Rocio Del Mar Liveaboard

Wonderful experience! The boat: Rocio Del Mar, although not fancy and quite simple is very comfortable. Rooms were clean with a private bathroom. The dive deck was very comfortable with space and nice large table for cameras. The staff is first class, each and every one of them and they really made this trip exceptional. Everyone on the staff made sure we were taken care of and enjoying our trip. The food was absolutely amazing. I have been twice on the RDM and will not hesitate to go again. We had 4 dives a day, the dive masters were professional, helpful, and I always felt safe and in good hands. Our trip leader Nirupam Nigam from Bluewater travel is the best photography instructor we could have asked for. In addition to reviewing the photoshop materials he spent time with each and every one of us personally to help us improve our photography skills based on our personal levels, goals and camera. He made sure to spend time underwater with each group. The marine life in Sea of Cortez is diverse and so interesting with lots of different Jawfish I have not seen before, beautiful Nudibranchs, Sea lions, and one of many highlights - snorkeling with gigantic whale sharks. This trip has everything needed for a great vacation and amazing diving. The Sea of Cortez does have something for everyone with a nice mix of Macro and wide-angle for the photographers among us or those aspiring to be (like me).

I have taken 4 trips on the Rocio Del Mar now and will go back again for sure. When she first started her dive charters to the Midriff Islands several years ago, I jumped at the chance to explore that part of the Sea of Cortes. The crew on board included many who actually helped build the boat with the owners, Dora and LoLo. On my 4th trip this November with them, this time to the Socorro Islands, most of these same crew members are still on the Rocio and welcomed us like family. It is a boat and crew that is warm and friendly, not cold in any way. A chef on board, Pancho for us prepared amazing hot soups with the midday meals and always had a variety of fresh fruit and snacks available. He was excellent and gracious about accommodating food sensitivities including my gluten intolerance and others allergies or preferences. He even baked special desserts for me. We had a room in the bow with a double sized single mattress bunk which was well padded even for female hips and had plenty of room for two. The shower and toilet area is small but your own and plenty adequate. Shampoo and conditioner is supplied in a wall mounted dispenser too. The dive deck allows plenty of space to get in and out of gear with a small storage area for small stuff. The crew returns your gear to your space between dives. Wetsuits hang in the open air to dry. I do recommend bringing 2 so you can alternate while one drys out. The trip they offer between SanJose Del Cabo and Rocky point allows an opportunity to dive the whole Sea of Cortes, truly a sense of exploration. The diving in the Sea of Cortes is unique and diverse. We found all types of colorful stars including several different basket stars. Damsels, rays, blennies, myriad nudibranchs, and so many more made each dive site unique as we worked our way from the northern end of the Sea of Cortes to the southern tip. The super curious and playful sea lions at Los Islotes were among my favorites along with the jumping mobulas. I go back repeatedly and will continue to choose Rocio DelMar whenever I can!

Islas Revillagigedo on Rocio del MarIn November of 2013 Cindy and I scheduled a live-aboard trip on the Rocio del Mar to the Islas Revillagigedo or Socorro Islands as they are more commonly known. This was our second attempt to visit these remote islands, our first thwarted by a rather substantial hurricane.The Rocio del Mar is a staunch, custom built, 100-foot dive boat that has been in service since late 2008. Built, owned and operated by the husband and wife team of Lolo and Dora Sandoval, with long serving professional crew, it is, in my opinion the best live-aboard operating in Baja. Guest accommodations are ten comfortable, double cabins, each with AC, bathroom and shower. For the UW photographer there is a dedicated camera table on the dive deck along with camera work space and entertainment center in the second deck lounge. Both the individual cabins and the second deck lounge along with the dive deck camera table have outlets for charging cameras and other equipment at standard US 110 volts. For diving convenience, each diver has their own space and gear storage area with close access to the twin stairs leading to the panga boarding, swim step area. This access and dive deck area makes the Rocio the perfect vessel for dive adventurers. Gas choices aboard include Nitrox at 32 percent or air.We departed from San Jose del Cabo and spent the next 26 hours running to the southwest in calm seas. Taking the opportunity to do a final equipment check still left plenty of time to get acquainted with new dive buddies and relax on Rocio’s spacious sun deck or lounge area or to just flake out in your cabin for a nap.Bright and early on the second morning, we arrived at San Benedicto Island and into the water we went! First dive found us with turtles and white-tip sharks and the next dive we were in the water with mantas. From then on, over the next five days it was nothing but awesome diving. Dolphins, turtles, sharks – white tip, silver tip, Galapagos, silky and hammerhead – wahoo, BIG tuna, mantas, mantas, mantas, dolphin and finally we were visited by a very accommodating whale shark on our last day at Roca Partida. These along with the usual reef and rock suspects along with gentle seas made this a spectacular trip. All dives were from large rigid-hull inflatables with a typical ratio of four divers for each dive master. Except for the more rigorous dives when the dive briefing was more specific, buddy pairs have pretty much free rein to wander a bit and to chase the images they want.As far as the amenities on Rocio they are excellent. Beginning with the stability of the vessel which provides the easiest ride I have ever encountered on a live-aboard vessel. That is not to say that the Rocio doesn’t move in the swell, but the vessel has a very gentle ride that is enhanced by the use of paravanes on long transits which makes for an easier more relaxing voyage. Food on the Rocio – what can I say but excellent and abundant. Poncho the Rocio’s chef provides amazing food, everything from snacks –fresh fruits, goat cheese, taco bites and more – to the amazing cooked to order breakfasts and the diverse and delicious dinners. On my several cruises aboard Rocio, it is SOP that the guests will give Pancho and his creations standing ovations several times over the course of the trip. The rest of the crew is first class as well.. Panga operators Julio and Everado have been with Rocio since she began operating and their skill and safety awareness make even the challenging dive easier and safer for the divers. Aurelio the Rocio’s engineer, is sort of the guy behind the scenes, but if there is a mechanical problem whether the ship’s equipment dive equipment or a funky strobe connection he can usually handle it.Again, I’ll say for diving the Sea of Cortez or the Revillagigedo Islands there is not a better diving live-aboard experience to be had than the Rocio del Mar and her excellent crew.

