CARIBBEAN EXPLORER II, year after year, is voted
by dive magazine readers nationwide as one of
the premier diving liveaboards in the Caribbean.
All photos © Copyright Explorer Ventures Ltd.

Comfy CARIBBEAN EXPLORER II cabins are sunny & clean.

CARIBBEAN EXPLORER II -- newly expanded diving deck.

© Copyright 1995 - 2009 / U.S. Dive Travel Network.

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The first liveaboard dive boat to offer regular access to the world-famous Saba Marine Park & St. Kitts, the original Caribbean Explorer II explored the waters of the Northeastern Caribbean from 1987 until her replacement by the upgraded Caribbean Explorer II in February, 2003. The vessel departs on alternating Saturdays from St. Maarten & Basseterre, St. Kitts (see schedule for further details).

Since they started in 1995 with Rodale's Scuba Diving Reader Survey Awards, the Caribbean Explorer II rated in the top ten liveaboard dive boats worldwide in terms of customer service, & was ranked the best dive operation in the world in 1996. Owner Clay McCardell, our longtime friend & colleague, says he is very much looking forward to the new, upgraded vessel continuing this excellent tradition! Clay & his dive teams have been salt of the earth to work with for many years, & we recommend their services without hesitation. They have pleased scores of our diving clients since the early 1990s.

Onboard Caribbean Explorer II, an ace crew of seven well-trained scuba diving pros, including 4 dive instructors, caters to the needs of our 18 guests each week. For years our clients have remarked what a gracious service attitude these folks demonstrate, week after week. They work tirelessly to please guests with good underwater judgment, & good topside customer care.

With Caribbean Explorer II, the 9 air-conditioned double-occupancy staterooms on board each have private lavatory, flush toilet & shower; & most staterooms have queen beds with a twin-bed option, too (see the detailed deck diagrams below for details & pricing information).

Five dives are scheduled every day, in addition to optional island tours. All scuba diving is done directly off of the vessel, using the expansive dive deck which covers the aft third of the main deck. Each diver has his or her own scuba diving gear bin; a large camera table, as well as rinse tanks, wetsuit srying racks & charging stations.

Nitrox is available (yessss!); tanks are filled in place between each dive, so that there is never any need to disassemble your scuba diving gear. A large semi-enclosed salon serves as the main gathering place for meals, slide shows & movies; aft of the salon, the sundeck provides a large area & lounge chairs to relax & soak up the rays. E-6 processing is available, as is nitrox training, PADI scuba courses & dive gear & computer rental.

CARIBBEAN EXPLORER II: Stateroom #1, clean & tidy getaway.

CARIBBEAN EXPLORER II: Stateroom #6 -- sweet dreams apres' scuba diving day.

CARIBBEAN EXPLORER II: Salon, with cheery decor & port view.

The UPPER DECK features a large sunning area with comfortable lounge chairs and chairs, and a covered open-air salon (air-conditioned as needed) with entertainment center, seating areas and wet bar.

Caribbean Explorer II Upper Deck: galley, salon & sunning area with comfortable deck chairs.

The aft half of the MAIN DECK is where diving operations take place. The dive deck is equipped with individual gear lockers, camera table, recharging stations, air filling station, tank racks and separate freshwater rinse baths for dive equipment and cameras, as well as wetsuit hanging area and freshwater showers. There are two ladders leading down to the dive platform itself, where two in-water ladders hang for easy access to and from the water.

Caribbean Explorer II Main Deck: staterooms #1, #2, #3 & #4 + scuba diving prep area.

The staterooms forward consist of:

MASTER STATEROOMS (Cabins #1, #2, & #3) - Queen beds, window, cabinet, private bathroom -

TWIN STATEROOM (#4) - Upper and lower twin beds, window, cabinet, private bathroom -

Caribbean Explorer II Lower Deck: staterooms #5, #6, #7, #8 & #9 + crew quarters & photo lab.

The LOWER DECK contains machinery spaces, E-6 processing lab, crew's quarters, and 5 air conditioned staterooms. The staterooms consist of:

OWNER'S STATEROOMS (#5, #6) - Two twin beds (or one queen bed), private bathroom, portholes, cabinet -

DOUBLE-TWIN STATEROOMS (#7, #8, #9) - Double lower and twin upper beds, private bathroom, cabinet (Stateroom 7 has a double bed only) -

CARIBBEAN EXPLORER I retires Nov.1, 2008, after years of great service. We'll miss her.

