4 replies to this topic

[weescot]

My buddy Sue and I went on our first dive trip of the year recently, venturing to the Andaman Islands, the Indian islands in the Bay of Bengal/Andaman Sea. No one had really heard of the Andaman Islands until 2004, when an underwater earthquake struck in their waters, causing the devastating tsunami on 26 December.

Havelock Island offers most resort/day diving in the Andaman Islands, but we opted for a live aboard as this facilitated access to the more remote and pristine dive sites at Barren Rock and Narcondam Island. We chose one of two boats that cruise during the limited diving season of Jan - April. Although the MY Siren is based in Phuket and the crew is Thai, we flew to the Andaman Islands capital Port Blair to join the boat.

The boat: generally well laid out - especially the dive deck. We were however disappointed with the size and configuration of the cabins, which had a lot of wasted floor space, very limited locker space, a small bathroom and tiny beds. The addition of a PC to add to the "luxury" sell just got in the way and wasn't used. The dining deck was open air and very pleasant. Food was good and plentiful. We loved the Thai food especially. General cleanliness was good and the crew was very attentive and great at their job and anticipating your needs. In lumpy swells however, the boat moved a lot. Or as the Thai crew described "a bit of lock and loll". Entry was via tender - boarding arrangements were dependent on crew helping you in kitted up, otherwise it was fine.

The diving: As good as and better than I expected. The viz on some sites was astonishingly good and the fish life was prolific. A LOT of schooling fish - barracudas, jacks, snappers, massive dogfish tunas and some gigantic groupers - even a large school of bump head parrotfish. Also lots of lovely reef fish and some species only found in the Andaman Islands. We also had many separate single manta sightings so it was lovely just to watch them swim by. At Narcondam however we were surrounded by them - on the tender back to the boat after one dive, we went back into the water as we were surrounded by them feeding. It was wonderful - even if I did suck my tank dry it was worth it. And we went back with snorkles, but they had gone...Another highlight was Barren rock - probably the only time I will dive in the shadow of a live volcano. Soft coral there was incredible. dive time was unlimited so we got 70 minute+ dives in most of the time.

A bonus to the trip was having a professional photographer, Mark Strickland, onboard who knew the waters well. He was always telling us useful things about each dive site, the marine life we saw and he showed us some of his amazing pics. it was also interesting watching him at work. I have never seen anyone with such patience. He pretty much chose his subject before each dive, found it then just lay the whole time waiting for the perfect shot, popping up to a shallower depth at various intervals to avoid going into deco.....

Attached are some of my less professional pixs. Recommended trip Kamala :-) But be prepared for the Indian bureaucracy :-(

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[dive_sail_etc]

WAAAYYY

Absolutely outstanding trip report, Sheena! for sharing in both words and pictures!


...and just for the record I would rate your pics first class. It would seem you learned well at the feet...er...fins... of Bruce (and perhaps other accomplished UW photographers?)

[Jerrymxz]

Excellent post!

I have a brochure I picked up at Beneath the Sea for that boat and her sister ship. They did an outstanding job putting the brochure together. It is a huge booklet probably 10 pages and almost coffee table book size. Since then I have wanted to do a trip with them. That looks like an absolutely fantastic adventure. When it’s cold and raining out I’ll get it out and read it again. I was looking at the Philippines itineraries but any of them looked good.

Thanks for the report. Just more fuel on the fire!

Nice pics too

[secretsea18]

I have been on the MY Siren in 2008 to the Andaman Islands, as well, and enjoyed it too. My dive experience was similar to your trip.

HOWEVER, I completely disagree with you regarding the cabins and layout of that part of the boat!!!

I thought the cabins were huge, and very comfortable. Closet/drawer space is rather limited, but no worse than on any other liveaboard I have been on, and better than most. Having a personal computer in each cabin is really great, IF you take photos, AND choose to not bring along your own laptop. Many divers used the PC on my trip to do photo management, and to watch the many, many movies/shows in the PC video library. If you didn't use it, doesn't mean that a lot of other people do use it.