ROCIO DEL MAR SOCORRO REIVEWThis was one of my best-ever experiences. If you like big pelagics and zillions of fish just hanging out in the blue, this is the trip for you. While Rocio Del Mar is not a glitzy as some liveaboards I've been on, it's perfectly suited to this type of trip, the crew are delightful, the food fabulous and the diving absolutely stunning.GETTING THERE AND BACKMy trip was arranged through a dive travel agent, and I flew from Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas where I met up with other dive friends. There was a convenient bus service from the airport and we were able to board Rocio Del Mar as soon as we arrived in Cabo, just before it sailed. Although some of our group chose to stay on after our return to port, it was possible to fly out to LA the same afternoon. The crew made us very welcome when we arrived on board and gave us a thorough safety briefing, including instruction in how to use the CB radios that would be attached to each of our BCDs. Soon after we left port it was too rough to do much other than turn up for meals and hope the 36 hour voyage to Soccorro would be over soon. The return trip isn't nearly so rough.THE BOATRocio Del Mar has four levels, with the kitchen and dining room down in the hull and cabins and recreation space on the upper decks. Unusual, but it makes sense because you spend less time in the dining room than elsewhere and, since the bottom of the boat is the most stable part, plates and glasses are less likely to skid off the table. Cabins have big windows and their own showers and toilets. We were very thankful that there were no top bunks to roll out of.THE FOODThe daily fare is three beautifully presented meals with a Mexican influence, morning and afternoon teas with hot bakes, cocktail snacks, wine with dinner, tea, coffee, soft drinks and biscuits always available and conscientious provision for special diets...this part of the trip really was five star plus.THE COMPANYSocial harmony is pretty important when you spend a week or two in the close confines of a liveaboard, and our party of 19 guests was pretty varied. The crew of Rocio Del Mar are not only utterly charming, they are also very skilful at managing social situations. They ensured that some major differences in attitude and approach were kept well under control and there was nothing more than a bit of mumbling and avoidance when it could have been so much worse.THE DIVE ROUTINEThe wonderful, kind and helpful crew are used to mature-age customers (who else has the time and money to do liveaboard trips to remote places?) and, while extremely conscious of dive safety, took every opportunity to make things easy. Divers gear up on the dive deck then descend a few steps to a wide dive platform at the rear of the boat. From there they step into Zodiacs, and there are always plenty of crew standing by to grab arms, pass cameras and other gear and even to lift equipment onto backs if necessary. Getting out of the water is just as easy, with the option of removing both weight belt and tank in the water before climbing the ladder into the Zodiac if preferred. We dived in loose groups of about six, each with its own guide. Warm showers and good spots for drying wet suits were available on the dive deck.DIVES AND MARINE LIFEOur first dive was on the second morning near the extraordinary, barren volcanic cone of San Benedicto and we did three longish dives a day for the rest of the trip (night diving is not permitted in this part of the world). Apart from a few enormous lobsters and morays, the odd patch of colour on a rock and a few pretty little fish, there wasn't a great deal to see on the reefs and walls. Best to concentrate on the blue and the surface where the real action is. Every day around San Benedicto and Soccorro Islands we saw mantas, hammerheads, white tip, silver tip and Galapagos sharks, huge schools of big and small fish and even dolphins. If we had spent the whole week diving around those islands the trip would have been well worth doing, but bonus calm weather permitted a crossing to magical Roca Partida, surely one of the world's best dive sites. A tiny dot in the middle of nowhere, Roca Partida is a twin-peaked rock about 100 metres long and 40 metres high, gleaming white with guano from many roosting seabirds.Below the surface you realize it is actually the summit of a giant sea mount that rises steeply from the depths thousands of metres below. Myriads of large and small fish, huge schools of jacks and at least six species of shark circle the rock face, with occasional breeding humpbacks. It is literally a mid-ocean pelagic meeting place. We were blessed with two days of rare calm weather with our own humpback mother and calf frolicking in the glassy sea. We snorkelled with them during our surface intervals and they even buzzed us underwater on some of our dives. Ten dives on this one site were not nearly enough for me, I could have done another 20 amid this endless, mesmerising parade of fabulous marine life. Definitely diving to dream about.

