jmucia - Bluewater Dive Travel

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jmucia

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Reviews (7)

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Siladen Resort and Spa

4
5
3
5

Fabulous resort. Great food served buffet style. Had a different theme each night with the first being Italian night which was my favorite. Lunch was served on the beach outside. Had a garden view room that was very nice. Beautiful large bed with much needed mosquito netting. Service was great. English language skills were a bit lacking though not problematic.

Diving at Bunnaken was good, though had strong currents which made some of the wall diving conditions very challenging. Had a smaller dive center operation then some of the Lembeh resorts which seemed a bit clashing with the very upscale resort. When tide was high you have to walk 15 minutes or so to the other side of town to get the boats. While not far can be a bit taxing in the tropical heat, especially if carrying heavy photo gear. They always brought all the dive gear. Dives were almost exclusively wall dives. Not much macro though my dive buddy had a good night dive on their reef and you can find macro stuff if they go back to Manado mainland which is a good option when current is strong.

Most dive sites about 15 minutes from resort in small boats.

Visited on 08/2014 - Submitted on 08/11/2014
Garden View Room
Beautiful Pool & Dining Room
Dive boat interior with much needed shade doubles as your boat to mainland for tranfers
Read all Siladen Resort and Spa Dive Resort reviews
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Lembeh Resort

4
4
5
4

Excellent resort and dive operation. Seperate companies so will get two bills at the end. All the dive sites were within 15 minutes of the resort. Had dives at 8, 10 ish and 2:30 ish after Lunch about 1 pm or so. Breakfast and Lunch buffets were great and dinner was ordering off a menu that changed daily. Foot was always great. Night diving on request at about 6:30 pm. Went twice & was easily the best night dives I have ever done. Was very impressed with the dive guides and the dive operations. Have 5 boats that can handle about 10 divers each but had much less when I was there.

House reef was a good option if hanging around resort or trying out camera equipment. Lots of Nudi's there.

Macro critters at all the dive sites were fabulous and plentiful. All kinds of Nudibranchs, flamboyant cuttlefish, frogfish of all types, pygmy seahorses, ghostpipefish---you name it & chances are they have it all!

Ana and Miguel were great hosts and managers of this resort. Pickup and transfers from the airport and the other resort at Bunnaken were punctual and no hassles. I am already planning a return trip back.

Rooms very nice on the hill. Bit of a hike with a great view as reward or ask for a room not far up the hill. the dives at 8 am were a great civil time---not so early. Sacha and the photo shop there was great & he can fashion many parts using his custom 3-D printer.

Overall a very nice resort and a very professional dive operation.

Visited on 07/2014 - Submitted on 08/11/2014
Food was always great!
View of the resort looking towards the dive area
Sunset view from my room-small hike up the hill but worth it!
Room views
Dive boat
Read all Lembeh Resort Dive Resort reviews
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Philippine Siren

4
3
3
4

An older boat and not as comfortable as some of the 4 and 5 star boats I have been on. Not a Mermaid or Agressor level by any means. Huge diving deck with diving off dingies. Was 5 or 6 divers to a guide. Rooms were good size though. Food was great and way above average-see the pics.
I agree with the above reviewer about the shallow draft that can make the first and last nights unpleasant due to lots of rolling even when waves not that big. Lat nights dinner disrupted by crashing bottles and plates on way back.. Great staff and friendly Philipino crew. Good captain and guides.
Tubbataha is mostly larger stuff, not much of any macro and diving conditions can be challenging. Avoid room #8 which is the back of the boat & accessible down a difficult ladder staircase & is claustrophobic and isolated from all the other rooms.

Visited on 04/2014 - Submitted on 04/18/2014
A typical dive day schedule
The Salon. the AC here not great so not very comfy.
Outside deck. Mostly live here on trips for dinner and briefings and to get a breeze. Sun deck very hot and Salon warm due to inadequate AC
Food was great! Served outside buffet style
Older boat. Big dive deck. Step down stairs to dive deck to climb on dingies for diving.
Crew of the Siren on the sundeck
Read all Philippine Siren Dive Liveaboard reviews
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Tubbataha Reef

4
4
3
3

Spent 6 nights on the Philippine Siren at Tubbataha Reef. Boat is comfortable but not 5 star. The liveaboard has a huge dive deck though. Great food and friendly staff. No night dives at Tubbtaha Reef due to all wall dives & current so generally made 4 dives a day with both a early AM dive as well as a sunset dive. Up at 0530 to 0600 most every day. If you don't like wall dives, you will be disappointed.

Not very much macro stuff. Lots of small sharks - whitetip, blacktip & grey reef sharks. They were generally sleeping and approachable and sometimes even saw them schooling up to a dozen at a time. A few folks saw a hammerhead shark in early morning, though tough to catch them here-generally shy & mostly deep and early morning.
Marbled rays were my favorite and new for me here. I missed the macro here, though a little was available.
Saw lots of large dog toothed Tunas, some jacks, anthias and moorish idols. Many huge spiny lobsters that would let you get as close as you wanted to photograph them. Moray eels and several spots with garden eels. Occasional bumphead parrotfish.