The Cabin beds were very comfortable, and most have one of the twin beds that open up into a double. So each room is able to have a double + a twin size bed, without either being a bunk bed. I thought the beds were fabulous, and the reading lights really worked. I liked having space in the cabin to actually walk in it. Much better than the cabin (and I use that word loosely, as it was more like a coffin) on my trip on the Shearwater liveaboard.... literally had to go behind the door to close it, and climb into a small space that "housed" the bunk beds.... felt like being in a coffin, + they stowed the vacuum in the "closet" that was where our luggage was supposed to go!.... but I digress..... The Siren's bathroom was completely standard -> big for a typical liveaboard. The toilet and shower were big enough to turn around in and completely satisfactory to this picky liveaboard diver, and the lighting was great.

The sundeck was very large and had nice chaise lounges to rest in.

In addition, quality dive gear is included in the price of the trip, regulators, BCs, etc are free. Plus free Nitrox and free soft drinks and beer.

The boat is not cheap, but the extras are very much worth it for this liveaboard operator. Plus Frank is very charming.

We even put up the sails on my trip in 2008, even though there was no wind... just for the photo ops!

I visited the Philippine Siren last month when I was in Cebu, and it is an even nicer boat!

Edited by secretsea18, 12 March 2010 - 09:55 AM.

[weescot]

Thanks for all the comments folks. I am glad my enjoyment of the trip came through. It is always nice to go somewhere that the masses don't get to.

I have been on the MY Siren in 2008 to the Andaman Islands, as well, and enjoyed it too. My dive experience was similar to your trip.

HOWEVER, I completely disagree with you regarding the cabins and layout of that part of the boat!!!

I thought the cabins were huge, and very comfortable. Closet/drawer space is rather limited, but no worse than on any other liveaboard I have been on, and better than most. Having a personal computer in each cabin is really great, IF you take photos, AND choose to not bring along your own laptop. Many divers used the PC on my trip to do photo management, and to watch the many, many movies/shows in the PC video library. If you didn't use it, doesn't mean that a lot of other people do use it.

The Cabin beds were very comfortable, and most have one of the twin beds that open up into a double. So each room is able to have a double + a twin size bed, without either being a bunk bed. I thought the beds were fabulous, and the reading lights really worked. I liked having space in the cabin to actually walk in it. Much better than the cabin (and I use that word loosely, as it was more like a coffin) on my trip on the Shearwater liveaboard.... literally had to go behind the door to close it, and climb into a small space that "housed" the bunk beds.... felt like being in a coffin, + they stowed the vacuum in the "closet" that was where our luggage was supposed to go!.... but I digress..... The Siren's bathroom was completely standard -> big for a typical liveaboard. The toilet and shower were big enough to turn around in and completely satisfactory to this picky liveaboard diver, and the lighting was great.

The sundeck was very large and had nice chaise lounges to rest in.

In addition, quality dive gear is included in the price of the trip, regulators, BCs, etc are free. Plus free Nitrox and free soft drinks and beer.

The boat is not cheap, but the extras are very much worth it for this liveaboard operator. Plus Frank is very charming.

We even put up the sails on my trip in 2008, even though there was no wind... just for the photo ops!

I visited the Philippine Siren last month when I was in Cebu, and it is an even nicer boat!

We all have different experiences - and it looks like we had a different cabin on this boat. There were three single bunks in our cabin - no doubles. Ours were uncomfortable - my buddy and I agree on this. There were other issues with the cabin which we have relayed to the operators direct rtather than air in a public forum. I thought the rest of the boat was great - my only negative comment was about the cabin. I have done 5 liveaboards in the last 18 months, of which 4 were priced and marketed high end "luxury", with all the usual extras you have mentioned to give you value for money. The high price of the Andaman trip is not because of the extras (whihc are pretty much standard) but because of the travel time they have to take each month returning to Thailand - the cruise director told us this himself.

Aside from the cabin, the rest of the holiday was first class - and I would certainly recommend and holiday with these operators on thier boats again. Overall they are a great new competitor in a market that I think has become complacent in some parts of the world.