Palau: Liveaboard decisions? Compared to shore-based? Help?

[flybigjet]

Ah - just saw your post about availability. I wonder about that...sounds odd. Why don't you ping them yourself to confirm - maybe there was some disconnect with the LDS. FWIW they were always quite good about responding to my email inquiries within a day or two (I had lots of dumb questions).

I've sent two emails-- negative contact to both so far.

 

[nwflyboy]

Give 'em a couple days - developing country, other side of the world, etc. Occasionally a few days would go by before I got a reply from them, but most times I got a response within 24 hours. Your trip is still 11 months out, right? I think you have plenty of time (I know, you're itching to get things nailed down, negotiations with the spouse, etc....but remember, Island Time....).

Yes, my report above was for OH III. Was on it 2 weeks ago (now seems very far away...).

If that doesn't work out, there MAY be another alternative worth considering: Palau Siren. This may be a little tricky, though. That boat looks (well, looked) spectacular, and was probably my first choice as I started long-range planning (I plan things like this 1-2 years in advance). But apparently the boat "sunk" or was "wrecked" (depending on the reports and your definition of the terms) about a year ago. But that boat is afloat again - I saw it 2 weeks ago, moored in Koror harbor. I asked the crew of our boat about it - I thought it was sitting on the bottom somewhere. Apparently, it ended up on a reef, but not (completely?) underwater, they re-floated it, and according to the OH III guys, they were working it again (although it was in the harbor when we went by, and we did not see it out on/near any of the dive sites).

IF it's still in nice shape (a big IF), I'd give it a good look - it sounds lovely. Before I committed I'd want to read reports from someone who has been on it after its "sinking" and (presumed) refurbishment, but....if they fixed it up "good as new" it might be a very sweet boat.

Hope some of that's helpful. Good luck!

 

[Kevrumbo]

Give 'em a couple days - developing country, other side of the world, etc. Occasionally a few days would go by before I got a reply from them, but most times I got a response within 24 hours. Your trip is still 11 months out, right? I think you have plenty of time (I know, you're itching to get things nailed down, negotiations with the spouse, etc....but remember, Island Time....).

Yes, my report above was for OH III. Was on it 2 weeks ago (now seems very far away...).

If that doesn't work out, there MAY be another alternative worth considering: Palau Siren. This may be a little tricky, though. That boat looks (well, looked) spectacular, and was probably my first choice as I started long-range planning (I plan things like this 1-2 years in advance). But apparently the boat "sunk" or was "wrecked" (depending on the reports and your definition of the terms) about a year ago. But that boat is afloat again - I saw it 2 weeks ago, moored in Koror harbor. I asked the crew of our boat about it - I thought it was sitting on the bottom somewhere. Apparently, it ended up on a reef, but not (completely?) underwater, they re-floated it, and according to the OH III guys, they were working it again (although it was in the harbor when we went by, and we did not see it out on/near any of the dive sites).

IF it's still in nice shape (a big IF), I'd give it a good look - it sounds lovely. Before I committed I'd want to read reports from someone who has been on it after its "sinking" and (presumed) refurbishment, but....if they fixed it up "good as new" it might be a very sweet boat.

Hope some of that's helpful. Good luck!

It was a bad year for the Siren Fleet:
Palau Siren Grounds and Floods: Undercurrent 09/2015

Here's another liveaboard option:
Sam's Tours - Private Liveaboards

And again try World of Diving (Here in Los Angeles, I've used their travel services many times to Palau & SE Asia --ask for Ryan) to see what packages they may have available for your dates:
World of Diving & Adventure Vacations - Scuba Diving, Island Vacations, Diving Packages, Live-Aboards, Adventure Travel

 

[nwflyboy]

It was a bad year for the Siren Fleet:
Palau Siren Grounds and Floods: Undercurrent 09/2015

Yeah, understatement there!

That boat looked very nice pre-incident. I hope they were able to fix 'er up to like-new condition. If there are reliable reports of them accomplishing that, I'd be willing to give them a try.

I do understand that lots of things are different in developing corners of the world. Not sure what to make of that particular company's track record (which, as the Undercurrent article points out, sure looks worrisome). Just wanted to offer it as a potential alternative to consider. Honestly, with any liveaboard, I think there's some leap-of-faith involved. FWIW, all the locations around Palau seem to be in pretty close proximity to land, and within a short distance of multiple other boats (heck, while we were diving one day on the OH III, we came back to find them unloading a new fridge and washing machine from a skiff they brought out from the main office....). So yes, Palau is a remote destination and takes some effort to get to, but once there the diving is not really that far from "town" - which made me feel a bit more safe.

 

[jfcl01]

Personally, I dont think there is anything better than being on a LOB, BUT there basically is nothing to do but dive. The non diving options are: hang out on the sun deck, nap in your cabin, wait for the next meal. Is that going to be satisfactory to your spouse? If not, it really is a lot of money to spend, and might actually get boring. I would be bored on a LOB if I didnt want to spend my entire day diving, cleaning up after last dive, and getting ready for the next dive, then repeat, until I am so exhausted I can barely stay up until 8 pm.

 

[jbjclj]

Any update on your decision? Looks like that is a very busy time of year.

 

[flybigjet]

Any update on your decision? Looks like that is a very busy time of year.

So....

