Turks & Caicos Explorer II

The Turks & Caicos Explorer II liveaboard continues the tradition of excellent service and high quality as experienced with the Explorer fleet. The 124 feet / 38 meters liveaboard was designed as a corporate charter yacht specifically for divers. This is evident in the well-appointed staterooms with private bathrooms, as well as the dive deck layout. The Explorer II's heavy keel and Naiad stabilizers will aid your cruise comfort between dive site destinations.

20 guests are comfortably accommodated in 10 staterooms (the 2 VIP staterooms and the 2 forward Main deck staterooms include TV/DVD's) and attended to by 8 crew members. Dining is an important aspect of your diving cruise. A wide variety of meats, fish and fresh vegetables, salads and pastas feature on the menu. Hearty breakfasts fuel you for the day's diving. They include eggs, bacon, pancakes, french toast, pastries and fresh fruit juice.

The Turks & Caicos Explorer II liveaboard's dive deck was designed for ease and practicality, and includes everything you would expect from a liveaboard of this class. Gearing up is a pleasure on the spacious dive deck where your gear is stored in individual gear bins. The platform is easily accessed via the ramp-style stairways for your 5 scheduled daily dives. Rinse off under the warm shower before placing your personal gear in the rinse tanks and preparing your camera equipment on the dedicated camera table. Certified scuba divers have the option to dive with nitrox during a Turks & Caicos Islands diving cruise.

Various communal areas provide for some quiet solitude as well as intimate seating, should you wish to get to know your fellow cruise companions. The sun deck features comfortable sun loungers for soaking up the Caribbean sun. The saloon offers the comforts of air conditioning with multiple seating options, TV, CD / DVD, and movie library. At the end of the day, the covered open air deck is the perfect spot to take in the stunning sunsets and toast your Turks & Caicos liveaboard diving cruise over complimentary cocktails from the bar.

Cruise price per person includes: Cabin accommodation with air-conditioning, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinking water, soft drinks, hot drinks, local alcoholic drinks, dives (as detailed in the trips above), experienced English-speaking divemaster(s) (max 20 divers per DM), tanks, weights and weightbelts.

Cruise price per person excludes (mandatory, unless customer provides own): Dinner on the final evening, scuba equipment (US$ 150 per trip), port and bed tax US$ 99, fuel surcharge US$ 80. Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival (cash or credit card).

Optional extras: Nitrox fills for enriched air certified divers (US$ 150 per person per trip), torches (US$ 20 per trip), diving computer (US$ 75 per trip), dive insurance (see our insurance program for a competitive quotation). Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival.

How to get there: US Airways, American, Spirit and Delta are the main airlines that fly into Providenciales International Airport. Located 575 miles (925 km) south east of Miami, the Turks and Caicos islands are a British territory. Map of the Caribbean Sea.

Arrival/Boarding/Departure: You should aim to arrive on Saturday. Transfers are included in the trip fare, you will be met at the airport by a local driver who will be aware of the liveaboard's location. If you are already staying on the island, please contact the Turks & Caicos Explorer II on Saturday morning for details on where and when to meet the vessel. Guests may board from 15:00 hrs on Saturday afternoon. The liveaboard will depart in the evening, the departure time varies and is dependent on the tide. The last night of the trip the liveaboard will be moored at the marina. The Friday evening meal will be at a local restaurant for your account. After a continental breakfast, guests check out by 09:00 hrs on Saturday morning.
The last dive of the tour will be at around 10.00 hrs on the second last day of the trip. Please wait at least 18 hours before flying after diving.

Diving Environment: You can expect to dive many walls and see a lot of healthy coral growth and marine life such as eagle rays, horse-eye jacks, nurse sharks, gray reef sharks, orange elephant ear sponges and an array of macro life. Manta rays are most frequently sighted between May and July. Encounters with whales and dolphins are more likely to happen during the January to March period. The macro delights include skeleton shrimp, mantis shrimp, razorfish, flying gurnards, flamingo tongue snail, peacock flounders, rooster-tail conch, honeycomb cowfish, whitespot filefish, scorpion fish and arrowhead crabs.

All dives will be made from the mothership (not from a tender). The diving is easy and buddy pairs usually form 1 large group with 1 Divemaster leading. A 3 mm full length wetsuit is the preferred exposure suit for Turks and Caicos since water temperatures range from 78-84°F / 25-29°C.

Non-diver rate: 10% off the published price

Single supplement (if you do not want to share accommodation): Single travelers may choose to share a stateroom or pay a supplement of 65% of the published price.

Dive clubs and group discounts: Normal season: Pay for 5 guests and 1 extra person can join the cruise in a Lower deck stateroom free of charge (total 6 guests). Pay for 10 guests and 2 additional persons can join the cruise in a Lower deck stateroom free of charge (total 12 guests).
Low Season (15 August - 15 October and 1 December to 31 January): Pay for 8 guests (or more) and 2 extra persons can join the cruise in a Lower deck stateroom free of charge (total 10 or more), plus paying guests receive 10% off the published price.
2019 DEMA special offer on group bookings made before 22 November 2019 for departures until end December 2021.

Whole boat charter rate (per night): Pay for 16 guests and 4 extra persons can join the cruise in Lower deck stateroom free of charge (total 20 guests).

The Turks & Caicos Explorer offers guests 10 staterooms each with a private bathroom and individually controlled air-conditioning. The VIP and Main deck staterooms feature picture windows and the Lower deck staterooms have portholes for natural lighting. The 2 VIP staterooms have queen beds and are on the upper deck. There are 5 Main deck staterooms. 2 feature twin beds and 3 have convertible twin / queen beds. Twin upper and lower beds are in the 3 Lower deck staterooms. Adapters are not provided, guests are advised to bring their own.

All the liveaboard staterooms have: No. of bathrooms / showers - 11 / 12 - hot water