Explorer Ventures Liveaboard Diving FleetReviews of explorerventures.com

The crew was friendly, the dive guides were helpful and skilled, the food was very good. I was on at least 20 different liveaboards all around the world during the last 20 years. After a liveaboard sunk recently in Egypt where several divers died, I was very astonished about the lack of safety measures. There was no proper security briefing with safety exercise, only a short talk of the captain, the live wests are not stored in the cabins, they are stored in the salon upstairs under the seat. In every other liveaboard I personally know, the live wests are stored in the cabins. Normally the dives at carribean explorer end at the ship. After the last dive we missed the ship, and there was current against us. In the briefing we were told that we could be picked up with the Zodiac. We had to realize, that the zodiac is not well enough equipped to pick up several divers and the crew was obviously not trained for this event. It took very long to pick us up, and the motor of the zodiac is quite weak. I could Imagine some problems in a real emergency situation. My cabin is described as a queen bed with a second bed above. In fact, this are bunk beds. The head room above the beds is very limited. There is just one single little drawer for storage. I had this cabin for me alone. I couldn‘t imagine how to share this cabin with someone Else. The air condition could‘t be regulated. After the dives I felt freezing cold. The dives were nice, very good visibility, impressive sponges. The land excursions were well organized and I liked them.

Your saving grace was Natalya a fantastic dive leader who managed to make every dive we had with her a delight. So if I were to score her she is a 10 star. As for the rest of the trip and while everyone of the staff with the exception of the Barman made a huge effort to make sure the guests had a great time, they were working in less than ideal conditions. Understaffed so every member had to do multiple duties even the captain would be on the dive deck helping g guests in and out of their kit. The tiny lady responsible for cleaning the rooms was lugging heavy tanks around which was clearly a challenge for her. Now for the boat it is too small to accommodate the 16 divers with a cramped dive deck and living/ dining area where people were practically on top of each other. The rooms are tiny and when sharing with a stranger having beds so close together is a comfort zone stretch. No sufficient space to store our stuff. Our bags were stored somewhere on the boat and my brand new dive bag came back ripped which I was offered $150 as compensation for. Still a new bag that was damaged by storage when it had survived intact multiple airlines baggage handling enroute to and from the Galapagos. The handling of the diving equipment was very rough so much so that my secondary regulator was broken at the end of the last dive. Luckily just the purge button face plate. There is more I could add but won’t as it may have been one-offs so I will give benefit of the doubt. The 3 star review is for the great diving we enjoyed, Natalia the dive guide and the hard work put in deserve a 5 star . Master liveaboards, the Humboldt explorer, the barman deserve a 2. The food which was hit and miss both in quality and quantity deserves a 3. When it was good it was great but when it wasn’t it was lousy. Hope this helps future potential guests

Basic old school boat

CEx needs to decide if they are providing a guided dive experience or supporting independent liveaboard diving. If guided dives, groups should be no larger than 8 divers and split by bottom time/camera habits. If independent, then divers should be allowed to dive their own profiles (up to a reasonable time limit), and encouraged to explore sites once appropriately briefed. Having 12-13 divers grouped with a single dive master greatly limits the enjoyment of liveaboard diving. Boat condition and setup was average for the cost. Warm showers on the dive deck are a nice, but small cabins and limited common areas make it hard to get any distance from fellow passengers on a full boat. Food was very good, with many healthy options. Staff was friendly and helpful. Sadly, the reefs are in miserable condition, with moderate hard coral bleaching, heavy algae growth and a marked lack of large reef fish -- aside from lion fish, which are thriving. While not CEx's fault, one wonders if there are more appealing dive sites in the region.

i am sorry to give just a 3star rating, but its all about the boat. everything was perfect with the trip: the crew, the diveguides, the food... everything, exept for the boat. i think it is very old and not worth the money i spent. take it out of the water, make everything (!) new and i come back and give you a 5 star rating ;-)

