Palau Liveaboards - Anyone been on the Tropic Dancer lately?

[lbcjay]

Me and and a few friends were thinking about going to Palau to do some diving for a week or two in early 2014. We were just about to book the Tropic Dancer but one of our group googled tropic dancer reviews and there is one really bad one out there and on some other sites some good ones. Has anyone been on that boat recently? If so, what was your experience?

Are there any other better ways to go about diving in Palau? Maybe another boat? Or stay at a resort and dive from there? Any info you have is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Woodiver]

We were on the Tropic Dancer over Christmas 2012. The Palau Aggressor and the Tropic Dancer are sister ships and have the same owner/management company. The crew members rotate between the two boats. The only differences between the boats that we noticed were the Aggressor had a fiberglass skiff and a hot tub. The Tropic Dancer had an aluminum skiff and no hot tub. During our trip the only complaint we heard was the lack of A/C strength in cabin 9 which is accessed directly off the dive deck.
In Palau you can either dive land based and get in 2 or 3 dives a day or dive a liveaboard and get up to 5 dives a day. The land based boats seem to leave around 8:30 and return after 3pm for 2 tanks. Long rides in sometimes stormy rain and wind. On the Tropic Dancer by 8:30, the first dive was done and it was time for breakfast. Another plus for a liveaboard is you should get down to Peleliu and you get to the popular sites before the day boats.
If I were doing Palau, my choice would be liveaboard and I wouldn't have a problem returning to either the Tropic Dancer or the Palau Aggressor. Here are linked to some photos from the trip: Topside, Palau Land and Tropic Dancer - a set on Flickr Underwater, Palau 2012 - a set on Flickr

 

[denniscloutier]

Well, there's one difference between the Dancer and the Aggressor. We were in cabin 9 on the Palau Aggressor a few years ago and it was like a meat locker. We complained to the ship's engineer a couple of times but he couldn't seem to do anything about it.

I would definitely suggest that you avoid cabin 9. It is a bit cheaper, but the upgrade is well worth it.

 

[altaskier]

Look also at the Ocean Hunter boats run by Fish n Fins! I had a fantastic week on the OH I a few years back.

 

[koozemani]

I also interested in the responses. Recent threads on the Agg/dancer fleet have given me pause despite the great time we had on the Sun Dancer.

 

[Scared Silly]

If you want something different:

Eclipse - Palau Diving, Fishing, Kayaking, Snorkeling and Wreck Diving Tours

We did 10 days on the Eclipse with four adults and two kids. Look at the cost as we got 10 days instead of 7 for one of the live-a-boards. And we got in as much diving.

 

[backpacking diver]

We had an awful time on the Tropic Dancer, crew rotating through renewing visas from other places and mostly unfamiliar with Palau, didn't know the sites, totally uninterested-- saw a lot more and had a ton more fun w/the land-based diving BUT as the others in the forum said you'll get a *lot* less diving overall that way. Had a friend recommend the Ocean Hunter & would try it next time-- at the least it's small, so it'd be less of a cattle-boat experience than the Dancer.

 

[Roshenamin]

As someone that just experienced a nightmare experience on the galapagos aggressor 1 live aboard.
pls research other companies.
this one promises a lot, but obviously they don't give a damn about your safety on the boat, nor their reputation....
Learn from us, who are still fighting everyday, awaiting compensation for articles and valuables stolen by their crew after we finally got off their sinking ship.
choose wisely a hot towel is not as important as a life raft that doesn't deploy in the dead of night, when your boat is going down.

 

[shmuggy]

I was on the Ocean Hunter 1 recently and thought it was a good boat but it is very small- even by LOB standards but I would go on the boat again or look real hard at the OH 3 which we toured and it is truly awesome in terms of living space. More costly but worth the extra money. We were on the OH 2 years ago and liked it so much we came back to dive with the same company. As for the Dancer/Aggressor fleet- they seem to be having problems that I would want resolved before I would go on one of their boats again. Definitely go on a liveaboard- you will beat the day boats in the morning and the LOBs make the effort to keep you away from the sites when they are crowded.

 

[ewaiea]

I wouldn't say I've done the Tropic Dancer "lately". I did it in October of 2011 - I had a blast. BUT we were lucky in that only 6 guests were on board and we basically had a 1:1 ratio of crew to guests. We really enjoyed it. I think the skiff on the Palau Aggressor seems to have space allocated in a way that would make a full boat a lot more comfortable than the skiff on the Tropic Dancer.

I have been less than impressed with the company based on recent reports of the Galapagos Aggressor I going down. Granted these are franchise owned boats so what happened in the Galapagos has nothing to do with the Tropic Dancer at all. THAT BEING SAID......the response from management (or lack thereof) about what they plan to do about the obvious negligence on the Galapagos boat has me definitely considering trying other companies.

I'm not swearing off Aggressor/Dancer - but it's time to start looking elsewhere to compare and contrast. I think I might return to Papua New Guinea. I did the north New Britain itinerary on Star Dancer - I think I'd like to go again (first time I've ever repeated a destination) but this time do it on Febrina since it's really the only boat left in that area.