Blackbeard's Cruises Dive Liveaboard Bahamas Reviews & Specials - Bluewater Dive Travel
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Blackbeard's Cruises (All Star Liveaboards)

4.375
(4 REVIEWS)

Destination: Bahamas

Itineraries: Bahamas (6 nights) | From $166++/night

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Blackbeard's Cruises Quick Pitch

Blackbeard's Cruises offers great value dive liveaboard for through two sailboats: The Morning Star and Sea Explorer, each one accommodating up to 22 divers in fully air-conditioned cabins. The perfect solution to fulfill your passion for diving in the Bahamas without breaking the bank!

 

Why You'll LIke Blackbeard's Cruises

  • Only $995 per week for up to 19 dives: great overall value for money!
  • All meals, snacks, and beverages (including beer, wine, and rum punch!)
  • Fully air-conditioned dormitory style cabins
  • Over 35 years of experience diving in the Bahamas   
 

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Accommodations - Facilities - NEW! Schedule, Rates & Availability  - Dive Info & Itineraries

Other Information - Booking & Inquiry - Underwater Gallery

Need more options? Find another Bahamas liveaboard (with live availability and online booking!)

 

Liveaboard Location

Embarkation and disembarkation are from Nassau. The nearest airport is Nassau International Airport (NAS).

 

Dive Overview

Blackbeard’s Cruises offers liveaboard scuba diving vacations to the Bahamas Out Islands. Experience the Caribbean’s largest variety of diving including shark dives, walls, high-speed drift dives including the Washing Machine, night dives, blue holes and the beautiful coral reefs of the Exumas Land & Sea Park.

[Read More: Bahamas Dive Travel Guide]

 

This Great Video Will Show You What It's Like to Dive with Blackbeard's Cruises!

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Accommodations

Types of Cabins, Amenities and Photos

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Blackbeard's Cruises Accommodation Overview

The three dormitory style cabins with shared baths and shower accommodate 6-8 guests in each. Bunk beds have privacy curtains and personal space to store your belongings.

 

Blackbeard's Cruises Blackbeard's Cruises Bahamas

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What to Expect

Sleeping Cabins 1-4 upper and lower bunks are single bunks with curtains for privacy. There is more privacy here but less space. 5 and 6 upper and lower bunks are double bunks meant for two people to share. This is typically where couples are housed. 7, 8 and 9 upper and lower bunks are in the main salon. These bunks are double wide but usually only sleep single passengers. There is less privacy here but more room. Think camping on the high seas only better!

 

Blackbeard's Cruises

 

Blackbeard's Cruises Cabin Details

  • BERTHS #1-2 are upper and lower berths. Ideal for single travelers. Accommodates 4 singles.
  • BERTHS #3-4 are upper and lower berths. Ideal for single travelers. Accommodates 4 singles.
  • BERTH #5 is an upper and lower double berth that accommodates 2 couples. These berths offer the most privacy for couples.
  • BERTH # 6 is an upper and lower double berth that accommodates 2 couples. These berths offer the most privacy for couples.
  • BERTH # 7-9 are 6 double berths in the main salon and galley area. These berths provide accommodations for couples or singles. These are the least private accommodations, however, berths are the most spacious for single passengers.  

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General Facilities

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Blackbeard's Cruises Blackbeard's Cruises Bahamas

Blackbeard's Cruises Bahamas Blackbeard's Cruises Bahamas

 

Blackbeard's Cruises Boat Features

  • Fishing gear
  • Free freshly cooked meals 3x daily and free beverages
  • Dorm-style bunks with AC below deck
  • Showers 
  • Kitchen (galley)
  • Dive equipment rental available
  • Diving courses available (from Beginner to Advanced & Specialty Courses)
  • Dedicated rinse tank for cameras & 1 tender

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Schedule & Rates

Blackbeard's Cruises Liveaboard Rates & Schedule

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Morning Star  - Sea Explorer

Inclusions & Exclusions

 

Morning Star's Schedule, Rates & Availabilty

Prices are in USD, per person. Prices are in USD, per person.

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Sea Explorer's SCHEDULE, RATES & AVAILABILTY

Prices are in USD, per person. Additional port fee of USD 135.

