Stella Maris Explorer Liveaboard, Philippines

Simply awesome. People makes up the bulk of the experience, and I, a solo diver, was lucky to be able to integrate into conversations of all divers. Dive guides were professional and humorous, particularly for Ramboo (chief dive guide) who could always fill the room with energy. Hallmark of Stella Maris Explorer would be the food - always rich with protein (BBQ pork, lobsters, duck, beef, etc) as well as enticing desserts like cheese cake, ice-cream, etc). A bit wasted for me who always watches calories + I don't eat a lot in-between dives, but those who enjoy food regardless of what they do after eating, it will be heaven-promised! Other positives include (1) virtually no diver's work required, since all BCD would be brought to / from the chase boat, all air tanks rigged up, and dive suits all rinsed. To me, being a DIY hands-on person, this spoils the diver and did not allow basic skills to be used (e.g. rigging up own tank). (2) Ample water points + cups + towels. For me, able to hang out on the sun deck is super important to me. Towels (which might not be provided on other livaboards) meant I could cover myself when the winds were strong; multiple water-points meant I did not need to carry a personal water-bottle around (3) considerate travelling time. After the maiden night where divers' night rest got disrupted when the boat travelled overnight (equal noisy engine), schedule was changed to resting overnight, and only move in the wee hours of the morning. To watch out for: 1) Bathrooms in the cabin. Well documented across many reviews - just be prepared to bath seated down, and do not move around too much 2) Zero restrooms at public areas. This means you can only relive yourself in your own cabin. If you are sharing cabin with other divers, find that restroom visiting frequency with him / her so that it would not coincide. 3) The boat doesn't seem to provide seasick pills. Just bring your own if you are like me, easily seasick. To be fair, the seas in this area is considered super calm, compared to some other seas in Asia.

My sister and I love the boat. Cabin facilities were fab. Our beds were very comfortable. We are seafood lovers and we loved the food provided. There was plenty to eat. I still think of the lobster sandwich which was amazing

Although the boat looks very green in all the photos, it was not disturbing at all. We stayed in the room on the upper floor. The beds and bathroom were spacious and comfortable. The room charging stations, clean towels and sheets. Enough space for 2 people to be comfortable in the room. The food served on the boat was great. It was like eating at a gourmet restaurant. I congratulate the chef and his team. Our dive guides King and Jess were very good. We had safe and enjoyable dives to very beautiful dive sites. The boat crew took very good care of our dive equipment. The chaser boats that carried us to the dive site were very comfortable and fast. The boat crew took very good care of us and our equipment during the dives. The reefs are very beautiful and well-preserved. The corals are very lively and healthy. I am very happy to see them. I would like to thank the boat and the dive team very much.