We loved our scuba diving trip to the Sea of Cortez!! And yes it met our expectations. I think Mike did a fine job as group leader, as well as doing a great job on the photos, reviews, courses etc. The crew on that boat are a bunch of hard working people, you could not ask for better people. They really went out of their way to learn all of our names, and also where we are from!!!We made two recommendations to the boat. 1) perhaps some fans down in the dive deck area to provide some air flow (even if it will be hot!!)2) a board which gives each crew member picture and name so we could learn their names as well as they learned ours!!We found the Sea of Cortez diving interesting and challenging in a good way. We dive in Cayman a lot so that is our frame of reference. We did like getting to see many things we cant see in Cayman, like the whale sharks, sea lions etc.This was our first live aboard experience and could not be happier. Your staff went out of their way to provide us the information needed, the boat crew worked their butts off, and Mike did a great job. So glad we went!!!Pete

Rioco Del Mar – Liveaboard ReviewI’m no longer a 50 year old liveaboard virgin. I lost my liveaboard virginity during an underwater photography workshop organized by Blue Water on the Sea of Cortez aboard the Rioco del Mar in August 2014. It was a fantastic experience. Being my first time, I admit that I do not have a reference point to compare it to other liveaboard adventures. However, I do have my share of resort diving experiences and can fully appreciate the Rioco del Mar.A'hoy matey! I was totally exhausted boarding the boat after a 17 hour journey from home to boat's deck (I should have arrived in Phoenix the day before the boat departed but did not think of that due to my lack of experience). Arrangements had been made to transport myself and the other liveaboard guests to the vessel. After a five hour shuttle bus trip from the Phoenix Airport to Puerto Peñasco in Mexico, our luggage was quickly taken off the shuttle bus and loaded on the boat. There was plenty of staff to help us and to avoid the commotion of a party boat in a nearby dock.Before the designated dinner time (keep on reading to find out what happened there), we had time to unpack and set up our diving gear in the diving station. I shared my cabin with Eddy. It was large enough for bunk beds arranged in an L shape. The storage area was well thought out and accommodated all of our luggage. The boat also had larger cabins with double beds. All of the cabins were comfortable with good beds and they were kept cool with air conditioning. Our small cabin bathroom contained the basics - a standard toilet, one small sink, a few shelves and a shower. Body gel and shampoo were also available (a good thing since I forgot to add these to my checklist).I missed dinner and the debriefing about the boat from being exhausted and from having a hard time finding my sea legs. Fortunately after a good night's sleep, I was back in shape. Being an early bird (and a very hungry bird for a good reason) I stepped out of my cabin and went straight to the eating area for a cold self-serve breakfast which started at 6 am every morning. Coffee was ready, juice, fruit plates and cereals were already set on the tables.Julio greeted me (later I found out that he was the captain of my panda boat). He teased me a bit about losing of my "Hulk" green skin that I sported the previous night. Teasing was a good way for breaking the ice. Even if he was a panda captain, he helped with the various duties. All crew members helped out with service and made sure that we were not missing anything.I was debriefed by other divers in my group, Team B (B for “Best” ). The other group was dubbed Team A (A for “Awesome”). The bell rang at 7 am for group A. It would be the signal for the team to gather on the deck for a debriefing and to get ready for the first dive. Team B's call was later at 7h15 am.Gil (short for Gilberto) gave the debriefing. Later, I gave him the nickname of “El artista”. His drawings of the diving sites on the white board were quite impressive. I raise my hat to him and to the other diver master (Roberto aka “Chilango”) for the leading groups of underwater photographers. It was certainly a challenge to keep us on schedule (one hour max per dive) when everyone became so captivated with the subjects at the other end of their lens. Apart from a couple of little incidents (where I got separated from my group chasing a hammer shark into the blue beyond and another time losing Gil during his swim with a whale shark), nothing major happened because we were a group of experienced divers who knew how to handle different situations.It was a nice feeling coming back from the first dive to see my bed nicely made up ( which hasn't happened since my mom did it for me as a youngster ). The bathroom was cleaned too! The crew remaining on the boat certainly did not waste any time while we were diving. I also noticed something else -the crew took turns doing the chores. A few times I saw our dive master cleaning up the common washroom near the camera/diving station. The crew was also part of the night watch rotation. I later learned the importance of these vigils. At sea, the weather could change suddenly and you always need to be prepared.Now back to the daily routine which began in the morning with a hot breakfast (usually bacon, eggs/omelette, freshly made waffles, or oatmeal) that was served after the first dive. It was basic comfort food that provided you with enough energy to get you through the second dive which occurred around 10h30-11h00 am. There was also enough time