Dive Review of Odyssey Adventures/Truk Blue Lagoon Resort in
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Odyssey Adventures/Truk Blue Lagoon Resort: "Return to Truk Lagoon", Dec, 2022, by Kendall Raine, CA, US ( Reviewer 6 reports with 7 Helpful votes). Report 12330 has 2 Helpful votes.
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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	I returned to Chuuk for the first time since 1991 as part of a college graduation present for my son. Intended for December of 2019, we finally made it in late December 2022. Was it worth the wait? Definitely. I was nervous the wrecks would have fallen apart since my last visit and, although thirty some years have clearly taken their toll on the wrecks, the calm waters of the lagoon have preserved them to a remarkable degree despite being on the bottom nearly eighty years. It remains the mecca for wreck diving it’s always been, with roughly 40 diveable wrecks in the 100-200’ range. Chuuk only lifted its Covid quarantine requirement in October 2022, and the island is slowly getting back to normal after 2 ½ years. Divers are trickling back, though flights are crowded with Chuukese returning from years stranded abroad and United has significantly increased the mileage price of tickets. Wrecks We were a group of six open circuit divers with a wide variance of experience in overhead diving-from decades of experience in deep mixed gas cave/wreck to recreational open water diving. As such, even though four of us used double 80’s with deco gas (80 and 100%), we kept our deco’s short and functioned more like a recreational group than a tech group in terms of wreck selection and runtimes/repets/exposures. We dove eight days in a row-two from land with Blue Lagoon Resort and six from M/V Odyssey. We dove the Shinkoku, Kensho, Sankisan, Yamagiri, Fujikawa, Fumitzuki, I-169, Kiyosumi, Rio de Janeiro, Hoki, Heian, Betty Bomber, Nippo, and San Francisco one or more times. Each wreck had special points of interest from exquisitely intricate and well-preserved multi-deck engine rooms (Shinkoku, Nippo, Kensho, Heian, and Fujikawa) to holds full of planes, ordnance and equipment (Heian, Sankisan, San Francisco, Yamagiri, and Kiyosumi). In some cases the upper superstructure showed a lot of decay since my last visit (Shinkoku) while others have held up remarkably well (Nippo). The shallower wrecks were, if possible, even more beautiful as they are even further encrusted with hard and soft corrals of stunning colors and variety. Depths of these wrecks ranged from 60’ for the Betty to 205’ for the San Francisco. Over the eight days our average max dive depths ranged from 100-140’ (except for San Francisco) for which we typically used 30% back gas-average run times ~1 hour. Deco’s were kept intentionally short (<25 minutes) in order to keep mixed doubles/singles teams together. We did between 3-5 dives a day. M/V Odyssey The M/V Odyssey is one of the best liveaboards I have been on and ideally set up for wreck diving, whether OC or CC. She is very thoughtfully laid out along three decks. With all steel construction, what she lacks in charm and style is made up for in no-nonsense durability and efficiency. Despite the Covid layoff she remains well maintained. No rust, nasty mildew or diesel odors and everything worked. With a total of six divers aboard, we had lots of room to spread out. The Captain, Marius, and Dive Master/Cruise Director, Dannie, are new to Odyssey but seemed very comfortable with the Chuukese crew and the vessel. Dannie is an experienced DM/Cruise Director and seemed at ease guiding the interiors of the wrecks we visited. Divers are treated as responsible adults (presumably unless proven otherwise) rather than sheep to be herded, and free to dive on their own and run their own profiles. Thorough briefings are given for each wreck. Night dives are generally available and the crew overall has an “ask and we will work hard to find a way to accommodate” attitude. The boat accomodates both OC and CCR divers. OC choices are either single 80’s, single 120’s or double 80’s. Four of us used double 80’s and two used steel 120’s. The typical mix for OC during the week was 30%, dropping down (24%) for our dive to 180 on San Francisco. I saw a number of Thermo modular valves (RH) preferred for side mount-not sure about matching LH valves, though. Side mounters should check first or just bring their own valves. CC O2 and diluent tanks are available, as well. 40’s are generally used for deco gas and 80’s are available for CCR bailout. An extra 80 with 30% is typically tied into a king post or other high spot on the wrecks. We chose to dive with guides on every dive. Since we had three guides, they consistently took us where we wanted to go, and frequently pointed out things we wouldn’t have otherwise seen. With three teams of three and an open