When to register for liveaboard?

[kkdenmark]

I’m planning a liveaboard in November. Probably in the week start November 14th.

Is it better to make reservation early or better to go for a last minute?

I’m thinking about going with the new White Manta (same company as Black Manta). Do any of you know anything about this boat?

 

[vladimir]

If you can be flexible in planning your travel, waiting until the last minute can pay off. For example, one of my fellow passengers on the Undersea Explorer paid $2,500 while I paid $4,000, because he snagged a vacant slot a week before the cruise. I had a similar experience on a couple of other boats; the Palau Aggressor, where I was once again paying MSRP, and the Telita, where I got the discount. The risk, obviously, is that the boat fills up and you have to reconfigure your vacation.

Peter Hughes and Aggressor have been sending me some tempting discounts lately--you might want to get on their mailing lists.

 

[Quero]

The beginning and the end of the dive season give you the highest probability of getting a last minute price on a trip, and your proposed dates are right at the beginning of the season. So if you have the time to get here a week or so early, you might get lucky. The boats generally have a few spaces on those early-season trips, even if they don't go on sale, so you probably won't get shut out anyway.

 

[stevenl]

There are always last minute trips. So if you are flexible regarding departure dates and boat specifications you can wait and get a good deal. However if you have preferences for a certain boat or are limited with regards to departure dates you have to book in advance.

BTW, Undersea Explorer, Palau Aggressor, Peter Hughes etc. do not sail in Thailand, so their special offers won't help very much.

 

[Batfish]

If you have a very good idea of what boat you want and you have limited flexibility in dates, better to book early. The new White Manta is not complete yet though there is a schedule.. if the popularity of the Black Manta is anything to go by, I reckon if you want that boat, book ahead, I would say very little chance of last minute spaces on a new boat run by a good company. The first real new boat in the area for a few years - I'll be trying to book as many people as possible on it!

 

[kkdenmark]

Thanks

I’m on a flexible plan so I think I go for a ”Last minute”

 

[vladimir]

BTW, Undersea Explorer, Palau Aggressor, Peter Hughes etc. do not sail in Thailand, so their special offers won't help very much.

Thanks, I didn't notice the forum. Nevertheless, with the coral bleaching over there, maybe he'd be wise to look at alternatives.

 

[stevenl]

Thanks, I didn't notice the forum. Nevertheless, with the coral bleaching over there, maybe he'd be wise to look at alternatives.

Maybe time to get a good source of information in stead of the general media?

 

[vladimir]

Maybe time to get a good source of information in stead of the general media?

Maybe you can be my source. You're an unbiased observer with no financial stake in dive tourism in Thailand, right? These threads, among others, led me to believe there was at least some coral bleaching. Was I misled?

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/trips-local-marketplace-thailand/369993-dive-site-closure.html

Mr Sunan said coral at the sites needed protection after his department reported huge areas being bleached by warmer water temperatures – a factor widely recognized as an effect of global warming.

The dive sites now closed were named as:

- Koh Chueak in Hat Chao Mai National Park, Trang

- Koh Bulon in Mu Ko Petra National Park, Satun

- Koh Takiang, Koh Hin Ngam, off Sai Khao Beach at Koh Rawee, and Koh Dong in Tarutao National Park, Satun

- Koh Maphrao at Mu Ko Chumphon National Park

- Hin Klang reef at Hat Noppharat Thara - Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park

- Ao Mae Yai, Ao Jak, Ao Tao, Koh Torinla and Ao Mang Kon in Mu Ko Surin National Park

- Ao Fai Wap and East of Eden at Mu Ko Similan National Park.

Nipon Pongsuwan, a fisheries technical specialist at the Phuket Marine Biological Center, explained, “It will take many years for the coral to recover; closing them for just a few months will not have any effect.

“In 2004, when 10%-20% of corals at the sites showed bleaching, it took at least five years for the coral to recover. This time bleached corals account for 70% to 100% of some sites, such as Ao Mae Yai in the Surin Islands,” he said.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/thailand/366855-andaman-closures.html

The scope of the corals destroyed from the bleaching has been wide and unless proper measures are issued, more coral would be destroyed by the phenomenon, said department director general Kasemssan Jinnawaso on Monday.

"The damage found on the coral for now is vast, probably the worst in history and certainly more than when The tsunami hit this area in 2004. The species affected are the Staghorn, Ring, Double Star and Mountain coral," Kasemsan said.

Surveys of the sites between September and December 2010 showed that 93.6 per cent of the coral at Surin Nua Island had died from the bleaching while almost 100 per cent of the reef near Mae Yai Bay had died.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/thailand/367487-similan-situation.html

Our recommendation would be to temporarily close the dive sites most affected in the Similan Islands, namely East of Eden, Beacon Reef and Breakfast Bend. These dive sites are located on the east side of the islands. Dive sites on the west side have only been minimally affected and have many colorful corals and a wide range of marine life.

 

[stevenl]

Good, so you have been doing some research. That means you must have come to the conclusion that there is excellent diving at the moment, and that the coral bleaching is hardly affecting the diving in the area.