Dive Review of Celebes Explorer in
Malaysia/Sipadan

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Celebes Explorer, Jul, 2008, by Judith Kendall, CA, USA ( Reviewer 5 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 4308 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	UNDERCURRENTS Have you ever been on a liveaboard with cockroaches and no fresh water on day 5 of a 7 day dive trip? It’s called the Celebes Explorer – unfortunately, the only liveaboard in the waters of Sipadan. ( Island Dreams Travel Agency has a current drawing for a free trip on this boat. Don’t sign up.) Coincidently, the diving off the waters of Sipadan is spectacular. In many trips around the world, this location is definitely a 10. This is our 5th liveaboard experience. All of them have been enjoyable meeting interesting fellow divers and visiting underwater sights in hard to reach locations. My buddy and I are enthusiastic PADI Rescue Divers with 300 and 400 previous dives respectively. We scheduled this trip in early 2008. Awaiting the Celebes Explorer 2008 schedule, we booked as early as possible to ensure our assignment in 1 of 2 cabins situated on the dive deck level. After securing our reservation and cabin assignment, we paid for our week and made further plans for the weeks before and after our liveaboard trip. Upon arrival at the Celebes Explorer we were dismayed and disappointed that our prior booking arrangement was NOT honored and we were assigned to a cabin on the lower level. I am a handicapped diver. With no hand railing leading down the steps to our cabin I was very concerned with falling. Adding to my concern, staterooms provided the only restroom for each guest on the entire boat. A man then introduced himself to us as the captain; he told us there were cockroaches on the boat. At this point, we asked for a refund and to be returned to a land-based resort. We were told they would take us to Page 2 another resort, however, our money would NOT be refunded. Given that fact, our only option was to remain onboard and make the best out of a dreadful beginning. Other divers on the boat informed us that there was only one divemaster for 16 divers, a very unsafe by practice according to PADI standards. Divers complained. By the second day, this situation was resolved when another divemaster joined the boat. Also there were no lights on the dive skiffs, yet night dives were done daily. The food was poor quality frozen entrees with insufficient fruits and vegetables especially for vegetarians. Another fact described in advance and written on the application form. There was no cook, just a young deckhand who did not speak English. The only drinking water was a one gallon container in the galley. There was no drinking water available on the sundeck, dive deck, staterooms or dive boats. In the middle of the week, “the captain” had us read a text message on his cell phone. The message read, “How are the old ladies doing”. THAT WAS US! He wanted us to send a return text message to his office. And we refused. With one more day of diving remaining, we were told that the boat was being fumigated for cockroaches and everyone would be put up on a hotel. This final day onboard we ran out of fresh water. No water for showers, camera equipment, dive gear or flushing toilets. The final evening was spent in a hotel. “The captain” took us to dinner at a smelly, dirty, open-air stall along the water. Everyone refused to eat and requested to be taken back to the hotel where Page 3 “The captain” paid for dinner. That was our final contact with the Celebes Explorer. This report is written in the hopes of preventing other divers from experiencing this boat and it’s poor quality standards and safety issues. Additional resorts are available in the area charging less money. Unfortunately this is the only liveaboard entering the waters of Sipadan.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Red Sea, Micronesia, Indonesia, Caribean, California
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	80-85°F / 27-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	1
Water Visibility	100-150 Ft/ 30-46 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	depth limit of 80 feet, time limits of 45 minutes, dive times restricted
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
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	Fresh water rinse tank filthy and not adequate water levels maintained. No camera table. Inadequate charging station. No place for cameras in the skiffs.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Celebes Explorer in Malaysia/Sipadan

Celebes Explorer, Jul, 2008,

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 Celebes Explorer in
Malaysia/Sipadan