TLDR: 10/10 crew, 9/10 boat, 8/10 diving (10/10 corals, 6/10 big stuff)
Photos: Tubbataha (April 2022) (I hope you like sea fans?)
2 years past my original plan to go to Tubbataha in Feb 2020, I finally made it there on March 30, 2022. Original booking (on Seadoors) was cancelled and refunded, and I made a 2% deposit for a 13N Tubbataha & More crossing trip on the Philippine Siren for June 2023 during covid. Later I decided to move it up and split it out into a 6N Tubbataha trip (Apr) + a 10N Visayas trip (Aug) - for 30% and 40% off respectively saving >$2000 vs the original trip. The Tubbataha sale launched 2 days after I paid in full and while they did not refund the difference, Masters Liveaboards agreed to give it to me as credit towards a future trip (but annoying it cannot be used for discounted trips). And for those who were wondering, no credit was offered for the mishaps on the Galapagos trip, only got some generic comments about how they'll look into it.
Getting there and back was relatively painless from Singapore - only requiring a pre-departure antigen test both ways within 24 hours. You have to submit OneHealthPass after getting your negative test result, and present the QR code in Manila. The line for document check looked super long when I landed, but it’s quite organised and moves super fast. I thought I would be stuck there for hours at first but got through document check + immigration within 45minutes of landing.
I spent 1 night at Belmont Hotel which is a 5min taxi from the airport, before departing for Puerto Princesa ~11am and boarding ~1pm the next day. Had some minor mishaps including getting ripped off on the taxi ride over (paid 400php vs 100) and forgetting my lulu yoga mat, but overall not too bad. I flew w Cebu Pacific and didn’t need S-Pass or any other documents.
The Philippine Siren came highly recommended by several people on our last trip on the Galapagos Master, including the grumpiest member of the lot who kept making comparisons and saying the Philippine Siren was so much better with respect to food, service etc. Well he’s not wrong! This is probably the best liveaboard I’ve been on so far (out of Thailand (Gentle Giant), Maldives (Soleil 2), and Galapagos (Master)). We had a full boat with 16 guests and I think 12 crew, + 3 dive guides. Jona the cruise director did an amazing job and everything ran super smoothly. We also had a pretty diverse group from all over, who all got along quite well.
Cabins are large and pretty comfortable. There are no bunk beds and probably a good 2m between the two single beds. All cabins are on the lower deck, with the saloon, outdoor dining area, and dive deck on the main level, and a small sundeck on top. I was in cabin 4 which along with 3 had issues with the door not staying shut on the crossing over, which was excessively rocky, but otherwise was pretty good as it’s not too towards the front (worse for seasickness), nor towards the back (engine noise). Water pressure was a bit weak and temperature does fluctuate a bit, but we never ran out of hot water which was a plus. It was super rocky on the way over and back- my seasickness pills didn't kick in in time on the first day especially - and Siren is probably the worse of the lot in this regard due to the design.
The food was great and actually really healthy! Lots of fruits and vegetables, lots of variety (usually a soup, 3 vegetarian dishes, a couple of salads, 3 meat/seafood options, a pasta/ noodles/carbs, and dessert) - a good mix of local Filipino and western food. Nothing too spicy sadly but all quite flavourful. The chef took requests and there were plenty of drink options as well (both alcoholic and not, plus an actual proper cappuccino machine). They always had our preferred drink waiting once we come back from the dives - for me mango juice on the sunny days, hot chocolate on the rainy days, and a glass of wine after the last dive. Massages are offered on the sundeck (3 a day, sign up fast) for $30/hour which was great after 4 dives. The crew is always there to help with a smile, and everyone remembers you by name even if they’re not fluent in English. This was a solid 10/10 crew and service. Unfortunately this is cruise director Jona’s last trip after 5 or 6 years on the Siren, and they don’t know who will be the permanent replacement yet. I’ll be back in August for the Visayas trip and am curious to see if I'll feel any difference.
