Explorer Ventures Liveaboard Diving Fleet Arvostelua 617

Snorkelling with humpback whales at Silver Banks in February 2026: Comfortable boat. Experienced and friendly crew. A great adventure.

The food is freshly prepared, different each day and very tasty. Compliments to the chef :-)
The accommodation clean and comfortable.
The crew are all friendly and helpful, and did their best each day to find us whales to watch and swim with where possible. Whales are wild animals, sea conditions are variable, and safety is top of the agenda. There were 9 outings on the tenders during the week I was there, I was able to swim with whales on 3 of those outings. I missed the first opportunity due to sea-sickness on the outbound crossing.
I was helped by two really lovely crew members when in the water as I had difficulty keeping up with the group. The whales are like huge, magical, mystical beings. It was extremely humbling to be in their presence. Definitely 5*
I found one member of the tender team to be rather over zealous with regards keeping guests in line in the water, physically pushing and pulling folk, and constantly swimming in front of guests which was really annoying, and put me off getting in the water. Perhaps the team need to find a better way to keep guests in a line if it is that important?
It's an expensive trip, something I had to save hard for, and I didn't like being told how much gratuities to give. I should be able to give what I can afford, and what I felt was deserved, and I would have liked to have been able to reward those that I felt helped me most rather than the gratuities being split equally... whilst I appreciate the crew work as a team, I felt certain members of the crew did more and deserved more than others.

Amazing experience & the crew so professional. Thanks to Gill, Lorenzo, Simon & TJ for making our trip a once in a lifetime experience. Now we’re home we look at the videos & can’t believe we were actually there.

Great friendly crew with great vibe ! And organized in very good way!

Have just returned from a phenomenal week in Silver Bank snorkelling with humpbacks. The vessel, crew and wildlife were simply wonderful. I highly recommend this trip.

Wir hatten eine Sturmwarnung und konnten erst 3 Tage später zur Silver Bank aufbrechen. Die Crew hat sich aber intensiv um uns bemüht und auch ein Ersatzprogramm auf die Beine gestellt.
Das Schiff, die Crew, die Vorträge, das Service waren ausgezeichnet. Und für das Wetter kann keiner was!

My husband and I just returned from our Galapagos Tiburon Explorer diving adventure. We each had about 100 dives at the beginning of our trip. This trip included 17 dives. We have dived in the Caribbean, Cuba, Central America and the Maldives. We have stayed at dive resorts and on liveabords. This was by far, our favorite trip and location! We were very impressed with everything about our experience. We did so much research beforehand to decide the optimal time for us to go. We wanted a warmer water and calmer seas experience balanced with great chances to see the abundant life that Galapagos is known for.
We knew in February, we weren’t likely to see whale sharks, but we saw hundreds of hammerheads, multiple Mola molas, Galapagos penguins and of course, ocean iguanas and more sea lions than I could have imagined. The only things we didn’t see were whale sharks and orcas (which we heard had been spotted recently). The experience surpassed our expectations! The seas were mostly calmer with swells but no big waves. Underwater visibility was fair to good, depending on the time of day, the currents and thermoclines.
The entire crew onboard from the zodiac drivers, dive masters and ship captain to chefs and engineers were there to help and service our every need. Every dive offered true concierge service with help donning and removing booties, dive suits, fins and tanks and getting back on the zodiac and ship after diving.
The food was plentiful and delicious with wonderful service. The ship was clean, comfortable and modern and had great showers with always hot water and great water pressure.
The land excursions to north Seymour and to see the land tortoises (including the bonus lava tunnel experience) were fun and educational
Our travel to and from the airport, ship and excursions was seamless, thanks to great communication from Jennifer before our trip and the crew during the trip.
We were lucky enough to have a wonderful group of guests on the ship. We all got along well and my husband and I enjoyed getting to know people from different parts of the world and country and with different experiences to share.
I can’t recommend this company and dive experience enough. We are already planning a repeat for 2028.

I first dived with Humboldt Explorer in the Galapagos 05.20211 & this 2nd in 01.2026 was fine. Different season this time so didn't have the variety of the first trip but still memorable for the regular hammerhead schools, turtles on every dive & the family of Eagle rays.

As usual for liveaboards I've been, on cabins were well maintained & food provision was good - though the latter might be a tad bland though that may be due to having to cater for unadventurous palates (ironic given the type of diving); also perhaps an unnecessary surfeit of cakes..though all appreciated.

