Dive Review of Fish 'n Fins Ocean Hunter III in
Micronesia

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Fish 'n Fins Ocean Hunter III: "Superb Operations", Sep, 2023, by Donald Brown, WA, US ( Reviewer 6 reports with 9 Helpful votes). Report 12590 has 2 Helpful votes.
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 my 5th trip to Palau. and my 3rd time diving with the Fish n Fins/ Ocean Hunter company. They are expensive compared to some of the other operators, but I believe they offer a superior product. The boat itself is top notch and we did not have any maintenance issues. everything worked flawlessly. One of the main reasons the program runs so well is the crew are long-term employees. Some even date back to the mid-90's so they really know what they are doing. The meals are amazing. Wonderful variety and truly delicious. I watched the chef & sous chef work on the meals several times and it reminded me of a fine hotel kitchen. The dive program also is perfectly dialed in, with up to 5 dives per day including a night dive. We typically had a 2.5-hour surface interval between dives and everyone was on 32 nitrox so the bottom times were typically 60 minutes all day. Dive briefings were easy to follow and went according to plan. Requests were taken and delivered. Safety stops were done as a group in open water with a safety sausage deployed to show our location, and live boat drops and pickups were the standard. Warm, dry towels were supplied after every dive. The boat safety briefing was given on arrival and it was easy to follow. Battery charging was permitted in the cabins for some items but it was asked that you not leave charging unattended in the cabin. There were plenty of charging outlets in the camera table area as well. We did not run into any health or covid issues so that was not something I can comment on. Our weather was less than perfect, with periodic squalls coming and going, and sometimes intense rain. But there were also some sun breaks. We had only one instance where we had to change a dive site due to rough seas, and we all agreed it was the right call. As far as the diving, most of the standard Palau dives were still the same. Blue Corner, Ulong Channel, and German Channel were just as always, lots of fun (drift dives,reef hook-ins) and plenty of schooling fish, turtles and predators. However, I will mention that I noticed the outer walls were devoid of the colorful soft corals I remembered from previous trips. Apparently, a cyclone some years prior had come through and did quite a number on the walls. So what is left is a sepia-brownish-tan colored wall with plate corals and some brown-colored soft coral species from the top edge of the walls down to about 70ft. There are some other corals and fans mixed in, but the big colorful soft corals are not there. This was my only disappointment for the trip. Also, the Jellyfish Lake was not on our itinerary due to a population crash of the golden jellies. They tend to have a cyclic population apparently.
Websites	Fish 'n Fins Ocean Hunter III
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Everywhere but the Red Sea
Closest Airport	ROR	Getting There	United Airlines. Monopoly with high airfares and inconvenient schedules.
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy, rainy, cloudy	Seas	choppy, currents
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	40-90 Ft/ 12-27 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	There was a time limit on some of the dives due to the dive schedule but it was reasonable.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	The boat itself is excellent for photographers, with absolutely no issues. Great setup, charging areas, dry areas, etc. The guides were not especially interested in spotting small stuff but that might be just because I didn't request it. They did point out big animals in time to help you get set for some photos, and did put us in the best locations for reef-hook photography. They are very good at the safety aspect of the dives.

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Fish 'n Fins Ocean Hunter III in Micronesia

Fish 'n Fins Ocean Hunter III: "Superb Operations", Sep, 2023,

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 Fish 'n Fins Ocean Hunter III in
Micronesia