The diving conditions are incredible, the health of the reefs, and the amount of marine life I saw was absolutely mind-boggling. And the ease of diving is bar none. You put your tank and BCD on and flop in easier than 1-2-3. What was the accommodation like? Like camping on the high seas, that sounds like it might be fun. Trust me, the diving will be worth it, my friend said.
What was he talking about? Blackbeard’s Cruises liveaboard Dive liveaboard
In 2022, a good dive buddy invited me on a live-aboard dive trip. I was apprehensive at first. I had never done a live abroad dive trip before, and a lot of the pictures I had seen of the boat and the accommodations and the no-frill tone of the Blackbeard’s Liveaboard website had me thinking about whether this is the best way for me to be spending my vacation time off work. Liveaboard is a large part of dive travel and often offers dive opportunities that one could never encounter with shore diving or charter diving. Liveaboard experiences are unique in that you will be brought to an area of the ocean that may have rarely, if ever, been visited by other divers, giving you views and experiences that couldn’t be had any other way.
In this review of my stay with black beard Cruise, I’ll share my experience with you and whether camping on the high seas is something you should consider.
BlackBeard Cruises is well-established in the business.
Blackbeard Cruises was established 40 years ago and operates a whole fleet of boats that sail worldwide. The home port where they port four vessels is Nassau, Bahamas. Two are liveaboard sailboats, The Morning Star and The Explorer. We were told that boats are identical, and my dive buddy has been on both of them, and they are mostly the same for all intents and purposes. The Morning Star and the Explorer regularly sail around the Exumas and the Exumas Cays. In particular, we spent much of our week around the Eleuthera Islands.
The Dive Experience
“So what do you think of the diving? I know you were recently in Roatan, and you rave about the Cozumel Reef?” My dive buddy asked after our third dive. He was a little nervous that maybe I was upset that the diving wasn’t up to my expectations. My reply: “Man, the accommodation initially got me slightly thrown off. It seemed like it might be a rough week, but after these three dives alone, I GET IT! Some of the most beautiful reefs I have ever seen in terms of health and abundance of life; this might be some of the best reef diving I have ever done.”
Blackbeard Curses is established to cater to diving full stop, from having a very organized dive brief with constant communication with how the diving will take place, who will be in the water first, and when to gear up to not miss out on any fun. Taking every measure to make sure everyone gets the best dive experience possible.
Once you arrive on the boat, you will be shown how to organize your gear on the board. Where to find your weights before the first check-out dive and what to expect before and after every dive. The captain will start the initial safety briefing, explaining how life on the boat will be for the next week. Right off the bat, this sets the tone for the trip, as the whole cruise will be focused on catering to you and your dive experience.
Due to the size of the boat, there is no equipment rinse tank, and there is limited fresh water. This worried me a little. I am a freshwater diver regularly; leaving salt water to dry on my gear for a week bothered me. Rest assured that anyone who wants to rinse their gear can do so once a day after their night dive. When you get on board, ask the crew to hose you down with the deck fresh water hose. It’s just a quick rinse. It helped my mind settle as to what salt might be doing to my equipment. After a week of my gear sitting in the sun and only gently rinsing after the last dive of the day, I saw no change or anything to worry about regarding saltwater corrosion.
Our first dive of the trip was a checkout dive, and the crew picked an incredible introductory spot on a wrecked drug trafficking plan in about 29 feet of warm crystal, clear water. Having a shallow, clear area to do your check-out dive with plenty of time to get your lead weight figured out was nice. Often, checkout dives are rushed and quite chaotic. Once we finished our check-out dive, within a couple of hours of leaving port, we were instructed that due to weather, we had a 9-hour crossing to Eluthria Island areas as that’s where we might spend most of our time due to wind and weather.
After that initial check-out dive, there were four dives a day every day for anyone who wanted to take them. The crew strives to get the guest at least 19 dives in a week unless something out of their control prevents that. Usually, the night dive takes place at the same spot as the last dive of the day and is also where the boat remains anchored for the night.
All the dives were great; you can’t ask someone who loves diving to differentiate. In most of the dives, I didn’t see a lionfish (an invasive species that kills many animals on a reef). There were countless dives of beautiful fan coral for the whole dive, some incredible swim through full of grouper and all sorts of moray eels. Several wreck dives at all depths. Usually, the day’s first dive would be a dive where you could go deeper than 100 ft. Every dive after that will typically be 60 ft and shallower as the day progresses.
