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Dive Review of Worldwide Dive and Sail/S/Y Philippine Siren in
Philippines/Coron to Boracay

Worldwide Dive and Sail/S/Y Philippine Siren, Jan, 2011,

by Lisa Vitale, TX, US (Contributor Contributor 15 reports with 10 Helpful votes). Report 5889.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments The boat and crew were great! The diving not what I expected….

The dive deck crew had your equipment all ready for you when time to dive. The divemasters were great. Diving is from zodiacs, which can be a bit challenging sometimes to get on and off, but the crew was right there to help. There are 4 planned dives per day. The 4th dive was always a sunset dive; I know that a couple people would have preferred these to be true night dives. Personally I would have liked to see 5 dives, 4 day and 1 night. However, filling tanks was a slow process (it appeared they could only fill one tank at a time) so getting a 5th dive in would have been impossible. Typically dives were scheduled for 8AM, 11AM, 3PM, and 6:30PM. The schedule would change some to you really had to watch the board where everything was posted since these changes were not always communicated to us.

The first several days of the trip were spent diving World War II wrecks. They were interesting, although the visibility was not that great, maybe 20 to 30 feet. Then we moved to the reef areas. Unfortunately, the reefs were in bad shape. Dynamite fishing is still practiced in the Philippines and in many of the areas we dove on this was very evident. In fact, there were about 4 times when we were in the water that we heard the blasts, which were a bit unnerving, but they were a few miles away and we were not in any danger. There were also some bleaching events recently that have damaged the reefs as well. This itinerary included Apo Reef, in this area the diving and visibility was better, but still not what I had expected. We did dive 2 sites on Apo Island that were amazing!

I was very disappointed in the diving with the Coron to Boracay itinerary. I know that there is better diving further south of where we were in the Philippines, but I don’t think I will be going back any time soon.

The boat/dive operation was one of the best I have been on and I would definitely dive with Worldwide Dive and Sail again, just in another location. I can’t say enough about how friendly and helpful the staff was. The food was the best I have had on any liveaboard I have been on, you won’t go hungry! They also offer massages (15 euro), they were great!! But sign up for these on the first day, the spots go fast! The boat is laid out nicely, I really liked the area at the stern where we ate and hung out. The lounge area inside has several couches, a huge HD TV and lots of movies to watch if you so choose. Full bar for those who want something other than beer, and a decent choice of wines for purchase. It is a wooden boat so there is a lot of creaking in the rooms at night, but you get used to it. This is also the first boat I have been on that recycles! A+++ boat/dive operation!!
Websites Worldwide Dive and Sail   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Australia, Wakatobi, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, Galapagos, Honduras, Belize, Mexico, Caymans, Bahamas, Florida
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy Seas calm, choppy, no currents
Water Temp 82-84°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 20-80 Ft/ 6-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 100 foot depth limit if on nitrox
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 2 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

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

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments They have an area inside for cameras and a dedicated freshwater tank on the dive deck for cameras. The crew was very careful with camera equipment.
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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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