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Dive Review of Spirit of New Guinea in
Papua New Guinea/Milne Bay

Spirit of New Guinea, Apr, 2009,

by Ann McGrath, va, usa (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 25 reports with 19 Helpful votes). Report 4754.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 1 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 3 stars
Beginners 2 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments Good: Some of the crew, Angie, Junior, Bali, the cook and housekeeping staff were outstanding. Angie was on loan, however, so he is not usually on the boat. The cook did an excellent job of accommodating my request for fruit and vegetables only. Our cabin was straightened up every day. The bathrooms are good sized, especially in the upper cabins. The downside of that is that the cabin size is tiny upstairs.

They took roll after each dive, and kept our depths and times.

Night dives - good stuff! Surprising amount of stuff, actually, including star gazers, harlequin pipefish and robust pipefish, other pipefish, beautiful snake eels and mandarin fish!

Bad: The new boat managers arrived the same day we did, and they had never run an operation like this before, nor had they ever been to that part of the world. They are young and inexperienced, and it shows.

One day the compressor failed, so they needed equipment to be delivered. This meant that there was no a/c in the boat, and a limited number of tanks for the second dive. The problem was fixed promptly, however.

The inside of the boat was either freezing cold or burning hot, literally. The lower level, where our cabin was, always smelled of diesel fumes, mold and mildew. The engine is on the same level, right next to two cabins, so when the engine is running, it is LOUD down there. Take sleep aids!

Maybe because of the new manager, but they didn't seem to have a system for getting divers into the water. I'm not sure how many of the crew were new, but Angie, Junior and Bali knew the dive sites, and found TONS of stuff for us to look at, especially on dusk and night dives.

The interior of the cabins needs a retrofit. The boat is old and shows her age. With different managers and a retrofit, this would be a good trip. But there is more to see in Komodo, the Solomons and Fiji. For the amount of travel time to get to this destination, I wouldn't do it again.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving most of the Caribbean, Belize, Cozumel, Thailand, Komodo, Fiji, Solomons, Truk, Yap, Galapagos
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas calm, choppy, currents, no currents
Water Temp 85-88°F / 29-31°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 20-100 Ft/ 6-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Occasionally time limits. Nitrox depth limits.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments They had large rinse tanks on the boat for camera equipment. Although the crew never figured out which camera belonged to who, even with labels, they handed our equipment to us in the water and put it in the rinse tank. They also collected the camera equipment before each dive.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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