Dive Review of Nai'a Fiji in
Fiji and Tuvalu/Fiji

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Nai'a Fiji: "Nai'a Fiji - One of the best liveaboards we've ever been on!", Oct, 2014, by Mary Marshall, CA, US ( Reviewer 5 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 8138 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	My husband and I have wanted to dive on the Nai'a for years, and when we finally were able to, it met and exceeded all our expectations. Because I want to devote a significant part of this Report to my response to the article in the February 2015 issue about the very charter we were on, I will be brief about the rest of the trip. The ship is very comfortable, well-designed, spacious and well-maintained, but it is the crew that made this trip truly exceptional. Cruise Directors Amanda and Joshua, Big Mo, and Captain Jonathan were all excellent dive guides, showing us great stuff while taking care of everyone's needs. Dive briefings were thorough and informative. Moji and Koroi were super-attentive and helpful skiff drivers. The food prepared by Mita and Waisake was delicious, varied, and more than plentiful. Our purser, Suliana, took care of the dining room and all our personal needs with friendliness and efficiency. The 4 engineers were constantly making sure everything was in top shape, and helped us with equipment as needed. The daily ship schedule was well-managed. Beyond all of this, each crew member seemed to genuinely care that we had the best trip possible...not just "doing their job", and always with light-hearted humor. Captain Jonathan was always available to us, and runs a tight ship with an obviously well-managed crew. We really enjoyed and looked forward to the daily "eco-talks" that Cruise Director Joshua gave. They were so much better than similar talks we've had on other liveaboards. Besides beautiful photos and videos of underwater life, Joshua gave us lots of interesting biological and ecological information, never missing an opportunity to stress the importance of protecting the reefs.There was great music played by the talented crew, particularly at the Kava party on board. The village visit was amazing. The critters, fish and reefs were beautiful. NOW TO MY RESPONSE to the article in the FEBRUARY 2015 Undercurrent about the problems with a diver: My husband and I were on the same charter as your writer. We strongly disagree with the characterization of Cruise Director Joshua's handling of the situation. The Editor (who wasn't on this charter himself, to my knowledge) added his opinion that Joshua "...didn't do a great job of handling the obnoxious fellow." This is simply not true, and is a GROSSLY unfair statement. We have been diving for 30 years and have been on multiple liveaboards around the world. We've seen obnoxious divers, and Cruise Directors and DMs dealing ineffectively with them. That is NOT what happened on this charter. Joshua is simply one of the BEST Cruise Directors we've experienced. And, he and his staff repeatedly stressed respect for the reef as well as for other divers. We were aware that there was some sort of personality conflict between two divers on the other skiff (there are two), but it is a testament to Joshua's appropriate handling of the situation that it wasn't allowed to disrupt the cruise. Because we weren't on the skiff with your writer, we didn't witness any of the underwater incidents she describes. But, after "Mac" was transferred to our boat, we didn't see anything remiss and can only assume that Joshua's directions to him as to reef protection and consideration of other divers were heeded. Your writer says: "my trip - and that of the other travelers - was marred by an extremely rude and inept diver. Sadly the cruise director refused to address that diver, apparently not wanting to offend him...." Perhaps some divers on the other skiff had problems with "Mac" in addition to your writer, but our trip wasn't "marred" by him. We interacted onboard ship with all of the divers from both skiffs, and none of them complained to us about "Mac", aside from your writer. It was our impression that the problem was solved. We didn't observe "Mac" damaging the reef, and didn't have any problems with him above or below the surface. The fact that we didn't see any problems once he was moved to our skiff proves that Joshua dealt appropriately with him, admonished him, and did what was necessary, after the problems your writer reports. Your writer states that Joshua didn't talk to "Mac". This would appear not to be correct, given the lack of further problems when he was moved to our skiff. We think that Undercurrents owes it to Joshua to print his side of the story, if he chooses to contribute it. It's only fair, given the unfair and one-sided story, plus the Editorial comment, that was printed about an excellent Cruise Director. We wouldn't hesitate to repeat this cruise, if we're ever fortunate enough to be able to do it. Highly recommended.
Websites	Nai'a Fiji
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Multiple Caribbean locations, Red Sea, Galapagos, Indonesia, Palau, Hawaii, Maldives, Mexico, Socorro
Closest Airport	Nadi	Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, surge
Water Temp	75-77°F / 24-25°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	60-100 Ft/ 18-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	We had a lot of autonomy within our buddy teams.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	This boat has the largest dedicated camera area that we've ever seen - an entire room off the dive deck, with lots of shelves. My husband's cameras and my camcorder were handled with care on the skiffs. Even though most of the 18 divers on this charter had cameras, there was no crowding and plenty of room.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Nai'a Fiji in Fiji and Tuvalu/Fiji

Nai'a Fiji: "Nai'a Fiji - One of the best liveaboards we've ever been on!", Oct, 2014,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Nai'a Fiji in
Fiji and Tuvalu/Fiji