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INCLUSIONS

  • Bunk accommodations
  • Up to 19 dives including night dives
  • All meals and snacks served picnic-style
  • Beverages including juices, soda, beer, wine and rum punch
  • Tank, weights and weight belts 

 

EXCLUSIONS

  • Fees and taxes 
  • Rental gear
  • Scuba instruction
  • Crew gratuity
  • Transfers to and from airport
  • Dive and snorkel gear (available for rent)
  • Spending money on port night (Thursday)
  • Pre or post hotel stays
  • Airfare to Nassau

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Dive Information & Itineraries

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Typical Blackbeard's Cruises Schedule & Itinerary

Blackbeard's 7-day dive trips shove off at 3 pm each Saturday. All passengers disembark by 9 am on the following Friday.  Please keep in mind that there is no set itinerary. The leader will take you to go where conditions and weather are the best to offer you an adventure of a lifetime!

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Bilikiki Liveaboard Solomon Islands

 

Dive Overview

You’ll be diving up and down the Exuma Sound, an abyss that drops over 4,000 feet to the ocean floor! The Exuma Cays are known for their wonderful reef dives due to the protection they receive from the Land and Sea Park sanctions. You might dive Eleuthera but that is also weather dependent. Our specific itinerary varies with the winds to obtain maximum visibility for diving. The depths normally range from 20′ to 120′. There are swift drifts between the cays as well as a blue hole that divers will love.

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What to Expect During the Dives

Experience a variety of scuba diving like no other place in the Caribbean. The variety of dive sites in the Exuma Cays is truly unique and offer opportunities not available elsewhere and they can only 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.

 

Shark Diving with Blackbeard's Cruises

The trips to the Exumas, Exuma Cays and Eleuthera’s Split Coral Head allow Blackbeard’s divers the chance to check off items found on their must-do list – to swim and observe sharks. The most common type of shark encountered on these dives are the Caribbean reef shark and the nurse shark which usually rests on the sandy bottoms. Underwater photographers can capture many close up images.

If  Blackbeard’s divers are lucky, the shark gods bestow appearances by hammerheads, lemon sharks, tiger sharks, bull sharks, whale sharks and the black nose shark.

A highlight of the trip is a passive feed, where divers can observe sharks and their behaviors. Afterward, a popular activity is the search for the ultimate souvenir – a shark’s tooth.

 

Check Out This Awesome Night Dive Video!

 

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Other Information

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Boat Specifications

  • Year Built: 1979
  • Year Renovated: 2018
  • Sailing Rig: Sloop
  • Length: 65 feet
  • Beam: 19 feet
  • Draft: 6 feet
  • Cruising speed: 7 knots
  • Engines: 137 HP Ford Leyman
  • Generator: Isuzu 35KW
  • Air Compressors: Yes
  • Water Capacity: 635 gallons
  • Water Maker Capacity: 10 gallons/hour
  • Fuel Capacity: 510 gallons
  • Tenders: 1-12 ft inflatable
  • Sail area: 1,700 sqft
  • Dive Compressor: 17 cu ft/min
  • Maximum guests: 22
  • Cabins: 18

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Got Questions? Ready to Book?

Call us today at +1-310-915-6677 or email us info@bluewaterdivetravel.com

And let us book your dream vacation!

 

Underwater Gallery 

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Blackbeard's Cruises Dive Blackbeard's Cruises DiveBlackbeard's Cruises Dive Blackbeard's Cruises DiveBlackbeard's Cruises Dive Blackbeard's Cruises DiveBlackbeard's Cruises Dive Blackbeard's Cruises Dive

 

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Reviews (4)

  • Reviewer
Mel Moncrieff
Highland,, CA
United States
3 Reviews
Mark as helpful 
5
3
3
3

