Navis 1 Liveaboard, Philippines

First liveaboard was a great experience

Grate experience Lots of different dive sites Amazing crew and food Meeting like minded people

Recommended for

Dive sites. Friendly crew. Meeting new people.

Loved Apo Reef

Apo Reef is a superb site to dive. You get pristine corals in some places Coloured fishes and corals are assured Everything went as planned Rented gear was perfectly fine The crew was always looking for that you had a perfect experience

Recommended for

Dive sites. Diving group. Crew.

If you are keen for great diving, don’t worry about noise and have the money, go for it. But…

First of all: The wonderful crew of “Navis 1” is doing an incredibly amazing job! Thanks to everyone, you made the trip! The food was fantastic! Always a nice variety and definitely enough for everyone. The chefs even fulfilled individual wishes. The diving in Palawan was wonderful. So if you are keen for great diving, don’t worry about details and have the money, go for it. The boat had only 9 guests, so most of the passengers got their own rooms without a surcharge. But: since the crew is doing their very best, unfortunately the management and owner of the boat and the company are not guest oriented, it seems that they are very profit oriented. The owner of the boat was even joining the trip with a friend, the nanny and wait for it… 3 kids. Noisy kids! They woke us up every early morning with loud children music and screaming around. None of the guests knew about having kids aboard, and well, who expects and accepts young children (3 and 11 years) on a liveaboard? Here a shortlist of the main problems: - The Boat is generally in a condition that needs lots of attention, care and repairs. It used to be a cargo boat, transferred into a liveaboard, but actually not really suitable for that purpose. - Aircon in the room must urgently be replaced, it is incredibly loud and therefore almost impossible to sleep. - The two generators in front are running whole night, unfortunately next to the front cabins and therefore - on top of the loud aircon noises - almost impossible to sleep. - Since everything is so loud, it’s hard to understand the dive briefings. - The sink in the bathroom was spitting dirt out while the boat was cruising. - The kitchen is placed in the middle of the boat, which is a safety issue. Imagine it starts burning… and they don’t have aircon or not even fans in there. The poor chefs have to work in inhuman conditions, they are boiling. - No Credit Card payment possible for Nitrox, Drinks, Fees etc. - Broken tables, cheap and way too low plastic chairs for dinner. - The two dinghies are old, as well as the motors. - The nitrox bottles were filled with only 28% O2 instead of the usual 32% - The owner and his friend and kids often went to the buffet first, before the guests. He went harpoon free diving - on a liveaboard, where guests would prefer to see the fishes alive in the water. When I showed him my room with the loud aircon, he just mentioned: Oh, is it too loud for you? And the next morning he said to me: “Because you mentioned the loud aircon, I couldn’t sleep since I heard it as well, thanks to you.” Conclusion: If the trip would have been half price, I would have respected some of the incidents in a way. But since I spent more than USD 2’300 for the week, it’s definitely not a balanced price-performance ratio. I hope the management will realise that guest happiness, safety and investments will lead to good ratings and finally more money in his pockets. Please Travis, listen to your staff. They know exactly what is needed…

Recommended for

Wonderful crew. Amazing dive spots. Yummy food.

Amazing experience with a wonderful crew

Had an amazing few days on board. The crew couldn’t do any more to make you feel welcome and everyone was so friendly. The food was exquisite, the diving was amazing and the Dive Master’s were great and super helpful. I had so much fun I didn’t want to leave

Recommended for

Staff couldn’t do anything more for you. Food was exceptional. Dive guides were awesome.

Nice trip, but overpriced for the low budget quality of the boat

The crew were very helpful and friendly and did their very best to make the trip brilliant for us. Special shout-out to the two Chefs who worked hard in very tough conditions. They made me vegetarian dishes everyday, which were tasty and appreciated. The boat is a converted cargo ship and not fit for purpose. The engine and generator are so loud you couldn’t sleep. The Aircon was very old and also VERY noisy. I booked a Twin room but was given a bunk bed instead and it was noisy due to being right next to the dining room. There was only one plug socket for two people. The room had cockroaches. The slippy bathroom door was dangerous and there’s no ventilation in the bathroom, meaning a constantly wet, slippy room which was very smelly. I had dirt from the pipes spraying from the sink (up the walls). Low quality, polyester bedding. The kitchen is in the very centre of the boat and has no ventilation, it’s a major fire hazard and awful for the crew to have to work in. The railings on the top deck below safe height. Our dive masters were a little inexperienced on this route. On occasions time was wasted on dives because the dive guide didn’t know the sites well. Briefings were light and hard to hear because of the generator. Mid-trip, the owner came aboard with a friend, a nanny and three children (3 year twins and an 11 year old). A liveaboard isn’t a place for children so young and I was personally woken up each day by the children playing outside my room - which isn’t really what you want on a holiday. The diving was good. Typhoon weather impacted visibility. We saw some small sharks and plenty of turtles, no Manta’s, wharksharks or manatees but lots of other cool stuff and the coral is in good condition. That’s diving for ya! Overall, a good trip, but this liveaboard is highly overpriced for the quality of the vessel, especially in light of no equipment or Nox, or alcohol inclusion. Thanks to the kind and hardworking crew. I hope the bosses of this vessel take note of the improvements needed to ensure Navis becomes a good option for divers.

Recommended for

Friendly and helpful crew. Food. Good coral quality.

Overall great trip for a low price. Good bang for the buck (or Euro).

Understand that we made two back to back trips: El Nido to Coron, and then Coron back to Coron. The cabin my buddy and I shared was small, but relatively comfortable. The room air conditioner efficiently cooled the room. Each bed had a lightweight blanket providing adequate warmth over a fitted sheet. A change of sheet, blanket and towels were available for the asking. There was plenty of space to store personal items and clothing. Small luggage was kept in the room. Larger bags can be kept in the spacious camera room. The crew on the Navis 1 were very hardworking and attentive to the guests. The crew did many things that typically are not found on a trip such as this. For example, our wetsuits were hung for us after each dive and washed at the end of each day. One of the guides was always there to help an 87 year old diver remove his wetsuit. When minor room maintenance was needed, that maintenance was quickly performed, even if it was suddenly needed in the middle of the night.. Midway through the first trip, one of the two owners of the boat came on board with his two three-year old twins and their Filipino nanny. Those kids were entertaining to watch and interact with. While on the boat, the owner was ready to hear suggestions on how to make his boat a better five boat and provide a better diving experience. The food was quite good, although it was a bit heavier on spice at times. The variety at each meal was impressive, commonly with pork, chicken, and fish in the same meal. Rice was at every meal. Pasta was common. Soups were great. I asked the cook to write down one recipe to share with my wife. Vegetarian meals were prepared separately for several divers. No one walked away from a meal hungry. One lunches was at picnic tables on an island which had an impressive cavern with a pool of water inside to cool off in and aa nearby pen with a dozen or so monitor lizards were waiting for visitors. There were two evenings on each trip where most divers stayed up late on the sun deck. The steward, Daphne, sang for us one night and played her saxophone on another. On both nights, a karaoke system was set up for those of us brave enough to sing to the other divers and the crew. I would have preferred more time on Apo Reef and less on non-combat Japanese ships sunk by Americans during World War II, but I understand that there are Navis 1 itineraries that offer most or all of the time on App Reef.

Recommended for

Been said by many other reviewers that the crew was great. That is an understatement.. Made for a fun filled voyage with entertainment beyond the diving.. Free Starlink providing amazing WiFi and ability to call/text friends and family..