dive gate things like engine room exploration could be staggard (a big hit with our photographers). Also, with the guides no time was wasted searching for entrance points or heading down dead ends or getting lost. Labyrinthine engine room slithers were relaxing and fascinating since they were frequently the most well-preserved sections of each ship. The lead guide, Ken, would sing Chuukese songs throughout the dive adding to the ambiance. Dive deck stations for 16 guests plus guides are well organized with under-seat storage for each diver along with room for doubles/singles and deco gas for each diver-reducing crowding and clutter. A multi-whip system allows for efficient at-station filling. Fills were always timely, generous on pressure, and precise on mix. Out of caution I initially tested the gas with a CO analyzer, found readings at zero and stopped doing it. There is a three tierd camera table with lp air also on the dive deck. Getting in and out of the water was a breeze, with a transom mounted elevator installed a few years ago making getting out of the water with doubles and deco gas easy. All diving was done from the mother ship, which makes for a very stable platform. There is a large trapeze suspended at 15’ with extra 30% via surface supplied whip system on every dive. An aluminum skiff allows for remote diving in case the group wants to split up. The deck crew was abundant and very eager and helpful in getting divers geared up and in and out of the water. Clearly things would have been more frenetic with sixteen divers, but after decades in Chuuk, the Odyssey and her crew are completely dialed in and dive operations are about as easy as possible. Cabins were generally quite large and well illuminated. With only six divers, the crew kindly allowed us each to have our own cabins. They are well appointed and very comfortable with TV’s and individual heads and air conditioning. My son and I were in cabins 5&6-both double occupancy cabins on the lower deck furthest forward from the engine room. The lower deck has fore and aft exits to the middle deck. Cabins 3&4 are slightly smaller double cabins on the middle deck with direct outside access to the bow and dive deck areas. Cabins 1&2 are small cabins furthest forward on the middle deck. These would be a bit cozy for two people. An all-night fire watch is maintained and Captain Marius had a very safety conscious attitude. Fresh produce is a constant challenge in Chuuk (little is grown locally and Odyssey provisions come in by inter-island steamer) and the galley staff did a fine job dealing with shortages. In general, the food is flavorful, abundant and varied. Odyssey has a well-stocked open bar, though I admit our group did not get our money’s worth from it and would have gladly traded bar privileges for free deco gas. Odyssey’s stateside booking and support is excellent. We had to roll over or trip reservation three times during Covid. Throughout that process Cliff Horton in the Odyssey Jacksonville office was quick to respond to questions and share whatever information he had about the reopening status of the FSM/Chuuk state. He was a pleasure to deal with and I always felt I was communicating with a forthright realistic adult instead of getting corporate happy noise. Blue Lagoon Resort We stayed at BLR at the start and end of our time in Chuuk. The lush resort grounds sit on the remains of the WWII Japanese seaplane base at the south end of Weno (nee Moen) Island. It is one of two land-based dive operations in Chuuk (the other being The Truk Stop). Of all hotels in Chuuk it has the nicest grounds and is a good place to recover from jet lag or chill out waiting for your United flight to Guam. BLR received a face lift during Covid and the rooms are spiffed up and nicely appointed. The air conditioning worked well (24 hours a day), although the hotel was without hot water during our stays. Rumor has it parts are on the way for 2023, but it’s best to confirm that if hot water is important to you. WIFI was available in the lobby but not really elsewhere on the property. The rooms do not accommodate polarized plugs-must go to the lobby for that. The restaurant was serviceable. The BLR dive shop is large and set up to accommodate multiple large OC and CCR dive groups with several Nuvair nitrox systems and the ability to partial pressure blend trimix. Single and manifolded doubles are plentiful along with CCR dil and O2 bottles. While we were there the Nuvair systems seemed to be down necessitating partial pressure blending for everything. This took extra time but otherwise not a problem-mixes were precise and timely. My CO analyzer read zero over all the fills. Hopefully as divers return and demand picks up the shop will be able to get its nitrox systems back on-line. We were the only divers staying at the hotel. We dove two days with the BLR dive shop prior to boarding