budaman
Contributor
A trip on the Star Flyer is somewhat of a paradox......It's not a Liveaboard and it is definitely not your typical cruise ship. No, you won't get 4 & 5 days of diving in each day...at best two. You will get personal attention from the staff, you'll have no more than 6 divers on a dive and once onboard, you won't have to touch your gear before or after you get on the dive boat. All dives are conducted in the Ship's zodiacs and there will be a divemaster plus the boat captain. One thing I was concerned about prior to making the trip was how would the Dive Team know the reefs. My concerns were unwarranted as on each dive, they will have guide from the local area accompany the group.....two divemasters for 6 divers....pretty good ratio.
We visited the islands of Huahine, Bora Bora, Raiatea & Moorea. We also had one day where we visited a private Motu off Tahaa where we snorkeled most of the day, had a great bar-b-que on the beach & were treated to a Polynesian dance show. Star Flyer does not offer any diving on Huahine because of timing & logistics so any diving there has to be arranged yourself. They do offer at least two dives on the three remaining islands.
Due to weather conditions, they altered our itinerary a bit which made our first opportunity to dive, the reefs of Bora Bora. Unfortunately, my wife & I were the only ones that signed up for the night dive when we arrived, so it was cancelled. Somewhat disappointed, but I have to say I was a bit apprehensive about our first dive being a night dive as I haven't done one in quite a few years. The next morning, we were off in the zodiac for the first of two dives. Our guide was Pat from Bathy's Club. We went to Tapu, which is known for having lots of Blacktip & Lemon Sharks. We were not disappointed. We also saw Moray's, Turtles and just about any kind & color of reef fish you can think of. One other sight that was a surprise was the excursion submarine that came across the reef when we were about 80'. Quite an experience when it is about 15' away. After about a 50 min dive, we surfaced and headed back to the Star Flyer. I have to admit, this was the best surface interval you can imagine & the routine was like this each dive. When you get back to the ship, you get off the zodiac, the crew takes care of your gear, you go up the gangway & have an awesome lunch. There would be a buffet waiting that would always include a fish, beef, chicken & vegetarian selection with various veggies, fresh fruits and pastries. After a leisurely lunch and snooze time, it was back to the zodiac & off for the second dive. We went back to a different section of Tapu and had an even better second dive. One of the other groups in the area were feeding the sharks which brought in many large Lemons....they are tremendous up close, but never showed any kind of aggresive behavior. After what was a much too short hour, it was back to the ship where we quickly changed & headed over to Bloody Mary's.We had to head there to pick up another tshirt as the one I got last trip was left at Coconuts on our last trip to Cozumel. When we returned to the ship, the afternoon snack was ready. so we enjoyed them plus a few of our favorite coctails at the Tropical Bar.
The next day, we awoke as we were entering the lagoon surrounding Raiatea. There were two dives scheduled here also, but we elected to only do the morning dive as we wanted to participate in the kayak excursion up the Faaroa River in the afternoon. So, after a terrific breakfast, we were off to the dive site. This day, we were diving the wreck of the Norby. A schooner that was dashed against the reefs & sunk in the lagoon in 1900. Still intact, it is quite a sight as it appears out of the haze. Being inside the lagoon, vis is only 30/40 ft. She is lying on her side with the keel at around 40' and the tip of the tallest mast being at 90'. The decking is all gone, which allows light through the entire hull..this is why non wreck certified divers are able to enter. It did create issues with trying to photograph with all the light/dark contrasts. There was very little growth on the ship which also limited the number & variety of fish on the wreck. There were quite a few nudibranches though. The site is under a number of underwater bungalows that are located at one of the hotels and we spent the second half of the dive exploring around the pilings of the bungalows. There were many clownfish and lionfish along with grunts, stripers, tangs, butterflies & triggers. Although not a great wreck dive, it was interesting to us as we had never dove a wreck before. An interesting note, our guide here was Stephanie who is with Hemisphere Sub, and was our divemaster when we dove with them last trip. She was great & took personal charge of my wife & led her through he wreck as she is very skittish about dark places....swim throughs, caves, wrecks etc. Another fear overcome! After the dive & lunch, we were off for the kayak trip which also included a hike through a Botanical Preserve. A very enjoyable afternoon!
