Ring in 2019 on the Aqua Cat Liveaboard

      Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas

      BP
      Blue Planet Scuba
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      142 reviews
      Dec 29, 2018 - Jan 5, 2019
      Group size: 20 - 28
      Ring in 2019 on the Aqua Cat Liveaboard
      Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas

      Blue Planet Scuba
      • Email address verified
      • Facebook verified
      • Twitter verified
      142 reviews

      Dec 29, 2018 - Jan 5, 2019
      Group size: 20 - 28

      About this trip

      7 nights onboard the Aqua Cat + up to 5 dives per day


      Join Blue Planet for the best diving in the Bahamas! This is the ultimate escape aboard your own private luxury yacht. Imagine sinking your toes into sugar sand, snorkeling or diving among the sharks and sting rays, or hiking the trails of pirates and bootleggers of years gone by. No crowds, no set itineraries, nothing to do but sit back, relax and choose from an incredible variety of activities including scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking, sunbathing, and island exploring.

      The Exumas

      You will cruise from Nassau, Bahamas to the remote islands of the Exumas, and especially the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, the most pristine area in all the Bahamas. For over 30 years, much of the northern Exumas has been a National Underwater Park with no fishing, spearfishing or collecting allowed. Because of these laws there are miles and miles of undersea gardens.

      The variety of dive sites in the Exuma Cays is truly unique and offer opportunities not available elsewhere and they can on be reached on a liveaboard. Each week we offer a great variety of diving including thrilling shark feeding dives, walls that begin as shallow as 40′ and slope over the edge where large pelagics are frequently seen, exhilarating high speed drift dives through the cuts of the cays, blue holes which are banked by patch reefs with huge schools of fish as well as other wonderful sites. You can enjoy up to 26 dives per week and will leave with a log book full of new memories and wonderful sightings.

      Great for non-divers too!

      For those who wish to do more than blow bubbles, eco-adventures are offered daily. There is a 28’ jet boat available to take guests to deserted islands for hours of beach combing, relaxing, and hiking trails. Kayaks, SUPS and snorkel boards are all available onboard! Unique experiences indigenous to the Bahamas are also offered – meet the endangered iguanas of Allen’s Cay, swim with pigs at Major’s Cay, watch the rare tropic seabirds nest at Camp Driftwood to name just a few of the activities you can enjoy on the Aqua Cat! All this makes the Aqua Cat perfect for your non-diving partners and family members to join you on your special diving adventure!

      The Aqua Cat

      The 102 ft liveaboard catamaran, Aqua Cat, offers luxury accommodations, a spacious main salon and an extremely smooth ride. Her ability to cruise at a speed of 14-knots will get you to dive sites quickly while her 35-ft beam will ensure a smooth ride. The eleven passenger cabins are some of the largest of any liveaboard in the world.Three levels of living space, private over-sized cabins with ocean view windows and full en-suite amenities make living on board feel like you are on your own floating bed and breakfast! The dive deck is over 900 square feet and there is ample room for everyone. The gourmet chef will have you salivating! The professional crew of 10 will see to all your needs on board.

      Travel

      You should plan to arrive in Nassau by December 29 since boarding is at 6 pm on Saturday. There will be a welcome briefing, dinner and an important safety briefing immediately afterwards. If you are arriving earlier, you may drop bags off at the boat prior to 6:00 PM. The Aqua Cat returns to Nassau Friday afternoon. You will be responsible for dinner ashore Friday evening. We require that you disembark Saturday by 9:00 AM. You may leave your bags at the boat if you have a late afternoon flight. 

      Cancellation Policy

      Upon cancellation of a reservation for any reason, the refund of the deposit and payments made or due will be contingent upon Blue Planet reselling the participant's reservation. Any refund may also be subject to a cancellation fee and payment of any non-refundable fees imposed by the tour company, dive operator or any other contractor associated with the trip. 


      Dive accident insurance is required for all divers on this trip. We strongly recommend travel insurance to protect your vacation investment. Contact us if you need more information. 

      What’s included

      • 7 nights accommodations
        Ocean View cabins, double occupancy unless otherwise noted
      • Up to 5 dives a day
      • All meals and beverages
      • Airport transfers
        Round trip transfers from Nassau airport

      What’s not included

      • Port fees ($210)
      • Enriched Air/Nitrox
        for Nitrox certified divers
      • Flights
        international flights to Nassau
      • Scuba equipment
        Only tanks and weights included; rental gear available
      • Tips
        Tips for the boat's excellent crew

      Available Packages

      Double occupancy, Ocean View cabin
      $2,695
      Deposit: $500
      Double occupancy, Cabin 11 skylight
      $2,095
      Deposit: $500
      Triple occupancy, Ocean View cabin
      $2,295
      Deposit: $500
      Quad occupancy, Ocean View cabin
      $2,095
      Deposit: $500


      Your Organizer


      BP
      Blue Planet Scuba
      142 reviews
      Blue Planet is a different kind of scuba diving organization — aimed at providing the best education and experiences to divers in the Washington, DC area and beyond, while harnessing the excitement and adventure of scuba diving to help protect our fragile oceans.

