Azalea liveaboard Philippines

[Yemana]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. My hubby and I have decided to book the Azalea. The most important aspect for us is the diving, the dive master and small numbers. We live and dive off the south coast of Australia and have 106 islands all to ourselves, be it colder diving (water about 18-20 degrees in summer , and 15 in winter). For us 20 divers in the water is hard to handle and we are hoping the Azalea will be able to put us in the water when the bigger boats are elsewhere. The reviews indicated the dive masters were great. We dived from a less luxurious boat in Komodo, no on-suit, nor air conditioning, scoop toilets, and outside showers. It did have great dive masters, the food was really good and the the staff were fantastic and worked very hard to keep us happy. Before and after the live-aboard we RnR for a few days in really nice hotels, get lots of massages, shop and find delightful restaurants. So far this formula has worked well and provided us with very unique diving experiences and we have met some fabulous and interesting and experienced divers from around the world.

We are going in early May 2020, which is still far too far away. I will let you know about our experience on the Azalea which I am confident will be great, weather permitting. We are so looking forward to this next adventure and I hope the updated sun deck has lots of soft mattresses and some shade as between dives that's my preferred place, reading a book or sleeping on the sun deck.

 

[dhaering]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. My hubby and I have decided to book the Azalea. The most important aspect for us is the diving, the dive master and small numbers. We live and dive off the south coast of Australia and have 106 islands all to ourselves, be it colder diving (water about 18-20 degrees in summer , and 15 in winter). For us 20 divers in the water is hard to handle and we are hoping the Azalea will be able to put us in the water when the bigger boats are elsewhere. The reviews indicated the dive masters were great. We dived from a less luxurious boat in Komodo, no on-suit, nor air conditioning, scoop toilets, and outside showers. It did have great dive masters, the food was really good and the the staff were fantastic and worked very hard to keep us happy. Before and after the live-aboard we RnR for a few days in really nice hotels, get lots of massages, shop and find delightful restaurants. So far this formula has worked well and provided us with very unique diving experiences and we have met some fabulous and interesting and experienced divers from around the world.

We are going in early May 2020, which is still far too far away. I will let you know about our experience on the Azalea which I am confident will be great, weather permitting. We are so looking forward to this next adventure and I hope the updated sun deck has lots of soft mattresses and some shade as between dives that's my preferred place, reading a book or sleeping on the sun deck.

Hello Yemana,
thank you for booking with us and your advanced trust. You will see a lot of updates of Azalea which are not published till now. We will have great time on board and amazing dives at one of the best dive locations I know.

We wait for you to rock Tubbataha Reef

Greets Dirk

 

[dhaering]

The ship sounds like a dump.

Captain can't see where he's heading in the rain ... no navigation systems? Things falling off it and breaking with strong rain! Can't fill the tanks and have aircon at the same time! This ship sounds like it needs a permanent mooring near Gilligan's Island.

There's plenty of other large sea-worthy steel hulled ships to select from for the crossing for to paradise ....

Hi Jay,

did you ever stay with a boat in the center of a tornado??

 

[Jay]

Hi Jay,

did you ever stay with a boat in the center of a tornado??

I guess you mean a typhoon but neither you nor @Marina Nitselska mentioned that so far. Closest we got was "strong rain".

I think budget liveaboards are great for down to earth diving, but that shouldn't be confused with basic safety and suitability for purpose.

I wondered if I was being harsh but seriously after spending 30min looking at reviews and pics of your vessel I would never trust it for the crossing to Tubbataha in the middle of the Sulu Sea. Imagine if you lost part of an outrigger mid crossing. There's a reason why the larger steel hulled boats are prevalent there.

"All rooms under deck are filled with dense gasoline smell from the engine room for 24 hours. Gives you nice headaches sleeping there! Every morning they switch of electricity in the rooms, which destroyed many chargers of the guests. After the shower, the floor drain in the bathroom does not work." - source: Azalea Philippines

"After a welcome drink another man told us that they had (another) an issue because the captain resigned 10 min ago. They were not able to get a new captain at such short notice so they cancelled the trip. Honestly I doubt that the captain resigned, even if there was a captain the boat was clearly not ready to leave." source: Liveaboard Diving Philippines (Palawan Island): UPDATED 2019 All You Need to Know Before You Go (with PHOTOS) - March 2019.

It also looks like tanks can't be secured properly (no depth to the foot hold), no rear anchor point. Are the beds secured? Crossings in even moderately bad weather can get hairy.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I have no dog in this race but have been to Tubbataha and can confirm that you do want to pick your boat carefully as it is an open water crossing and quite a long one as it is overnight. Once you are there, you are essentially at an atoll which is extremely exposed and there is no hiding from the elements, whether that be wind, rain, swells, etc., or all of the above. When I was there around mid to late April, considered the "prime" of the season as it is not too early or too late for outlier weather issues, we had a bit of a rough crossing and the first day or 2 was quite rough. I was incredibly glad to be on a steel hulled boat and a larger one at that. Some of the boats were really getting tossed around. There have been other members here who have had negative experiences on other boats that were evidently not sea worthy given the crossing and conditions. While they were not for this boat in this specific thread, it is something to keep in mind.

Budget is a concern but do keep in mind what that incremental difference in price gets you as well.

I am not referring to just whether the boat is seaworthy and capable, but things like 24 hour electricity, hot water, heat/air, private bathrooms, non-dorm sleep arrangements, dive guide to diver ratios, quality/amount/variety of food, safety equipment (oxygen, training of crew, emergency and equipment (life rafts and fire extinguishers, fire detectors, PLBs/EPIRBs), communication equipment (various radios types, satellite phones), navigation equipment, etc. Do they have 1 or 3 compressors if something malfunctions?

Those are some things to think about. When some issues arise, it can really ruin a trip. I highly recommend that you seriously consider travel insurance whenever you travel if you cannot afford to be "out" what you spent. Dive travel insurance, especially, also has liveaboard riders available.

I have been to Komodo by liveaboard as well and one thing to remember is that the water is a lot calmer as far as swells and wind and such go in Komodo and there is no open water crossing, and an overnight one at that. It is rather protected between the islands. Should issues arise, it is a much quicker jaunt back to Labuan Bajo, and help is more easily accessed, compared to returning to Puerto Princesa. The emphasis and demands for what constitutes a sea worthy boat in Komodo is way less than it is for Tubbataha, in my experience and opinion.

As for what @Jay mentioned on the review about the diesel smell below decks, that is what you can smell. Don't forget about the far more dangerous carbon monoxide which you cannot smell. It is a wise decision to carry a travel one, but that is another topic altogether.

Everyone will have to weigh their options and look at the cost/benefit/risk and make a personal decision.