Manika104
Registered
I'm a little late getting out this review. But in January my husband and I had a wonderful trip on the Palau Tropic Dancer. We were picked up at our hotel on time by members of the crew they were helpful, professional and friendly. We hadn't arranged to be picked up prior to arriving in Palau, I figured wed just call for a taxi but the person at our front desk called the Aggressor and arranged pickup for later that day. I was impressed with their flexibility.
We boarded the ship checked in, set up our gear and met the crew. Safety is a number one concern with this crew, every diver had to have a whistle and each buddy pair required a surface safety tube both rentable from the ship. Also each diver was loaned free of charge a reef hook and each dive pair a Nautilus lifeline communication device.
Our room was clean and well-appointed and kept very tidy, the room was serviced and the bins emptied during each dive. But the highlight of this trip was the crew. Captain Ike was amazing there was nothing he wasnt willing to do. I saw him serving dinner, washing dishes and cleaning the dive deck floor. As a result the crew was very hardworking as well and willing to assist at any time. If you even had a questioning look on your face they would drop what they were doing and ask if they could assist you. Along with Captain Ike the Crew consisted of Ben the cruise director/ photographer, Dan Skiff driver/ instructor, Andy chef extraordinaire, Ripan Dive master, Ernan - dive master, and Sadi Stewardess.
We arrived in Palau 3 days before the boat launched and did some day trips with Fishn Fins unfortunately the wind was strong out of the west making some of the more popular dive sites unsafe. I was worried that this would affect our trip but Sunday morning the winds shifted from the north and we had a wonderful week of diving and were able to visit every planned dive site. The dive briefings were thorough and informative. We were told about currents, depth, what we would expect to see and when we should stay close to the dive guide and when we could venture on our own. The crew planned our dives keeping in mind the direction of the current and when the day boats would arrive. We had Blue Corner, German Channel, Ulong Channel and Peleliu Express to ourselves. The currents were mild to moderate the week we were there expect Peleliu Express which lived up to its name and we flew across the plateau in 23 minutes. We saw all that was promised, reef sharks galore, mantas, turtles, pelagics, nudibranchs and everything in between. Palau lived up to its reputation of excellent diving. Unfortunately I flooded my camera the first day and my back up camera is not very good so I dont have pictures to post.
Before we left I read online many criticisms about the skiff on the tropic dancer and they are right it is not as nice as the skiff on the Palau Aggressor II but when you surface at Negemelis Coral Garden with 17 other skiffs around it wonderful to know immediately that the ugly tank like one is yours. We could always find our skiff and most of the time when my buddy and I surfaced it was no more than 20 feet away from us. Also I preferred the layout of the Palau Tropic Dancer skiff as it had the divers along the hull all facing each other instead of benchs back to back as the Palau Aggressor II skiff was organized. This made for a more social skiff ride.
Dining aboard the Palau Tropic Dancer was an experience in and of itself, my BCD was too big when I boarded by the end of the week it fit just fine. From the wake up coffee service to our post night dive hot chocolate we were never hungry. Andy did himself proud each night was a different type of cuisine and the two vegetarians were well catered to. Some meals I even wished I had what they were eating.
The boat is dated and shows some wear but the excellence of the crew made this a non-issue in our minds. Our selection of the tropic dancer was driven by budget but we did not get a budget experience. We had an amazing week on the Palau Tropic dancer and wouldn't hesitate to book the boat again if I ever get back to Palau.
We boarded the ship checked in, set up our gear and met the crew. Safety is a number one concern with this crew, every diver had to have a whistle and each buddy pair required a surface safety tube both rentable from the ship. Also each diver was loaned free of charge a reef hook and each dive pair a Nautilus lifeline communication device.
Our room was clean and well-appointed and kept very tidy, the room was serviced and the bins emptied during each dive. But the highlight of this trip was the crew. Captain Ike was amazing there was nothing he wasnt willing to do. I saw him serving dinner, washing dishes and cleaning the dive deck floor. As a result the crew was very hardworking as well and willing to assist at any time. If you even had a questioning look on your face they would drop what they were doing and ask if they could assist you. Along with Captain Ike the Crew consisted of Ben the cruise director/ photographer, Dan Skiff driver/ instructor, Andy chef extraordinaire, Ripan Dive master, Ernan - dive master, and Sadi Stewardess.
We arrived in Palau 3 days before the boat launched and did some day trips with Fishn Fins unfortunately the wind was strong out of the west making some of the more popular dive sites unsafe. I was worried that this would affect our trip but Sunday morning the winds shifted from the north and we had a wonderful week of diving and were able to visit every planned dive site. The dive briefings were thorough and informative. We were told about currents, depth, what we would expect to see and when we should stay close to the dive guide and when we could venture on our own. The crew planned our dives keeping in mind the direction of the current and when the day boats would arrive. We had Blue Corner, German Channel, Ulong Channel and Peleliu Express to ourselves. The currents were mild to moderate the week we were there expect Peleliu Express which lived up to its name and we flew across the plateau in 23 minutes. We saw all that was promised, reef sharks galore, mantas, turtles, pelagics, nudibranchs and everything in between. Palau lived up to its reputation of excellent diving. Unfortunately I flooded my camera the first day and my back up camera is not very good so I dont have pictures to post.
Before we left I read online many criticisms about the skiff on the tropic dancer and they are right it is not as nice as the skiff on the Palau Aggressor II but when you surface at Negemelis Coral Garden with 17 other skiffs around it wonderful to know immediately that the ugly tank like one is yours. We could always find our skiff and most of the time when my buddy and I surfaced it was no more than 20 feet away from us. Also I preferred the layout of the Palau Tropic Dancer skiff as it had the divers along the hull all facing each other instead of benchs back to back as the Palau Aggressor II skiff was organized. This made for a more social skiff ride.
Dining aboard the Palau Tropic Dancer was an experience in and of itself, my BCD was too big when I boarded by the end of the week it fit just fine. From the wake up coffee service to our post night dive hot chocolate we were never hungry. Andy did himself proud each night was a different type of cuisine and the two vegetarians were well catered to. Some meals I even wished I had what they were eating.
The boat is dated and shows some wear but the excellence of the crew made this a non-issue in our minds. Our selection of the tropic dancer was driven by budget but we did not get a budget experience. We had an amazing week on the Palau Tropic dancer and wouldn't hesitate to book the boat again if I ever get back to Palau.
Last edited:
