Dive Review of Dive Damai/MSY Damai in
Indonesia/Bali to Komodo

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Dive Damai/MSY Damai, Oct, 2009, by David Reubush, VA, USA ( Top Contributor 66 reports with 33 Helpful votes). Report 5330.
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	I have a new favorite live-aboard – the MSY Damai. I was on the boat for its 4th trip in October, 2009. We left from Bali and worked our way east to the Komodo National Park. The boat is brand new and only accommodates 8 guests in 4 cabins. The cabins are bigger than most dive resort rooms. There are 2 cabins forward with 2 king size beds in each, a separate bath with both tub and shower, a sink in the main part of the cabin, two desks with power outlets, and the toilet in a room with a door. I ended up with one of these cabins all by myself. The a/c worked great in the cabin. The other 2 cabins are aft and have just one bed, but also had a couch to lounge on. The boat is really set up for photographers. Each gear station has its own rinse tank for your camera. There is a camera room off the salon with lots of power outlets for battery charging and storage space under the work surface. The food was also great, perhaps the best live-aboard food I have ever eaten. We were told the chef was trained by an Australian 5-star. Plus, if you didn't like what was on the menu for a given meal they would fix whatever you wanted instead. I think everyone's favorite was a chicken burrito with mango salsa. It got ordered a lot when someone didn't go for what was on the menu. There was a refrigerator in the salon with sodas, fruit juices, and beer. You just helped yourself and there was no additional cost. Wine was available and was also included, but nobody on this trip drank any. Diving was from 2 aluminum tenders, but they had ladders so we didn't have to do the beached whale routine. We went from Bali where the water was about 84 degrees to Komodo where it ranged from 73 to 75 so you needed different wet suits for the different conditions. Currents ranged from essentially none to one dive where we dropped in and basically were taken for a ride. Visibility ranged from pea green soup to perhaps 60 ft. (most dives). With all the in and out traffic they didn't try to a/c the salon/eating area, plus the crew is acclimated to the Indonesian climate so it was fine for them. In the early part of the trip I tended to stay in my cabin to stay cool. In the later stages we all tended to congregate in the salon to try to warm up from the chilly water. The conditions you see will all depend on the particular itinerary of your trip. Another really nice thing is that they provide wet suits etc. etc. They have new Scuba Pro wet suits (3mm-with no hood & 5mm-with an integral hood), weight integrated BC's, regulators, fins, booties, and Uwatec computers. The 2 wet suits I used were still in plastic bags when they got them out for me. It certainly made packing easier. Note: I did take a half mil that I use in the Caribbean in the summer and a 3/5 hooded vest. I dove with the half mil for the warm water dives off Bali, added the hooded vest to the half mil and then moved to the 3 and then the 5 as the water got colder. I ended up with the 5 mil plus the hooded vest for the colder dives in Komodo. Be aware that the dive masters will recommend the 5 mil for all diving as they are acclimated to the warm climate and even 84 degree water is cold for them. I used the 5 mil for our first, check-out dive off Bali and almost couldn’t take the heat. After switching to the half mil I brought I had no further trouble. I had a similar experience on the Wakatobi Pelagian a couple of years ago. I also took my own mask, but I think they have them too, if you don't want to take yours. The crew was also great. There were 2X as many crew as passengers. The crew carried the gear and cameras to and from the tenders. The only things I had to do were check the nitrox percentage (which is also included) before every dive and get into my wet suit. The captain and head dive master are both part owners of the boat so they have a vested interest in making sure you are a happy customer. The driving force behind the operation and major owner is Alberto Reija who had the vision to take Indonesian live-aboard diving to a new level and has succeeded.
Websites	Dive Damai
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Australia, Belize, Bimini, Bonaire, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Curacao, Dominica, Galapagos, Grand Turk, Indonesia, Provo, Red Sea, Roatan, Virgin Islands
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	73-84°F / 23-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	5-60 Ft/ 2-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Act responsibly
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
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	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Boat is designed for photographers. Individual rinse tanks at your gear station. Camera room off the salon with lots of charging stations and storage space.

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Dive Review of Dive Damai/MSY Damai in Indonesia/Bali to Komodo

Dive Damai/MSY Damai, Oct, 2009,

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 Dive Damai/MSY Damai in
Indonesia/Bali to Komodo