Photos: Tubbataha (April 2022) (I hope you like sea fans?)
2 years past my original plan to go to Tubbataha in Feb 2020, I finally made it there on March 30, 2022. Original booking (on Seadoors) was cancelled and refunded, and I made a 2% deposit for a 13N Tubbataha & More crossing trip on the Philippine Siren for June 2023 during covid. Later I decided to move it up and split it out into a 6N Tubbataha trip (Apr) + a 10N Visayas trip (Aug) - for 30% and 40% off respectively saving >$2000 vs the original trip. The Tubbataha sale launched 2 days after I paid in full and while they did not refund the difference, Masters Liveaboards agreed to give it to me as credit towards a future trip (but annoying it cannot be used for discounted trips). And for those who were wondering, no credit was offered for the mishaps on the Galapagos trip, only got some generic comments about how they'll look into it.
Getting there and back was relatively painless from Singapore - only requiring a pre-departure antigen test both ways within 24 hours. You have to submit OneHealthPass after getting your negative test result, and present the QR code in Manila. The line for document check looked super long when I landed, but it’s quite organised and moves super fast. I thought I would be stuck there for hours at first but got through document check + immigration within 45minutes of landing.
I spent 1 night at Belmont Hotel which is a 5min taxi from the airport, before departing for Puerto Princesa ~11am and boarding ~1pm the next day. Had some minor mishaps including getting ripped off on the taxi ride over (paid 400php vs 100) and forgetting my lulu yoga mat, but overall not too bad. I flew w Cebu Pacific and didn’t need S-Pass or any other documents.
The Philippine Siren came highly recommended by several people on our last trip on the Galapagos Master, including the grumpiest member of the lot who kept making comparisons and saying the Philippine Siren was so much better with respect to food, service etc. Well he’s not wrong! This is probably the best liveaboard I’ve been on so far (out of Thailand (Gentle Giant), Maldives (Soleil 2), and Galapagos (Master)). We had a full boat with 16 guests and I think 12 crew, + 3 dive guides. Jona the cruise director did an amazing job and everything ran super smoothly. We also had a pretty diverse group from all over, who all got along quite well.
Cabins are large and pretty comfortable. There are no bunk beds and probably a good 2m between the two single beds. All cabins are on the lower deck, with the saloon, outdoor dining area, and dive deck on the main level, and a small sundeck on top. I was in cabin 4 which along with 3 had issues with the door not staying shut on the crossing over, which was excessively rocky, but otherwise was pretty good as it’s not too towards the front (worse for seasickness), nor towards the back (engine noise). Water pressure was a bit weak and temperature does fluctuate a bit, but we never ran out of hot water which was a plus. It was super rocky on the way over and back- my seasickness pills didn't kick in in time on the first day especially - and Siren is probably the worse of the lot in this regard due to the design.
The food was great and actually really healthy! Lots of fruits and vegetables, lots of variety (usually a soup, 3 vegetarian dishes, a couple of salads, 3 meat/seafood options, a pasta/ noodles/carbs, and dessert) - a good mix of local Filipino and western food. Nothing too spicy sadly but all quite flavourful. The chef took requests and there were plenty of drink options as well (both alcoholic and not, plus an actual proper cappuccino machine). They always had our preferred drink waiting once we come back from the dives - for me mango juice on the sunny days, hot chocolate on the rainy days, and a glass of wine after the last dive. Massages are offered on the sundeck (3 a day, sign up fast) for $30/hour which was great after 4 dives. The crew is always there to help with a smile, and everyone remembers you by name even if they’re not fluent in English. This was a solid 10/10 crew and service. Unfortunately this is cruise director Jona’s last trip after 5 or 6 years on the Siren, and they don’t know who will be the permanent replacement yet. I’ll be back in August for the Visayas trip and am curious to see if I'll feel any difference.