Moorea was next up. Being anchored in Moorea for 2 days, we decided to rent a car the first day & tour the island. Moorea is a beautiful island and well worth spending some time on. The second day, we went diving. First dive was as Tiki with lots of Black Tip & Gray sharks & of course the Tiki statue the site is named for. We also saw more eels, turtles and lots of triggers. The second dive was at the Canyons where we also saw much of the same plus clowns & Lionfish. We also encountered the largest Green Moray we have ever seen! Obviously it is a longtime favorite as Nicholas(our guide on thes dives) was petting & stroking it much to the Moray's delight. Nicholas was an independant guide who was excellent at spotting little critters we would never have seen. We enjoyed both these dives very much.
One other thing, we took our own equipment because we were unsure of what they had on board. They have both US & European setups aboard so no matter what you have, DIN ot K-valves, your equpment will work. The equipment they have onboard is all new Scubapro, sp if you don't want to lug your stuff half way around the world, you have access to decent equipment...which is included in the set rates. They offered us a 7 Euro per dive discount for having our own equipment though.
As you can see, we did pass on a few dives, but there is so much to see & do on these islands, we never felt shortchanged. The ship itself is beautiful and with only 170 passengers, never felt crowded. It was a very international mix aboard, so it was nice to see things from other cultures perspectives. The food was excellent all week & unfortunately, we didn't lose any weight during the trip! All the water sports aboard, except scuba, are free to use.....kayaks, windsurfers, sailboats, water skiing and they do provide passangers with snorkle gear. You can even climb the mast to the Crow's Nest & lay out in the Widow's Net if you like. You can raise the sails or visit the bridge.....something unheard of on a normal cruise ship.
In summary, we had an excellent week aboard the Star Flyer...in fact, we enjoyed it so much, we are in the planning stages of booking her sister ship, Star Clipper for her 7 day voyage to the Andaman Sea and sampling the diving in Thailand & Malaysia in 2010. Next year is reservered for Grand Cayman!
Mike
We visited the islands of Huahine, Bora Bora, Raiatea & Moorea. We also had one day where we visited a private Motu off Tahaa where we snorkeled most of the day, had a great bar-b-que on the beach & were treated to a Polynesian dance show. Star Flyer does not offer any diving on Huahine because of timing & logistics so any diving there has to be arranged yourself. They do offer at least two dives on the three remaining islands.
Due to weather conditions, they altered our itinerary a bit which made our first opportunity to dive, the reefs of Bora Bora. Unfortunately, my wife & I were the only ones that signed up for the night dive when we arrived, so it was cancelled. Somewhat disappointed, but I have to say I was a bit apprehensive about our first dive being a night dive as I haven't done one in quite a few years. The next morning, we were off in the zodiac for the first of two dives. Our guide was Pat from Bathy's Club. We went to Tapu, which is known for having lots of Blacktip & Lemon Sharks. We were not disappointed. We also saw Moray's, Turtles and just about any kind & color of reef fish you can think of. One other sight that was a surprise was the excursion submarine that came across the reef when we were about 80'. Quite an experience when it is about 15' away. After about a 50 min dive, we surfaced and headed back to the Star Flyer. I have to admit, this was the best surface interval you can imagine & the routine was like this each dive. When you get back to the ship, you get off the zodiac, the crew takes care of your gear, you go up the gangway & have an awesome lunch. There would be a buffet waiting that would always include a fish, beef, chicken & vegetarian selection with various veggies, fresh fruits and pastries. After a leisurely lunch and snooze time, it was back to the zodiac & off for the second dive. We went back to a different section of Tapu and had an even better second dive. One of the other groups in the area were feeding the sharks which brought in many large Lemons....they are tremendous up close, but never showed any kind of aggresive behavior. After what was a much too short hour, it was back to the ship where we quickly changed & headed over to Bloody Mary's.We had to head there to pick up another tshirt as the one I got last trip was left at Coconuts on our last trip to Cozumel. When we returned to the ship, the afternoon snack was ready. so we enjoyed them plus a few of our favorite coctails at the Tropical Bar.
