Well, since you have been looking into Pelagian you know how expensive the trip is. The Pelagian itself is wonderful, big and spacious. They have a few flaws though and I do hope they are addressed at some point. I enjoyed the trip - let me say that first so I don't get flamed - but I wrote them a long list of what I thought needed improving.
1. Transfer from Wakatobi to Pelagian was a disaster. We had been diving Wakatobi for ten days. On transfer day we were invited to shore dive but without a taxi ride out or back. Most of us gave up our gear therefore the night before transfer day (we had to be out of the cottages by 8 a.m.). We sat around Wakatobi from early morning until about 3 p.m. when the transfer finally took place. Granted, they had to clean and provision the ship but since the boats were just hanging around, why no taxi service so we could continue to dive? We were provided a group day room at Wakatobi, plus breakfast and lunch.
2. The wetsuit area is on the upper deck. Not that this is a bad thing (dive deck is the lower deck) but the footing is slippery and very dangerous. One person in our group actually fell, others slipped and nearly fell. This is sad because a fix would cost about $20. All that's needed are some traction threads.
3. There are 4 ambient temperature showers on both sides of the boat (total of 8) but they do not have enough pressure to wash out the wetsuits. There's a hose upstairs you can use but you have to cross the slippery deck to get to it. There are 2 camera wash tanks, one on either side of the boat, but none for wetsuits.
4. The tenders are small and crowded. All our diving was done from the tenders. With 6 divers, a driver and guide, there were cameras everywhere on the floor of the tender so no place was left for people's feet and the dive gear was crammed into racks that would hold maybe 4 tank rigs. Without fail, someone's gear was disconnected, weight pockets fell out, safe seconds were unhooked, etc. simply because of lack of space. They either need to get bigger tenders or get a 3rd tender and another guide. The Pelagian is big and comfy - why such small, cramped spaces in the tenders?
5. The tender drivers need to be made more aware of safety issues. One of the divers on the other tender was nearly decapitated when a fishing boat went right over his head while he was in 2-3 ft of water. I have no idea what the tender driver was doing but he should have been watching out for this diver and waved off the other boat.
6. I can't remember the exact day of the week but we steamed out to do some muck diving after we had the transfer and safety briefing so there was no diving that day. The following morning diving began. Then let's say transfer day back to Wakatobi was Friday. On Wednesday we made our four dives as usual and then steamed back to Wakatobi. Thursday morning we made 2 dives, early morning and morning at Wakatobi - at sites we had already dived 2 or 3 times. Instead of steaming back on Wednesday evening, we could have spent the night elsewhere, made our morning dives there and then steamed back Thursday afternoon to Wakatobi. If we had to be trapped on Pelagian, at least we could have been underway. So, from Thursday afternoon on we were trapped on Pelagian - no taxis available to take us back to the resort where we could visit the gift shop, work on the computer or hang out. That evening they did taxi us to Wakatobi for dinner but it was a brief stay - maybe 2 hours and then back to Pelagian. Friday morning we were taxied to the airport and departed. The farthest we got from Wakatobi was maybe a 4 hour steam. We could have easily made it back to Wakatobi in time for dinner (7:30 p.m.) from where we had been and dived new sites.
7. There was a mis-communication between Pelagian captains and Pelagin ran up on the reef. We surfaced from our dive to find no tender - it was over at Pelagian assisting the tow boat to get Pelagian off the reef. It must have run up on the reef shortly after we departed for our dives as they said the tow boat came from 6-7 miles away. The story we were told was that there was a mis-communication between captains as to who exactly was watching the boat's position. After being picked up by the tender and returned to Pelagian the dive guides surveyed the bottom of Pelagian and said all was well. This could have been a disaster (it probably was for the reef we ran aground on) but we were within a long swim to land. It would have been hard to snorkle that distance after a 70 minute dive.
Anyway, for the money and travel time, I'd pass if another Pelagian trip came up. I did have a good time - food was good, Pelagian was very nice, service was good and diving was good - but they still have a ways to go before they get it together.
Hope this helps.
Sandra
