Pelagic Fleet

November through June. For specific water conditions and marine life encounters, please go to the individual destination page by using the drop down destination menu at the top of any page.

August through October. For specific water conditions and marine life encounters, please go to the individual destination page by using the drop down destination menu at the top of any page.

Dive Insurance is mandatory for all trips to Socorro Islands and you will be asked to show proof of insurance prior to the trip. On Guadalupe Island trips, Dive Insurance is required to dive in the submersible cage. For all travelers, we strongly recommend Travel Insurance. 

On all live-aboard dive trips, packed clothing should be kept to a minimum as cabin space is usually limited. You will be in your swimsuit most of the trip and shorts and t-shirts are the common dress. We ask that you appear at all meals in dry clothes, as all meals are sit-down in the main salon. At Socorro, daytime temps will be in the 70’s or 80’s and we can have cooler evenings here so one pair of sweat pants, and a Polartec, sweatshirt or sweater is a good idea. Be sure to bring a hat, sunglasses and plenty of sunscreen.

For the Guadalupe Island trips, you will be breathing from a surface supplied air source or hookah. Since you will not be using SCUBA, you do not need a SCUBA certification to join our Guadalupe Island trips and participate in the surface cage diving. This also means that you can invite your family and friends who want to join your adventures but are not SCUBA Certified! We only require SCUBA certification for guests who would like to go into the submersible cage. If this applies to you, be sure to bring your SCUBA Certification card or you will not be permitted in the submersible cage – NO exceptions!

We must be doing something right because we get consistent rave reviews for the gourmet cuisine aboard Vortex. Our menus vary and feature a combination of American and Mexican cuisine, using fresh, locally grown ingredients as much as possible. We offer a variety of cooked-to-order choices for breakfast and you can always count on fresh tropical fruit platters, icy cold fruit juice, yogurt, pastries, an assortment of cereals, teas and fresh-brewed and very strong, Mexican-style coffee. Vortex is one of the few luxury liveaboards that serves a three-course meal for lunch. Ours always begins with a fresh, homemade soup (our chef, Tony, is famous for his soups!), followed by a main course and then a delicious dessert. After an afternoon snack and cocktails (watch out for the margaritas!), you’ll be ready for your relaxing dinner aboard Vortex. We begin with a fresh salad, then either chicken or fresh fish or beef, always a fresh vegetable or two followed by another decadent dessert. All beverages, including beer and wine with your meals, are included. Since alcohol and diving don’t mix, be prepared to snorkel for the remainder of the day if you choose to drink alcohol before dive ops have closed for the day. Our chef prepares delicious snacks in the mornings and afternoons and especially takes pride in his fresh, Mexican-style hot chocolate. We always have available fresh fruit, cold fruit juices, sodas, fresh-brewed coffee, and both hot tea and iced tea. We can easily accommodate any special requests such as food allergies, a vegetarian menu, heavy on the fresh salads, etc if you inform us of your needs at least two weeks before your trip. We understand that a liveaboard experience is eat-sleep-and-dive and we do our very best to ensure that each of these experiences aboard Vortex is memorable for you.

Although we discourage smoking for reasons we’re all aware of at this point, we understand that some guests are still wrestling with it, so we allow smoking on the sundeck only. We ask that our smoking guests be considerate of our non-smoking guests. You’re outnumbered!