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Dive Review of S/Y Philippine Siren in
Philippines/Southern Leyte

S/Y Philippine Siren: "Southern Leyte with the Siren", Feb, 2015,

by Gari Sisk, AK, US (Sr. Reviewer Sr. Reviewer 7 reports). Report 8126.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 4 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 This is a large boat (130') with 8 rooms and various configurations. We booked with the superb staff (Mike) at Reef & Rainforest, as they have been handling our dive destination trips for the past 8 years.

I rented a BCD, but brought my own reg. I had intended to rent a dive light (torch) for the night diving, but it turns out the boat had the exact same light I use when doing my day dives. Therefore, I skipped the night dives because of the underwater topography and not enough lumen power.

Divers are split into 3 groups, each group has a crew member with them. Your number in the group (as well as you dive station assignment) is based on which cabin you are in. A fairly efficient system. The divers have to walk down the ladder with their gear on to get on the Rigid Inflatable Boat(RIB (except for the fins, which have already been loaded into the RIB). A back roll is employed at the dive site. Getting back onto to the RIB is another story. The ladders are too short, and one actually curls under on one! It was a struggle to get back onto the boat, in spite of taking my tank off in the water.

We saw one whale shark, which was the reason many people were on the boat. Because it is whale shark "season", there was a fair amount of plankton in the water. When entering the water, it appeared that vis was lacking, but as you get closer to the walls, the vis becomes better, but you really want to keep your group in site, as it gets a bit murky.

I would not recommend this itinerary for beginners as the currents were dynamic at times.

There was a "beach bar-b-que one night that I felt was an undue burden on he crew, and made remarks reflecting that in the end of trip survey.

Spent the night in Cebu City at the Radisson Blu on the front of the trip. It is adjacent to an enormous shopping mall. We spent the night on the way out at the Shangri-La Mactan Resort. The boat picks up at and returns to the Movenpick, which other guests said was very nice.

Good food, lots of variety, good crew, good massages from Maureen. GREAT boat. Tips in CASH ONLY (USD,Euro's, PHP)
Websites S/Y Philippine Siren   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Okinawa, Hawaii, Washington State, Fiji, Chuuk, Palau, Thailand, Myanmar, Honduras, Caymans, Costa Rica, Belize, Australia, Maldives, Mexico.
Closest Airport Mactan-Cebu International (CEB) Getting There Long flight from US - Asiana Air from SEA to ICN (Korea) to CEB; or Cathay Pacific from West Coast to CEB via overnight in HKG (Hong Kong)

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas choppy, currents
Water Temp 77-81°F / 25-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 30-50 Ft/ 9-15 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 75 minute max
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks 1 or 2
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments I did not bring a camera. That being said, there were a number of divers that did. I did not hear any complaints voiced by those who brought them. There were 2 huge rinse tanks for the cameras, and ample space in the salon for recharging, changing SD cards, etc.
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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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