Overall experience was good. The crew was friendly and helpful. I would not have been happy had I paid the "brochure price" as the accomodations are very dated and in desperate need of upgrades...but paying $1000 off per person it was a great value. Desperately need new pillows, flat as pancakes possibly original to the 50 year old boat. The beds were comfortable but sleeping on a 2inch thick hard pillow was not. Safety concerns: The dive profiles had no rhyme or reason which puts divers at increased risk for the bends. Your dive profile and your daily profile should be deep in the beginning , shallow in the end. In our training as master divers you learn that the deep dives should be in the morning and get shallower throughout the day so you're off gassing nitrogen all day. On a single dive if you go deep and gradually come up . We were going to 60' then to 30 then back to 60 doing the "yoyo dive" is also risky. Starting on a shallow dive then doing a deep dive is also dangerous. This was all week long. We have over 600 dives and have never done with profiles like this and we do 4 dives a day for 5-7 days on every trip. If the captain is going to be the guide on the dive he should be counting heads and starting dives together, not just swimming off by himself. This is how he handled most dives whereas Brett looked after everyone to ensure no one got lost and everyone was safe. High Pressure Tipping meeting:The majority of the boat did not like the "tip ambush" just before dinner on Thursday evening (as described by one fellow diver) 36 hours before we were to disembark. After the last night dive, people want to relax and shower, not be told to go in the captains room privately to settle up the bull. There was plenty of time to give everyone a copy of their bill, leave a Tip line and return by dinner the night before we left. The group did not like the big 40 minute lecture with the captain requesting a 20% tip on the "brochure price, not what you paid." We are Americans and know how to tip. This turned many off and most had planned to tip more but because of how the whole tip meeting and payment procedure was handled, the majority tipped much less than they would have had you not treated us like middle schoolers or like a high pressure sales gimmick to buy a timeshare. There's a classier more professional way of handling that which is give the bill out, request it back in 24 hours and let people tip what they want. Not guilting people 36 hours before disembarking with high pressure sales talk. I would do it again for the discount price I paid. I'd sit out the tip meeting and I'd request the dive profiles were to industry safety standards. Jill Young Sint Maarten to Saba to St.Kitts July 29 to Aug 5

Constructive Dislikes: 1. Very crowded Dive Tender boats showing wear (Starboard rubber flaking off) with no repair. 2. No rinse tanks or safe storage for camera rigs on tenders (twice my camera “took” shots inside crates because fins & other cameras piled on top, triggering shutter). 3. Nitrox testing should be visible – period. Tanks were labeled with O2 content and we were allowed to re-test if desired. A reading that does not change over 17 dives is beyond sampling variance believability. 4. Night dives seemed unprecedented. At best, we made two dusk dives after charter guests complained. 5. No Peleliu, Anguar, or any distant travel dive sites. Certainly not to justify “fuel surcharges”. 6. We expected 110 V Palau-style outlets. Instead, the ship has Australian/New Zealand-style. 7. The 2 spiral staircases, while unique among dive boats, are not camera-rig friendly. 8. Entries from tenders are not camera-friendly. My contribution to problem is I return to the boat to have my camera rig passed down to me. Sit-in entries “on 3-2-1 Go” don’t work if anyone (like me) need to return to stern to grab a handed-down camera rig. To be fair, most had GoPros hugged to their chest and after entry, could descend. In my case, I sit in, pop up and return to stern to retrieve my camera. Once, the ship needed repositioning and I found myself within an arm’s length of a moving prop. I prefer a ship in neutral on entries. Another time, most went in (in a current) on “3-2-1” except one diver amidships who did not sit in until “3-2-1-and 1…and 1…and one” just as I popped up down current under him and his falling tank! He did not realize his delayed entry would run into my return for camera. I don’t have a solution. I realize the ship sometimes needs positioning. I also realize coordinated sit-ins work 99% of the time. But the crowded tender made me wish for a separate entry. Positives about Black Pearl 1. Roomy decks (but I just wish I could access my cameras without those spiral staircases). 2. Silverware was fancy and food plentiful throughout the trip. 3. Divemaster (& Cruise Director) Mohammed was very helpful at fixing gear with tools available. 4. Divemaster Jefry and all other staff were professional, helpful, fun, and busy. 5. Dive briefs by Mohammed and Jefry were very descriptive and thorough. 6. Lighting in cabins, and cabins themselves were adequate (but electronic, 4-button toilet flush a bit much). 7. Wrecks on day one! Iconic sites like Chandelier, Blue Corner, German Channel etc. all visited. Loved the Jake Plane wreck!

Great staff, beautiful boat, good food… man things not as expected for a ‘Liveaboard’… the boat didn’t move much, and still long boat rides to/from dive sites. And… the first day’s dives (at least the first 2) were a waste of time and energy. Unacceptable for a trip with this price tag… that said, I would still return if just a few things were done differently!!!