Diving from the Star Flyer

The diving was superb! We took our own gear because we didn't know exactly what to expect. They have brand new Scubapro equipment on board.....had we known this, we probably wouldn't have lugged ours there.

We were on the 7 day cruise, so the schedule could be different on the longer cruises. They offered dives on Raiatea, Bora Bora & Moorea. They have a meeting on the morning after sailaway to register for the dives, but some people were able to register early somehow, so keep checking prior to the meeting. The way it works is they have a morning dive scheduled and if enough people are interested, they will do an afternoon dive. The dives are limited to 6 because that is all the RIB will hold. That's why it is important to sign up early. The second dive is supposed to be the same site, but on our cruise, the same people were usually signed up so we went to a different site. On our cruise, they changed the itinerary a bit and we went Huahine, Tahaa, Bora Bora, Raiatea & Moorea, so the first dives weren't until Bora and it was a night dive. Unfortunately, only my wife & I had signed up & they require a minimum of 4 so it was cancelled. That didn't bother me that much as I haven't done a night dive in several years & was a little aprehensive on the first dive being at night. We dove both dives in Bora the next day. They were at the same site, but different parts of a large reef, so it was like 2 different dives. We actually had the excursion submarine come upon us which was pretty cool to see at 80' & it got within about 15' of us. The next stop at Raiatea, they had 2 dives scheduled with the first being at the Norby...a schooner that ran aground in 1900 and is still pretty much intact, lying at 45-90' Visibility was not that great as it is inside the lagoon, but was a nice dive because we had never dove a wreck before. The hull is intact & lying on it's side, but the decking is all gone so you could swim in & out & see light at all times. We passed on the 2nd dive to do the Kayak trip that was offered. If we hadn't dove Raiatea previously, we wouldn't have passed because the reef dives are excellent there. On Moorea, we passed on the 2 dives the first day & rented a car & toured the island. We did both dives the second day, and as usual were great and at 2 different sites. So, if you dove all the dives that were offered, you could get in 9 dives on 3 islands. One thing they are required to do is have a local guide on the dives, which is a good thing because they know the layout & where to spot the different marine life....it does make it a little more expensive however. The dives are 45 Euros plus 15 Euros for the guide and this includes equipment. They gave us a 7 Euro discount per dive because we had our own equipment, making it 53 Euros per dive which converts to about $78 USD....which is much lower than most of the local dive shops charge.

You might be able to arrange something on Huahine with a local, but we didn't get in to Port until about 1PM and all the dive boats were out.

We didn't get as much diving in as we'd hoped for, but there are so many things to do & so little time, we didn't feel short changed a bit. If anyone has any questions, fire away! I hope to get a full report up soon along with photos & video of the trip.....stay tuned:D

Mike

Mike, thanks a bunch for the great info.

Thanks for the thorough review Mike. For a trip that far I hate to lug my gear along if they have new equipment on board and for 7 Euros per dive it's worth it!

Do you remember if they offer checkout dives? I will have my classroom work done (just signed up for lessons today:D ) and a referal. I will also be at the ic tahiti for 1 full day and they have a padi center, but probably won't have time to get all 4 in.

thanks!

:D

Do you remember if they offer checkout dives? I will have my classroom work done (just signed up for lessons today:D ) and a referal. I will also be at the ic tahiti for 1 full day and they have a padi center, but probably won't have time to get all 4 in.

 

thanks!

Yes they do, in fact they were doing a certification on our cruise. The head of the Sports Team is an instructor and two of the Team are Divemasters. On each dive, one will stay on the Zodiac & one will be with the dive group along with the Guide from the island you're diving.

Bathy's Club is now the Dive Op at the IC on Tahiti. Our guide on Bora Bora was from Bathy's Club & we also visited the shop at the IC during our post stay......they are just getting set up there, so they were a bit unorganized, but very nice. We bought a couple of tshirts there:D

Mike

THanks for the info. Cant wait to get started! Already talked to Bathys. THey were very nice.

Karyn

Budaman, One more question...

What time does the ship board/leave? Not sure when hotel transfers p/u. Bathys said I could finish at 12:30 and they would get me to the ship. As a diver, would it be better to do checkouts on the ship or have them over with? Bathys is charging 37,000cfp for a referal. I don't know what the ship charges, but this seems like a lot. They seem very nice and accommidating, however... Any suggestions?

thanks-your replys are always so helpful!

Karyn

p.s. You have a great Cabela's store at Buda! My best friend lives in San Marcos.

Hi Karyn!

If you can get it done before boarding, that is what I would do. I think you would enjoy the dives more and it would give you more flexibility to do other things aboard also. Generally, a two tank dive will cost in the $175 range, so if you have to do 4 check out dives, that would seem about right, The dollar value is not very good there right now. The 1st trip in 2006 the exchange was around 98 to 1 & in August it was 68 - 74 to 1 depending on where you were. This trip there were places that wouldn't take US...but they all pretty much took Cards and the rates usually were better. Also, get used to converting Euros also, as everything on the ship is in Euros.....you have a tendency to forget that when ordering the $4.75 drink of the day...that's 4.75 Euros, not dollars:D

Boarding begins at 4PM and departure is at 10PM, so you should have plenty of time. We went in a day early & stayed at the Sofitel and the transfers were at 3:30. They were using Tahiti Nui Travel on all the connections it seemed.

Mike

Does the ship require a doctors note to dive? I understood from the cruise packet that they did? If so, anything specific required?

Thanks!

Karyn

You'll need a doctors release if you have any medical issues that you indicate on the liability forms when you sign up for the dives. My docs have released me to dive, but I don't take the releases...it opens up a can of worms if you answer yes....and in a lot of foreign countries they still might not let you dive even with the release.

Mike

I just remembered that you might be trying to get certified on board.....you will probably need the doctor release to get certified......once you are certified, the above would apply.

Oh, and congrats on the OWB! We spent 2days post at the Radisson & the gave us a 2 story suite. The IC is very nice.

THanks!

I have arranged my checkout dives with Bathys at the IC. They told me they don't need one. I think I will ask for a release, better to have one and not need it.... I've had one lesson so far and they're already pushing the gear. I'm probably going to buy a wetsuit (3mm?) and a gear bag, have the mask, snorkel , and fins. These are things that I will probably use snorkeling too. Were there many solos diving on the ship, or were they all couples? Didn't know if they would let you sign up if you weren't part of a "duo". Looking forward to snorkeling off my bungalow!

karyn:)

There were just as many singles as couples diving, so there won't be an issue there. Just be sure to sign up for the dives as soon as possible....only 6 per dive.

They do have wetsuits aboard also, so depending on what kind of diving you'll do after certification will determine what weight suit will work best for you. We took our .5mil full skins on all our cruises. For tropical temps they are fine for one or two dives per day. Most you would need there would be a 3mil....either shorty or full.....which is what they have available on board. The nice thing about the .5's are that they pack very easily & dry quickly.

Mike

Should I bring boots and fins or can I get by with full-foot fins for diving off the ship? I have both but the full-foot fins are a lot lighter and somewhat smaller!! Thanks!

Either would work. There wasn't much current so you didn't have to do a lot of hard finning. Several of the dive guides used full foots.....we took our booties & fins. If you don't want to mess with it at all, they do have them aboard if you want to use theirs.

Mike

Thanks Budaman!