Solitude One

★ 5 · Tessa Faure · 2023-05-31

The most incredible team runs the Solitude One - a safe, sturdy, clean and well thought out scuba LOB vessel. From the moment we stepped on board for Tubbataha, everyone went above and beyond to make this our home away from home. I've been on a few LOBs and this has been the best one - I will be back (already checking their schedule for future trips!) The boat is well maintained, with the most spectacular dive deck - plenty of space, double sided hangers that don't blow off the rails, name-tagged baskets for each person to store items, two big freshwater tanks for electronics and rinsing gear, 6 showers for rinsing off, lots of stable surfaces to place cameras and a tank for drying. There is also some lounge seating back there. A wet (cold and warm) towel provided as you arrive back from diving to wipe the face, and a daily towel provided for drying off (with your name tag on!). It was so easy getting ready each dive and drying/packing up kit at the end with that dive deck! The aircon lounge was a great respite and where we had dive briefings and an acoustic performance! with a coffee machine! and plenty of beanbags and seating (bolted down -safety conscious boat!) There is also a large camera room just off the lounge. The meals are served on a covered upper deck buffet style - ice maker, another coffee machine, tablecloths, the stewardess learnt everyone's names, the dive crew help out too. It was so easy to get drinks and water at all times. Meals were excellent - lots of variety and options served with dessert after lunch & dinner. There was toast before diving (6am) and then full breakfast with an eggs station after the first dive. We never had the same dish twice - they really flared on variety! One night they also did a bbq and we had a cocktail hour both at the sandy atoll at the Ranger's station and on the final night sailing back to land upfront by the jacuzzi tub. There are always snacks available too if you were feeling peckish in between all the meals. I enjoyed the extra touches like chatting to the captain in the Bridge and getting an engine room & below deck tour, plus star gazing on the front deck, reading in the hammock/loungers on the sun deck. There are a few cabin options with different configurations. we stayed on the main deck level (3 cabins) and the rest are one deck below with portholes. We had a bunk bed two person room, there were some twin bed 2 person rooms, plus double rooms and a 4 person room. The ceilings are quite low so the top bunk was a bit careful to get in and out of, but had no issues and the boat is very stable. Our cabin had lots of shelving and some hanging space, plus plenty of hooks to hang things. The bedding was nice and plush duvets with plenty of pillows. Each cabin has a decent size en-suite with a good shower and always had hot water. We got sufficient towels too (a big one, hand towel and face cloth). There was even a nice green plant. You can give them big bags to store so you don't have to trip over that in the cabin. We were really comfortable in there. A nice quiet aircon and good blackout blinds for the bright rising sun. A lovely touch to have your bed made while you were out on the first dive. I also loved my morning wake ups on the loud speaker with a nice song and cheery message - the same concept for dive briefings and meal times. The dive operation was really well run, daily schedule posted in a few places on the boat, all staff know what is going on and very helpful with anything you need. There is a big crew running the boat so no one is overworked or stretched too thin. Some more perks of Solitude service were the simple things like if you put your wetsuit into a tank to rinse, someone would take over the rinse and then hang it back up at your demarcated station - those guys learnt who's kit was who's in a matter of dives! even the Captain mucked in to rinsing guest's kit! It just felt like everyone was on board to make sure things were smooth and done well. Dive briefings had a good map, lay of the land and any risks or things to look out for. The skiff operation was so smooth - your kit stayed on them (covered with a tarp in between dives which was great to see) as they can refill the tanks on the skiff from the boat, which they do for you. They got everyone to and from dives sites very efficiently and all our gear was well cared for (and washed at the end!). Honestly was some of the most seamless diving operations I have seen for having 18 divers on board, plus 4 guides and another couple floating crew divers who would join in too. We didn't get the pelagic Tubbataha magic (we saw one manta ray and no whale sharks) BUT it is not a zoo and you can't guarantee anything. Overall though, the reefs were abundant, colourful and full of life. Definitely take along your macro camera gear in case there is low pelagic activity - plenty of macro still to see, and plenty of reef sharks on every dive. I had an amazing trip and really enjoyed being at sea - it is incredibly remote in Tubbataha, no land for days, rarely saw another boat - so you want to be on a safe and reputable operation with the extra touches. I'll let the lunar cycle play out a couple years and then return for the hope of whale sharks (or take Solitude One to Palau!) Thank you Mitch, Johan, Clark, KF, Ann, East, Mariette, Captain, Vincent, Amos, the chefs, Sonny and Rommel, the rest of the engineering and boat crew - we truly had an amazing time.

★ 5 · Rene Robles · 2020-01-21

The Solitude trip was amazing. Even though the weather in Palau can change on a dime, the dive team always kept us safe, and did their absolute best to ensure we had the most epic of dives. If i ever had to Palau again i look forward to seeing the team again. Happy diving!