between the first two dives for camera maintenance or simply for mingling and chilling.On the subject of cameras, the set up of the camera station was just right with enough power bars and storage shelves above and underneath the work stations. However, the working surface was just a bit too tight for 19 photographers. It took a few days before each person to find his/her limited one and a half to two square feet of space.On the first full day, I explored the boat to get a better understanding of its' layout and that was when I found my favorite spot - the upper deck. It was large enough to have several lounge chairs, a large canopy for shade and an outdoor kitchen (we had two nice dinners up there). I just loved the fresh ocean breeze and the views of the surrounding islands. It was also a good spot to watch the sunrise and/or sunset. I even slept there one night to watch the stars. I found the best time for star gazing was around 3h30 am when the bright full moon started to set. August is a good month to see shooting stars. I made enough wishes for my family and for myself until I reach my next milestone birthday.However I digress - let's get back to the daily routine. Lunch was ready around 1h30 pm just after the second dive. This left enough time to get ready for the third dive which was around 3h30-4 pm. Just like for breakfast, there were several crew members available to serve the beverages, soup, main course and dessert.We quickly found out that we had a real Chef on board - Joshua. Our nightly meal was Mexican cuisine. The meal and dessert presentations were superb and original (many photos were taken at meal times). I’m usually a fast eater, but for some reason I enjoyed taking my time and savouring the visual presentation. Meals looked more like dishes served in an upscale Mexican restaurant. Each meal was a treat. One lady was a vegetarian and her dishes look so good, that I decided to try it for my next liveaboard adventure.After the third dive, a snack was served in the large TV/computer room on the second deck. It was a cool and large hangout designed to accommodate 12-14 people. During the week, we had a few workshop sessions and presentations of videos/slide shows. We had no internet access and frankly, I did not miss it. It was actually a nice feeling when you engage in a conversation with the person next to you instead of texting someone kilometres away. Just outside the TV room, there were an outdoor living room with 3 couches and a large coffee table. I preferred the upper deck for reasons already mentioned.The setup of the dive stations on the main deck and the rinsing barrels and freshwater showers on the panda boat boarding platform were pretty good. There were about eight steps to go down to the platform. The crew was very helpful for those having back problems and requiring assistance to bring their BCD/tank onto the panda. The crew was also very helpful getting divers on and off the panda and handled the cameras with care. Another small detail (attention to details often make the difference between okay service and the feeling of being pampered) was that we had a fresh towels in our diving station every other day.What about the diving? There was a good mix of dive sites for macro and wide angle photography. The dive masters were great at spotting all sorts of small critters (nudibranchs, jawfish, blennies) and larger subjects like scorpion fish or octopus hidden in crevices. They also had a few safety tips on how to be careful around over protective sea lion bulls. Since I’m a newbie at photography, I only had a wide angle lens for shooting big marine life, the underwater landscape and fellow divers. However, I enjoyed the macro and night dives as well. It was a treat to observe some pro/semi-pro photographers in action.We had half a day of great snorkeling with whale sharks in the park "Reserva de la Biosfera Bahía de los Ángeles", in Mexico's Baja California area. There were several occasions to take pictures of the whale sharks. Fortunately, the park was not overcrowded as our group was the only liveaboard vessel in the reserve. It was great to see our dive master swimming and spotting whale sharks. The first day, he probably spent close to four hours in the water. The captain “Manta” Rey Castillo showed flexibility in adapting the plans for the next day. One group wanted to go back snorkelling with the whale sharks and the other group preferred to go diving again.Staff and crew members of the Rioco del Mar were all welcoming, friendly and attentive to our needs. They always made sure that you didn’t lack a thing. From the person bringing you food and drinks to the table, to the dive master and panda boat captain - each played an important role. The crew members work as a team. It seemed like a very efficient well oiled machine. A well deserved (10-15%) tip was split with everyone.Some of the crew participated in the building of the boat which started in June 2006 and ended in November 2008. Afterwards, they were later offered jobs as crew members.The founders of the Rioco del Mar, Dora Sandoval (the lady greeting us at our arrival and saying goodbye when we returned to Puerto Peñasco) and her husband Francisco are divers themselves. They built a boat adapted for divers’ needs (not a fishing ship modified for diving). Their mission statement is to create an environment where our guests can be worry-free. “Well done, mission accomplished!” I encourage you to visit their web sitehttp://www.rociodelmarliveaboard.com/to read more about the Rioco del Mar and the Captain's past trip reports.Martin S Beaulieu aka MartyBoV,Blog:http://scubavista.blogspot.com/

