My official Aqua Cat Cruises review: First off let me say this trip was AWESOME! We are so pumped to be going back on the Aqua Cat in 2016, yes, its planned and we cant wait! The weather: 9 out of 10. Tropical storm Bertha showed up in the Bahamas at just about the same time we did. Fortunately for us she stayed a tropical storm and really did not effect our trip. We did spend an extra night in port after our first dive day as a precaution but other than that the weather was tip top! The boat: 9 out of 10. The Aqua Cat is one sweet ride. She did rock a bit but neither Mindy nor I ever got the least bit sea sick. Our room was very nice and much larger than I expected with TONS of storage space. Our bathroom and shower were nice and well sized too. The dive deck on the boat is way cool!!! You can giant stride (or just fall backward as seen in the picture, yes thats me) in to the ocean or use the steps for a closer entry. Every diver has a station with their tank and a bin for storage below their seat. After the dives the crew fills your tank right there in place! How cool is that?!?!? There are fresh water showers and a head on the dive deck as well. Oh, and the crew also gives you a warm shower as soon as you exit the water...loved that! The only reason I didnt rate the boat a 10 out of 10 was the bed really wore on my back after a few days, which I kind of expected. The food: 10 out of 10!!!! Chef Kirk and sous chef Callula kept us fat and happy all week. All the meals were great and there was no lack of food. We were able to go back for seconds and thirds. My diet took a real hit this week and I loved it. Chef Kirks cookies are the BOMB. My favorite meal of the trip was a lunch where Chef Kirk served a reuben casserole. Thats pastrami, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, thousand island, and pumpernickel bread thrown in a dish, and baked. My new cheat meal of choice!!! Honestly, this was the best food I have ever had on a dive trip, kudos Kirk and Callula. The crew: 10 out of 10!!!! Gotta say I love the crew we had and I hope we have the exact same group when we go back in 2016! They were all friendly, fun, knowledgeable, helpful, and safe. The engineers, Randy and Adam were very good, how do I know? because we never heard from them or needed them. They keep the boat in grade A shape and every thing runs and functions wonderfully. Ashling The House Mouse or as Lynn renamed her The Royal Chamber Maid kept our room and the boat clean and tidy all week. The dive masters (all of whom are instructors) were Sarah, Michelle (The pain in the ass!), Mick, and lead DM Julien (who may be a new Aquatic Realm Scuba Center staff member ;-) ) The dive staff were wonderful. Michelle and Sarah took pictures and video during the week and we were able to follow them or venture out on our own. Julien and Mick also joined us in the water for many dives. Last but not least are the Captain and First Mate. Captain Des drove us around the exumas, kept us out of the way of Bertha, and took us to some nice dive spots. He gave us a tour of the wheel house and showed us what it took to drive the boat...most of it is auto pilot so Des sleeps a lot and just attaches a string from his big toe to the wheel. First Mate Tom did a few dives with us and took us out on the Sea Dog (boat they tow behind the Aqua Cat) for shore excursions. The only non-diving activity I took part in was the lobster hunt. This was free diving (no scuba) with mask, snorkel, and fins with a Hawaiian sling to spear lobster. With my extensive lobstering skills honed in the Florida Keys I was sure I would bring home 20 to 30 lobster. I was skunked! Zero for zero...didnt see a one. In fact only one lobster was brought home that day by Greg Parker. The crew of the Aqua Cat are the best! The diving: 5 out of 10. The diving during the week was so so. Some dives were great. The shark feeding dive (how could that not be great?!?!) the drift dive, the night dives were all super! Jeep reef was really cool (yes, Tony Rispoli and Jeff Eckelbarger there was a real Jeep down there) and I enjoyed the Lost Blue Hole. One thing that was striking was the lack of fish on a majority of the dives. Another thing that I observed was the lion fish were many and they were big! I am guessing that the abundance and size of the lion fish has had a detrimental effect on the rest of the fish life on the reefs. We did see sharks, rays, turtles, and eels. My favorite dives are night dives and the night dives here did not disappoint. I got some good video of a turtle and a shark. Sharks at night = heart pounding excitement. The lack of fish on many reefs was a bummer. The dive group: 10 out of 10!!! Aquatic Realm Scuba Center knows how to travel! Lynn Wickline does a wonderful job leading these trips (and Im not just saying that because I work there). The group of divers we had on this trip were great as always. Almost everyone stayed out of trouble. Apparently if you get board on a dive just take your BCD off and wear it in front, right Scott? All in all this trip was OUT FRICKEN STANDING and I cant wait to be back on the Aqua Cat. Hey, Captain Des...where do I send my resume???
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 20:08:24 +0000
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