Odyssey and enjoyed our dives with Jongky who took us to the Shinkoku, Kensho and Fujikawa engine rooms along with the Sankisan. The dive boats are covered fiberglass speed boats which easily accommodate six divers in doubles. Boats hook into submerged float balls on each wreck. Gear is removed in the water. BLR is adjacent to the Repair Anchorage (ten minutes boat ride) with Fourth and Sixth Fleet Anchorages more like 30-45 minutes distant. Even with wind and spray these runs are not uncomfortable. Liveaboard v. Land Based. With the Odyssey one gets the efficiency of a very comfortable floating hotel/dive center moored directly over the wrecks offset against the confines of limited space/limited (albeit tasty) menu options while being in close quarters with the same people for a week (always the chance of someone bringing a virus aboard). BLR’s grounds are spacious and very pretty but diving involves operating from small boats. Four dives per day are theoretically possible from BLR, but a single three tank outing is much more efficient and comfortable. Opportunities to leave the BLR grounds exist (land tours/visits to other islands or a few restaurants), but Weno is not an attractive place. The roads are a mess and walking around off property at night is not recommended. Cost wise, a week on Odyssey (at ~$3600 all in for the week) is more expensive on a per dive basis ($3600/~24 possible dives) = $150/dive than sharing a room and eating/diving out of BLR ((($155/2 rack rate) + ($30/day meals)) x 7 nights))) + ($60/dive x ~18 possible dives) = $102/dive. Both are a relative bargain given the remoteness and uniqueness of the diving experience. Of course, one can always do both. Getting there. Chuuk is remote and getting there is a long journey from anywhere but Asia. The only airline serving the FSM is United and Micronesia is the hinterlands of the United system. Just recently free from lockdowns, and with few flights every week, FSM flights are full and islanders have lots of checked luggage to bring home food, appliances, gifts and other necessities not available in the islands. On top of this, United’s FSM route aircraft are older, divert airport options limited and the runways in FSM are short. All this makes flying in FSM a constant juggle of passengers, luggage, cargo and fuel-“weight balancing” being the code words for “we’re bumping passengers/luggage.” Four of the six divers on our flight to Chuuk were missing bags. United lost my son’s bag for one day and my bag for four. Anticipating this possibility, I packed as much dive gear as possible in carry on and only had to rent fins for the three dive days I was without my bag. United never could tell me where my bag was or when it would arrive-you just have to show up at the airport (inefficiency at half speed) and hope for the best. The staff of BLR and Odyssey helped me out a lot and on Day 4 my bag arrived and Odyssey sent the skiff to Weno to retrieve it. Divers on every one of Odyssey’s six 2022 trips had one or more lost luggage issues. Dannie even asked me if my bag had dive stickers on it-his theory is dive stickers mean tourists and their luggage is the first to get pulled for “weight balancing.” I don’t know if that’s true. Advice: if renting gear isn’t an option (side mounters/doubles users/photographers/rb divers) try to arrive a few days early to give your luggage time to catch up and pack as much gear as possible in carry-on.
Websites	Odyssey Adventures
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Fiji, Rangiroa, Morea, Huahini, Grand Cayman, Turks, Palau, Truk, Galapagos, Cocos, Cabos, California, Florida, New York, North Carolina, Tulum, Cozumel, Bali, Lake Superior, Raja Ampat, Belize, Roatan, Andros, Nassau, Abaco, Bonaire
Closest Airport	Weno	Getting There	Via Tokyo or Honolulu through Guam
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy, cloudy	Seas	calm
Water Temp	84-85°F / 29-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	70-100 Ft/ 21-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Must dive within limits of training.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 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	N/A	Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	[None]

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

Subscriber's Comments

By ROBERT V BODKIN in WA, US at Jul 26, 2023 19:42 EST

I have been aboard MV Odyssey many times, and this very favorable review matches my own experiences. Avoid Thorfin at all costs.

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Dive Review of Odyssey Adventures/Truk Blue Lagoon Resort in Micronesia

Odyssey Adventures/Truk Blue Lagoon Resort: "Return to Truk Lagoon", Dec, 2022,

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):

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Odyssey Adventures/Truk Blue Lagoon Resort in
Micronesia