Kudos to Star Dancer and Walindi

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

G

galindenba

Registered
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Location
USA
# of dives
My wife and I are regular visitors to Papua New Guinea usually cruising on the Febrina. It is in our opinion one of the best liv-a-boards on the planet.
Due to scheduling/work issues we booked this trip on Star Dancer. The trip was great and the boat is beautiful and just out of refit.
However, this is about what the Star Dancer, and Walindi/Febrina staff did for us.
First, all my (Very high end.) photo gear never made it to the boat thanks to Jet Star Airlines. The manager of the Walindi Dive Operation allowed me to use his Cannon D40 with an Aquatica housing plus a 60 mm macro lens, a 10-17 zoom lens, a flat, and a dome port for the entire trip.
Second and more important. Six days into the trip we received news of a death in our family.The boat crew acted with the highest level of compassion and professionalism. They got us back to Walindi in the shortest possible time with minimal disruption to the other guests dive schedule and with the help of the Walindi/Febrina staff rearranged all of our return flights to get us back ASAP to our family in the states. That's no mean feat in PNG!!
We've been going to PNG since '93 and have done a ton of dive cruises all over the world, but we will never forget what these people did for us last week.
 
I'm very sorry to hear about the death in your family, and on your dream dive trip no less...

I am happy you posted this information about the Star Dancer, I'm considering making a trip on the Star Dancer next April (2010) but am still up in the air as I could probably go to Bali on the Komodo Dancer or Palau on the Palau Aggressor II for about $1000 cheaper since PNG requires overnights at a couple stops on the way.

Most divers have told me on this board that they prefer PNG over Palau - either would be great but I think your thread has got me thinking PNG again. At some point I'm gonna have to suck it up and make a decision though...... :confused:

God's speed to you and your family and friends - maybe I'll see you out on Star Dancer next year. :cool2:

Eric
 
I've never been to Bali so I can't compare the two.
For what it's worth definitely PNG over Palau hands down!!
I've been in this business for over 35 years. There are 2 places that we keep going back to over and over again......Cocos and PNG. I've been to PNG 7 times since 93'. That should tell you something.
 
I also don't understand while you need a couple of stops along the way. We fly from the East Coast and usually just do one night at Walindi if at all. If we do extra nights somewhere, it's because we want to. Qantas can get you right into Port Moresby from Hawaii via Cairns or Brisbaine. There isn't a daily flight from Moresby to Hoskins, but almost every day.
 
Sorry for you loss we experienced something somewhat similar on our Raja trip with Peter Hughes, and like you they did everything possible to get us home. We just went thru the Fabrina vs. PH thing for our Nov trip. Ended up with Peter Hughes due to 50% discount. So good to hear about the boat and crew.
 
mjh:
Ended up with Peter Hughes due to 50% discount. So good to hear about the boat and crew.
Click to expand...

How did you manage a 50% discount I thought I had done well with the $500 pp discount we received.

galindenba:
My wife and I are regular visitors to Papua New Guinea usually cruising on the Febrina. It is in our opinion one of the best liv-a-boards on the planet.
Due to scheduling/work issues we booked this trip on Star Dancer. The trip was great and the boat is beautiful and just out of refit.
However, this is about what the Star Dancer, and Walindi/Febrina staff did for us.
First, all my (Very high end.) photo gear never made it to the boat thanks to Jet Star Airlines. The manager of the Walindi Dive Operation allowed me to use his Cannon D40 with an Aquatica housing plus a 60 mm macro lens, a 10-17 zoom lens, a flat, and a dome port for the entire trip.
Second and more important. Six days into the trip we received news of a death in our family.The boat crew acted with the highest level of compassion and professionalism. They got us back to Walindi in the shortest possible time with minimal disruption to the other guests dive schedule and with the help of the Walindi/Febrina staff rearranged all of our return flights to get us back ASAP to our family in the states. That's no mean feat in PNG!!
We've been going to PNG since '93 and have done a ton of dive cruises all over the world, but we will never forget what these people did for us last week.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry for your loss. I've begun to wonder how I would cope if such a situation arose. It's good to hear that PH was so helpful. Also good to hear that Star Dancer is in good shape. We're booked on the boat the second week of July.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

rmorgan
Trip Report PNG -- Walindi and Oceania, May-June 2023 (Part 1)
2 3
Replies
20
Views
2,777
AaSF
A
rmorgan
Trip Report PNG--Walindi and Oceania, May-June 2023 (Part 2)
Replies
4
Views
980
AaSF
A
maj2
Trip Report Scuba Scene Oct 16-23 2023
Replies
3
Views
852
diveUAE
diveUAE
dianna912
Amira liveaboard trip report for Raja Ampat- from a macro lover’s perspective
Replies
5
Views
708
cetacean
C
Diver Rick
Trip Report Curaçao - Coral Estates Coral Divers/Dive Division
Replies
3
Views
1,187
SeekingClarity
S
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom