Dive Review of Mermaid Liveaboards in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat

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Mermaid Liveaboards, Feb, 2013, by Bart Mertens, CA, US ( Reviewer 3 reports). Report 7439.
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
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was my 2nd time on the Mermaid I; had done their Komodo cruise in 2011 and really appreciated the boat and the crew to do this again in Raja Ampat. The air-conditioned cabin was large and comfortable with an en-suite bathroom, and each cabin had its own TV plus DVD player. The vessel has a large sun deck with lounge chairs, plus comfortable inside and outside lounges. The inside lounge and eating area also provided a large selection of books, magazines and fish and critter identification guides. Towels were changed every other day and the bed linens were changed at least once during the trip. Warm towels were provided after every dive. The service by the entire crew is excellent from helping you gear up, getting the gear in and out of the zodiacs to helping you with getting your wetsuit off and washing and hanging it up after every dive. Most of the time the day was organized as follows: wake-up call and small breakfast around 6:30, dive 1 at 7:30, hot breakfast (eggs, etc) around 9, dive 2 around 10:30, lunch, dive 3 around 15:30, night dive at 18:30, dinner at 20:00. A maximum of five divers were with each guide; guides Andrea and Harry were very knowledgeable and helpful and excellent at spotting critters; they paid attention but in the end everybody was free to do their own thing and dive their own profile. Dive times were limited to 60-70 minutes; nitrox is available and almost a necessity with doing 4 dives a day, 8 days in a row. Getting to Raja Ampat from the US is a bit of a hike; it's a 2 day deal with an overnight in Jakarta and a stop in Ambon or Makassar. However, the diving is pristine with rich coral gardens and massive aggregations of tropical fish everywhere. We visited the northern part first (Waigeo area), then back down to the Dampier strait, then dove the beautiful mangroves of Yanggefo (a truly unique experience), then down to Misool. Besides the ever present wobbegongs, the mantas at Manta Sandy, and the most breathtaking coral garden you'll ever see at Melissa's Garden we were treated to pygmy seahorses (Bargibanti, Denise and Santa Claus), walking sharks, Indian walkmen, schools of batfish, barracudas, bumphead parrotfish, plus numerous scorpion fishes, stargazers, ghost pipe fishes, frog fishes and nudibranchs. Raja Ampat truly has it all. The diving was pretty relaxed, currents weren't bad and water temps in the 75-80 degree range.
Websites	Mermaid Liveaboards
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	California, Channel islands, Hawaii, Komodo, GBR, Sea of Cortez
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, currents
Water Temp	76-80°F / 24-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	80-120 Ft/ 24-37 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Typically 60 minutes maximum dive time
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	Plenty of room on the dive deck laid out for photographers including a large camera table and 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.

Subscriber's Comments

By Laura A. Sonnenmark in VA, US at Jan 02, 2014 10:45 EST

Thanks for the informative review! My husband and I are looking for a liveaboard to do Raja--I was a bit worried about current, so good to know they aren't so much a problem. (Actually, it isn't current I mind so much, per se, but getting caught in one of those up-down "washing machine" currents.) Did you find February a very good time to go?

By report author: Bart Mertens in CA, US at Jan 02, 2014 12:03 EST

I definitely did not encounter "washing machine" currents in Raja (I know what you mean; I encountered those in Komodo). The weather I encountered in February was fantastic, but from reading other reports it can be hit-or-miss.

By Laura A. Sonnenmark in VA, US at Jan 03, 2014 17:11 EST

Yes, I've been warned about Komodo already--Raja sounds more my thing. To tell you the truth, I must be the only person on the face of the planet who just isn't interested in the Komodo Dragons. No idea why. The flights to Raja Ampat do seem problematical, but worth it--thousands of divers cannot be wrong! I think we'll try to get there a little later in the year.

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Dive Review of Mermaid Liveaboards in Indonesia/Raja Ampat

Mermaid Liveaboards, Feb, 2013,

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):

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Mermaid Liveaboards in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat