Dive Review of Galapagos Dancer in
Galapagos Islands

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Galapagos Dancer: "Galapagos - diminished but still good", Feb, 2020, by Phil Johnston, Bayswater, AU ( Sr. Contributor 26 reports with 25 Helpful votes). Report 11464 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food
Service and Attitude	N/A	Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I looked forward to this cruise with both anticipation & trepidation. I dived Galapagos in May 2006 on the same boat (previously named Sky Dancer). My memories of that trip were of some outstanding moments - sightings of orcas, a 12 metre whaleshark at Darwin, & a truly breathtaking dive at Wolf Rock - wave after wave of hammerheads & galapagos sharks, close encounters with eagle rays & dolphins in the blue, the greatest single dive in my 35 years of diving. Would Galapagos reproduce those those incredible moments, or would I be disappointed? My experience this trip - good but not great. I was not expecting whalesharks this trip, being outside whaleshark season - but other divers did see one at Darwin arch. No orcas but the sighting on my previous trip was quite lucky. Darwin Arch was actually better than my first trip, many schooling hammerheads, in the blue & particularly around the cleaning station in shallow water - but not comparable to my incredible Wolf Rock experience in 2006. What was noticeable was the almost total absence of Galapagos & silky sharks - only 1 or 2 this trip. I discussed with the dive master - he attributed this to shark finners outside the Galapagos National Park, over which there is little or no control. He said the drop in silky shark numbers is the most dramatic - 100s at the start of his career, virtually none now. Darwin was also noticeable for some vast schools of jacks & bonita tuna. Many dolphins reside around Darwin, but unlike other sites (eg Socorros, Cocos) do not interact at all with divers. My first 2 dives at Wolf Rock were lovely - beautiful warm clear water with a murky thermocline below 30 metres. Large numbers of lemon-yellow barber fish at 20m, making quite a pretty dive. 3rd dive at Wolf Rock was a bust, the friendly eagle rays were still there. 3rd dive at Wolf was a bust - strong currents, much lower vis but did see a manta. My dives in central Galapagos (Bartolome, San Cristobal, & Cousins Rock) were similar to my first trip : mobulas, many white tip sharks, hunting sea lions & 1000s of creole fish. Conditions were often challenging, particularly at Cousins - strong currents & poor vis. The dive masters (rightly) insisted on groups staying in close contact - leading to some friction amongst divers from constant bumping into each other as a result of current & surge. Isabella & Fernandina Islands were new sites for me. Punta Vicenta Roca was dived in the hope of seeing Mola Molas (sunfish), regretably none seen. Did see marine iguanas feeding on seaweed at Cape Douglas - in very surgey, cold water, quite difficult dives. Galapagos is definitely not for inexperienced or unconfident divers - conditions are often challenging. Reef hooks & gloves should be part of every Galapagos diver's kit, the latter due to widespread barnacle coverage. Conditions can change quickly - from very benign to very challenging even at the same dive site. quite Dive operations were well conducted, with very comprehensive pre-dive briefings. Nitrox was consistent at 31-32%. Galapagos Dancer is not a new boat but was in impeccable condition with no equipment failures. My only (minor) gripe was that cabins were not large enough to store our luggage - these were stored under a table next to the dive deck - risking exposure to damp & inconvenient when retrieving clothes etc. Meals were consistently good quality - buffet style breakfasts & lunches, a la carte dinners with a choice of 2 mains. Snacks & hot chocolate supplied on the dive deck post dives, soft drinks & local beer free of charge. Overall, Galapagos Dancer is a quality boat with excellent staff & high attention to diver safety. Liveaboard cruises in Galapagos are high cost & expectations are correspondingly high. Due probably to shark finning, Galapagos did not reach the highlights of my trip in 2006. Overall, marine life was good, but not quite great enough to warrant the high cost & often challenging dive conditions.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Australia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Indonesia (Bali, Komodo, Rajah Ampat, Lembeh, Manado, Ambon) Cocos Islands, Mexico (Cozumel & Soccorros) Tonga, Galapagos, Tahiti, Maldives, Mozambique, Bahamas, Red Sea, Roatan, Philippines, Hawaii (Kona, Maui)
Closest Airport	San Cristobal	Getting There	Guyaquil Ecuador is the main entry point.
Dive Conditions
Weather	cloudy	Seas	choppy, surge, currents
Water Temp	19-22°C / 66-72°F	Wetsuit Thickness	7
Water Visibility	10-25 M / 33-82 Ft
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	The standard safety rules, no deco diving, stick with dive guide at all times (enforced).
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	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	Not an UWP but facilities seemed good. A reef hook should be part of every photographers kit due to difficult conditions encountered.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Galapagos Dancer in Galapagos Islands

Galapagos Dancer: "Galapagos - diminished but still good", Feb, 2020,

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 Galapagos Dancer in
Galapagos Islands