Nautilus Liveaboards - Richmond, British Columbia

Yves H.

Trop top !
j'ai eu la chance de retourner sur le Gallant Lady pour leSardine Run et ce fut un festival ! Des marlins à foison, des baleines à bosse et un baleineau. L'équipage était au top comme d'habitude ! ce n'était pas la première fois que je partais avec Nautilus Liveaboard et j'attends avec impatience la prochaine fois ...

Meriem S.

Un lieu extraordinaire
Ou je retourne avec ses baleines et des dauphin requins ses le seul endroit où on arrive avoir merlin baleines dauphin otaries dans la même journée

Patrick M.

Orcas & Mobulas
Very disappointing experience, Not recommended.

While we were unlucky with the weather and in nature nothing is confirmed, there are a factors that are controllable and should have been better.

Expectations, we didn’t see Orcas in our trip, the previous week hadn’t either, on the week before that they’d seen them 1 day. So in June and early July there’d been sightings 1 day in 18. Net a 6% chance of Orcas. In previous years it’s been 60-70% in peak season. Additionally Mobula season was mostly over by end of June. We saw two small groups of 40 ish for about 1 min each time, if you’re hoping for 500+ mobulas than this didn’t happen for us. We saw whales from the boat briefly, same as I saw too and from dive locations on my day dives in La Paz the week before. The dive locations are the same thst the day boats go to from La Paz. There were 4x scuba dive’s offered on the week which led to seeing sea lions. This trip is essentially sitting on a liveaboard for hours at a time and then hours of looking at the ocean on a rib. All in all there is not much activity. Be aware that your chances of Orcas and Mobulas is very mixed and I think very low.

Experience & Communication, some of the staff tried their best and there were some stars. Laura our hostess and Enrique the chef were fantastic, the food was a highlight and the beds very comfortable. Urial the dive leader was doing the job of 2-3 people and a lot more running and day to day tasks vs other dive leads. Seems like there was not a lot of support on dive deck. However there was alot of confusion amongst the team on running the day to day and it stems from the captain and his poor leadership. He was briefing us before/ not telling his dive master, which meant if we had questions than dive leader couldn’t answer them or didn’t know the details. He didn’t introduce his team when we boarded. He was dismissive of our questions and quite arrogant. I didnt get a direct answer to a question, just a joke. Communication in general was poor, a few people were told that we’d be leaving at a certain time and let this cascade throughout the boat vs telling all the guests. Then when this changed last minute again same approach. I nearly missed two trips on the rib as a result. There wasn’t enough staff, one dive leader for 11 people is too much even when you’re experienced in the water.

This is the first liveabaord I’ve done which I would not recommend. I’ve previously been with Nautilus to Socorro which was a great trip, but I don’t think I’ll travel with them again. If you want to see Orcas and Mobulas in Mexico then my recommendation is go to La Ventanna and go with one of the day operators for day trips- it’s cheaper and gives you more flexibility in your agenda if weather is bad. They won’t be out or searching to same amount as liveabaord, this is a benefit of the trip. Before you book with any operator ask them about animal safety protocols and how much time they’re actually willing to spend with Orcas before leaving them alone. I heard some bad stories of day trip providers - not Nautilus- of 30 boats chasing one Orca for hours.

Abby D.

The staff, the ship, the food, the dives...it all was AMAZING! The cabins are roomy and there are SIX cages that you can dive in from early in the morning until late in the afternoon. I've been on another ship that took twice the time to arrive at Isla Guadalupe and the cabins were 1/3 the size. This was a family bucket list trip and I enjoyed it so much that my husband and I plan on going again. I NEVER felt unsafe. If you want to cage dive with great white sharks, this is the ship and crew to take you.

Off T. B. P. A. A. T. (.

This is a five star live aboard. We went to go diving with the great white sharks.

There was a lot of shark action. We saw them up and close. They know where the sharks will be at.

The rooms were really nice and clean. The staff was chill and answered all 1 billion of my questions. Plus, the food was way too good.

Stephanie A.

Did someone say Orca ?
WHAT A CHANCE OF A LIFETIME THAT WAS. An opportunity came up with some friends to go snorkeling and swim with Mobulas and Orcas in the open ocean of the Sea of Cortez.
After doing some diligent homework, the trip was set up with the, Nautilus Gallant Lady based on safety and the generous accommodations amongst their staff and crew on board.

