Phuket Liveaboards

[Batfish]

Hi Iztok....

What is the name of the boat you are going on and who did you book with? Sounds like you have a lot of questions that should have been resolved prior to booking! The boat that we book people on, 2 days/7 dives does not offer Nitrox.. I am interested to know what boat you ARE booked on...

 

[iztok]

On this boat: in general yes.4 divers per guide, so no big groups.Did you enquire about this before you booked with Sunset?? Divers?Normally no Nitrox on this boat, so it has to be brought in. Since normally the diving is done with guides and other people in the group, one person diving with Nitrox won't have any impact on bottom times. You should feel less tired though.

Well I goofed up. it is Sunrise Divers aka Thailand Divers. Boat is MV SS3.

They say Nitrox is available.

I hope there will be some that do Nitrox (as a whole group) and can extend time. Otherwise feeling less tired is fine as well.

 

[iztok]

Hi Iztok....

What is the name of the boat you are going on and who did you book with? Sounds like you have a lot of questions that should have been resolved prior to booking! The boat that we book people on, 2 days/7 dives does not offer Nitrox.. I am interested to know what boat you ARE booked on...

Batfish,

it is one of your boats at Similan Islands. I talked and said Nitrox is offered at 200baht per fill.

Either way I am actually stuck with you guys for good or for bad. I did some research around and you offered me the flexibility that I needed and looked like a decent operation. I would hope you are what I am hoping for.

 

[stevenl]

Iztok,

You may be mixing up your Sunrises.

On that boat: normally no Nitrox available, which means it has to be transported to the boat from shore. This is possible, but I would make very, very sure beforehand it will be there. In any case: nobody else will be diving Nitrox.

Sorry, but all in all it sounds to me like you received some bad advice. The flexibility you want is there, but all the other things you seem to be looking for are not there.

 

[Batfish]

Batfish,

it is one of your boats at Similan Islands. I talked and said Nitrox is offered at 200baht per fill.

Either way I am actually stuck with you guys for good or for bad. I did some research around and you offered me the flexibility that I needed and looked like a decent operation. I would hope you are what I am hoping for.

Hi Iztok, Sorry, you have not booked with Sunrise Divers. This problem should go away soon when "Sunrise Diving" (who ... er.. how shall I put it politely... er.. opened a dive center with a very similar name to an existing dive center) finally officially change their name to Thailand Divers.

If the boat you are booked on is the South Siam 3, then I have never heard of Nitrox being available on the boat (which is run by South Siam Divers), as stevenl says, any Nitrox tanks would need transporting from the mainland by speedboat. I asked about this one time and was told "no way!"... you best double check that.


Hope you can still have a good trip!

 

[Batfish]

Quick check... Nitrox is possible on South Siam 3, 300 Baht per tank is the price I am given, but would be on request/advance booking only, limited to a few people as all tanks have to come with the transfer speedboats.

So rest easy Iztok.

 

[iztok]

Darn internet searches I guess.

Well a flexibility is a must. The price seems to be the same at both Sunrises. So now I am just hoping that they will take me to/from the SS3 as agreed despite the fact it seems it is "wrong" Sunrise.

I didn't realize that Similans are drift diving type of dives. In such case I understand the guided tour as boat has to follow and it also seems that SS3 moves between the dives. That is ok. I don't have problems with that I just had different picture in my mind.

One thing I was told however is that there should be different level diving based on certification in terms of how deep the dives can be. Supposedly deeper diving offers some more (can't remember I think sharks were mentioned?).

So did anyone dive off of SS3? I realize now it is drift diving with a guide. I also heard it is small 1+4 group in terms of diving. Anything else you can tell me?

Good part is short of tanks I am bringing all my equipment so I will be familiar with it before I get there. I am bringing my 3mm exposure protection and skin so I will have some flexibility there. I like to be covered completely (including reef gloves and 1mm hood).

I will still go with Nitrox despite the fact noone else will dive it simply because 4+3 dives is a bit much on air in terms of being tired.

 

[Quero]

Don't worry about your transfers to and from the boat. The boat operator (in this case South Siam Divers) offers this service, not the booking operator. The only way the booking op can screw it up is either to give the boat op the wrong pickup location or give the customer the wrong pickup time. It usually works just fine.

SS3 is a boat that welcomes customers on a "rolling" basis, so on any given day, you have the customers who are sleeping on the boat, those who are arriving that day, and those who are leaving that day, all in the water at the same dive site. The boat itself is nice enough, and the biggest drawback is simply that it can get pretty busy during overlap times.

You won't need your gloves.

 

[iztok]

Well I am staying at JW Marriott but I don't think they will take care of my transfer

I might need to get from JW Marriott to somewhere else to get picked up. Oh well...

Are gloves not allowed? Or I simply don't need them. If former I understand, if later, I prefer to use them. Just my personal comfort level when I am in water. It has nothing to do with touching as I prefer NOT to touch things in the water, but it does give me some extra protection just in case.

I am at 50 dives (and AOW certified) right now and doing EFR and Rescue class this month so I should be MSD (with Deep as one of the five specialties) with 60+ dives by November I am going to be there.

 

[Quero]

Ah, but South Siam does do pickups at the JW Marriott. And the information I have says it is included in the price of the liveaboard. You will be picked up in the morning (probably around 7:00 a.m.) and transferred to Khao Lak by mini-bus.

I recommend that you read over the FAQs on South Siam's website.

The use of gloves is generally discouraged around here. The water is warm, so there is no need for thermal protection, and in fact, the DMs and Instructors working here don't wear gloves even though we dive a lot. Divers who wear gloves may not intend to touch, but in fact they do touch more often and with less hestitation than divers who are bare-handed. If a diver needs to push off from a rock or stabilize him/herself to take a photo, one or two fingers is sufficient. Gloves only make it easier for divers to use their hands to hold onto things since they won't feel any stings or sharp edges. When you see the wealth of marine life we have here as compared to North Carolina, you will understand better why we want to protect it from stray hands.