Dive Review of Mermaid Liveaboards/Mermaid 1 in
Indonesia/Komodo

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Mermaid Liveaboards/Mermaid 1, Sep, 2010, by Hilary Elder, Surrey, GB ( 2 reports). Report 5787.
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	This was one of the best liveaboard experiences I have had and I have been on many. The cabin was large and comfortable with a spacious en-suite bathroom - we did have the master cabin, though the other cabins seemed quite large too; they even have a single cabin. Towels were changed every other day and the bed linens too were changed regularly. Warm deck towels were provided after every dive. The service was superlative from helping you gear up, getting the gear in/out of the zodiacs to assisting getting your wetsuit off and washing and hanging it up after every dive; cameras were treated with respect. At the end of the trip they washed all your gear and hung it out to dry, unless you wished to do this yourself. My husband does not eat anything with garlic and this was catered to excellently (many liveboard chefs think he won't notice!!). The only let down is that the food could be kept warmer. The dive guides not only looked after the diving side, where sites and what could be found were covered in depth during the dive briefings, they also helped out in the salon during meal times. The whole crew was absolutely great and nothing was too much trouble;the onboard Thai masseuse was kept very busy. A maximum of four divers were with each guide and the boat got as close to the dive sites as it could so that zodiac trips were kept to the minimum. With regard to the boat, she could be a bit noisy during night sailings but as I am a light sleeper it seemed to bother me and nobody else. The diving was excellent from tiny Denise pygmy seahorses and many critters to large aggregations of sharks, manta and eagle rays. Loads and loads of numerous and diverse species of fish, many turtles, octopuses, cuttlefish etc. The currents ranged from mild to very strong where reef hooks were utilised to watch the shark action. The underwater topography was also varied from black sand muck dives with hot volcanic thermal bubbles emerging from the black sand to colourful coral landsscapes - a great variety. The dive guides were very knowledgeable and very helpful and good at spotting critters. I have done this trip before on a different liveaboard and there was no comparison.
Websites	Mermaid Liveaboards
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Florida, Cuba, Cocos, Philippines, Palau, Sudan, Egypt, Burma/Thailand, Belize, Mexico, UK, Borneo, Papua New Guinea, Oman, Maldives
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, currents
Water Temp	24-28°F / -4--2°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	10-30 M / 33-98 Ft
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No restricions per se apart from diving within your Nitrox allowed depth. And no touching of the marine life.
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	There was plenty of room on the dive deck laid out for photographers - video/stills -, including a large camera table and plenty of dedicated rinse tanks. Although there were no power outlets for charging on deck, there were more than enough outlets provided in the cabins. There were also compressed air facilities.

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Dive Review of Mermaid Liveaboards/Mermaid 1 in Indonesia/Komodo

Mermaid Liveaboards/Mermaid 1, Sep, 2010,

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 Liveaboards/Mermaid 1 in
Indonesia/Komodo