I really enjoyed my Blackbeard's trip, especially considering the price--under $1000.00 for a week of liveaboard diving. Blackbeard's is especially good for those on a limited budget, and for those who want to see sharks and go on a great shark dive.
The crew of Blackbeards were great--there are way fewer crew members to passengers on a trip in this price range, so it is better if you are more independent with your equipment and with diving, but they were fun and worked hard to make sure all the guests had a good time. Also, you were allowed to dive your own profile. The food was simple but good and plentiful, and was augmented by freshly caught fish on a couple of occasions (they allow fishing off the back of the boat, when motoring to new dive sites). Alcohol is included in the price, and there was a nice beach barbecue on one of the evenings.
The accommodations are tight, as one would expect on a trip in this price range. You have a small bunk area and share the bathroom with 10 of your new, closest friends. I didn't mind this at all, as I was there to get in some good, affordable diving and hoping to get some good images of sharks. My only concern would be for photographers with equipment, as they are not really set up for large camera rigs. On my trip, there was one bunk that was not filled, and the crew let me keep my camera gear on that bunk, which was very helpful.
There are typically 4 dives offered per day. When I was there, nitrox was not available, so 4 dives is probably a good limit. Also, the compressors take quite a bit of time to fill all the tanks. The walls in the Bahamas tend to start deep, at around 70-80 feet, so we would alternate one deep dive, then a shallow dive of perhaps 30-40 feet. There was quite a bit of variety in the diving, and they have a nice, smaller version of the Blue Hole that was a lot of fun. They did have a large number of invasive Lionfish, so there was not as many of the typical Caribbean reef fish as you might see in Cozumel, for example.
The best part of the trip was the shark dive. They freeze a large bucket of fish parts into a big "chumsicle" and drill a hole through it and string it on a cable. I think this is a much better and safer approach than hand-feeding, and the sharks circle around and lunge at the frozen bait, making for some great action and photo opportunities. I was even able to get a couple of images of blood on their teeth.
Overall, I would say that this is one of the best values in diving for the money. If you want to see sharks, and get a good variety of diving, and don't mind roughing it a bit, this is definitely the place to be. If you want to be pampered, or if you are a photographer with a lot of equipment, then you might want to consider the Aquacat that dives the same area, but has much more room and individual state rooms, bub costs over twice as much.

Visited on 06/2010 - Submitted on 01/27/2014
Caribbean Reef Shark with blood on his teeth
The Pirate's Lady, the Blackbeards boat that I was on.
Lionfish--a beautiful predator that does not belong in the Caribbean
A diver approaches one of the "Blue Holes"
A submerged jeep covered in coral
Shark feeding frenzy
A pair of Flamingo Tongues
Chuck Eddy
1 Reviews
Mark as helpful 
5
4
4
4

Loved my time aboard Blackbeard's Liveaboard the Morning Star with Captain Red and the crew. The diving was amazing as we explored the various sites around the Exuma Cays. We saw plenty of sharks during the shark-feed dive where a ball of chum was fastened on a wreck for the sharks to feast on. We must have seen 30 Reef Sharks on that dive. Beyond sharks we saw plenty of Bat Fish, Parrot Fish, Eagle Rays, Sting Rays, Loggerhead Turtles and Groupers. My favorite dive site was Tres Wrecks, where three large vessels were scuttled in a U like formation, creating a massive, interesting artificial reef with plenty of sea life. Overall, the food was pretty simple but fairly tasty; Fresh fruit, burgers, chicken and fish. Free beer and rum were provided after the diving was done. This liveaboard is likely best suited to younger adults as the tight quarters were a little uncomfortable for the older members of our group, who seemed to enjoy the trip less than I did.

Visited on 04/2011 - Submitted on 02/11/2014
carolynbabe89@hotmail.com
1 Reviews
Mark as helpful 
5
5
5
5

I had an incredible time. I would absolutely do it again- I wish so much that Blackbeard's offered cruises all over the world- i much rather do this type of diving, where your sleeping accomodations are like that in an RV (bunk beds like book shelves wherever they can fit) so you can get the best $$ for your diving. The meals were delicious- 3 full meals + morning and afternoon snacks. The diving was stunning, reef sharks spotted every dive, several turtles spotted during one week, water as clear as an aquarium, I 100% highly recommend

Visited on 12/2016 - Submitted on 02/18/2018
arnauargemi
1 Reviews
Mark as helpful 
5
4
5
5

The Bahamas is a great location for a liveaboard and Allstar made it a great experience with awesome dive sites and delicious food! The boat was the perfect size for a small group, the rental equipment was in great shape and the dive guides were very knowledgeable and fun. Overall, a fantastic experience!

Visited on 07/2019 - Submitted on 04/01/2021

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