It's been crazy busy here; I've more or less been gone for training for six weeks, and between getting my Operational Experience and Line Check done and getting caught up on house stuff, I've honestly been kicking the can down the road a little bit on this.

I kept vacillating between three options: a) the OH-III (booked and I can't get on), the Aggressor (a little leery based on reviews here and other places), and PDA (shore based, seem to be great people, but only two dives a day).

So, my solution was to let the earth revolve a little bit and hope that inspiration struck one way or the other.

Aaaaaaand I just got notified that the bookings on the OH-III opened up; the week I wanted was booked as a potential charter and I guess it opened up. So, I was able to snag a "deluxe" cabin.

That makes the January 2017 Big Picture to be:

Fly Denver to Narita to Guam.
Dive the Cormoran/Tokai Maru (this one has always been my "one that got away" dive).
Fly to Palau.
Dive from the Ocean Hunter III for a week.
Do a kayak trip once we're off the boat (assuming I can do Peleliu from the OH-III).
Fly Palau to Guam to Truk.
Dive from the Odyssey for a week.
Fly from Truk to Guam.
Fly Guam to Narita to Denver.

The only things I need to do now are find a hotel in Guam and Palau that won't break the bank and is convenient.

Thanks to all who posted-- it gave me a lot to think about, and I really think (while a bit more expensive), this will work out to be the best solution.

R.

 

[geoff w]

... and PDA (shore based, seem to be great people, but only two dives a day).
...
The only things I need to do now are find a hotel in Guam and Palau that won't break the bank and is convenient.

A buddy who is keen to join us in Palau later this year joined me for lunch with Chris from PDA earlier this week, so here's a little more info for you:

PDA does 3 dives a day unless you are doing a land based activity, such as Jellyfish Lake or Peleliu land tour (or flying tour or something else. Typically 2 dives, then lunch, then another dive, then get dropped back at the dock at your hotel. When we dived with them in November 2014, we never made it Peleliu since some of the people on the boat didn't want to go there, so we just more dives. All their schedule and plans is tailored to what everyone wants to do, factoring in weather. If you do a land activity, it's that plus two dives for the day. They will also do night dives, which we're planning this trip as well. Super accommodating

Chris has the Palau-based team working on accommodations for us. If you haven't talked to him, you should, since he can talk you through all the accommodation options from PPR at the high end to cringe-worthy budget lodging that even a college kid would ask for an upgrade from, and everything in between. The options on the web site are just a few of the possibilities. We're just going to have him book it for us

My buddy who joined us at lunch is a serious wreck diver, having been the first to dive a number of deep, technical wrecks in So Cal. My wife doesn't like wrecks particularly. So we're having Chris put together a combination of pretty reefs with a few (recreational) wreck dives sprinkled in during our stay. The spots visited are really based on what the guests want, not on some standard itinerary

Can you tell I was extremely impressed with my first dive trip with PDA, have sent several friends there who have been blown away with how great the dive experience with them is, and am planning to go back for two weeks later this year?

 

[flybigjet]

A buddy who is keen to join us in Palau later this year joined me for lunch with Chris from PDA earlier this week, so here's a little more info for you:

PDA does 3 dives a day unless you are doing a land based activity, such as Jellyfish Lake or Peleliu land tour (or flying tour or something else. Typically 2 dives, then lunch, then another dive, then get dropped back at the dock at your hotel. When we dived with them in November 2014, we never made it Peleliu since some of the people on the boat didn't want to go there, so we just more dives. All their schedule and plans is tailored to what everyone wants to do, factoring in weather. If you do a land activity, it's that plus two dives for the day. They will also do night dives, which we're planning this trip as well. Super accommodating

Chris has the Palau-based team working on accommodations for us. If you haven't talked to him, you should, since he can talk you through all the accommodation options from PPR at the high end to cringe-worthy budget lodging that even a college kid would ask for an upgrade from, and everything in between. The options on the web site are just a few of the possibilities. We're just going to have him book it for us

My buddy who joined us at lunch is a serious wreck diver, having been the first to dive a number of deep, technical wrecks in So Cal. My wife doesn't like wrecks particularly. So we're having Chris put together a combination of pretty reefs with a few (recreational) wreck dives sprinkled in during our stay. The spots visited are really based on what the guests want, not on some standard itinerary

Can you tell I was extremely impressed with my first dive trip with PDA, have sent several friends there who have been blown away with how great the dive experience with them is, and am planning to go back for two weeks later this year?

I was honestly leaning toward PDA, but since the OH-III opened up, I think that's the way to go for my wife and I while we're in Palau-- by the time you factor hotels and food in, the cost comparisons are pretty close to each other.

Additionally, I tried repeatedly to get hold of Chris and/or Grace, but they're so busy that my emails mostly went unanswered-- which (honestly) was sort of a strike against them. This isn't a dig at PDA; I understand that they're both busy with the operation and "real life", but it made getting information out of them difficult and frustrating. And I was on something of a time crunch for making a decision.

I don't think I can go wrong either way. And the OH-III is nice enough to keep the Minister of War and Finance happy with me!

R.

 

[flybigjet]

Great. Now I'm second guessing myself again. I thought PDA was only two dives? And trying to compare costs between PDA + food + hotel and OH-III is kind of like comparing cantelopes to apples.

Sigh.

R.