All dives start with a comprehensive dive brief from the dive master/instructor on board; the dive brief will generally include any species of animals living in the area or any exciting features you don’t want to miss out on. There were normally pretty detailed diagrams drawn to help you navigate.
All dives are self-guided if you choose. On our trip, the dive instructor was busy training some of the people on board, so if you wanted a guided dive, you had to wait through the training portions of the students’ dive and then continue with the non-course-related diving. Other than that, you would guide yourself through most of the dive.
This may seem scary unless you understand how they organize the dives at Blackbeard. Most dive sites have been specifically selected for a safe dive experience. The dive boat is typically well within view of wherever you are diving. When you descend the line on most dives, you will make it to the ocean floor and swim along small reef mounds, and you and your buddy will feel like you’re alone exploring the reef. But if you float 10-15 feet to the top of the coral mound, you will see other divers from your group on the other side of the mound, and the boat will be within eyesight. Then, you just float back down and continue with your dive. It’s the closest I have ever come to hiking in the water.
Sharks!!!
At the start of the week part of the dive brief, we are told about the shark dive midweek, typically landing on a Wednesday or Thursday, depending on when your trip started. I didn’t give this too much thought as I love sharks and I love shark dive, but I have been on dozens now, and I know the typical routine your are taken to a familiar site; everyone kneels on the bottom, and a dive master presents a bait ball, and we enjoy the feeding frenzy on the bottom. This was very much the experience on this trip’s shark dive, too. What I particularly wasn’t expecting was that on this trip, there was no need for a shark dive or a bait ball to attract sharks, as this trip was a shark lover’s dream as every one of the 19 dives in 5 days there, at least a couple of sharks visited us. Now that I have read The Biology of Sharks by Peter Klimley and Steven Oerding 2013, I better understand why. But at the time, I was utterly in love and blown away.
Animal facts: In that book, it explained there had been research done that may give us reason to believe that several of the reef shark species have a resident reef where they usually live. They will patrol a territory, or when they catch a scent, they will seek it out, but once they find the food item, they usually return to their home reef. This led me to understand that most of these sharks must live on the reef we are visiting and not just randomly roam the ocean looking for food.
A quick experience: on our second dive, after seeing a couple of Caribbean reef sharks, I was excited about how incredible the diving had been so far. To my pure joy, as I splashed in and signalled back to the boat that I had a safe entry, I couldn’t help but just put my face in the water to look at the bottom, approximately 60 ft and to my exhilaration, do I not see a group of nurse sharks and more Caribbean reef shark waiting for us at the bottom. This sight would normally bring terror to a non-diver, but I am sure I am speaking to the converted if you read this article that it was a real, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
On board accommodations
The boat will accommodate 19 divers and five crew. The accommodations are slightly cramped as you are on a sailboat. There are a variety of bunk options. Several bunks surround the gally (Kitchen on a boat). These bunks are double-wide and are in a public area, as that is also where the kitchen, shower and dining tables are. Each bunk has a privacy curtain that works nicely to block out any light but doesn’t block sound. Suppose you are a light sleeper or don’t like to socialize till late. Try to avoid these bunks, which may help you have a more enjoyable trip. Then there are four double bunks sharing a bathroom mid-ship, then in the front of the boat, there are six more bunks sharing their own bathroom at the front of the ship below deck.
Pro Tip:
If you have the option, select these bunks if you’re not travelling with your partner where you are sharing a bed. These bunks have the most privacy as the curtain will make it like you have your own personal room. These were the only bunks on the boat that provided these options.
Food
If you like me, diving will work up a serious appetite, and given how many people are on the boat and when you see the size of the kitchen, I am sure you will be blown away by how much food they pump out of such a small space. If you have any special food requests or accommodations, make sure you make them known well before the boat leaves port. The crew will do everything in their power to accommodate their guest, but once they leave port, it puts a real damper on your trip if you need them to sail back just to pick up your box of goldfish crackers.
The boat crew sets the menu and will brief you on what to expect each night. We had steak night on Wednesday when we were there, which was a real hit. There will be plenty of food on your cruise, but there are some rules to eat on Black Beards that everyone will appreciate if you follow. Before, you have a second helping of food, and there is always food for seconds. Make sure you are clear with the captain that all the crew have eaten. We are the guests on the boat, so the crew will always eat last, and if everyone takes more than they can eat, and several people go in for seconds, they may still not finish. There might be no food left for the crew. Given the size of the boat for storing provisions and how busy the crew is, the chef won’t start marking more food once the meal is served, so the crew will go with very little food and have to resort to eating snacks until the next meal. When you see how hard the whole crew works and how much they strive for you to have a good time. This is a minor consideration on behalf of the guest.
