other guests from the boat were staying. I had lunch ($10) and hung by/in the pool till 3pm.
T&C E II:
Here is where, unlike my luggage problem, I was very very lucky. We were a total of 4 guests: a couple and a single dive master and myself out of a possible 20 guests. The crew consists of Tom the captain, Frank the handyman, Stan the cook, and Angelie, Mike and Nath - the dive crew/instructors. All were divers except for Stan. They alternatives dives with us. They didn't really lead us unless we specifically asked for that.
We were also extremely lucky with the weather. It didn't rain once all week and the warmth felt great after a nice dive. Watch for the sun on a boat, you don't always feel how hot it is, till you're burnt and the reflection off the water and the bright deck just enhance it. Bottom line, wear sun block. I strongly suggest the spray kind that is sports/sweatproof. You don't want cream stuff all over your face before you go diving or you may have mask issues. Because we were right between 2 storms, and it had rained a lot on the islands, we had a real mosquito problem by Provo and West Caicos. Thank godness they had some OFF for us to us. But, if you can, bring some skin so soft with you (Avond) as the airlines will allow that but no airosols.
Day 1 - 5: 5 dives, day 6: 2 dives
The routine consisted of breakfast at 7am, first dive at 8am, morning snack 9:30am, 2nd dive 10:30, lunch at noon, 3rd dive 2:30pm, afternoon snack 3:30-4pm, 4th dive 4:30pm, dinner 6pm, night dive 8pm, movie time 8:30ish or after night dive.
Diving:
We all opted for nitrox but found out the second day, that they had a problem with them nitrox filler. So, they said they'd keep refilling us with as much as they could till it ran out. And, we didn't have to pay for it. They thought they fixed mid week but that just lasted a day. So, we had about 1/2 of the week's dives on 31-32% and the other half on 26-28%. Didn't really affect our dives except cut down our time at depth. I stayed down about 1hr each time just didn't spend the whole time down the wall. Really not too big a deal.
The dive sites, or order of where we went diving, was probably affected by my luggage retrieval. I got my dive gear on day 3 when a day boat met us at West Caicos. For the first 2 days, T&C Explorer was fantastic and hooked me up with dive gear and I was lucky to have a fellow diver lend me a wet suit. I didn't miss any diving due to the lost luggage. I just couldn't take photos as my synch cords were all in my dive bag. Lesson here, if you pack all you camera gear in a case, pack the synch cords in the same place.
Water temp was 82-83 the whole week. We hit a few thermoclines but nothing notable - only a few degrees lower.
We did 2 dives at every site which was great for us photographers. If we had a macro lense on one dive and should have done wide angle, or the other way around, we had a chance to change. The dive sites: Highway to heaven, the Gullies, Elephant Ear Canyon, French Cay
Sitting included: sea horse @ Gullies, hammerhead shark @ Elephant Ear, sting rays, eagle rays, reef and nurse sharks, only 2 turtles on day 1, barracudas, jacks, and the usual fish suspects.
The food:
The food was overall pretty good. Stan was good about catering to specific dietary needs which they asked us about when making the reservation.
I would have prefered to have just a piece of toast before the 1st dive and then a full breakfast afterwards but they were pretty set in their schedule and weren't too accomodating to change. The morning snack was usually something sweet like brownies or muffins. Afternoon snack was pizza, chips & salsa, cheese and crackers...
After dinner, we usually made popcorn which was great while watching a movie or after the night dive.
Drinks, water, sodas, wine, beer and liquor were actually all included. Obviously, after you had anything alcoholic during the day, you couldn't dive anymore.
The ship:
The boat's layout was really nice. Since there were only 4 of us, we were all upgraded. The top floor has 2 room with double beds and the captain's quarters. The main deck has dive gear/tanks outside, the dinning/living room, and 4 rooms with 2 single beds. There was one lower deck with crew quarters and a few more guest rooms with single or bunk beds. The bathroom had a sink, toilet and shower stall. They had a special toilet system that actually allowed for toilet paper in the toilet.
Camera table was on the main deck right by our gear area with a big rinse basin behind it. Under the table was a cabinet where we could plug in all chargers. Since we were so few, we also commondeered a table in the dinning room/lounge for extra lenses, computers, etc. If the boat was more full, the rooms did have a little desk area and a nightstand between the beds which I would have used for my computer. The rooms also had TVs with DVD players but again since we were a small group, we just watched movies together (unless we were so tired, we just went to bed).
9/2: First morning dive was at 6am, breakfast 7am, and 2nd dive around 8:30. We got back to port on Friday right after lunch. There really is not much to do at port though. We hung around on the boat and watched movies. Another option is to buy a day pass for club med and spend the afternoon/dinner there. Costs is $35 for dinner and $55 if you stay later and go to the night club. Pretty good deal since that includes buffet and all drinks.
