The Celebes Explorer 9 (CE9) is the New Liveaboard (September 2019).
See below latest photos of Celebes Explorer 9 boat.
Please contact Us (Special Online Discount)
The MV Celebes Explorer is the only liveaboard bringing up to 16 scuba divers (AOW certified) on a daily basis to Sipadan.
With 16 daily dive permits, divers are brought to Sipadan (guaranteed) along with Mabul and Kapalai islands.
The dive cruise ship is comfortable and can accommodate up to 16 guests at a time.
Sipadan Liveaboard Packages
- 8D/7N departing on Tuesdays
- 5D/4N departing on Fridays
- 4D/3N departing on Tuesdays
Facilities
- 8 units of twin share cabins with ensuite bathroom and A/C
- Sofa lounge with mini bar and TV.
- Delicious buffet meals
- Large sun deck
- Wifi broadband
Sipadan Liveaboard Package
There is NO fixed date for embarkation & disembarkation day ( daily IN & OUT )
What a Typical Day Looks Like on the Celebes Explorer
Wake up to coffee or tea and a light bite as the dive crew preps the diving gears. After the dive briefing, and signing the official forms at Sipadan's jetty, the divemaster gives the ok signal and all 16 buddy divers jump from the boat to enter the waters of Sipadan island at Barracuda Point or the Drop Off or Whitetip Avenue (depending on the tide).
Breakfast follows while the liveaboard reposition to the second dive location before lunch. After the 2 dives at Pulau Sipadan, the afternoon 3rd dive lets us explore a different island such as Mabul or Kapalai. An optional 4th dive is the sunset dive at the Mandarinfish mating point. The days end with dinner, diving gear rinsing and cleanup, underwater photo downloads to your laptop and swapping stories on the sun deck or at the lounge and enjoying a well deserved drink. Note that there are no night dive allowed in the area around Sipadan, Mabul and Kapalai.
Dive Highlights
Sipadan delivers the big-school spectacle such as barracuda tornado, giant sea turtles cruising above, sheer 600m deep walls rich with colorful hard and soft corals, swirling jackfish, reef sharks (white tips). With the possible surprise of a cruising manta ray or a hammerhead shark or a whaleshark, everything is possible at Sipadan.
Around Pulau Mabul and Pulau Kapalai, we slow down for macro critters such as flamboyant cuttlefish, ghost pipefish, many species of frogfish, and rare small incredible nudibranchs on sandy gentle slopes and artificial reefs or below Seaventures.
With the CE9 operating with 16 daily permits, the professional dive team can plan for the right dive sites to balance the tide, current, and possible unique underwater events and behaviors so that your dives are tailored to the day's conditions.
Why Choose the Celebes Explorer
The boat is newly built since 2019 and it purpose-built for scuba divers: 8 twin or double cabins with ensuite bathrooms and A/C mean everyone has ample private space to rest between dives. A sofa lounge with a mini bar and TV keeps the vibe social.
The large upper sun deck is perfect for warming up or just sitting back after long dives. Buffet meals prepared are by our chef and timed around the dive schedule of the day. With a maximum of 16 guests (divers or snorkelers), large groups can enjoy the crews flexibility in terms of your preferences.
Who It's For
Advanced certified divers (required AOW minimum) comfortable with drift and jump entries into the water with moderate currents will get the most from Sipadan. Briefings cover the safety protocols and if you're a new to scuba diving and don't have so many dives under your belt, Mabul and Kapalai provide a much gentler profiles to build confidence before stepping up to diving at Sipadan.
What to bring
Soft luggage stores best in cabins. Pack reef-safe sunscreen and motion sickness medicine if you're prone to seasickness. If your regulator is DIN-configured, bring an adaptor and let us know about it. Free WiFi is available during your staying in touch.
Note: Please book for the CE9 Sipadan Liveaboard long in advance as dive agencies and dive groups are booking full charters (week long)) up to 1 year in advance.
Click here to Make a Booking (Special Online Discount)
Customer Reviews & Ratings
"Diving Sipadan every day was our target and CE9 (Celebes Explorer) made it possible. The crew was very friendly and super attentive. The divemasters knew the dive sites around Sipadan really well and were able to give us all our targets including bumhead parrotfish, barracuda schools and also nice critters at Mabul island including everything from ghost pipefish to mandarinfish at sunset. The boat is new and luxury with plenty of space on top sundeck. If you're looking for serious diving and if Sipadan is your target then this is definitely the best choice around." , Gothenburg, Sweden
"The new boat is splendid. Dive gears were in excellent conditions. The food was delicious. The staff was friendly and the divemaster did a very good job at pointing us a lot of amazing marine creatures. The boat was brand new and we had a lot of room. The diving at Sipadan was fantastic! Some of the best of my life!" , Paris, France
"We chose the Celebes Explorer because they had guaranteed permit to dive at Sipadan everyday and not like with the other dive resorts. The liveaboard was just newly built since last month, luxurious, clean and tidy, The food was very nice. Staff was professional and friendly." , Vancouver, Canada
"Service was very good and the whole liveaboard and diving operation is well organized. The food is delicious. The main advantage of staying with the MV Celebes Explorer is the fact that they have daily permits for Sipadan." , Milan, Italy
"The diving was excellent and the DMs were really good spotters. The boat standard is excellent as it's just been launched, it's a new liveaboard boat , and the rental equipment is brand new too. The buffet food was really delicious. The staff was friendly, fun and helpful. We were able to dive everyday at Sipadan except on arrival day where we dived near Semporna. We also dived at Mabul island." , Tokyo, Japan