On our trip, we had a few inconsiderate individuals, and this did happen one night; three individuals took more than they could eat, and we noticed that two of the crew didn’t eat any dinner and were snacking on some fruit. As a group, we approached this individual, pointed out the results of their actions, and reminded them of what was explained when we got on the boat. Those individuals were apologetic and made it up to the crew on tips at the end of the trip. I just mention this because the crew did not complain when this happened. They didn’t point it out in any way. We noticed it and asked the captain to ensure what we saw was happening, that some of the crew went without dinner.
Alcohol
As this is a dive trip, alcohol consumption is always welcome, but it is something we need to watch to stay hydrated, as dehydration is the number one cause of the bends. Blackbeard’s Provided domestic alcohol on board, beer on tap and as much rum punch as you want. The captain normally opens the bar after the last night’s dive. There were some nights when only some were doing the night dive, and the captain would tap the keg early for those individuals. The crew made it clear they had zero tolerance for drunken diving.
Showering and bathroom
On a boat, a bathroom is called a head. On our ship, the Explorer, there were three bathrooms; the largest one was at the back of the ship in the common area with the kitchen and the bunks surrounding the dining table.
The toilets are similar to plane toilets; they don’t use a lot of water as fresh water on the boats is mainly for drinking and bathing sort of, I’ll get back to that in a minute. With the bathroom, be mindful not to throw much, if any, paper down the toilet. There are receptacles in the bathroom for the paper. Toilets will clog regularly on the boats because we land lovers don’t know how to use the bathroom properly. The crew was very accommodating no clog got out of hand, and it was handled discreetly. The toilets regularly needed a lot of maintenance by the crew, but it never harmed our trip.
When it comes to showering on the boat, the truth is that most people didn’t shower often, and I know this may sound gross, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. You are diving all day in the water in a wetsuit. At the end of the day of diving, you hang any wet clothing on the side of the boat to dry and put on some shorts and a T-shirt.
The main reason for this is that fresh water is precious on the boat, and the freshwater for showering isn’t drinking water it’s water condensation collected from an evaporator, not the de-salination, which is only for drinking water. The evaporator won’t condense enough water for everyone to even take a 10-minute shower of just fresh water; there wouldn’t be enough for everyone to shower. So, keeping that in mind, you can take a freshwater shower, but there is a bit of a sequence to do it right.
There are two taps in the shower: a warm salt water shower and then a cold water shower.
This is how it works
- first, enter the shower and wet yourself with the salt water; enjoy the warm water it’s salty; you have as much as you want.
- Now that you are wet lather up and shampoo yourself
- Finally, you will have 3 min of fresh water to rinse off
I know that 3 minutes doesn’t sound like a lot, but it was more than enough for me, and I know there were a couple of women with long hair who just chose not to wash their hair as it wouldn’t be enough time. I know when the captain heard it wasn’t enough time for the people with long hair, He made it clear he would make minor exceptions to the rule, but I don’t think anyone took him up on it.
Pro-tip –
The single shower will get very busy after the night dive, as people are going to want to clean up at the end of the day. Skipping out on a night dive a few times gave me the boat mostly to myself, so nobody was waiting for me to shower. Another good time is first thing in the morning, as everyone is focused on eating or getting ready for the first dive.
Common areas
The Morning Star is a boat catered to diving, so there isn’t too much space on the board for lounging. Below the deck, there are the common areas in the back of this ship where the dining table is. This area will often be busy post-dive, with people charging cameras and batteries and using laptops to view videos post-dives. Basically, all the common areas where you will be spending all your time when not diving or sleeping will be on the boat’s deck. There is a large awning to protect from the sun and fibreglass benches all around the ship for lounging. At the front of the boat, the life raft makes a great, comfortable place to sunbathe and take naps between dives.
Pro-tip
The front life raft is a sought-after place to be, so get there early and don’t give it up. Use your buddy all week so you can play tag team to keep that spot.
Because you spend most of your time on the deck of the boat, bring a proper sun protection hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen. The fibreglass seat isn’t too bad. I never brought a cushion, and I was fine, but several others packed a mall foam or inflatable cushion to sit on, and the crew can sell you a Blackbeard crushes cushion any time if you feel you would like one.
When it comes to packing, follow the packing instructions on the website. They really cover everything you need, as there will not be any space for extras. I was apprehensive when I saw this list at first, but after talking to several divers who had already done this trip several times, they swor by the list, and I can say they were spot on. I had everything I needed and understood that there was no room for extra. Just in case there is a cool night, wear a windbreaker jacket or a light-packing jacket. It won’t take up too much space, and you will have it if you need it.