We sent one person out to pick up pizza and brought it back to the boat where we had our drinks and watched a movie.
9/3: We left the boat at 9am and went straight to the airport. They had a power failure so all check in was manual! The airport is tiny and really uninteresting. However, it gets to be a zoo with multiple flights leaving mid day. We were first at the AA checking but it got quite crowded afterwards. Also the security line gets pretty backed up.
What to pack/bring:
anti-itch mostquitos/bug bites cream, hair conditioner, basic toiletries. A good idea to have a little emergency kit with aspiring/tylonol, and a low grade decongestant. I also brought antihystamin if the bug bites got too bad.
4-5 bathing suits if you have them, that way you can change into a dry one between dives. If you can bring 2 wet suits, do that too. You can get away without wearing any in the summer but we wore 1mm or 3mm. You'll be more confortable if you do long dives. You'll only need 2 shorts, 2 t-shirts, or sarongs for the day, and 1 relax/comfy outfit for the evening. You won't need any shoes expect the ones who travel in. No need to bring towels, they supply them for outside and shower.
Bring a good book - good between dives or the first/last days. They also have a bunch of books on board so if you finish one you can leave it and take one of the ones on board.
A bunch of DVDs. Again, they have some on board but everyone was really happy to have a fresh stack. The crew ended up watching ours when we were diving and then we had a great choice for the evening.
Summary: Great trip and fantastic deal for the cost. Of course, there is no guarantee to have the ship be that empty but even with more guests, they have a great layout, good food, fun diving, and excellent crew.
Let me know if you have any questions, I'll be happy to help you.
Unfortunately, I had a few problems with my strobes so a lot of my pictures did not come out well. Here are the ones I had light or was amble to enhance them.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/alexandraintl/album?.dir=/da65&.src=ph&.tok=ph4TMlDB1T7lXzy5
Travel from LAX to PLS (Provedenciales, T&C) on AA via JFK.
8/27: Landed at Provo 30mins ahead of time. Immigration took about 30mins for every one to get through. Luggage is right on the other side and there is only one belt. They start taking bags off the belt so if you aren't first through customs then look onthe floor for your bag. I was unlucky enough to not have both pieces of luggage make it. All my dive gear didn't quite make the connection. I had to go around to the check in area and fill out a claim form with AA. A real mess for delivery since I was heading straight to the boat.
Taxi drivers wait for you right outside the terminal. V easy to find. The cab drive from the boat was way way late. He finally got me around 12:30. Since the boat does allow check in till 3pm, he took me to Turtle Cove hotel where other guests from the boat were staying. I had lunch ($10) and hung by/in the pool till 3pm.
T&C E II:
Here is where, unlike my luggage problem, I was very very lucky. We were a total of 4 guests: a couple and a single dive master and myself out of a possible 20 guests. The crew consists of Tom the captain, Frank the handyman, Stan the cook, and Angelie, Mike and Nath - the dive crew/instructors. All were divers except for Stan. They alternatives dives with us. They didn't really lead us unless we specifically asked for that.
We were also extremely lucky with the weather. It didn't rain once all week and the warmth felt great after a nice dive. Watch for the sun on a boat, you don't always feel how hot it is, till you're burnt and the reflection off the water and the bright deck just enhance it. Bottom line, wear sun block. I strongly suggest the spray kind that is sports/sweatproof. You don't want cream stuff all over your face before you go diving or you may have mask issues. Because we were right between 2 storms, and it had rained a lot on the islands, we had a real mosquito problem by Provo and West Caicos. Thank godness they had some OFF for us to us. But, if you can, bring some skin so soft with you (Avond) as the airlines will allow that but no airosols.
Day 1 - 5: 5 dives, day 6: 2 dives
The routine consisted of breakfast at 7am, first dive at 8am, morning snack 9:30am, 2nd dive 10:30, lunch at noon, 3rd dive 2:30pm, afternoon snack 3:30-4pm, 4th dive 4:30pm, dinner 6pm, night dive 8pm, movie time 8:30ish or after night dive.
Diving:
We all opted for nitrox but found out the second day, that they had a problem with them nitrox filler. So, they said they'd keep refilling us with as much as they could till it ran out. And, we didn't have to pay for it. They thought they fixed mid week but that just lasted a day. So, we had about 1/2 of the week's dives on 31-32% and the other half on 26-28%. Didn't really affect our dives except cut down our time at depth. I stayed down about 1hr each time just didn't spend the whole time down the wall. Really not too big a deal.