I relatively recently went aboard the Rocio Del Mar on one of their Sea of Cortez routes. The experience was amazing, I would gladly repeat the same trip, although I have very strong plans to go back onboard to join their Socorro trips!Most importantly for a review on the Rocio - the dive crew is absolutely amazing. I've been on a number of liveaboards and have never experienced such a great crew. They are always anticipating your needs, being professional but also relaxed and friendly, and just overall awesome.Food - the food is absolutely phenomenal. Each meal was completely different, and all amazing. We did topside BBQs which were really really cool, and all dinners were 3 course meals.Accommodations - rooms are fine, there is nothing fancy or spectacular about them but they get the job done. Most bedrooms offer 2 twin beds in an L shape, which is nice as you don't have anyone directly on top of you, nor is the upper bed too high that it's too difficult to get in & out.The one strange thing about the boat is that the dining area is in the bottom front of the hull. I definitely prefer a dining area where it's center-hull, and multiple windows so you can see the views, enjoy the seabreeze, etc. Being down in the bottom hull feels like you're on a fishing boat or something and it's more bumpy. Besides this small thing though, everything about this boat and crew is fantastic!

The Rocio is not a luxury boat, but it is very comfortable and seaworthy. The food is good and the crew warm and friendly. I have made two trips on this boat and hope to return to do the third itinerary they offer, Socorro diving is nothing short of exciting ! The animals are magnificent , my personal favorites are the giant mantas. They come in close enough for even a rookie like me to pop off a few decent shots. This boat brings the dinghy literally onto the back deck of the boat for diver loading and unloading , it's brilliant ! Allowing for safe entry and exit every dive, I love it ! Mark Strickland was our trip leader . I found him to be open, helpful and full of information about photography (of course), but also very knowledge concerning the sea life. We often enjoyed conversations pertaining to the subjects we came to see as well as how to best "get the shot ". The workshops were not overwhelming or intimidating for a novice like me with a small point and shoot. I would easily encourage anyone who wants to see and experience thrilling large animal action to give this trip, boat and Mark Strickland an opportunity to show you how it done ! Especially if you have a camera of any size or calibre ;8-) Enjoy !

Diving the Sea of Cortez with the Rocio Del Mar photo workshop was one of the most amazing experiences I have had underwater. The crew on this boat is very professional and safety is the number one priority. Finding fun dive sites is the second. Julio was the captain and he is one of the nicest people I have ever met. A very competent captain, we had some pretty rough seas, but he kept us informed and we felt safe. Peter and Louis always made sure we saw the best of each dive site. The macro in the sea of Cortez is very unique, we got some amazing shots and were able to learn how to edit them for the best presentation.The sea lions are the highlight of the trip, very playful and animated. I would go again just to dive with them. We went to Bahai de Los Angeles and swam with juvenile whale sharks, they were very curious. I think there were more than 6 or 7 at a time, we got some really awesome pics. The boat is set up perfectly for a photography workshop. The dive deck and camera tables were very well equipped and very spacious. The dive times were very well organized. Everyone had enough space to store what they needed in the baskets and also on the camera table.The rooms were actually pretty spacious compared to other liveaboards. Plenty of drawers and space under the bed for storage. Did I mention the food? Joshua was our cook, I have food allergies and am a vegan. He was able to accommodate with amazing 5-star meals and snacks.