On the boat a noticeable difference was that the cameraderie (amongst crew & passengers) apparent on my first trip was not repeated on this trip - likely attributable to different passenger demographic & vibe of crew; it would be good in future if dive guides were encourage to interact more with passengers particularly at mealtimes or at the very least at dinner which should create a more relaxed atmosphere particularly when the passenger list is not full as on this trip.

A daily updated list of dive sites / locations would be useful rather than one at the end of the trip.

On other liveaboards, passengers normally relate qualifications & dive experience with qualifications, insurances checked by the dive guides & passports collected & kept in a dry bag in the event of.. such was not practised on this trip.

Anyway, another visit to the Galapagos during a different season would be a trip to anticipate

Great experience on the Silver Banks snorkeling with humpback whales. Crew did a great job.

I loved every minute of this trip. The staff was extraordinary, I have traveled a lot and the service aboard the Explorerventures trip was better than many 5 star hotels I stayed at. It was a pleasure to see how seamlessly they worked together and that just allowed me to completely relax knowing that they have everything under control and that they are always ready to jump in and ready to help should anybody need something.
Their deep knowledge of the Silver Bank and the Humpback Whales are the main reason why I would recommend this trip to anyone who has the desire to see, swim and admire the Atlantic Humpback Whales.

We had a wonderful time on the boat and truly enjoyed every moment of the journey.
Our trip itself was organized by Aquatic Adventures and was absolutely amazing.

Everything on board met and exceeded our expectations. The crew was extremely attentive, warm, and friendly, the food was outstanding, and the cabins offered hot water and excellent room service – comparable to a high-quality hotel.

The entire organization beforehand was very professional, and from start to finish it was a beautifully executed and memorable trip.

36658 Black Pearl 12-21Jan26
First of all know this was not our first liveaboard but our most disappointing - Those others were much less expensive but proved better diving experience and good lodging and services - Will not recommend the Black Pearl
An expensive trip as well as hard to get to destination - We were Very disappointed in this liveaboard -
Long small boat rides to dive sites average 15 to 20 minutes - Stayed in an area where even the day boat divers were diving - A number other liveaboards were also near by - An all inclusive that charged an ridiculous amount for soda and beer - Had a couple in our group who had been previously on the Black Pearl who indicted that their past experience as better - Nice boat an outstanding crew -A crew that helped soften my disappointment because of their commitment to customer service

Star gazing at night on the top deck and what I could see from my bedroom window.
The week and diving was organized and scheduled. The diving experience was disappointing except for 2 dives out of the 22 that I dove. I did not like diving into the current for long distances and all the wall dives. I was wishing for some more reef diving. The dive crew was great! Mohomad was an attentive dive master as was Jake. The boat captains for the Black Pearl Meidy and dive skiff Mehmet were excellent! The room 203 was okay, not enough storage. Room service was excellent! Menus were varied, presentation was great, and meals were delicious, really enjoyed the BBQ. Great chef, bar tender and servers. Camera station was adequate.

Beyond words, really.

It was just perfect.
Amazing, so touching.

Thanks a lot

Excellent. First liveaboard experience and it was amazing. Evan and the entire team were fantastic. Everyone from dive guides to cooks to dining to everyone. Friendly professional and fun. Clean. Great food. I would go again and I will recommend.

The facility of the yacht is the best you can find in Galapagos liveaboard. The hospitality and professionalism we experienced from everyone on the team is amazing. The overall experience on the yacht is equal to a 5 star hotel. The crews are super friendly and eager to help. Food and drinks never disapponts! Finally, our divemasters Oscar and Israel are truly top-notch. They made the dive fun, safe and truly memorable.

The Crew made our experience great. Also the Food, Dive Guides, and Room Accommodations.

The diving was amazing. Great that we had an extra day at Darwin/Wolf. We saw tons of sharks. Dive guides and staff could not have been better. Food excellent. My only complaint is that the bathrooms smelled bad on the boat. But everything else was so wonderful that I still give it 5 stars!

I had a wonderful experience on the Caribbean Explorer II. It was a great live-aboard experience overall. The food was fabulous. The dive masters were silly and fun, yet knowledgeable and helpful. The captain made decisions so we would have the best dive experience. The land trips were definitely worthwhile if you want to learn about Saba and St Kitts. The people we met are unforgettable.