The dive sites, or order of where we went diving, was probably affected by my luggage retrieval. I got my dive gear on day 3 when a day boat met us at West Caicos. For the first 2 days, T&C Explorer was fantastic and hooked me up with dive gear and I was lucky to have a fellow diver lend me a wet suit. I didn't miss any diving due to the lost luggage. I just couldn't take photos as my synch cords were all in my dive bag. Lesson here, if you pack all you camera gear in a case, pack the synch cords in the same place.
Water temp was 82-83 the whole week. We hit a few thermoclines but nothing notable - only a few degrees lower.
We did 2 dives at every site which was great for us photographers. If we had a macro lense on one dive and should have done wide angle, or the other way around, we had a chance to change. The dive sites: Highway to heaven, the Gullies, Elephant Ear Canyon, French Cay
Sitting included: sea horse @ Gullies, hammerhead shark @ Elephant Ear, sting rays, eagle rays, reef and nurse sharks, only 2 turtles on day 1, barracudas, jacks, and the usual fish suspects.
The food:
The food was overall pretty good. Stan was good about catering to specific dietary needs which they asked us about when making the reservation.
I would have prefered to have just a piece of toast before the 1st dive and then a full breakfast afterwards but they were pretty set in their schedule and weren't too accomodating to change. The morning snack was usually something sweet like brownies or muffins. Afternoon snack was pizza, chips & salsa, cheese and crackers...
After dinner, we usually made popcorn which was great while watching a movie or after the night dive.
Drinks, water, sodas, wine, beer and liquor were actually all included. Obviously, after you had anything alcoholic during the day, you couldn't dive anymore.
The ship:
The boat's layout was really nice. Since there were only 4 of us, we were all upgraded. The top floor has 2 room with double beds and the captain's quarters. The main deck has dive gear/tanks outside, the dinning/living room, and 4 rooms with 2 single beds. There was one lower deck with crew quarters and a few more guest rooms with single or bunk beds. The bathroom had a sink, toilet and shower stall. They had a special toilet system that actually allowed for toilet paper in the toilet.
Camera table was on the main deck right by our gear area with a big rinse basin behind it. Under the table was a cabinet where we could plug in all chargers. Since we were so few, we also commondeered a table in the dinning room/lounge for extra lenses, computers, etc. If the boat was more full, the rooms did have a little desk area and a nightstand between the beds which I would have used for my computer. The rooms also had TVs with DVD players but again since we were a small group, we just watched movies together (unless we were so tired, we just went to bed).
9/2: First morning dive was at 6am, breakfast 7am, and 2nd dive around 8:30. We got back to port on Friday right after lunch. There really is not much to do at port though. We hung around on the boat and watched movies. Another option is to buy a day pass for club med and spend the afternoon/dinner there. Costs is $35 for dinner and $55 if you stay later and go to the night club. Pretty good deal since that includes buffet and all drinks.
We sent one person out to pick up pizza and brought it back to the boat where we had our drinks and watched a movie.
9/3: We left the boat at 9am and went straight to the airport. They had a power failure so all check in was manual! The airport is tiny and really uninteresting. However, it gets to be a zoo with multiple flights leaving mid day. We were first at the AA checking but it got quite crowded afterwards. Also the security line gets pretty backed up.
What to pack/bring:
anti-itch mostquitos/bug bites cream, hair conditioner, basic toiletries. A good idea to have a little emergency kit with aspiring/tylonol, and a low grade decongestant. I also brought antihystamin if the bug bites got too bad.
4-5 bathing suits if you have them, that way you can change into a dry one between dives. If you can bring 2 wet suits, do that too. You can get away without wearing any in the summer but we wore 1mm or 3mm. You'll be more confortable if you do long dives. You'll only need 2 shorts, 2 t-shirts, or sarongs for the day, and 1 relax/comfy outfit for the evening. You won't need any shoes expect the ones who travel in. No need to bring towels, they supply them for outside and shower.
Bring a good book - good between dives or the first/last days. They also have a bunch of books on board so if you finish one you can leave it and take one of the ones on board.
A bunch of DVDs. Again, they have some on board but everyone was really happy to have a fresh stack. The crew ended up watching ours when we were diving and then we had a great choice for the evening.
Summary: Great trip and fantastic deal for the cost. Of course, there is no guarantee to have the ship be that empty but even with more guests, they have a great layout, good food, fun diving, and excellent crew.
Let me know if you have any questions, I'll be happy to help you.
Unfortunately, I had a few problems with my strobes so a lot of my pictures did not come out well. Here are the ones I had light or was amble to enhance them.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/alexandraintl/album?.dir=/da65&.src=ph&.tok=ph4TMlDB1T7lXzy5
