Bahamas Liveaboard Diving from Florida

bahamas liveaboard diving

General information for your Bahamas liveaboard diving trip

Here are some important details to help you enjoy your Bahamas liveaboard diving trip from Florida: Proof of Citizenship
Required for all passengers. US Citizens need a Passport, Non US passengers need a Passport and maybe a Visa (if necessary for US or Bahamas). Passengers from Visa Waiver countries must register online 72 hrs before flight, see https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/. Please print out and bring with you ESTA confirmation. You can be refused passage if you do not have proper proof of citizenship. Please contact us if you have any passport or Visa questions.

Physical requirements

Divers must be advanced open water certified and experienced divers. These shark diving trips are not for inexperienced or novice divers. All passengers must be able to climb a flight of stairs and divers must be physically capable of performing a giant stride entry. Additionally, all divers must be capable of boarding the vessel after the dive with all dive gear intact, including, but not limited to: mask, fins, BCD with cylinder, and weights. Minimum age for Shark diving is 18 years old. We do not take anyone under the age of 18 on shark diving trips.

Medical conditions

Any diver with a medical condition which is a contraindication to diving should not join these shark diving trips. PLEASE notify us in advance of any medical conditions and be prepared, upon boarding, to provide the crew with an originally signed and dated letter from their doctor on the doctor’s letterhead stating that the doctor understands the consequences of diving with the diver’s specific medical condition and that the diver is medically fit to dive. Please contact Divers Alert Network for advise about your medical condition.

Medical facilities while on board are a minimum of 4 hrs away. We are not liable for or insured for any in water activities, such as diving, snorkeling, swimming, shark diving etc. All passengers will be required to sign release of liability waivers.

Insurance

We highly recommend all passengers purchase trip insurance to protect in the event your trip is canceled or delayed due to weather. We strongly recommend that all divers and snorkelers have diving accident insurance such as Divers Alert Network 1-800-446-267 or Divers Security Insurance 1-800-288-4810. Insurance should cover in water activities and medical evacuation. 

For Travel Insurance:

http://www.travelguard.com/

http://www.insuremytrip.com/

http://www.tripinsurancestore.com/

We offer a named storm guarantee; lose more than 3 days on a trip, and within a year you can reschedule for free. Again, we do recommend you get trip insurance to cover flights and other travel expenses.

Minors

Person under 18 need parent’s permission consent letters and release forms signed and notarized by both parents. Sorry no minors on shark diving trips.

Dive and Snorkel Gear

Snorkelers need mask, snorkel and fins. Good quality gear makes your experience much better. Divers are required to be covered head to toe in dark colored gear for all shark dives. Divers need dive certification card, BCD, regulator with octopus, dive computer, watch, log book, full dark colored wet suits, dark colored hood, dark colored gloves, spare parts, and safety sausage. Night diving requires flash lights and cyalume or marker lights. We have limited rental gear onboard, please notify us in advance if you plan on renting equipment. We are not a dive shop so our rental equipment is limited and is not fancy but is properly serviced and maintained. 

Rental prices for duration of trip.

Regulator with octopus and gauges. $75

Regulator with octopus, gauges and dive computer (limited supply) $100

Buoyancy Compensator $75

3 or 5mm wetsuit (if available) $75

Mask, fins & snorkel $25

Dive light ($10 per dive) $25

80 cu ft air tanks, air fills, weights and belts are included in trip price. Sorry we do not offer Nitrox. 

Personal Items

Space is limited and the vessel is very casual, temperature is usually quite warm but the months between December and March are the coolest. Warmer clothes and jackets are occasionally needed in winter, something warm to put on after you get out of the water is a good idea. Several bathing suits, shorts and T-shirts, blouse/shirt and wind breaker. Also deck shoes, sandals, suntan lotion (we prefer reef safe and non-oil), sunglasses and hats. The sun can be intense so you may want light long sleeve (SPF) shirts and hats. Bring the medicines and toiletries you need. Soap and shampoo are provided. Feel free to bring books or music devices for the free time. You may bring tapes, CDs, books, personal electronics, etc.
Please mark all personal items and dive gear with name and address.

