Dive Review of Arenui in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat

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Arenui: "Raja Ampat worth the trip. Arenui staff superb.", Mar, 2024, by Timothy C Barden, PA, US ( Sr. Reviewer 7 reports with 9 Helpful votes). Report 13004 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
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Raja Ampat had been on our diving bucket list for some time. We anticipated that doing it aboard the Arenui would make the entire experience one we would treasure. Most parts of the 12-day trip met or exceeded our expectations. I’ll start with the diving while we were there. Following that are comments on all the other aspects of the Arenui because they contribute just as much to a live-aboard trip, especially this one. Let me emphasize at the onset that it’s certainly possible for people on the same trip to have very different experiences. These are just mine. The travel to and from was brutal and not for the faint-hearted. Figure on a full 30 hr in the air with either Emirates (through Dubai) or Qatar Airlines (through Doha) with two long layovers in route. The one in Jakarta was long enough to justify booking a hotel. There are two in the terminal that are comfortable and surprisingly cheap. Incidentally, Cipro is no longer the go-to drug for traveler’s diarrhea due to resistance. Pack Zithromax or Amoxycilin. COVID doesn't seem to be a concern anymore. I didn't see any masks during the trip and I don't think it was mentioned during our first briefing. There are four cabins below deck in the bow and four at deck level behind the galley. We were given an adequate general safety briefing as we set sail. They noted that the wheelhouse was manned 24hr/day and showed us the general layout of the Arenui, the emergency exits and assembly point, then described the emergency signal and listed the charging station rules. The locations of the life vests and smoke detectors were pointed out in our cabin. There was a dedicated dunk tank for cameras on the dive deck and adequate banks of charging stations on the camera tables in the air-conditioned salon. Our cabin just behind the bow had beautiful carvings and lots of cabinet and drawer space, but it was annoying that much of it was already taken up with general ship supplies. DIVING OPERATION Diving is done from two 10-person, fixed-hull tenders that can be winched up to hang from the stern for traveling. Once set up, the main diving gear of the 16 guests remains on the tenders. Air/nitrox refills are done by long hoses on the Arenui stern. The divers are divided into four groups, each with its own guide who remains with them the entire week. This strings out the water entry and pickup a bit since each tender must make two runs to and from each dive site. On the plus side, there was plenty of room on the tender with only 4 divers plus the DM and driver and the dive sites were never more than a 5-minute ride away. This also kept commotion on the dive deck lower with fewer ... Subscribe to get the full story. Active subscribers continue reading here
Websites	Arenui
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	All over the Caribbean. Truk, Palau, Yap, Maldives
Closest Airport	Sarong	Getting There	Two day transit on Qatar Airlines or Emirates
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, cloudy	Seas	choppy, surge, currents, no currents
Water Temp	83-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	50-60 Ft/ 15-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Come up with 300 psi or with divemaster.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 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		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Adequate padded camera tables in salon for all cameras. Plenty of 120/240 power strips for charging batteries. Large, camer ... Subscribe to get the full story. Active subscribers continue reading here

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Dive Review of Arenui in Indonesia/Raja Ampat

Arenui: "Raja Ampat worth the trip. Arenui staff superb.", Mar, 2024,

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 Arenui in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat