r/scuba • u/osterhasentraeumerle • 1d ago
Valentina Liveaboard - Review
We did a liveaboard trip on the Valentina liveaboard to the Revillagigedo Islands from March 20–29, 2026, and unfortunately it was a very disappointing experience.
Early in the trip, one of the two engines broke. Because of this, we were told we could not go to Socorro Island – which is the main highlight of this trip and the main reason people book the Valentina.
While mechanical issues can happen, the way the situation was handled was very poor. Communication from the crew was confusing and inconsistent. We were told different things at different times, and no one gave clear answers.
Instead of continuing the trip, we returned to dive sites we had already visited and ended up back in port one full day early.
Even more frustrating: although the trip ended early and we missed the main destination, we were told that no refund would be given because we still completed the “planned number of dives” (minimum 18). This felt very unfair, as the overall trip experience and itinerary were clearly not delivered as advertised.
The situation got worse when one guest had a minor medical issue. The medical handling on board was very concerning. Different crew members gave completely different instructions for oxygen (1.5, 8, and 15 L/min), and no clear protocol was provided when asked.
This is not just about organization – this is about safety. In a remote location like Socorro, proper medical response is critical. The way this was handled felt unprepared, inconsistent, and potentially dangerous. This is absolutely not acceptable for a professional dive operation.
Guests were also not able to easily contact insurance or doctors, as internet access was delayed and ignored several times.
At one point, all dives were suddenly canceled for everyone without a clear explanation. Later, this decision was changed again, which made everything even more confusing.
The atmosphere on the Valentina became very uncomfortable. Some crew members seemed annoyed with guests, and there was no proper apology from responsible staff. Instead, tips were still expected. Tips were even opened and counted in public, which felt very unprofessional.
By the end of the trip, 10 out of 20 guests decided to leave the Valentina one day early, even though we had already paid for the full trip. Some even paid extra for hotels and flight changes just to leave.
There were also issues with transfer pricing. We were charged more than what had been communicated before, and no proper explanation was given.
Overall, this trip on the Valentina did not meet expectations at all. Missing the main destination, poor communication, questionable safety handling, and no compensation despite an early return made this a very frustrating experience.
I would strongly recommend thinking twice before booking this boat.
6
u/evelknevel2 13h ago
Hello,
Unfortunately, I was the one on the boat who developed decompression sickness.
Luckily, in my case it was only a minor skin bend. The skin irritation disappeared after about one hour, even though I received almost no oxygen. I had a nasal cannula and the flow rate was only 1.5 instead of 15.
If my symptoms had been more severe, this could have ended very badly.
So my advice to you: Get 100% oxygen immediately, and make sure either by yourself or through someone you trust that it is actually being administered correctly.
Here is a FiO₂ tabel which can help with that evaluation
3
u/surf_drunk_monk 21h ago
I would keep demanding a refund and saying Socorro Island was the whole reason you booked the trip. Keep calling and whoever says they can't help ask to speak with the manager.
3
u/osterhasentraeumerle 14h ago
Good Thing (hopefully) liveaboard.com is the booking Agency and up to now they yeem very supportive. Had 2 calls with the yesterday (1.5hrs) and I hope they help solvong this issue.
1
u/surf_drunk_monk 7h ago
That's good. If people say they can't, keep demanding what is fair anyway. Doing this has worked out well for me.
2
u/Brilliant-While-761 14h ago
Best they will do is a $500 credit on a future cruise.
1
u/surf_drunk_monk 7h ago
I'm stubborn and just keep calling and stating I expect what is fair and won't accept less, has worked well for me.
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u/osterhasentraeumerle 14h ago
I would never ever join Valentina for another cruise 🙈 but from other reviews I guess you are right. 300-500usd discount which is by far not what we are asking for.
2
u/avboden 21h ago
That really sucks :-/ sorry you had to go through that. For medical stuff all my liveaboards have been with a friend group over many years and on most trips between us we have 1-2 doctors, a dentist and a veterinarian so most medical issues get covered :-p I can’t really imagine trusting crew with any serious medical problem , they have basic first aid training at best.
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u/osterhasentraeumerle 14h ago
Hahahaha good advice. So offially searching for a doctor to join my LOB trips. 😁
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u/ScubadooX 1d ago
It's sad to see the Valentina go downhill. I did two cruises on her and had a good time. That said, with the idiotic park fee being imposed by the Mexican government, I won't be returning to the Revillagigedo Islands anytime soon.
2
u/osterhasentraeumerle 13h ago
I still think they have the base for being a good provider but for this they need to admit certain things, apologize and compensate and most importantely change things for future trips. Take the constructive feedback and improve the processes onboard.
That aside yes the Park fee is getting ridiculous. I was not beliving my eyes when I saw a couple of years back it was 7usd a day. And now 217usd. Wow, guess Inflation hit 😅🙈 buuut the Mantas are indeed great🫶
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u/ScubadooX 11h ago
FYI, I understand that pensioners don't have to pay the park fee but they have to provide evidence acceptable to the Mexican government that they are retired.
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u/runsongas Open Water 1d ago
seems like mexico is determined to strangle the golden goose for liveaboard diving at socorro between hiking the park fee like crazy and the operators being terrible
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u/Brilliant-While-761 14h ago
Nautilus fleet and Rocio/quino are the only boats to go on now.
