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Dive Review of Ocean Rover in
Thailand/Similans, Burma waters

Ocean Rover, Jan, 2004,

by Linda Gettmann, WA, USA (Reviewer Reviewer 3 reports). Report 965.

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 5 stars Shore Diving 4 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 2 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments This is the No. 1 Live-aboard we've been on in over 16 years of diving the world. Fabulous service and wonderful diving on this two-year old, built for diving boat that sails out of Phuket. We dove several days in Thai waters 50-60 miles offshore in the Similans and Richeleau Rock, went up north into Myanmar (Burma) waters and dove the Mergui Archipelago and Burma Banks. Viz wasn't so great lots of places, but the marine life made up for it, just don't necessarily plan on shooting wide angle the whole trip--we were only able to shoot wide-angle two days of a ten day voyage. Excellent accommodations and food, the service is beyond belief, they help you on with your gear, even zip up your wetsuit, and at the end of the cruise, all gear is rinsed for you if you'd like. They were wonderful. The dive guides pointed out tons of marine life, we saw several new critters we'd never seen before or photographed. Usually were moderate currents, a couple times they were very strong. This is not a place for beginners, most of the diving is done from the dinghy and most of the reefs start below 40 feet. Lots of safety stops were done hanging in blue water drifting with the current. Safety sausage is a must have, they furnish them on the boat. I would recommend this trip for experienced divers looking for a new destination, and maybe one that you weren't aware of, the Andaman Sea is pretty amazing.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving South Pacific, Caribbean, Baja, Florida, Red Sea, PNG, Fiji, Micronesia
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas choppy
Water Temp 82-84°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 30-70 Ft/ 9-21 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Do a safety stop, come up with 500 psi, all the standard safety cautions, nothing was really "enforced".
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

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

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

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 5 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 5 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Mark Strickland is the photo pro on board, does an excellent job and will help you with any camera or equipment problem. E-6 processing and he did a great job there too, all 22 rolls of my Velvia film came out fabulous. Lots of camera tables and plugs for charging. Crew is very careful with camera gear, handing it in and out of dinghy's, and they rinse the cameras for you after the dive.
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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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