      Reviews

      Heather & Jonas were excellent trip leaders making sure everyone was well taken care of. The Galapagos Aggressor had a super crew and the diving was challenging and stunning! We saw hammerheads, penguins, seals, sea lions & dolphins! I really appreciated the personal touches like our matching jackets and a cake for my birthday. I would highly recommend this trip.
      By Catherine W for Explore the Galapagos on Mar 02, 2024
      This review is belated, I know... ...But that only means I took **serious*** consideration into reviewing my experience with Blue Planet DC, and ranking them very highly. Its been almost a year since I was OW Certified with Blue Planet in Cozumel - my training during that trip was thorough enough to provide me with a solid foundation to continue scuba diving afterwards many, many times. The trip itinerary, accommodations, and overall pacing of the scuba lessons were incredibly well organized. The instructors were patient and attentive - at various times I was provided specific one-on-one, actionable feedback regarding things like my trim or my breathing rhythm impacting my buoyancy and what I could do to improve my technique. They made sure we knew our stuff before letting us loose into the ocean, and during our checkout dives they stayed closeby and kept a watchful eye on us, so I felt more at ease and safe. (Even with the drift moving us around!) My main priority for this trip was to learn how to scuba, but that said, there were opportunities at Cozumel to (after the day's lessons are done) be a tourist and explore the area. The resort itself is a very beautiful spot with relaxing, open air dining, lounge, and balcony areas as well as a fantastic view of the ocean horizon. I also really appreciated that lodging AND meals were included in this travel package - it saved me the trouble of having to figure that out on my own, which made a big difference by freeing up more time after each full day of lessons to just relax and chill. I know each trip is always different of course in terms of other group trip attendees you may end up with, so of course this can just be sheer dumb luck, but everyone else on this trip was chill. Even the more seasoned divers who were already certified and doing this for years were friendly and happy to drop useful advice or recount from their personal experiences how it was like them becoming certified the first time. The time I did this it was "drift diving" and of course that scared me a ton. But the PADI material that is mandatory to study goes over what drift diving is. When doing my checkout dive the drift didn't like, wash me away from the group dive route. You'll be under instructor supervision so people are keeping an eye on you, and the drift itself is mild - I didn't have to struggle against the current (if you've ever surfed, you'll see that this isn't at all like a riptide or undertow). If anything, managing your buoyancy will end up your primary concern or worry during the checkout dive. Hope this review helps anyone considering who to go with for getting certified on their first ever scuba trip! I'm very glad I went with Blue Planet.
      By M T for March Certification Weekend in Cozumel on Feb 19, 2024
      EM
      This was my first liveaboard! 🛥️ Anthony was a fantastic trip leader and teacher, as always! The Aquacat crew was fun, the food was delicious and the diving and excursions were great! I would definitely recommend this trip with Blue Planet, especially as a first liveaboard experience! I had a good time learning about sharks, too! 🦈
      By Elsbeth M for Ring in 2024 on a Liveaboard in the Bahamas! on Jan 15, 2024
      Thanks for joining on another amazing trip! Hopefully we will be on another fun trip in sharky waters soon.
      By Anthony White on Jan 17, 2024
      AW
      This was my first trip with Blue Planet and my first liveaboard - both were a great experience! The communication and prep from Blue Planet was excellent (pre-trip meeting was really helpful, paperwork was clear and organized). My husband and I are new divers and Anthony (trip lead from Blue Planet) was an invaluable resource - we learned a lot during the dives and felt safe with him looking out for us. The liveaboard itself was amazing. The bed was comfortable, the food was amazing, the staff were wonderful. This was one of the best trips of my life - it's going to be hard to top with the bar now set so high!
      By Rachel L for Ring in 2024 on a Liveaboard in the Bahamas! on Jan 08, 2024
      Thank you so much, Rachel! I am glad you and Ben had such a good time on the trip. You were both great divers, and I can't wait to see you on more of our trips. I look forward to diving with you some more!
      By Anthony White on Jan 13, 2024
      AW
      JR
      Had a great time diving, wonderful people and nice accommodations; hotel was super convenient to dive boats.
      By Jennifer R for December Certification Weekend in Cozumel on Dec 11, 2023
      Thank you so much, Jennifer! We’re so happy to hear how much you enjoyed the dive experience with Blue Planet in Cozumel. We look forward to you joining with us on a future trip!
      By Blue Planet Scuba on Dec 12, 2023
      BP
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