Palau Liveaboard?

[McGinty]

Thinking of putting together a liveaboard trip to Palau with my wife and a bunch of friends. Never been and I'm just exploring the options now, but does anyone here have a recommendation for or against any particular ship? From the little online exploration I've done I've only found six liveaboards for the area; The Black Pearl, Palau Aggressor II, Palau Rock Island Aggressor, S/Y Palau Siren, M/V Solitude I, and Ocean Hunter Palau.

I'd like reviews from past customers rather than the companies that market these cruises.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Scubagolf]

We sailed on the Palau Siren about 8 years ago, before the existing boat sank in the harbor. It was a great trip, all the way around, and the only way we will go back to Palau. BTW, Palau is my all time favorite, but is my only diving in the western Pacific, so take my comments with a few grains of salt.

 

[runsongas]

i've been on both aggressors and would go again. there currently are some half off specials if you can make it last minute too. the ocean hunter and solitude were built in the 1970s and should be retired at this point.

i hate sailboats, so siren fleet isn't something I would consider. the black pearl is nice and new, but no clue on how much experience their captain has in palau, whereas the aggressor boats have been running for 2 decades. also, no soft drinks and beer included is annoying vs aggressor.

 

[Damselfish]

We've done Ocean Hunter (but 8 years ago) and Palau Aggressor II (way longer ago.) Both were great trips.

Aggressor in general seems to have its issues, in that Aggressor Fleet has little to do with the quality of a trip with one of their franchisees and your results depend on the boat/management of that boat. It was well run back then, don't know if it's still same owners.

Ocean Hunter was well run as well. We got one of the upstairs master staterooms on that one, which definitely upgraded the trip.

 

[aquabluegreg]

I've had divers on the Aggressor (both ships) and just had divers on the Siren a month ago. Because of their response, I have booked a full boat charter on the Siren in May 2025.

 

[Carlos Diver]

I enjoyed the BP. Large boat, new, comfy and clean. Dive guides were good. Honestly though, if you can get a half off deal from Aggressor, that would be my biggest determining factor. Their rep in Palau still sounds good.