Pro-tip
The only personal space for your belongings is your sleep bunk and a very small shelf at the foot of your bunk. Pack all your clothes in packing cubes. It helps to keep your bunk originated and maximizes the space you have.
Crew and staff
Our boat had a crew of five: a Captin, a First Mate, an Engineer, a Cook, a Deckhand and a dive instructor/deckhand. All the crew had a great positive attitude, always happy to help.
Captain– our captain was great. He had worked for the company for over a decade and had captained every vessel the company had in its fleet. The boat we were on wasn’t his official boat, but he was training and testing his Second Mate to get his Coast Guard requirements to Captain the Explorer once he was ready. The Captin was always very accommodating, full of stories of crazy dive experiences and other experiences with guests. He swore not to say anything bad about guests, but after the three days, we wore the Captin down; he told us one story where a guest got drunk and physically violent, and they had to find a small island to strand the guest to keep everyone else safe till the coast guard came. Whether that was true or not, it was a fair warning not to get out of line on the boat. He also couldn’t tell us whether there was a weapon on board or not in case it happened again. (The Coast Guard doesn’t allow commercial vessels to have any weapons on board I am sure he was keeping us in suspense.)
First mate– The first mate was in charge of the boat any time the Captin was on relief or occupied below deck with equipment or planning navigations.
Engineer- The engineer will quickly become the most valuable person on the boat when you experience regular toilet issues. The engineer is the one who corrects that, so in my opinion, the person doesn’t make enough money. We also had a breakdown of our freshwater desalination unit while out sailing. He took the whole unit apart and replaced the broken components lucky they had it on board, and we had fresh water running before we knew anything was wrong.
Deckhand – hour deck hand was great and worked hard. It was her first week on the boat, so she was working hard to earn the crew’s respect. The deckhand supports every one of the crew members, and she helps cook and prep meals. Deckhand will be right next to the engineer during repairs, and ran around the boat like a wild person when we came to each dive site to moore the boat smoothly so none of the guests ever really felt the rocking of the boat one moored.
Dive instructor-was a great dive instructor I didn’t take any courses with him on this trip, but his sheer enthusiasm for diving and the wildlife exemplified what a dive instructor should be. He was also a model in the water with exemplary trim and buoyancy and had a clean kit set up. He would be the first to show everyone anything interesting happening in the water, whether you were his student or not.
One note that I did not expect was the effort the crew made the whole trip to limit the rocking and swinging of the boat as much as possible to prevent guests from getting seasick. The crew is constantly considering wind and wave direction, hoisting gib sales to tighten up the boat when we would moor at a dive site or overnight they would use triple rigging to the boat was tied at the front and back so that the boat would face into the wind. It was during these times you could see how hard the deckhand and the whole crew worked together so that we could have the most enjoyable experience. It was impressive and appreciated.
Booking and logistics
This trip was fully booked through my local dive shop, Dan’s Dive Shop, and their resident travel agent, Fawn Messer. Fawn does an outstanding job, especially with adventure and dive vacations. Feel free to reach out to her for any Travel-related questions or to book a trip. Our trip was hosted by TikTok Dive celebrity Chris Foisey with Modern Diver Channel. Once we flew to Nassau from Toronto, we had an overnight stay at the Nassau Hotel, which is also Black Beard Cruise’s home port. The accommodations were basic for the single-night stay, this also gave us a day to explore the island and catch any attractions. A few others and I visited the pirate museum. Several people in our group took a taxi to the Atlantis Hotel to see the aquarium. Make use of your time when you arrive, as once you are on the boat, they usually don’t come back to port.
Excursions
BlackBeard Cursise offers a few non-dive excursions there are several beaches and Pig Island that they can bring you to if your group would like a break from all the diving. Our group is very dive-focused, so we didn’t want to do any excursions that would distract from the diving. This is normally coordinated in the opening orientation with the Captin. He will tell you all the offerings that are available given the wealthier and the planned journey, and if the group decides they want to do all the excursions, some or none. There are no rules; the crew and Captin are there to provide you with the best experience within their power.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you are looking for an affordable, unique dive experience that will leave you sad, the week is coming to an end. Then BlackBeard Cursies is the trip for you. Don’t let the camping on the high. Seas intimidate you. The staff and the crew will do their best to show you a good time, and the diving, I promise, will make up for any slight discomfort you may experience on the top side of a sailboat.