Nekton

[dannybot]

Any thoughts on Nekton from Ft. Lauderdale? Got a deal on airfare, but has to be used domestic, so I'm lookign around for a domestic dive trip.

Thanks

[Zenagirl]

We've done 3 Nekton cruises, one to Belize, one to NW Bahamas, and one to Cay Sal Bank. I'd recommend Cay Sal Bank very highly and would do it again in a heartbeat! Not a luxury boat, but great food, great diving, and great service.

One thing I'd say is that in this economy I wouldn't prebook a liveaboard trip too far in advance (a few weeks at most). I'm concerned enough that I can't help but wonder how close a lot of dive operators (not just liveaboard ones) are to bankruptcy.

[chinacat46]

I've booked trips within two weeks and gotten sweet deals on live aboards 20-25% off if they have spots. If you are flexible there are open spots and with the economy so bad the live aboard companies will be looking to make deals to fill spots. Ask for freebies like nitrox and onboard credits also. If you don't ask how can they say yes?

[dannybot]

Thanks, still discussing it with DB

[tcdamsel]

Just returned from Nekton Pilot on their St. Croix itinerary out of San Juan. The ship is roomy, but very much in need of refurbishing. It depends if you care about that sort of thing. The dive deck is great, and the crew is outstanding, despite being very young. The food is fantastic!! The diving was a disappointment. Because of the fertilizer used in the US Virgins, there is tons of brown algae covering the reef and the viz is generally bad (40-60 ft.). Of course, that is relative to what you are used to. The downstairs bedrooms are extremely damp and can be very smelly, which I found to be unpleasant, especially toward the end of the trip. I'd consider the Nekton again, but not that itinerary.

[scubarobin]

We have done the Nekton twice, Cay Sal and Medio reef, both in Bahamas. Both trips were excellent and I would highly recommend them. I have videos if you are interested.

robin

[dannybot]

Thanks for all the input, but I think we are going to do a land based dive trip this time.

[Parrotman]

Originally Posted by tcdamsel

Just returned from Nekton Pilot on their St. Croix itinerary out of San Juan. The ship is roomy, but very much in need of refurbishing. It depends if you care about that sort of thing. The dive deck is great, and the crew is outstanding, despite being very young. The food is fantastic!! The diving was a disappointment. Because of the fertilizer used in the US Virgins, there is tons of brown algae covering the reef and the viz is generally bad (40-60 ft.). Of course, that is relative to what you are used to. The downstairs bedrooms are extremely damp and can be very smelly, which I found to be unpleasant, especially toward the end of the trip. I'd consider the Nekton again, but not that itinerary.

I was wondering about the condition of the Pilot. Supposedly it was in dry dock last fall and was completely done over. Obviously not. tcdamsels discription fits what my experience was when I was on the boat last year.

I like the way the Nekton group operates but I would not go on the pilot again.

Jim

[Zenagirl]

It seems like every year she's getting "refurbished" in dry dock. I can honestly say that we've been on the Pilot 3x over a 2 year period (last time almost 2 years ago) and she looked pretty much the same each time...no improvements at all. I think their idea of "refurbishment" is a new coat of paint and (maybe) new carpet. She needs a complete tear down type of overhaul IMO.

And don't get me wrong, we had an absolutely unbelieveably fabulous time on all 3 of our weeks on her! Crew was great, loved the captain (he's now gone), food was yummy, and diving was spectacular (love the steel 95 tanks!). Probably the only reason we haven't gone back is because we discovered Bonaire, which we liked even more than a liveaboard, which was a surprise to us. So instead of a liveaboard this summer, we're returning to Bonaire for 2 weeks (for the same money as a week on a liveaboard), and next summer we're heading to Fiji for 2 weeks (for far less than 2 weeks on a liveaboard)...so a liveaboard isn't in our future for quite awhile.