Dive Review of Mermaid I Liveaboards in
Indonesia

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Mermaid I Liveaboards: "Banda Sea Biodiversity Ring of Fire Tour--Mermaid I Liveaboard", Sep, 2017, by Thomas B Brumback Jr. , IA, US ( 2 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 10035 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	Trip Video: Courtesy of Marcelo Ogata [youtube.com link] This is my third time on Mermaid Liveaboards and my trip was excellent as were all the others. This trip was from Sept. 30 2017-Oct. 11. 12 days/11 nights aboard the Mermaid I vessel. We traveled from Maumere-->Kawula-->Alor-->Wetar-->Banda Sea-->Ambon on their Biodiversity Special, Ring of Fire tour. Staff were very helpful in making reservations, meeting us at the airport, and insuring everything went well for us during our trip. I completed 34 dives on this trip and all were and hour or longer. Dive masters were always watchful and knew what you were doing and your capabilities after a few dives. They pretty much left us alone to dive our own plan but stressed the need to dive within your limits and capabilities. My longest dive was 1 1/2 hour muck dive with excellent photography opportunities. Mermaid I is a little smaller than Mermaid II and accommodated 15 passengers and as many or more crew. Accommodations were Twin Shares and cabins were adequately furnished with ensuit bathrooms. The food was excellent with a mostly asian flair and some western meals. No one went hungry for sure. Itinerary each day: 6:00AM Wakeup 6:30 AM Lite breakfast--coffee, cookies 7:00 AM 1st Dive 9:00 AM Full Breakfast 10:30 AM Second Dive 12:00 PM Full Lunch 2:00 PM Third Dive 4:00 PM Light Snack and 4th Dive 7:00 PM Full Dinner This was truly a biodiversity tour. Muck and reef dives, jetties, and open water blue looking for hammerheads. We saw everything from nudibranchs, frog fish, rhinopias, tuna, sharks, rays, turtles, hammerheads and whales. You name it, we saw it. I am photographer so most of my time was photographing. I could take my time and dive masters were excellent at pointing out all sorts of creatures and looking for ones that I had requested. Photography ranged from macro muck dives, to wide angles for reefs and large critters. We also had a side trip on Banda Neira to visit a Dutch Fort, see some local shops, tour a cinnamon/nutmeg plantation, and have breakfast with the locals. A great excursion. Chef, captain and staff were very helpful. They catered to our every need and even arranged more diving for us in Ambon since we were staying a couple of extra days. The trip showed us a sampling of some of the best diving on the planet. No regrets here. Would do it again in a heartbeat. Have another trip planned with Mermaid for Lembeh and Raja Ampat.
Websites	Mermaid I Liveaboards
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Belize, Roatan, Australia, Caribbean, Caymans, Turks & Caicos, Bonaire, BVI, Cozumel, Costa Rica, Gallapagos, Maldives, Indonesia
Closest Airport	Des Moines, IA	Getting There	Des Moines-Chicago-Doha Quatar-Bali-Maumere. A pretty long 2 day trip, but it went without difficulties.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	26-28°C / 79-82°F	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	15-35 M / 49-115 Ft
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No restrictions. Dive safe and within your limits. Stay with your buddy
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	> 2
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	On board vidographer was Marcelo Ogata. He was an excellent videographer and often gave helpful photographic tips to us to improve our shot selection and results. Dive tables were adequate but sometimes rinse buckets would get pretty full with lots o big cameras. Crew did an excellent job of handling cameras and loading gear in and out of the Zodiacs. Dive platform with all equipment, cameras, and people could get a bit crowded, but the crew efficiently staged the groups getting ready to avoid congestion. Videographer: Marcelo Johan Ogata [bugdreamer.com link]

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Dive Review of Mermaid I Liveaboards in Indonesia

Mermaid I Liveaboards: "Banda Sea Biodiversity Ring of Fire Tour--Mermaid I Liveaboard", Sep, 2017,

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 Mermaid I Liveaboards in
Indonesia