Dive Review of Gaia Love in
Indonesia

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Gaia Love: "Luxury liveaboard diving", Sep, 2023, by John M. Damas, IL, US ( 2 reports). Report 12836.
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 originally booked this trip with Ultimate Dive Travel in 2018 and was paid in full by the time Covid shut down the World. Thanks to the outstanding customer service of Ultimate Dive Travel, all of the divers received full credit for the trip, even though current prices had gone up. UDT chartered the full boat for 2 back to back cruises, totaling 21 days with 2 days off in the middle for a thorough cleaning and restocking. The first 10-day cruise went from Maumere to Kalabahi. The second 11-day trip from Kalabahi to Saumlaki. The Gaia Love is by far the finest purpose built dive boat I have ever been on in my 55 years of diving. It is a 132' steel hulled boat with 11 spacious cabins that average 215 square feet, with furnishings and amenities similar to a luxury hotel. The cruise began in typical live aboard fashion: deposit your shoes into a basket, get a chilled facial towel and a tasty cold drink. Next our cruise directors, Geil and Gerry, gave a thorough and concise briefing of the boat, it's features and safety procedures. Then the fun began. Our daily schedule was: Continental Breakfast buffet; first dive; plated hot breakfast; second dive; plated 3-course lunch; third dive; snack; fourth dive; plated 3-course dinner followed by a well deserved night's sleep on a great mattress. The hot breakfasts were made to order with your choice of anything you could imagine, Western or Asian. Lunches always started with a salad or appetizer, main course and usually fresh fruit for desert. Dinners were similar but in a much grander fashion. We were served fresh tuna steaks, pork chops, strip steaks, pasta dishes and more, all with tasty side dishes. Deserts were fruit or fresh pastries. Dinners included a complimentary beer or glass of wine. The diving was similarly outstanding. There are 3 tenders on the Gaia Love to shuttle divers to and from the dive sites, which were never more than 10 minutes from the boat, and usually only 2. Our gear was always carefully loaded onto the tenders by the super helpful and efficient staff. Cameras were especially looked after and cared for. The coral and marine life was extremely healthy and plentiful on all of our dives. There was never ever a shortage of things to see or photograph. Dive sites ranged from majestic walls to far reaching corals to sandy bottoms. Something for everyone, and no-one was disappointed. There was a slight to moderate current present on perhaps 20% of our dives, but only a few divers opted to sit out some of those dives. Visability was always good to very good. Temperature was generally warm. I was comfortable in a 5mm suit, although about midway through my 62 dives I started adding a 3mm hooded vest. Upon returning to the main boat, there were always 5-6 crew members cheering our arrival and helping us out of our wetsuits. It doesn't get any better than this. If you're reading this, you deserve to go!
Websites	Gaia Love
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Hawaii, California, Florida, Caribbean, Sea of Cortez, Cuba, Socorro, Cocos, Indonesia, Philippines, Maldives, Palau, Red Sea and Lake Michigan.
Closest Airport	Denpasar, Bali	Getting There	Chicago through Doha, Qatar to Denpasar, Bali and a domestic flight to Maumere.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	75-82°F / 24-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	30-80 Ft/ 9-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	60 minute dive time, no deco.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	1 or 2
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Like everything else on the Gaia Love, the facilities for photographers were far above average. The camera room had ample space for 14 camera stations with plenty of light and electrical outlets. Each diver had their own camera dunk tank in front of their station on the dive deck. The crew would ask if your camera was ready and then carefully take it to the tender for each dive.

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Dive Review of Gaia Love in Indonesia

Gaia Love: "Luxury liveaboard diving", Sep, 2023,

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 Gaia Love in
Indonesia