Dive Review of Explorer Ventures in
St. Kitts and Nevis/St Kitts, Saba

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Explorer Ventures: "Caribbean Explorer II: St Kitts/Saba/St Maarten. July 2024", Jul, 2024, by Jon Hoffmann, GA, US ( Contributor 17 reports with 19 Helpful votes). Report 13012 has 1 Helpful vote.
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	Getting There: Direct from Atlanta. Delta flies every Saturday to/from both St. Kitts and St Maarten. Percy the driver will meet you outside the SKB airport for the 10 minute van ride in St Kitts to the marina for $10 per person. The crew was exceptionally accommodating and helpful to one passenger that had travel issues and was delayed by a day. A driver will pick you up at the St Maarten marina for the airport trip home about 3 hours before departure time. All passengers are required to depart the boat by 9AM, so I got a $20 day pass at the Seaview Hotel to pass the time before my 3:10PM Delta flight out of SXM. The SXM airport is fairly new and expansive with a handful of restaurants and shops to pass the time before your flight. It’s about a 30 minute ride and $30 for the taxi from the St Marrten docks to the SXM airport. The Boat: Approximately 115 feet long with a 20-foot beam. A shallow draft of less than 7 feet enabled all dives directly from the boat with a 5-foot jump off the sides for entry, and 2 ladders on the back for reboarding. Safety protocols looked up to high standards and I was told there would always be a decompression chamber within a 3 hour boat ride (the chamber is located in Saba). Although all dives were from the boat, a dingy was in the water at all times in case an errant divers surfaced away from the boat which did happen one time. The boat is a bit tired, but well maintained. The crew however was exceptional and eager to please. All had a positive attitude led by Amber who always greeted with a warm smile and upbeat disposition that was infectious and set the tone that it would be impossible to get in a bad mood. Cabins 1, 2 & 3 on the main deck are under the galley and subject to a fair amount of noise starting at 5AM when the chef begins meal prep for the day. Cabins 3 & 4 on the main deck would probably be the quietest. All rooms have ensuite bathrooms, but the cabins are small. Check the boat map to get a sense of the different bed layouts. There aren’t individual temperature controls in the cabins, but the AC works very well. Those that have been on the boat before brought magnetic vent covers so they could better moderate the temperature in the cabin, but I like sleeping in a cool environment and kept the vent wide open at night. A double bunk on the bottom and single above in my room. Only about 2 feet of headroom above both beds so it could be claustrophobic to some, and you are guaranteed to bump a head/elbow/knee at some point. It would have been awkward and uncomfortable to share my cabin with a stranger. Only a single drawer for belongings. There is only a 2-foot-wide section under the bottom bunk to store bags, so use soft sided luggage. The cabin floor space available to stand is about 2’X5’ with 6’ ceilings. The 2X7 bathroom contains a marine head and 2’X2’ shower. The shower head is about 4.75 feet above the floor. Unless you are that height or less, expect yoga skills to come in handy getting your hair wet in such a confined space. The semi-enclosed dining area hosts the buffet style lunches and dinners. Breakfasts were cooked to order. Chef Julian whipped up tasty meals and snack. All beverage, including alcohol are included. The dive deck is spacious with a massive camera table and dedicated battery charging area. You are assigned a tank and gear bench spot for the week. All tank refills are done on the same tank so you never have to change gear. Nitrox was consistent at 32 and tank fills only take about 5-10 minutes between dives. As a note: although I did a nitrox check immediately after each tank filling, a freshly filled tank will be warm and register about 3300 PSI. It will drop down to about 3000 PSI after it cools. There are 2 hot showers on the dive deck and 2 camera rinse tubs. There is a gear rinse tub with a mixture of Simple Green, but was never used between dives. You should be able to get cell phone reception at St Kitts and St Maarten, but you will rarely get reception at Saba and during most of the crossings. Between island passages aren’t bad, in fact they make for great sleeping conditions, but bring Dramamine or similar just in case. The Diving: We had minimal visibility (approximately 10-20 feet) the first day in St. Kitts and high winds, but warm water of about 85 degrees at bottom depth consistently throughout the trip. The 2nd day in St Kitts saw improved visibility to about 50’ and from then at Saba it was 50-80’. DMs Denzel and Henry were professional and attentive giving good briefings and keeping an eye on everyone, but never baby sat or herded anyone. Although they only allow solo diving if properly certified, they were perfectly fine allowing buddy pairs to go off to do their own thing. Henry was more focused on the macro stuff, whereas Denzel likes the big stuff and covered more ground during dives. It was a good mix of style as there was only one DM in the water each dive. Most sites had a black volcanic sand bottom. Caribbean nudibranchs are not a myth, giving me my first sightings ever in the Caribbean. Lion fish seemed concentrated in some areas and nonexistent in others. There was a surprising amount of small reef fish in all areas despite the lion fish. Not a lot of large fish, but Turtles on most dives and an occasional reef and nurse shark here and there. There were healthy corals in most places (no sign of SCTLD) but some reefs with an abundance of algae. Overall, I would rate it as above average coral color for the Caribbean.
Websites	Explorer Ventures
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	FL Keys, Caribbean, Costa Rica, Thailand, Micronesia, Maldives, Indonesia, PNG, Palau, Malaysia, Philippines
Closest Airport	SKB	Getting There	Direct ATL to SKB
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	choppy, surge
Water Temp	84-85°F / 29-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	20-80 Ft/ 6-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Solo allowed if properly certified. Most dives 60 min max
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 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		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Explorer Ventures in St. Kitts and Nevis/St Kitts, Saba

Explorer Ventures: "Caribbean Explorer II: St Kitts/Saba/St Maarten. July 2024", Jul, 2024,

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):

Dive Review of Explorer Ventures in
St. Kitts and Nevis/St Kitts, Saba