Dive Review of S/Y Philippine Siren in
Philippines/Tubbataha & More

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S/Y Philippine Siren: "Awesome Diving on a Really Good Liveaboard", Jun, 2017, by Gary & Robin Schiendelman, PA, US ( Top Contributor 31 reports with 46 Helpful votes). Report 9644.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was our second trip on a Siren boat and our first to the Philippines. We liked our first trip with them to Palau and when we decided to go to the Philippines Mike at Reef & Rainforest suggested the Tubbataha and More itinerary. We could not have been more pleased. The diving in Tubbataha was some of the best we've ever encountered. There were so many fish on every dive site that you didn't know where to look first. Lots of big fish too. Sharks, manta, eagle rays, a whale shark, tuna, huge schools of jacks. Plus lots of really healthy coral...both soft and hard. The reef is out in the middle of nowhere with nothing to be seen except one lighthouse and a lot of other liveaboards. All of the boats did a good job of sharing the dive sites and we were rarely in the water with divers from other boats except perhaps in passing. It was a fabulous itinerary. Be prepared for some currents in Tubbataha which can make still photography a challenge. The only downside was no night dives. This is a decision by the Siren for safety reasons due to current and being in the middle of open ocean. We still did 4 dives per day with the last one being at about 3:30 pm. After 5 days of diving in Tubbataha, we motored to Dauin for some muck diving with all of the usual critters and then stopped at Oslob where they feed whale sharks and finally an additional few days off Cebu. We did 42 dives in 2 weeks and enjoyed every one! The diversity of dive sites on this trip was quite nice and just what we look for when spending 2 weeks on a dive boat. One caveat is that they do limit your bottom time to 60 minutes..sometimes stretching it for 5 or 6 minutes but never more than that. There were only 11 divers on the boat so we were divided into 2 groups for diving. Although initially they told us the groups would rotate 1st and 2nd into the water, at one point we did have to remind them about that. The boat has a large platform used for boarding the RIB's and there were always 3 crew members to help. We boarded with all gear on but some guests had their gear loaded into the RIB. Same with the exit, some came out with gear, others handed theirs up. All of the Siren boats are essentially the same. They're not perfect...but what is?? Some people complained that the A/C in the salon was not on...we thought it was fine with open doors and a nice breeze. Some have complained about the set up of the dive deck, but we didn't find it a major issue. The salon is a step up and tall people can't stand up..but it's fine when you're sitting down or if you're short. We felt all the important things are top-notch. Safety seems to be paramount now after some of the issues this fleet has had in previous years. The crew were very good and will give you as much or as little assistance as you require. Love that they rinse and hang your wetsuit after every dive! Food was buffet style with at least 2 choices of main courses at lunch & dinner. Rooms are large and clean with good A/C. Water pressure in the showers was good and always plenty of hot water. There are plenty of "luxury" liveaboards that really don't offer much more than the Siren boats. We have been extremely pleased with both trips on the Siren and this itinerary was outstanding...we will definitely consider doing this one again. All in all, it ranks as one of our top 5 liveaboard dive trips. We would highly recommend both the boat and the itinerary. We've tried not to duplicate information you can find on the website in this review but anyone wishing more details or having any questions, please feel free to contact us!
Websites	S/Y Philippine Siren
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Indonesia, PNG, Solomon Isl, Red Sea, Maldives, South Africa, Mozambique, Cocos Isl, Galapagos, Socorro, Var Caribbean locations, New Jersey, Florida, No Carolina
Closest Airport		Getting There	Easy flights from JFK to Manila, Overnight in Manila then a short flight to Puerto Princesa
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, currents
Water Temp	84-°F / 29-°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	60 minute dive times
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	> 2
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	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	We had no photographers with really big set ups so there was enough room at the camera tables (inside the salon). If it was a full boat with lots of photographers, there might be an issue. They loaded your camera onto the RIB and handed it down. Post dive, they put your camera in the rinse tank.

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Dive Review of S/Y Philippine Siren in Philippines/Tubbataha & More

S/Y Philippine Siren: "Awesome Diving on a Really Good Liveaboard", Jun, 2017,

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 S/Y Philippine Siren in
Philippines/Tubbataha & More