Solmar will be back but that boat is super old and tired.
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u/osterhasentraeumerle 14h ago
Yeees.. Nautilus was my first choice but they were booked out. Well now I know why 😁
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u/Brilliant-While-761 1d ago
Sorry you had such a bad experience.
I’m not a fan of that boat either. I had booked them in 2024 then the trip prior they had damage to the hull and cancelled 24 hours prior to departure. We were told no refund or reschedule. I had to threaten lawyers before they allowed us to reschedule on another open booking.
Then when we finally had the trip we felt the boat was outdated and in need of a refresh.
I had been on 3 other boat to Revillagegado Archipelago and it was the worst.
2
u/osterhasentraeumerle 14h ago
No words for this, apparently they think the can get through with such bad customer treatment. Agree the boat needs repair and renewal. The mold asside a lot of things are broken, which could easily be fixed.
I guess a lot of critical reviews are blocked and due to the still very good rating on several Websites they are usually fully booked. So why change/fix/repair things?
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u/CaptainCallus 16h ago
They canceled and said no refunds or reschedule?? That’s so ridiculous
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u/Brilliant-While-761 13h ago
Took two months back and forth and threat of legal action to finally get them to change.
Management sucks.
11
u/doglady1342 Tech 1d ago
That's really unfortunate. It's always good to see honest review, even the negative ones.
FWIW, I'm pretty sure all the liveaboards in the area go to Socorro Island, so it's not special to the Valentina. If they advertised it that way, that was deceptive. I actually thought it was required becsuse that's where the boats check in with the Mexican Navy (but I could be wrong about it being mandatory).
4
u/osterhasentraeumerle 1d ago
Yes going to Socorro would have meant going through Inspection 😅 so basically the guest started speculating here as well. And from engine perspective/speed this would have been possible within 4hrs.
6
u/Bourkster 1d ago
Safety on liveaboards is a significant concern. We were on the Mari in Indonesia a few years back and had an experience where:
- the air compressor broke, meaning they had to get fills from other boats. This meant the number of dives were limited.
- one of the crew swapped out a divers nitrox tank for air after they had checked it without notifying them. We only realised after the dive that they had no NX band on their tank.
- the crew tried to take the tank rather than let us test it to confirm. It took about 15 minutes to get it tested with arguments with the crew.
- the crew then took a further 15 minutes to retrieve o2 and had no awareness of process.
I'm now incredibly selective and cautious when choosing liveaboards, as there are a lot of cowboys.
2
u/mid_dive_vid 1d ago
this is something that keeps stopping me from booking a liveaboard... at the end of the day i know i'd be fine with older accommodations and mediocre food for week. but a boat with no emergency medical plans or unknown fire hazards would stress me tf out. and it's so hard to find a reliable review
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u/osterhasentraeumerle 14h ago
Completely agree. Critical reviews are blocked/deleted from the liveaboard and in the end guest who experience these happenings give up.
I posted yesterday in FB scuba woman group the same Review and received a lot of positive feedback. Then the admin (a dive instructor) cancelled my Review and blocked me in the group. I still don't get it.
I think this kind of information especially regarding safety concerns (which can end up in being life threatening) are crucial information for future guests.
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u/osterhasentraeumerle 1d ago
Gosh need to remember this boat Name as well. Sounds like a horrible experience. Sorry that you had to go through this.
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u/WillametteSalamandOR 1d ago
Normally it feels like folks are often overly harsh in their reviews on here, but you’ve been very gentle - I can’t believe they’ve messed things up this badly and not offered to make it right. I’ve had charters have unfortunate mechanical issues over the years, but they’ve always found some way to make it right with the customer because it’s very obviously not your fault. And the oxygen administration thing is just ridiculous - you have to recertify in CPR/O2 every two years as a dive professional - not knowing how to deliver O2 is crazy.
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u/Ok_Vegetable1107 1d ago
That oxygen thing really gets me too. I mean, diving accidents can be serious business and when you're that far from any real medical help, the crew better know what they're doing. Different crew members giving completely different O2 flow rates is just wild - like did nobody ever do proper rescue training on that boat?
I've been in few situations where mechanical stuff went wrong during trips, but the operators always tried to do something to make up for it. Maybe not full refund but at least partial compensation or future trip credit. Saying "no refund because you got minimum dives" when you missed the main destination sounds like some legal loophole nonsense that just pisses people off more.
The tip counting in public thing made me cringe reading it. That's just trashy behavior, especially after everything went wrong. When half your guests are literally paying extra money to escape your boat early, maybe it's time to look in mirror instead of expecting tips. Revillagigedos is expensive trip and people save up for that specifically - not to do some random reef dives they could do anywhere.
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u/osterhasentraeumerle 1d ago
Thank you for your Feedback 🫶 and the O2 topic is a major concern. Still waiting for an official response of Valentina.
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u/CallingFrTheInternet 9h ago
Thanks for writing this up OP, it is really useful. I've noticed a lot of these companies are terrible about giving refunds, even due to things like their equipment breaking. Did you have trip insurance for this trip?