The next day, we awoke as we were entering the lagoon surrounding Raiatea. There were two dives scheduled here also, but we elected to only do the morning dive as we wanted to participate in the kayak excursion up the Faaroa River in the afternoon. So, after a terrific breakfast, we were off to the dive site. This day, we were diving the wreck of the Norby. A schooner that was dashed against the reefs & sunk in the lagoon in 1900. Still intact, it is quite a sight as it appears out of the haze. Being inside the lagoon, vis is only 30/40 ft. She is lying on her side with the keel at around 40' and the tip of the tallest mast being at 90'. The decking is all gone, which allows light through the entire hull..this is why non wreck certified divers are able to enter. It did create issues with trying to photograph with all the light/dark contrasts. There was very little growth on the ship which also limited the number & variety of fish on the wreck. There were quite a few nudibranches though. The site is under a number of underwater bungalows that are located at one of the hotels and we spent the second half of the dive exploring around the pilings of the bungalows. There were many clownfish and lionfish along with grunts, stripers, tangs, butterflies & triggers. Although not a great wreck dive, it was interesting to us as we had never dove a wreck before. An interesting note, our guide here was Stephanie who is with Hemisphere Sub, and was our divemaster when we dove with them last trip. She was great & took personal charge of my wife & led her through he wreck as she is very skittish about dark places....swim throughs, caves, wrecks etc. Another fear overcome! After the dive & lunch, we were off for the kayak trip which also included a hike through a Botanical Preserve. A very enjoyable afternoon!
Moorea was next up. Being anchored in Moorea for 2 days, we decided to rent a car the first day & tour the island. Moorea is a beautiful island and well worth spending some time on. The second day, we went diving. First dive was as Tiki with lots of Black Tip & Gray sharks & of course the Tiki statue the site is named for. We also saw more eels, turtles and lots of triggers. The second dive was at the Canyons where we also saw much of the same plus clowns & Lionfish. We also encountered the largest Green Moray we have ever seen! Obviously it is a longtime favorite as Nicholas(our guide on thes dives) was petting & stroking it much to the Moray's delight. Nicholas was an independant guide who was excellent at spotting little critters we would never have seen. We enjoyed both these dives very much.
One other thing, we took our own equipment because we were unsure of what they had on board. They have both US & European setups aboard so no matter what you have, DIN ot K-valves, your equpment will work. The equipment they have onboard is all new Scubapro, sp if you don't want to lug your stuff half way around the world, you have access to decent equipment...which is included in the set rates. They offered us a 7 Euro per dive discount for having our own equipment though.
As you can see, we did pass on a few dives, but there is so much to see & do on these islands, we never felt shortchanged. The ship itself is beautiful and with only 170 passengers, never felt crowded. It was a very international mix aboard, so it was nice to see things from other cultures perspectives. The food was excellent all week & unfortunately, we didn't lose any weight during the trip! All the water sports aboard, except scuba, are free to use.....kayaks, windsurfers, sailboats, water skiing and they do provide passangers with snorkle gear. You can even climb the mast to the Crow's Nest & lay out in the Widow's Net if you like. You can raise the sails or visit the bridge.....something unheard of on a normal cruise ship.
In summary, we had an excellent week aboard the Star Flyer...in fact, we enjoyed it so much, we are in the planning stages of booking her sister ship, Star Clipper for her 7 day voyage to the Andaman Sea and sampling the diving in Thailand & Malaysia in 2010. Next year is reservered for Grand Cayman!
Mike
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