Dive Review of S/Y Philippine Siren in
Philippines/Tubbatatha

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S/Y Philippine Siren: "Fantastic reefs and fauna", Apr, 2023, by Graham McGregor, Kilmacolm, GB ( Top Contributor 44 reports with 27 Helpful votes). Report 12397 has 3 Helpful votes.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
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	We had been trying to get to Tubbatatha since our original trip which was planned for March 2020 and cancelled due to Covid. This was the soonest we could get rebooked! We were told that Philippine Siren is one of the best boats plying the Tubbatatha Marine Park route. We saw a couple of other liveaboards during our trip, neither of which looked nearly as good as Siren. Tubbatatha is a Marine Park (enforced) and is only accessible from March to June because of sea conditions the rest of the year. We were met at Puerto Princessa airport by Siren staff and taken to a local hotel to wait boat embarkation at 1230. The hotel was pleasant and we were offered complimentary buffet breakfast. We transferred to the boat and there were comprehensive briefings, including a mock fire drill. No single use plastic can be taken into the Park but you can take your own refillable bottle. The dive deck is spacious and you are allocated a numbered location to set up your kit. You also have a drawer to put smaller items. Nitrox is free and was consistently at 31. The tanks are filled to 220 Bar which is great. we got about 10 minutes more per dive as a result. Diving is from two ribs. The boat was full so there were 3 groups of fivers. The groups went out diving in order each day but the order rotated - so you were first out on 6 dives, second out on 6 dives and third out on 6 dives (which meant you had to wait for the first rib to come back - not an issue as the dive sites were not that far from the boat) The cabins are spacious and there are 8 cabins for a total of 16 divers. I had cabin 8 on the starboard side. Unfortunately my bunk was above the bilge pump which operated 24/7 and was noisy. I needed earplugs to sleep and didn't sleep that well. Avoid cabin 8 (and probably cabin 6) and choose a port side cabin (1,3,5,7) The journey to Tubbatatha took 14 hours and because of the style of the boat it pitched and rolled - a few passengers were seasick! The rear of the boat has the main dining and relaxing area. It was spacious enough for 16 divers. I thought the food was OK, my friends thought is was good. There was a light breakfast available from 0530 before the first dive at 0630. A full breakfast (eggs to order, pancakes, bacon etc) was available after the first dive. Lunch and dinner are buffet style. Soup is served at dinner. The food was generally tasty but never really hot. There was a vegan on board who seemed to be OK with veggies and mainly tofu dishes. Beer and soft drinks are free and wine and spirits are available to pay for. There is a $120 Marine Park fee payable when you are settling your bill. Be warned there is no connectivity (internet, phone) once you leave Puerto Princessa until you get back!! The trip is 6 nights and you get 18 day dives in 4 1/2 days, so the diving is quite intense Dives are at 0630, 1000, 1400 and 1700. The briefings are good and none of our 18 dives lasted less than 1 hour. We did 8 dives on the North Atoll, 8 dives on the smaller South Atoll and 2 dives on the way back at much smaller Jessie Beazley atoll. There is very little of these atolls visible from the surface. Dives were either a wall ending on a shallow reef top or a sloping shelf ending on a relatively shallow top (or a combination of both). We were told that there could be ripping current but we only had one dive with strong current and one with moderate current. You are not allowed reef hooks. The quality of the corals was fantastic. Soft corals, hard corals were abundant and healthy. We even saw spawning coral. Equally the fish life was abundant. We saw sharks on every dive (Grey Reef and Whitecaps) and turtles on several. We saw a manta on one dive and glimpsed a Tiger Shark on another. There were large schools of Trevally;Batfish, Barracuda; Snapper; Bumped Parrotfish, Trigger fish, Fusiliers, Jacks; Tuna - too many to list. Nudis, crabs, lobster were sighted. The quality of the diving was outstanding. We saw divers from another liveaboard only once (briefly) on 1 dive. This about as pristine as it gets. The crew were fantastic, including the two cruise directors, helpful, cheerful, professional.
Websites	S/Y Philippine Siren
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Galapagos; Socorro; Palau; Sipadan; Truk; Malapascua; Komodo; Ticao Island; Maldives; Red Sea; various Caribbean; Cuba; Hawaii; Florida; Cozumel; Spain, Seychelles, Mauritius, Oman, GBR; Raja Ampat, Banda Sea
Closest Airport	Puerto Princessa	Getting There	Fly to Manila than get 1 hour flight from there to Puerto Princessa. It's a long way from the UK but the flights went smoothly. You have to transfer from Terminal 3 (international) to Terminal 2 (domestic). Taxi was about $25 - get them to go the toll road as traffic can be heavy.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy, cloudy, dry	Seas	calm, currents, no currents
Water Temp	29-°C / 84-°F	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	70-150 Ft/ 21-46 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	All dives were guided. Generally rarely went below 25m but didn't need to.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	I have only got a small point and shoot camera but folks were packing big rigs! There are two large dedicated camera rinse tanks and good space inside the salon for battery charging etc

Report currently has 3 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of S/Y Philippine Siren in Philippines/Tubbatatha

S/Y Philippine Siren: "Fantastic reefs and fauna", Apr, 2023,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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 S/Y Philippine Siren in
Philippines/Tubbatatha