Dive Review of Explorer Ventures/Caribbean Explorer II in
Caribbean (General)/Saba, St. Kitts, Nevis

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Explorer Ventures/Caribbean Explorer II, May, 2014, by Jeffrey D Hubbard MD, NY, US ( Top Contributor 33 reports with 18 Helpful votes). Report 7621.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was our 29th liveaboard, and the international crew was among the most diligent, friendly and careful we have known. Six crew for 17 divers means hard work, and they were all up to it. Engineer Brett did (what looked like) a major 1st/2d stage regulator field repair while the owner dived on a loan reg. Purser Maria was everywhere, doing nearly everything. Chef Jane produced an endless array of delicious meals and after-dive treats, and was always attentive to special food requests. The dive deck staff is everybody on the crew, though Leslie & Martin were the official dive guides, and everyone on the crew, especially Capt. Nestor, was an accomplished guide and knew all the sites. Need help untangling hoses or getting a back zipper done up? There’s a crew member right there, doing it. There are two night crossings of about 3 hours each, moderately rough. Bring whatever medication you like for motion sickness. Salon and dive deck were commodious, and there is a spacious sundeck. Cabins vary from tiny (only one person can stand at once) to comfortable (two can stand and dress, if good friends.) We recommend reviewing the Vessel Layout on the website and booking a cabin, with or without bunks, that will be comfortable for you. We found #5 (#6 is similar) fine in queen bed (=2 twins pushed together) configuration. The carpet (floor and walls) was dusty and sneeze-making. Cabins are nicely a/c, the salon is usually not. It’s open to the air but entirely sun-sheltered, never uncomfortable. All dives begin on at an announced time – no, “The pool is open.” The times are reasonable, and come back when you want or are down to 500 psi. Depth is limited to 130 ft, or 110 ft if diving the standard-issue nitrox, 32%. Fills always over 3000 psi. No deco diving allowed. This is all fine, with one exception. Leaving aside the issue of arbitrary depth limits, a very nice Saba pinnacle, “3d Encounter,” is 90 ft deep on the top and could be an excellent dive. With everyone diving nitrox, this means that nineteen divers, many with cameras, are swarming around the top 20 ft of the narrow pinnacle, in the current, bumping into each other. Reducing the O2 to, say, 28%, for that dive would extend the operating depth enough (132 ft) to make more of the pinnacle accessible without getting into either the forbidden depth or the forbidden deco. The crew logs every diver’s time in, time out, max depth and returning pressure. I had a few tanks come back in the high 400s and never got dinged. We never got even close to required decompression. Saba dives were mostly very good, some (Tedran Wall, Tent Reef) fabulous. St. Kitts/Nevis dives were weaker, on the average. Devil’s Cavern was good, but there were a few dives with such poor visibility that we surfaced early or skipped them entirely. Very few good size fish, but excellent small reef fish. The night dives seemed better . . . cooperative octopuses! Additional charges on checkout were 23% of the charter price, not counting (well-earned) crew tips. The boat is pretty good, the crew excellent. They deserve some better dive sites.
Websites	Explorer Ventures
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Caribbean, Hawai'i, Fiji, Micronesia, Australia, PNG, Brazil
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	81-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	- Ft/ - M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Depth limit 130 ft on air OR 110 ft on 32% nitrox
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

Subscriber's Comments

By Ms Lynda Durfee in VA, US at Jun 10, 2014 10:01 EST

I've been this itinerary 4 times and Aug 9-16 will be my 5th. Looks like you unsual poor viz on some SK dives; don't recall having that problem. Best site on SK (only done on on trip) was Monkey Shoals, which is far south. I try to avoid packs of photographers, because I'v been kicked HARD to many times, but prefer to wait until they've moved on. 130 on ai and 110 on NITROX aren't "arbitrary" dive limits, but standard recommedations. Given the turnaround time until next dive and full boat, it probably wouldn't be practical to change the mix for one dive.

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Dive Review of Explorer Ventures/Caribbean Explorer II in Caribbean (General)/Saba, St. Kitts, Nevis

Explorer Ventures/Caribbean Explorer II, May, 2014,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Explorer Ventures/Caribbean Explorer II in
Caribbean (General)/Saba, St. Kitts, Nevis