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Dive Review of Fish N Fins/Ocean Hunter III in
Micronesia/Palau

Fish N Fins/Ocean Hunter III, Jun, 2008,

by Greg, AZ, USA ( 1 report). Report 4230.

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 N/A
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments I was on the same boat, (Ocean Hunter III) at the same time as Mr. Sieck, but apparently some of us had a whole different experience! Three of us (Myself, wife, and 21 yo daughter) along with another couple had been scheduled on OH I when a generator failure caused the 5 of us to be transfered to OH III, which apparently only had 3 divers scheduled. This occured just 4 days before the start of our trip. Our trip on OH I was scheduled 21-28-June, the OH III was scheduled 22-29-June. We were out diving 1 day earlier than Mr. Sieck, thus likely the reason he felt he missed two dives. We knew his step son had missed a flight due to the airlines, but didn't know anything about arrangements that had been made to bring him to the boat.
About the boat/crew/dive operation:
While not a "new" boat, it is new to the OH fleet, having just been completely refurbished, and placed in service within the past few months. Everything was as near new as possible. The 3 of us had 2 rooms, located in the lower section of the boat. It certainly wasn't the presidential suite at the Waldorf-Astoria, but roomy, our bathroom wasn't like the one described. It's a liveaboard, but we found it very comfortable. Each of our two rooms had a single bed above a double bed, a desk, private bathroom with sink, shower, toilet. White robes were placed in each room, each room was cleaned up each day. Power adaptors were in our rooms to recharge batteries, use of blow dryers, etc. The only problem my wife and I had with our room was a battle at what temp to set the individual a/c at. (I like it on "stun", she likes it much warmer). I never went to the upper level to see the other rooms. In that we were able to do 4-5 dives each day, including doing a night dive each night, I didn't have a whole lot of time spent in the room.
The lounge was very nice and comfortable, large screen tv, dvd player, several books and movies. Overstuffed large sofas allowed for very comfortable seating. Meals were served in a nice comfortable dining room, buffet style. A large camera table was located on the stern, after each dive a warm towel was available.
The crew was ever present, with only 8 divers (capacity is 16 divers) if you needed so much as a tablespoon, a crew member was standing there to oblige you almost immediately.
I am 6' 250 pounds, I don't miss many meals. I didn't miss any on this trip, as I thought the food was very, very good, I certainly would not call it "greasy". Arlee (the head chef) took very great pride in the food he served! Yes there were fried eggs, bacon, sausage for breakfast, but one also had the choice of bagels, sweet rolls, fruit, cereals, poached eggs, toast.. Each day was a different nationality "Theme" day. One day was American, one Japanese, Italian, Mexican and so on. Some of the meals were made with red meat, which we know has a higher fat content than fish or chicken, but I still wouldn't call any of the meals "greasy". There may have been a bit more chicken served than normal, due to the fact that while I love to see fish in the ocean, other than 2 kinds of fish, I don't like eating them. We made this request known to Fish N Fins, and they obliged us. When ever they served a fish dish, they had a plate of chicken available for me and my daughter, not just a couple of pieces. Each dinner started with a homemade soup. Each dinner had a large fresh green salad, vegtables, sometimes fruit, and the main course. Each dinner was followed by a homemade desert. They would keep it ready for you until after the night dive, if you wished. The spaghetti and lasagna were very good! Each afternoon a fresh fruit smoothie was served.
As mentioned by both Mr. Sieck and myself, the crew couldn't have been more accomodating or helpful. They did everything they could to ensure we had a very enjoyable dive vacation. Most days we did 5 dives (including a night dive each night) some days (ex; land tour on Pelielu) we only did 4 dives. Chase boat transfered divers to dive site. I logged 30 dives that week. Yes, a couple dives (Pelielu Cut) looked ragged, but we were not there to see the coral, as we were there to see the sharks, which, decided to be somewhere else that dive. On dive site, named "Shark City", we jokingly renamed "No Shark City". That's part of diving. However, on several other dive sites, we saw plenty of sharks, and other critters as advertised. Nearly all the sites were brimming with beautiful corals, lots of sharks, turtles, napoleon wrasse, and on and on. While this is not in any way to demean Mr. Sieck, he was battling a severe ear blockage all week, and was unable to do much diving. I don't think he was able to make even 5 dives, due to his illness. I certainly can understand his huge disappointment, as I would have felt the same had I flown nearly halfway around the world, spent a good piece of money to go on a dive trip and not be able to dive. We all felt bad for him, and know he was indeed disappointed and upset by this stroke of bad luck.
I have had the opportunity to dive on a few liveaboards in my time,(certainly not as many as Mr. Sieck) and I certainly would rate Ocean Hunter III as one of the best!
No, I am not related to anybody at Fish N Fins, not employed, nor an investor :-) I apparently just had a much different experience than he did.
Greg

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Australia, Fiji, Florida, Cozumel, Mexico, Hawaii, So California, Arizona, Honduras
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather cloudy Seas calm
Water Temp 0-0°F / -18--18°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 80-100 Ft/ 24-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions to some degree, depth, own profile
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 3 stars

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
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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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