Never seeing an Orca ever in my life, I wasn't sure what to expect. Spotting them was a 50/50 chance during our 7 night and 8 day expedition. Knowing that going in, there was a possibility we might not see them and accepted that. I was really hoping that we were able to see them. Looking for them in such a vast open ocean can be looking for a needle in a haystack. I remained optimistic.

After 2 wonderful days of swimming with Mobulas for hours, watching Humpbacks, Sea Turtles, Fin Whales, pods of dolphins, dolphins every day, dolphins every where, even a pod of several hundreds of dolphins, Bio Luminescense, not to mention the gazillion stars above the Lady and so much more. On day #3 we were fortunate enough to be greeted by the Orcas.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Was this really happening?
Yes, yes it was!

Although I feel very comfortable in the water, I was nervous on my first jump. I'm not going to lie, my first jump sent a feeling of vulnerability throughout my body. That feeling was valid because feeling nervous comes from the unknown. Until you do it for the first time, then you will want to do it again and again. Then there is no turning back. I guarantee it.
I was like, "OMG! I am in the middle of the freaking ocean with an Orca and her baby."
Seeing a baby swimming with their mother in clear open water was out of this world.

Juan and Celina are very safe and extremely respectful of the Orcas space. We spent hours observing them. About 6 hours in fact. Watching the babies tail slap, breech and spy hop. We watched them feed each other sea turtles while the babies still continued to splash the water with their little tails. We watched them well into the sunset with the most ultimate ideal conditions.
It couldn't of been more perfect.

The next day, on day #4, we woke up at daylight and headed out on the zodiac.
Again, at 9am, they showed up and observed them for 11 hours this time.
For 2 consecutive days straight, we had Orcas.
This was the same pod of 6 from the previous day. 4 adult females with 2 babies.
Not only did we watched them for 11 hours, we yet again, watched them well into the sunset. What set aside day #3 and day #4 was, day #4 we watched them hunt a dolphin.
Watched them hunt, watched how they all worked together, watched the whole event from the start to the end. All of this took place about 50 yards at most in front of the Gallant Lady.
As some guests wanted to hop right in the zodiac and "Go....Go...Go."
Juan and Celina said, " no guys, we need to let them eat just like you ate your lunch. We need to remain respectful."
I found that to be highly respectful as these wild animals have their own lives too.

The crew on the Nautilus Gallant Lady, all work really well together as a team. Their communication amongst themselves is great. Safety is ALWAYS the #1 priority.
I love how there are 2 female crew members and liked the extra estrogen on board.
The boat is very clean and sanitized. Trust me, I was paying very close attention to that.

The food is exquisite. Truly out if this world. Poncho works very hard in the kitchen. The portions are larger than what I am used to. The flavor is, "poppin". Everything is made fresh. You will not go hungry. Especially with Silvia's daily fresh made cookies.

This trip has above and beyond exceeded my expectations. When I book my next Liveaboard, it will definitely be with Nautilus.
I will truly miss everyone because everyone feels like family now.

David M.

I recently had the pleasure of venturing out to The Socorro Islands with Nautilus Liveaboards on the Nautilus Explorer. This was my 4th trip with Nautilus Liveaboards and 3rd on the Nautilus Explorer.

This is a fantastic boat and well equipped for the adventure. There is good space on the dive deck for the 25 divers getting ready for a dive.

The food was plentiful and delicious. Every meal was good the entire trip.

The Crew…. You will be hard pressed to find a better trained, harder working, and always making sure you aren’t needing anything. They also can boast having two of the most competent female dive masters in the liveaboard circuit. All the dive masters are exceptional

Diving operations; runs like a well tuned clock. From rolling launches off the dive deck, water exits in rolling seas and returns.

The best of the best. That’s what you can expect from Nautilus Liveaboards
David, Seattle

Cole Y.

Do not book anything with this company. Booked a great white shark dive and they decided to steal our money. Said they can take us to see Sting Rays instead of great white sharks and then kept the money we put down. I can’t believe it is still in business ripping people off. Losers.