continued from Part 1
Sun Dancer II & Crew
Our crew consisted of Capt Alan, DM/Instructors Ali, Elvis, John, Juan and galley/service crew of Jerry, Elia, and Barbara. At first, the crew seemed a little reserved. However, as the week progressed, they all warmed up with Elvis and Ali being very outgoing and just plain fun. Out of necessity due to having a full passenger compliment, the crew mostly ate by themselves outside of the main salon. One of the things our group really enjoyed on our previous live-aboard in Palau on the Big Blue Explorer was having the crew at the same table with the guests to casually chat and joke over a meal. I also liked the informality on the BBE you couldnt tell guest from crew most of the time. I actually mentioned this to Captain Alan on the last night, when we were back in port, and it was an informal dinner. He agreed that logistically, it would be difficult to fit us all in the salon and that Peter wished the formality I guess to fit the upscale nature of their vessels. To my way of thinking, by its very nature, diving is an informal activity and that one should leave the formality to the cruise ships that tend to serve the stuffier crowd. But maybe there are guests who believe differently.
As you would expect, the SDII is a nice boat. The rooms are good-sized and quite comfortable. We did run out of freshwater mid-week, which was only mildly inconvenient for a few hours. The food was above average and the service excellent there is nothing like a warm shower, getting warm towels and brief shoulder rub after each dive. Even with 20 divers, there was sufficient room to gear up and with their approach to diving (basically gates are open for 3-4 hours), only on the first dive to a site were we all competing to get into the water at the same time. Entry and egress from the water was very easy with two ladders and they have a bar at 12 fsw with a second stage regulator. They have a small tender boat to fetch those who cant find their way back to the boat as well as a full compliment of the normal safety equipment.
Sun Dancer II & Crew
Our crew consisted of Capt Alan, DM/Instructors Ali, Elvis, John, Juan and galley/service crew of Jerry, Elia, and Barbara. At first, the crew seemed a little reserved. However, as the week progressed, they all warmed up with Elvis and Ali being very outgoing and just plain fun. Out of necessity due to having a full passenger compliment, the crew mostly ate by themselves outside of the main salon. One of the things our group really enjoyed on our previous live-aboard in Palau on the Big Blue Explorer was having the crew at the same table with the guests to casually chat and joke over a meal. I also liked the informality on the BBE you couldnt tell guest from crew most of the time. I actually mentioned this to Captain Alan on the last night, when we were back in port, and it was an informal dinner. He agreed that logistically, it would be difficult to fit us all in the salon and that Peter wished the formality I guess to fit the upscale nature of their vessels. To my way of thinking, by its very nature, diving is an informal activity and that one should leave the formality to the cruise ships that tend to serve the stuffier crowd. But maybe there are guests who believe differently.
As you would expect, the SDII is a nice boat. The rooms are good-sized and quite comfortable. We did run out of freshwater mid-week, which was only mildly inconvenient for a few hours. The food was above average and the service excellent there is nothing like a warm shower, getting warm towels and brief shoulder rub after each dive. Even with 20 divers, there was sufficient room to gear up and with their approach to diving (basically gates are open for 3-4 hours), only on the first dive to a site were we all competing to get into the water at the same time. Entry and egress from the water was very easy with two ladders and they have a bar at 12 fsw with a second stage regulator. They have a small tender boat to fetch those who cant find their way back to the boat as well as a full compliment of the normal safety equipment.
