Route Description - New Moon Spawning (10 nights)
The 10-night Special New Moon Spawning liveaboard itinerary aboard the Palau Siren offers divers a truly extraordinary experience. This unique voyage is designed to coincide with one of nature’s most impressive underwater phenomena: the mass spawning aggregation of bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) during the new moon lunar cycle. On these special departures, guests have the rare opportunity to witness thousands of these large reef fish congregating in a single area of Palau to reproduce—a breathtaking display of synchronized marine life behavior.
During this period, the Cruise Director provides a series of informative briefings and presentations, offering insights into the spawning event and what divers can expect to see. These dives, while thrilling, are recommended only for experienced divers due to the strong currents commonly found at these sites.
The majority of the diving takes place within the Rock Islands Southern Lagoon—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—with an additional day spent exploring the waters around Peleliu. Given the narrow channels and dynamic tidal flows of the area, skiff tenders are used to navigate between dive sites and the main vessel. Palau Siren, like all liveaboards in the region, is required to use designated mooring points scattered throughout the Rock Islands. As a result, cruising within the lagoon is minimal, with dive transfers typically lasting between 5 to 15 minutes depending on the anchorage location.
In addition to the spawning dives, certain itineraries include the option to participate in Blackwater diving—a surreal and adventurous experience that involves diving at night, often far from the reefs, to witness deep-sea creatures rising toward the surface to feed. These nocturnal dives offer a chance to observe rare and bioluminescent marine life in the open ocean.
Each day typically includes up to four dives: three daytime dives and either a sunrise, sunset, or night dive depending on the timing of the spawning activity. The daily schedule is structured as follows:
Light breakfast, followed by briefing and Dive 1
Full breakfast, relaxation, briefing, and Dive 2
Lunch, relaxation, briefing, and Dive 3
Snack, relaxation, briefing, and Dive 4 (where possible)
Dinner
*On days featuring land excursions, the number of dives may be limited to three.