Tell me more abou the Juliet please.
I've just started to seriously consider taking a trip with them in May 08.
Any insight on the itinerary, the operations? Do they dive from the boat or from a skiff?
What about the dive sites? Are the cabins really small? Just general information would be nice to have.
I called and have not been able to get anyone on the phone. They may be on the vessel sailing now.
How many dives did you get per day? What's the shower situation? I understood it's two full heads w/ showers. How did that work for you?
All information will be appreciated.
Thanks,
I made two cruises on the Juliet, one in the Bahamas and one in Turks. Let me try to address your questions. I don't know when you plan to take your trip. Right now the Juliet is in the Turks. Much of the information about the ship including pictures of the cabins can be seen at their website at
Juliet Sailing and Scuba Diving.
At last check there were two captains on the Juliet, John and Tim. John is the owner. Both are great guys and do a fine job of getting you to some good diving, keeping everyone safe and managing the crew who are all very helpful.
There are 5 crew on each cruise: the captain, a divemaster, an engineer, a cook and a naturalist. Every day there are up to 4 dives including a night dive, as well as spearfishing for hogfish and lobster during surface intervals and afternoons. In the Turks, the best time of year to go is in the next 5 weeks if you want to see whales. That is hit and miss.
There are very few drift dives. Most dives are on walls or reefs. Depending on when you fly, you can expect to do about 17 to 19 dives max during the week, plus free diving. You can get all Nitrox fills for the week for $100 extra, or you can get Nitrox for single dives for $10 each. You can get to some deep walls, but it is not necessary to dive very deep (over 80 feet) on most dives to see lots of great sealife.
Cabins are small on every liveaboard, but depending on the number of people traveling with you, say your wife for instance, the cabins can be very comfortable. If you are going to make a reservation on the boat, request cabin 4. On my last trip, I had that cabin to myself. In my opinion it is the nicest cabin on the boat. My first trip on the boat, I was all the way at the back of the boat, and the accommodations were kind of cramped. But I was there for the diving, and there was certainly no discomfort and it was convenient to the shower and head. I never had a problem getting into the head or the shower when I wanted to. The shower has soap and shampoo installed for your use. There was plenty of hot water in the showers AND on deck. When you came up from your dive, you could run hot water straight inside of your wetsuit during the surface interval right up on deck.
Yes, there is a head in the front and one in the back, as well as washer and dryer. They make all of their water, so you can't use the washer at will, but there are times when you can when the captain allows it.
The ship holds 12 passengers max to 5 crew. On my last trip there were only 8 passenger to 5 crew. Everyone is friendly. Morale is great on the ship and don't expect to lose weight because they feed you 3 full meals plus in between meal snacks. Everything is included in the cruise price. You are expected to tip 15 to 20% at the end of the cruise. I was happy to do so on both of my trips.
If you go to Bahamas, the boat (its up to the passengers) can skip a night dive and go to Bimini one night. At least one of the crew was a resident, so we knew where to go and what to do when we went ashore. There was live music and we had a great time.
I never had any problems getting to sleep after all the food and a day of diving. I hope to schedule a trip on the Juliet before this year is out. I will go back to the Bahamas again this time. The LDS in Mandeville will schedule a trip during the summer, and I will try to go when they do.
Hope this helps.
