Hi,
I posted this on 11/09:
I just got back yesterday from Similan/Richelieu liveaboard. The boat was the Mermaid II, and I can highly recommend it. The boat is set up
for diving convenience. It has a huge dive deck and platform -- very convenient -- and two Zodiacs for incredibly fast
pickups. Other boats I saw had one or none. Most dives were done with the boat dropping us over the site, and the
Zodiacs picking us up after the dive wherever we wanted to surface. There was seldom any need to navigate back to
the boat. And never any surface swims. I never once waited for pick up for more than 30 seconds after surfacing.
Once youre back on the boat, you dont touch your equipment, and your tanks are filled by the next dive. The dive
leaders were extremely accommodating and knowledgable. I cant say enough good things about the trip leader,
Philip. He was always thinking about how to arrange our schedule to hit the dive sites when there were less boats
around, and the conditions were best. Never once was our schedule adjusted for the convenience of the crew and dive
leaders. His dive site briefings were excellent. The atmosphere on the boat was great. The boat itself is big -- one of
the biggest doing the Similans -- and has a wide beam for a spacious feel and a smooth ride. It takes 16 passengers
in 8 berths. There were 14 on my trip. The berths were twin bunk bed style with two rooms(four people) sharing a
toilet/bath. It is at the higher end of the price range -- about 150 USD/day. Its not white-glove luxury, but I dont
want that when I dive.
The negatives were few, but there were some.
The food was just adequate. It was a mix of Thai and western, which was fine, but I thought a little more care could
have been taken in its preparation. You will not be wowed by the food, but you will not go away hungry. But there were
insufficient snacks between meals.
The air conditioning system was a bit screwy. The fore berths were a little cold, and aft ones a little warm. Try to get a
berth midship.
There was no photo lab. This didn't effect anyone however, since all of the serious photogs were using digital.
Let me qualify all of this by saying that it was my first liveaboard. Some of my abservations may be tainted by my
lack of experience.
I havent commented on the diving. It was great, but for now Ill just asumme that most of you already know about
the destination, and are most interested in finding a suitable boat.
I would be happy to reply to questions. PM me if you like, but if you have a question whose answer might benefit
others, keep it on the board.
Cheers,
Billfish
Hope this helps. I think I come across as pretty negative on the food, but it really was fine. I'm very particular about food. Everyone else thought it was fine.
