Cat Ppalu

Cat Ppalu is a fun and affordable way to scuba dive The Bahamas. This 65 ft (20m) sailing catamaran runs 6 night trips to the Exuma Cays. With a maximum of 12 guests you can be assured of an intimate experience with plenty of personal attention.

Departing every Saturday from Nassau, these cruises promise up to 19 dives and much more. You can snorkel at amazing spots like Norma’s plane wreck, kayak the mangroves, paddle-board over Closeman Reef, swim with the local pigs, hike trails at Warderick Wells Park headquarters and encounter indigenous iguanas on one of several land visits.

There are 4 double bed cabins and 2 twin cabins, all with air-conditioning and sharing 2 showers and 2 heads. Each cabin has a mirror and sink. As a catamaran, all the cabins are above the waterline, and so have large seaview windows with lots of natural light, , except for 1 that has a porthole. The main deck also has a comfortable salon/dining area with soft bench seating on the starboard side and ever-changing Caribbean island views. There is also music and a flat screen TV for your entertainment.

With a wide beam of 31 ft (9.4m) Cat Ppalu has lots of deck space. This is great for lying out in the sun to work on your tan on the deck or the forward “trampoline area”, or beneath the awning in the welcoming shade. Tanks and dive gear are stored at the stern where there are 2 dive platforms from which to stride into the blue or step into a tender.

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Notes: The dives offered on Cat Ppalu are unescorted. The instructor on board will give you a detailed briefing. A guide will be in the water for the check dive, first night dive, all drift dives and the shark feed! If required crew members can act as guides if available.

Dive experience: All Open Water-certified divers may join these Bahamas liveaboard trips.

Cruise price per person includes: Cabin accommodation, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinking water, soft drinks, hot drinks, alcoholic drinks, dives (as detailed in the safaris above), experienced English-speaking divemaster(s) (max 12 divers to 1 DM), tanks, weights and weightbelts, shore excursions, all taxes.

Cruise price per person excludes (mandatory, unless customer provides own): Scuba equipment rental (US$ 160 per week), dive computer (US$ 50 per week), dive insurance, port and park fees (US$ 175 ) to be paid in advance, fuel surcharge (US$ 50 per week, payable in advance). Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival (cash or credit card).

Optional extras: Transfers to the boat from the airport/hotel/port (US$ 18 per person per transfer), torch. Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival. Note: prices of items purchased onboard are subject to change.

How to get there: Nassau Harbour Club Marina on East Bay Street is the main departure port for Cat Ppalu. This is 30-40 minutes from Nassau International Airport. Return flights from Nassau to the USA are treated as domestic flights, which makes life easier for your onward journey as you can make "domestic" rather than "international" connections.
Arrival/Boarding/Departure: You should aim to arrive Nassau either on Friday or on Saturday morning. Boarding at Nassau Harbour Club Marina is at 12:00 hrs on Saturday for an early afternoon departure to the site of the first dives. Return to port is on Thursday and you will dine on board in port. Check out is on Friday morning at 09:00 hrs. The crew can help you with transfers you to the airport or nearby hotels, if booked in advance. The last dive of the trip will be at around 14.00 hrs on the second last day of the trip. Please wait at least 18 hours before flying after diving.
For more details, including airlines, see our Bahamas travel information section.

Non-diver rate: There is no discount for non-divers.

Single supplement (if you do not want to share accommodation): This is optional - single travelers may choose to share a cabin or pay a supplement of 65% of the normal published price for a double bed cabin.

Dive clubs and group discounts: See whole boat charter section below.

Whole boat charter rate (per night): 2021: (US$ 17,950 per week). Equivalent to: Pay for 10 guests and 2 additional person can join the cruise in a Standard cabin free of charge (total 12 guests).

Nassau, Exumas, Eleuthera (7 Days / 6 Nights - 19 Dives)

Trip highlights: shark action, great macro life/ marine diversity, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Nassau: Lost Blue Hole, Periwinkle Reef, Exuma Cays: Up Jumped The Devil, Dog Rocks, Lobster No Lobster, Barracuda Shoals, Amberjack Reef, Austin Smith Wreck, Blacktip Wall, Hammerhead Gulch, Jeep Reef, Pillar Wall, Parrotfish Reef, The Washing Machine, Danger Reef; Ray’s Reef, Whale Tail; Eleuthera: Jake's Hole, Monolith, Hole In The Wall

Day 1
Whether you arrive on the Friday or the Saturday morning you need to be at Nassau Harbour Club Marina by noon for boarding. The tour leader will welcome you onboard, assign you a cabin and explain in detail the liveaboard boat features and the plans for the coming days. A welcome lunch will be served on day 1 just before the boat departs. During the long summer days a check dive may be offered on day 1. Alternatively, after a good night's sleep, the diving will commence the next day.

Days 2-6
Expect up to 3-4 dives a day on some of the most amazing dive sites that the Bahamas has to offer. You will be diving all around 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 so you can experience truly virgin diving. Because of these laws, there are miles of undersea gardens in which coral, sponges and fish abound. Turtles, rays and sharks are seen regularly at most sites. Sometimes your itinerary may include diving Eleuthera but that is weather dependent. Depths normally range from 20 feet to 120 feet. There are swift drifts between the cays as well as the famous Blue Hole. Caribbean reef sharks and nurse sharks frequent many of the sites. You will normally experience 1 shark feed on each trip. The Exumas are home to just a few wreck dives and the Austin Smith wreck will be on your cruise.
3 complete meals are served daily, plus snacks and fresh fruits. You can expect typical American fare: baked chicken, pork loin, lasagna and meatballs, with all the sides and dessert too. Fresh fish is also served, in season, when caught. A selection of beverages is always on hand from soft drinks and lemonade to beer, wine and rum drinks. Meals are enjoyed in the main deck dining area. You can expect many other activities in addition to diving including fishing, island visits and beach barbecues.
The last night of the trip will be spent in Nassau where you can explore the big island with your new buddies. Dinner on Thursday is served on board at the dock.

Day 7
After a continental breakfast, you will disembark. If you have pre-arranged a transfer to the airport or local hotel this will be arranged for you.

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[Information is best estimate in ideal circumstances and subject to changes beyond our control. The itinerary is a guide only and may be adapted to best suit the weather, tides, currents, availability and other prevailing events. Price is for the cruise, not for an exact number of dives].

There are 6 cabins with shared bathroom facilities. 5 on the main deck and 1 in a pontoon: 4 double bed cabins and 2 twin bed cabins.

All the staterooms have: No. of bathrooms / showers - 2 / 2 - hot water