Hi, Sorry for a longish reply. But, I'm just FOB and wanted to put all my thoughts to paper before they evaporated.
1) Boat
The older boat has its fair share of bad reviews on the internet and maybe rightfully so. But the Celebes Explorer 9 is positively luxurious. Huge lounge/dining area, sunning deck and the common rooms are almost worthy of a 5-star resort. It probably helped that we were 4 guests on a boat meant for 14 and so really had lots of space. The housekeeping crew are warm attentive and helpful. The chef cooked up a variety of simple but delicious dishes during the 4 nights I spent here. Cookies, bananas, milk, tea and coffee are almost on tap. Fresh fruits are served with every meal and during the surface intervals.
2) Diving Operations
On the days the boat is anchored overnight at Mabul, the boat left for Sipadan by about 6 AM. This is how a typical day looked like
- Get kitted out by 7 and land at Sipadan Island
- Finish registration formalities at the Sipadan park office (daily)
- First dive at around 7:30 AM
- Breakfast and surface Interval
- Second dive at around 11:30 AM
- Lunch and surface interval
- Third dive at around 3 PM
- Head back for Mabul at around 4
We dived at Barracuda point and Hanging Gardens more than once. But since the dive sites in Sipadan are practically on top of each other, we probably covered more than 1 dive site in a single dive. I can’t really complain about that, but me and the other guests on board did feel that the diving operations were run a little loosely. No dive briefings, Partially filled cylinders (180 Bar), Avoidable delays (wrong permit taken ashore, refuelling delays) & Dive guides not being the last out of the water are just a few examples. There was a general tardiness when it came to planning departure schedules and dive timings. I never felt unsafe diving with the guides, but the absence of these issues would have made it more professional. But this is Asia and island life, so you need to take it in your stride. Also, it would have helped, if they had at least 1 fish id book onboard.
