Dive Review of Peter Hughes Sundancer II in
Belize

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Peter Hughes Sundancer II, Sep, 2005, by Tom Chase, KY, usa ( Sr. Reviewer 7 reports). Report 1967.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Second Peter Hughes trip. The Sundancer II is the Mercedes of live-aboard in terms of layout and accommodations. Very spacious cabins, huge AC salon, well laid out dive platform with great photography facilities. Since all divers on board had cameras (full trip of 20) it made a difference. The crew went out of their way to accommodate every request. Especially great were dive masters Elvis, Tori and Juan, Captain Andy, Engineer Ferdie and cabin hostess Elian (she was awesome!). Food was good and plentiful but not spectacular. The best was always the homemade soup and bread served with lunch and dinner each day. The crew was very conservation focused and gave outstanding dive briefings. Dive Master Elvis (who described himself as the resident comedian gave particularly enlightening and entertaining briefings). Also gave very through and detailed safety briefings about the boat and abandon ship drill. Diving conditions were great. We dove Ambergris Caye, Lighthouse Reef and Half Moon Caye. Did not go to the Blue Hole because of weather, but no one was all that disappointed with that decision. The reefs are healthy and contain tons of marine life. Sponges and corals are the big attractions. Lots of unique tropicals. The macro life on both day and night dives was spectacular. We saw a few turtles, some in group saw a Manta Ray and we all saw Eagle Rays. Not a great dive for the big stuff and sharks. No one on our trip saw a shark during the 26 possible dives (we could have done 27 but one night dive was scratched because of weather). Our cabin (owner’s suite) was huge by live aboard standards and had a full bathroom with a regular sized shower and real bathroom facilities as opposed to a marine head. This is the only guest cabin on this level and it smelled like diesel fuel all week. The captain said it was due a spill that happened when they filled and they tried hard to improve the situation by venting the area and using air freshener (which helped but didn't eliminate the problem). AC did not work properly the first night and it was promptly fixed the next day and was fine for the rest of the week. We did the cave tubing shore excursion at the end of the trip and it was interesting. It consumed about 5 hours and cost $110. We all agreed it was interesting and unique, but probably not worth the price. It was cool and refreshing. All in all it was a fantastic trip. PH sets the standard with service and amenities (hot freshwater showers on dive deck followed by a hot towel and back massage. On night dives after those two you were provided hot chocolate with optional rum. Moist towels and cold water while you waited at the airport etc.) It is the little things that count and PH thinks about them all. I highly recommend this liveaboard.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Carribean, Hawaii, FL, NC, CA, Puerto Rico, USVI, Dom. Repub.
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	85-88°F / 29-31°C	Wetsuit Thickness	1
Water Visibility	40-100 Ft/ 12-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Did buoyancy test first dive and then let you dive based on abilities/experience. 130 limit and 500 psi back in boat.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Had two well equipped camera tables and on-board facilities. Excellent on-board photo staff.

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Dive Review of Peter Hughes Sundancer II in Belize

Peter Hughes Sundancer II, Sep, 2005,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Peter Hughes Sundancer II in
Belize