sharksdelight
Contributor
I've been asked to get some info on this ship and the diving and would appreciate any input, good or bad.
Thanks,
Steve:14:
Thanks,
Steve:14:
Bilikiki info needed
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Shasta_man
Contributor
On it in 06.
The boat was well taken care of. Crew excellent and go the extra mile. Crew separate from passengers. Good food, well prepared, good variety. Cabins good sized and very clean. Airconditioning in cabins, none topside. Only complaint was thermocline between cabins below and anywhere topside.
Could be some serious heat above deck. Nice breeze on boat as usual so land must be hell. I saw few quality problems. Dive deck plenty large.
I liked the diving style of: dive scheduled for X time, group leaves on skiffs to point literally feet away, back roll, boat picks you up after. If you miss the group, they are shuttling back and forth constantly.
DIving good, though I expected better viz, but likely a function of land runoff. Viz good to great, just not gin clear. Most diving had little current but good stuff to see, though not Palau stuff everywhere quality.
Experience amongst islands for scenery and native people priceless. People literally in dugout canoes they built. Huts on stilts along water. Genuine. This experience is something you don't get.
I have very few bad things to say.
Travel there wasn't too bad. Travel to Fiji, then onto to Honiara through Point Vila. Flights past Fiji are on empty 737s. Easy. Honiara airport just big hall, bigtime heat.
The boat was well taken care of. Crew excellent and go the extra mile. Crew separate from passengers. Good food, well prepared, good variety. Cabins good sized and very clean. Airconditioning in cabins, none topside. Only complaint was thermocline between cabins below and anywhere topside.
Could be some serious heat above deck. Nice breeze on boat as usual so land must be hell. I saw few quality problems. Dive deck plenty large.I liked the diving style of: dive scheduled for X time, group leaves on skiffs to point literally feet away, back roll, boat picks you up after. If you miss the group, they are shuttling back and forth constantly.
DIving good, though I expected better viz, but likely a function of land runoff. Viz good to great, just not gin clear. Most diving had little current but good stuff to see, though not Palau stuff everywhere quality.
Experience amongst islands for scenery and native people priceless. People literally in dugout canoes they built. Huts on stilts along water. Genuine. This experience is something you don't get.
I have very few bad things to say.
Travel there wasn't too bad. Travel to Fiji, then onto to Honiara through Point Vila. Flights past Fiji are on empty 737s. Easy. Honiara airport just big hall, bigtime heat.
Shasta_man
Contributor
ain't too popular besides that, looks like
leeaf
Contributor
I was on the Bilikiki in 2004 and it was an awesome trip. went out of their way to meet your diving needs and even organised to dive the USS Aaron Ward because 3 of us were really keen to do it. It is a deep dive (60m) and as they had no first hand experience they paid the local dive operator to take us but charged us nothing. That's what I call service!!
The food was also some of the best I have had on a live aboard and the diving at Mary Is na dsome of the other sites is to die for.
The food was also some of the best I have had on a live aboard and the diving at Mary Is na dsome of the other sites is to die for.
I was on the Spirit "Bilikiki"s sister ship" in May of 07. Thoroughly enjoyed it. The diving is well organized. You can dive your own profile and are free to stay with the group or go off on your own. The tinnies follow the diver's bubbles and and I never had to wait for more than a few minutes to get picked up after surfacing. food was good, the boat was relatively roomy. I preferred the diving over Palau.
vetdiver
Contributor
That is a long way to go to start with, and it is not very easy to get to Guadalcanal, so don't judge its popularity based on the number of responses you get in a short period of time.
My husband and I were on the Bilikiki in June of 2006, and it was - bar none - the most amazing dive trip I've ever taken. The boat was in nice condition, nothing fancy, but a nice liveaboard. the food was amazing, given where we were, and the crew was absolutely wonderful. The managers, Michelle and Monty, were fabulous, though I think they may be taking a break from liveaboard life now (or soon).
The diving was PHENOMENAL. Don't go expecting lots of large pelagics, but the macro life and the hard and soft corals were gorgeous. We did see a single manta and a few sharks (Mary Island), but that isn't what the Solomons are all about...if you like to look for little things, you will be in heaven.
As far as vis goes, we dive most of the time in local San Diego, where more than 20 ft vis is a good day, so the 60-ft vis (on a bad day) in the Sol's didn't really bother me much
[Note - just noticed that's where you're from!!! Let's just say...I think we San Diego divers are happy with any visibility, right????]
We have other places we'd like to go, but I'd go back on the Bilikiki in a heartbeat.
We met a very gracious couple while onboard who happen to be incredible UW photographers; their website includes many trip reports on the Bilikiki, so take a look:
Underwater Photography
Allison
My husband and I were on the Bilikiki in June of 2006, and it was - bar none - the most amazing dive trip I've ever taken. The boat was in nice condition, nothing fancy, but a nice liveaboard. the food was amazing, given where we were, and the crew was absolutely wonderful. The managers, Michelle and Monty, were fabulous, though I think they may be taking a break from liveaboard life now (or soon).
The diving was PHENOMENAL. Don't go expecting lots of large pelagics, but the macro life and the hard and soft corals were gorgeous. We did see a single manta and a few sharks (Mary Island), but that isn't what the Solomons are all about...if you like to look for little things, you will be in heaven.
As far as vis goes, we dive most of the time in local San Diego, where more than 20 ft vis is a good day, so the 60-ft vis (on a bad day) in the Sol's didn't really bother me much
[Note - just noticed that's where you're from!!! Let's just say...I think we San Diego divers are happy with any visibility, right????]We have other places we'd like to go, but I'd go back on the Bilikiki in a heartbeat.
We met a very gracious couple while onboard who happen to be incredible UW photographers; their website includes many trip reports on the Bilikiki, so take a look:
Underwater Photography
Allison
OP
sharksdelight
Contributor
Thanks for all the feedback folks, appreciate it and will pass your views on. Please keep them coming.
Steve:14:
Steve:14:
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