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Dive Review of Valentina Liveaboard (Fun Azul Fleet) in
Mexico (Western)/Sea of Cortez

Valentina Liveaboard (Fun Azul Fleet): "Underwhelmed by dive product", Nov, 2022,

by Jessica Prenger, CO, US ( 1 report). Report 12270.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 2 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 3 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments First and foremost, the crew were amazing. They did their best under the circumstances. The food was also delicious, and there was plenty of it at meals and throughout the day.

The dive product was severely lacking. My husband and I went thinking we would see pelagics and large bait balls. We saw a total of 1 hammerhead and one school of baracuda (though it was massive.) The lead dive guide told us they haven't seen hammerheads at El Bajo in 2 years. The weather became windy our last few days so we headed back to Los Islotes early; though I've been on other liveaboards in much rougher conditions. We saw sea lions on almost every dive, and while they are so fun and a joy to interact with, I would not have paid for 6 days on a liveaboard knowing that was mostly what we would see. The mobula night dive was quite nice. We did a couple of wreck dives in a protected area because of the wind. Overall, I was expecting to see much more varied marine life.

The boat has been newly remodeled in 2018 (I think) but is in need of some TLC. There are no hooks in any of the rooms and no holders or trays in the showers. The beds are fairly comfortable. The sun deck has about 8 lounge chairs and otherwise hard wooden chairs with no cushions. The salon has one L-shaped couch that needs replacing. There was not enough comfortable lounge space for the 19 people on the boat. And with only 3 dives a day, there is quite a bit of down time.

Again, the crew was amazing, they just don't have a lot to work with. I've done a lot of exceptional diving and heard such great things about the Sea of Cortez, so perhaps my expectations were too high, but it is not a trip I can recommend.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving All Caribbean, Galapagos, Socorro, Maldives, Palau, Yap, Tubbataha, French Polynesia, Hawaii
Closest Airport La Paz Getting There Denver to Cabo and rented a car one way, poor selection of flights to La Paz

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy, cloudy Seas calm, choppy, surge
Water Temp 77-79°F / 25-26°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 20-40 Ft/ 6-12 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions Stay with guide, those low on air surfaced with buddy, 50-60 min dive time
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 1 stars Tropical Fish 1 stars
Small Critters 2 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

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 I leave the photo taking up to my husband
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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