Reviews

I was on the Tubbataha trip in April 2015.

Particularly outstanding were the crew, who were attentive, courteous and very hardworking.

We had cabin number 2, with a double bed, at the front of the boat. It was comfortable, although you do think the anchor dropping is in the cabin with you, as the noise and vibration is very loud. We did have problems with noisy aircon and a freezing cold shower, but these were put right straight away when reported.

The communal areas were comfortable and the camera storage area was very spacious, with designated drawers for storage. The lounge was not air conditioned effectively though, so could be very warm and stuffy to sit in there for a long time.

The dining area was not so good. The table is a large crescent shape with matching fixed seating, so you are having to wait fo people to move or climbing over the back if you are in the middle to go up for food or to get out. The single chairs on the inside are dangerous and two broke with people sitting in them, which could have had a serious outcome as one person hit her head on th floor. This then left more people having to cram onto the fixed seating.

The food was plentiful, although as a non meat eater I had extremely limited choice. There were no vegetarian options other than a plate full of boiled vegetables and some cubes of tofu, which was given to me on a plate on the first night. There were always at least two meat options and usually a fish option.

The dive briefings were excellent, and the timetable of events were clear and we'll displayed. The dive boats are okay, although for 16 divers plus dive leaders they really need 3 boats. If you were group 3 and the boat ride to the dive site was 10-15 minutes, you had a very long wait. Two of our group put their kit into the boat, so it was difficult to squeeze past to sit down and often your fins were out of reach. The tag line a dive boat designed by divers was questionable.

You always had dry towels after a dive and a drink brought to you. The storage and marking of your kit was great and your kit was very well looked after.

Overall, I thought the trip was fantastic and comes highly recommended.