The diving conditions: Visibility was generally good, though some days was only average. Currents variable and some dive sites (Washing Machine) were a big challenge even for an experienced diver. There are 2 small Islands that you dive here so after getting here not much travelling is needed, so there is not a lot of cruising after the first night.

While this is a good spot for scuba diving especially for bigger stuff, I have to say that Indonesia - especially Raja Ampat & Komodo were much better than the Tubbataha Reefs national park, especially when you favor in how remote a spot this is and how long the connecting flights are. This is known as a site for big stuff, so for macro you wouldn't come here anyways.

Visited on 04/2014 - Submitted on 04/17/2014
A typical day's schedule.
Part of the larger Atoll at Tubbataha with Siren in background
The ranger station at Tubbataha. Worth a visit for the gorgeous white sand beach and very limited T shirts available for purchase cheap.
Tubbataha Reef
Read all Tubbataha Reef Dive Travel reviews
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M/V Mermaid I

4
4
5
4

This is my third or fourth trip on the MMI and that probably sums it up. Great service and friendly experienced crew. This was diving-wise the best trip of my life. Clear calm waters made Alor/Banda sea really special. And of course Raja Ampat rarely disappoints. My favorite dive site was Snake volcano where there were more snakes than I had EVER seen and moreover they were friendly such that I had up to three snakes swimming around me at any given time! Tons of small fish and beautiful colors. Tons of healthy soft and hard corals. Never saw anyone in Alor or Banda sea so really perfect. Diving in Raja Ampat also great. Vis there was not perfect but still so much to see.

The boat was fabulous as always. Friendly staff always very helpful. PJ was great leader and fantastic videographer and also great dive guide. Knew all the best photo spots and angles. Large stable boat. Room with nice bathrooms and showers with TV in each room with tons of free on demand movies. Have free wifi but only when in range of cell data which on this trip was not often. Food is plentiful and served buffet style and always very accomodating for vegetarians or other special diets.

Visited on 02/2014 - Submitted on 02/12/2014
friendly snake at snake volcano
Vibrant sea life in Raja Ampat
Docked at Maumere, Flores, Indonesia.
Our dive dingies. All our diving off them. They always come to get you so no swimming back to boat needed.
Buffet breakfast includes eggs cooked to order.
Read all M/V Mermaid I Dive Liveaboard reviews
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Belize Aggressor IV

4
5
3
4

Went with a group and had a great time on the Belize Aggressor IV. Megan was a great captain and all the crew was great with nice warm fluffly towels and back rubs after each dive. Typical Aggressor/Dancer fleet great service. Had option of coffee/tea to wake you up in room daily. Nice touch. Food brought to you at table for meals. No buffet style. Wine included with dinner also a nice touch.

Diving was good. Lots of wall dives. Tons of lionfish(good or bad?) Went to the blue hole which was interesting to do though not much of any marine life to see there. Crabs, sponges, lots of colorful reef fish. Not as much big stuff. Good conditions. Not too much current. Prefer diving in Indonesia myself though. The sponges here were the best I've seen anywhere however.

Rooms comfortable with nice bathroom and large shower. Nice TV and comfortable beds.

Visited on 05/2013 - Submitted on 02/12/2014
Dive platform. Mostly wall dives so easily can dive off boat.
Not crowded on dive deck and then just hop off platform.
Dining and relaxing area.
briefing area outside.
Can compare the agressor with the dancer here. I was on the dancer!
Lots of room on dive deck and well thought out for photographers.
Read all Belize Aggressor IV Dive Liveaboard reviews
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Atlantis Dive Resort, Puerto Galera

5
3
4
5

Puerto Galera Dive resort.

Best food of any dive resort or liveaboard I have been on--and I've been on alot! Was served ala carte which I much preferred over buffet style. Always several options and appetizers and desserts besides main courses. Lots of fresh fish and seafood but also great meat and chicken dishes. Lighter options like stir fry also available to change it up and always able to switch things up to accomodate any taste. was the highpoint of each day-was really gourmet cooking. The dining room manager was there every day with suggestions.

Great Macro diving. Friendly staff and more than enough dives daily to keep everyone happy & satisfied. They had several boats that were never crowded and not more than 15 min ride to any dive site. More muck diving though a few reefs were available. Lots of nudibranchs, scorpionfish, pipefish, razorfish, frogfish and lots of nemos. Blue ringed octopus at night. A few deep dives but not as many. Really was my first macro muck place and really taught me how to slow down and look for the little stuff.

Convenient pickup from Manila airport. The rooms are on a hill so a little walking to get to your rooms. Town is small & simple but everything you need is at the resort. I went in August for off season specials and got lucky with no weather issues.

Visited on 08/2013 - Submitted on 02/12/2014
Daily dive board-usually max of 4 divers per guide-sometimes less
Friendly dive guides
Briefing area and part of small bar.
Read all Atlantis Dive Resort, Puerto Galera Dive Resort reviews

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