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

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S/Y Philippine Siren: "Southern Leyte with the Siren", Feb, 2015, by Gari Sisk, AK, US ( Sr. Reviewer 7 reports). Report 8126.
No photos available at this time
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	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
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		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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Dive Review of S/Y Philippine Siren in Philippines/Southern Leyte

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

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/Southern Leyte