Dive Review of Arenui in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat

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Arenui: "Arenui - Raja Ampat", Dec, 2014, by David Marchese, PA, US ( Sr. Contributor 20 reports with 27 Helpful votes). Report 8113 has 4 Helpful votes.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
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	Overall, this was an excellent trip on a great boat. Rooms were large, clean, comfortable, and well laid out. The boat is laid out a bit odd with the dive platform on the bow. The stern is inaccessible. Gear is kept on the tenders, and divers load mid-ship by walking down stairs to the tenders. Different, but it all worked very well. However, there really wasn't a way of personally checking NOx mix. Instead, one of the crew would bring around a sheet with the mix recorded for us to review and sign. It was odd and discomforting signing for a mix that I couldn't see, but I didn't let it bother me past day two. This ship is set up better than any I have been on for photographers with many tables, a big rinse tank, and blow guns. They don't want you lifting a finger so the capable crew would blow dry cameras and set them in your designated area if you wanted. I'm a bit of a control freak, but I trusted them and they were terrific. While there were 16 passengers aboard, they did a great job of keeping us apart UW. We dressed, boarded the tenders, and dove in groups of 4. We usually didn't see others UW. On a couple of dives, I was the only one of my group diving. Instead of putting me in another group, I went with just the dive master (Edu) in my own tender. That is pretty amazing treatment. The diving was excellent. We had viz. of only 50' on many dives, but other than that, it was generally excellent. The variety was not nearly as much as in Komodo, but the reefs were very healthy and the fish density was high. There were lots of fairly large fish, but very few sharks. We did have several excellent woebegone encounters. At first I was worried about the limit of 3 day dives (plus one night), but with a 70 minute limit, we spent as much time UW as we would have doing 5 dives/day. Edu and Nic were the cruise directors and head dive guides. They (and the rest of the crew) honestly deserve 6 stars. They were truly amazing people. Diving with Edu was like diving with a lifelong friend. And his enthusiasm with diving is just astounding. We only have two criticisms: The food was plentiful but certainly not gourmet. It was also very repetitive. The food was a solid 3 on a 5 star boat. Also, the dining area was not air conditioned. And it was hot. The only way to escape the heat was in the cabins. This was the first ship we’ve ever been on that didn’t have an air conditioned common area, and it was way too hot for comfort for me as well as most guests.
Websites	Arenui
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Turks & Caicos, Bay Islands, Bahamas, Fiji, Saba, Maldives, California, Revillagigedo, Cozumel, Midway, Kona, Galapagos, Panama, Palau, Tahiti, Cocos, Tonga, PNG, Komodo, Sulawesi, Holbox, Solomon Islands, Belize
Closest Airport	Sorong	Getting There	US-Tokyo-Jakarta-Sorong
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy, cloudy	Seas	calm
Water Temp	84-85°F / 29-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	70 minutes (We exceeded that on many dives). Up with 300 psi
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	Squadrons
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		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	So many tables, most photographers had their own. Best photographer set up I've seen.

Report currently has 4 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Arenui in Indonesia/Raja Ampat

Arenui: "Arenui - Raja Ampat", Dec, 2014,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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