Your Caribbean Explorer II dive package includes: all meals, great snacks, free soft drinks & free alcoholic beverages + up to 5 guided dives per day + 1 night dive each evening + extremely comfy cabins. A couple years ago the owners of Caribbean Explorer II completed a substantial remodeling & upgrading, making this dive vessel a sparkling specimen of a live-aboard. Nothing has been left to chance on Caribbean Explorer II. You'll love the amenities on this live-aboard. What's more, you'll enjoy the fun & easygoing spirit of this dive vessel company. The owner, Clay & Reservation Manager Sarah, are some of the nicest folks we've ever had the pleasure to work with in the live-aboard industry. Their good-natured spirit emanates from the top down in the Caribbean Explorer II organization. It's fun to dive with folks who like their jobs.

U.S. Dive Travel belives the Caribbean Explorer II offers one of the best deals for affordable live-aboard diving yachts in the Eastern Caribbean. This dive vessel is 106' long & 21' in beam. She carries about 16 guests, with a crew of 6. This vessel used to be the Peter Hughes Sea Dancer, but early in 2003 was sold to Explorer Ventures Ltd, the same firm that owns Nimrod Explorer in Australia/ The dive vacation cruises start in beautiful St. Maarten, then move to Saba for 2 days, & over to St. Kitts for 2 days, then back to Saba for 2 final days. The Caribbean Explorer II caters to underwater photo buffs & has full E-6 slide processing on board, plus a sun deck, entertainment center, 4 life rafts, a chase boat, & world-class staterooms. If the Caribbean Explorer II owners have left anything to chance here, it's only the weather & ocean currents.

You'll love diving the walls & pinnacles of these northern Antillean islands, which on good days are teeming with life. The diving in this sector of the Eastern Caribbean is a little more advanced than what you'd find in Grand Cayman or the Honduras Bay Islands, for example. Saba diving is generally deeper. Currents at some of the pinnacles can require a tad more athletic diving than some islands offer. So we recommend Saba diving if you haven't been diving for a year or more, take a refresher course to get your skills back up to snuff. It's not difficult to dive from Caribbean Explorer II; you'll do fine. But it's best to be prepared. That goes for all diving live-aboards such as the Caribbean Explorer II.

We're pleased to observe again that all standard Caribbean Explorer II vacations treat you to at least 5 dives a day plus an additional night dive each evening, if you wish. Few Caribbean live-aboards offer such a generous platter of underwater adventure at such an outstanding price. Saba diving & Caribbean live-aboards never have been the same since the Caribbean Explorer II, an Explorer Ventures vessel, set the highest of standard syears ago. You'll get to see dramatic Caribbean dropoffs teeming with pelagic fish, exciting offshore pinnacles, too, which give you some electric deep diving with the big critters. You'll see gorgeous overhanging reefs, tunnels & marine life of every description.

There is much more to good Caribbean live-aboards than just the scuba diving part, of course. The topside scenery on Saba & St. Maarten is just as nice. These islands, ancient volcanic plugs that jut steeply from the ocean floor, rise sometimes as high as 4,000 feet above sea level, with dramatic peaks blanketed in rain forests. The dive tour allows our scuba divers to disembark on each of the three islands to explore their friendly cultures, take photos of the dramatic mountain vistas, hike around & sample some of the exotic foods produced locally by people who are exceedingly hospitable. Caribbean Explorer II is a great live-aboard vessel to help you get away from the throngs of tourists who descend on the Caribbean every high season. Give the sleek & sporty Caribbean Explorer II a whirl. You'll have one fine live-aboard dive vacation to remember for many years to come.

TURKS & CAICOS EXPLORER cruises the turquoise seas around beautiful Provo Island.

TURKS & CAICOS EXPLORER: Stateroom #1 is a comfy haven after a stellar diving day.

TURKS & CAICOS EXPLORER: Stateroom #2 is another prime cabin on this 4-star vessel.

TURKS & CAICOS EXPLORER: Talk about easy ! Step right up 'n slide right in, mon.

TURKS & CAICOS EXPLORER: Topside view of the spacious clean diving deck.

TURKS & CAICOS EXPLORER: Dig that shade, amigos ! Always a cool retreat on a hot sunny day.

TURKS & CAICOS EXPLORER: For all dedicated "Zonkers" -- a great sun deck.

TURKS & CAICOS EXPLORER: Da little cabin mon, mo beddah fo' single dive buddies.

TURKS & CAICOS EXPLORER: The lounge is idle for a spell; they've all gone divin' !

TURKS & CAICOS EXPLORER: this beautiful 4-star boat has ample work & munchin' space.

All Caribbean Explorer / Explorer Ventures package prices listed here are subject to possible change in this steadily evolving travel market. Lodging, side tour & diving prices are traditionally stable, as are live-aboard package prices; however air prices can fluctuate daily. Until air tickets are issued, all airlines reserve the right to change airfares without notice -- an industry standard per FAA rules. We at U.S. Dive Travel will price-protect you to the utmost of our professional ability; & that has been our pledge for one decade now. Our tropical vacation experts normally secure excellent wholesale discount air tickets for our clients who book early enough to secure limited seats in the best price categories. Remember please, the federal government has deregulated all U.S.-based airlines, so only they control their pricing -- not any travel professionals. Early is good when seeking the best air ticket rates.

Unless specifically noted, these above Caribbean Explorer / Explorer Ventures scuba diving packages are prices for only the live-aboard portion of your dive trip, in most cases reflecting double-occupancy rooms. On most live-aboards, there will be no triple-occupancy staterooms offered. International air tickets & commuter "island-hopper" seats are always extra above these land costs. Nominal service fees are also extra for air tickets & the dive vessel + side tour components. The baseline tariffs for all clients start at $45 per person for the vessel portion + $35 pp for the air tickets. Late-booking clients for these Caribbean Explorer / Explorer Ventures cruises may receive slightly higher tariffs on the lodging + diving at many of our dive resorts. Solo clients of Caribbean Explorer / Explorer Ventures always will pay a single supplement to secure a private stateroom -- normally about 65% more -- unless you wish to twin-share with another randomly-paired scuba diver.

Now remember funseekers, if you ever get a hankering for more info on subects of interest re' this Caribbean dive boat -- such as Caribbean Explorer I, Turks & Caicos Explorer, Galapagos Eco Explorer, U.S. Dive Travel, live-aboards, live-aboard, liveaboards, Caribbean live-aboards, Caribbean live-aboard, Caribbean liveaboards, Caribbean live-aboards, Saba liveaboard, Saba live-aboard, Explorer Ventures, Saba, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Saba diving, St. Maarten diving or St. Kitts diving, then give us a phone call any time & we are glad to help. Feel free to call 952-953-4124 & you will speak to an experienced dive travel wholesaler or divemaster on our planning team, who can share insights & good advice regarding subjects such as U.S. Dive Travel liveaboard vacations, live-aboards, live-aboard, liveaboards, liveaboards, Caribbean live-aboards, Caribbean live-aboard, Caribbean liveaboards, Caribbean liveaboards, Saba liveaboard, Saba live-aboard, Caribbean Explorer II, Explorer Ventures, Saba, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Saba diving, St. Maarten diving, St. Kitts diving. Hope you have thoroughly enjoyed this webpage about a new U.S. Dive Travel dive vacation, live-aboards, live-aboard, liveaboards, liveaboards, Caribbean live-aboards, Caribbean live-aboard, Caribbean liveaboards, Caribbean liveaboards, Saba liveaboard, Saba live-aboard, Caribbean Explorer II, Explorer Ventures, Saba, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Saba diving, St. Maarten diving, St. Kitts diving. It was done -- this extolling of Caribbean Explorer I, Turks & Caicos Explorer, Galapagos Eco Explorer, with a happy bubblin' gleam in the eye & some TLC for good luck, from your dive buddies at U.S. Dive Travel.

Remember, all Caribbean Explorer / Explorer Ventures dive vacation clients to all foreign destinations will be asked by local officials overseas, upon departing the airport on your final day, to pay a nominal government departure tax, usually between USD $35 - $40 per client. USDT cannot collect this tax beforehand, so you simply pay it down there, in your host country. Be sure to stash away a little cash for this final moment at the airport, so you'll get your exit visa stamped quickly with no fuss; & away you go. Best of luck with your Caribbean Explorer / Explorer Ventures dive travel plans. We hope your scuba diving vacation is a safe & satisfying adventure. Blessings & best wishes with ALL your Caribbean Explorer / Explorer Ventures dive vacations.

Best fishes too!

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John Hessburg & Susan Hessburg, Mgrs.
U.S. Dive Travel Network.