Towels

We provide 2 large towels per person for the whole trip. No washer or dryer on board. You may want to bring one or two personal towels.

Extra Cost and Cash

The Dream Team and the Bahamas accept US dollars and Travelers Checks. The Dream Team does not accept credit cards, but PayPal does. Please bring extra money for crew tips, rental equipment (masks, snorkels, fins, BCD’s, regulators).

Tips

We are a service industry and gratuities are a major part of our crew member’s salary. A gratuity of 15% of ticket price is customary ($300. to $500. from each person), but many leave more when they feel the service was outstanding.

Alcohol

Beer is the only alcohol offered on board. You may bring your favorite bottle of wine or liquor. No drinking while diving, snorkeling or other in-water activities.

Seasick Medicine

Sometimes the seas get rough, don’t assume you won’t need it. You may want to check with your family doctor. We do carry some sea sick medicine on board however recommend bringing what works best for you. 

Emergency Contact

In case of a home emergency vessel can be reached by calling our office (561) 589-8642.  The vessel does have a satellite phone however it is mainly for outgoing calls.

Food and Special Diets

Plese advise us two weeks in advance of your trip date if you have any food allergies or special dietary needs. Advise us in advance if you have any other special needs or request.

Airports

Nearest is Palm Beach International (PBI), 20 minutes to boat. 2nd is Ft Lauderdale International, 1 hour to boat. 3rd and biggest is Miami International (MIA) about 2 hours to boat. Tri-Rail commuter train runs from Miami or Ft. Lauderdale to West Palm Beach (45th Street Station), website http://www.tri-rail.com/ , Ph 1-800-874-7245 or see ground transportation desk in the airports. There is also the Brightline train, which has less stops then Tri-Rail, also picking up in West Palm Beach with fast service to Ft. Lauderdale, Aventura and downtown Miami. 

Ground Transportation

Van and Taxi, Otis Jones – Courteous Car Service 561-358-1247. We use this taxi service all the time and they know how to get to us.

Hotels

Oceanfront, Best Western Sea Spray, Singer Island, 1-800-330-0233, http://www.bestwestern.com/ , 10 min to boat, 25 min to PBI airport. Oceanfront, Hilton Singer Island, 1-561-848-3888, http://hiltonsingerisland.com , 10 min to boat, 25 min to PBI airport. Near Airport, Best Western Palm Beach Lakes Inn, 561-839-1469, http://www.bestwesternwestpalm.com/, 15 min from airport, 15 minutes to boat. Holiday Inn Palm Beach Airport, Australian Ave. 1-561-684-9400, http://www.hilton.com/. , 25 min to boat, 5 min to PBI airport. Near Airport, Radisson Suite Inn Palm Beach Airport, 1-800-333-3333, http://www.radisson.com/westpalmfl , 25 min to boat, 5 min to PBI airport.
Super 8 motel, 15 min to boat, 561-848-1424
http://www.super8.com/Super8/control/Booking/property_info?propertyId=05161

Boat Location

Dolphin Dream at Blue Heron Fishing Fleet, 389 Blue Heron Blvd, Riviera Beach, FL, 33404. Call Captain Scott at (561) 351-9354 for the crew to meet you or walk out the dock to the ‘Dolphin Dream”.
MAP

Please read this!

The Dream Team, Inc., its owners and employees, reserve the right at our sole discretion to refuse service to anyone at any time for any reason.

Divers must be advanced open water certified at a minimum and be experienced divers. These shark diving trips are not for inexperienced or novice divers. Divers must have a minimum of 30-50 open water dives and preferably previous shark diving experience. 

Participants will be responsible for their own safety during these dives. The sharks are attracted by baiting with dead fish and there is a risk of injury or death while diving with these big sharks. Participants need to be adults (18 years or older), experienced divers and accept the risk associated with shark diving and shark feeding.

The Dream Team, Inc. is limited in liability and all passengers will be required to sign a liability release. PLEASE NOTE THAT The Dream Team’s release contains provisions releasing the Dream Team and its related parties from the consequences of its own negligence.

Please read our release forms here: Standard Release and Shark Diving Release.

More info on scuba diving the Bahamas