Dive Review of Wallacea/Ambai in
Indonesia/Sorong to Maumere Transition C

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Wallacea/Ambai, Apr, 2013, by BRUCE VERSTEEGH, TX, US ( Reviewer 3 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 6962 has 2 Helpful votes.
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	Somewhat mixed emotions about the experience on the Ambai, while overall we had a good experience, there are a few issues that need to be resolved to be a top notch operation. We did a transition cruise from Sorong to Maumere (moving from Raja Ampat to Komodo). The boat is fairly well laid out, and cabins are clean and comfortable. There are nice sitting areas (both covered and in the sun). Nitrox was a very reasonable 50 euro for 2 weeks. The crew was great, and very helpful . Your gear is taken by the crew to the dive boats before each dive, so easy to get on/ off without having to deal with your bc/tank. Once we got in the swing of things, they also would handle camera gear if you wanted (from dunk tank to dive boats). The dive ops ran on schedule (0700, 1100, 1430, 1900), and the native guides were all attentive and good spotters. The Raja Ampat/ Misool area was great diving - while the sites visited in the Banda Sea and Alor area were a little more hit or miss but still good dives on average. The middle portion of the trip also had rough seas (2 to 3 meter waves) on the Banda Sea, which caused us to abort a couple dives and not get much rest those nights. But overall, the diving portion of the experience was very good. Now for the issues they need to address: There were no towels provided on the dive deck, and only 2 towels per room changed every four days or so. As a result - people drip between dive deck and their cabins, making footing hazardous. I slipped on the stairs leading down to the cabins, and was lucky all I received were bruises. The menu was very repetitive, probably made worse by the length of our cruise (15 nights). Morning and afternoon snacks were boxed cookies/crackers, I prefer fresh fruit. Dinner doesn't start until 2030 (the cruise directors are French - so that is their normal time I guess). There was a definite language barrier - the communication about daily events/changes wasn't very good. We knew it was a French company when we signed up - and they tried to accommodate us, but the interaction was strained at times. Not a show stopper - but American guests will struggle a little to communicate if you don't know French. Luckily there was a German couple and a Brazilian that were multilingual to help us communicate. So in summary - the Ambai experience was overall positive, especially at the very reasonable price they charge. It is a nice boat, with a good dive op. Just a little better customer service/attention to detail and it would a fabulous value. I would dive with them again - and hopefully they take some of my recommendations to heart.
Websites	Wallacea
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Indonesia (North Sulawesi, Komodo, Raja Ampat), Fiji, Philippines, Cozumel, Bonaire, Grand Turk, Cayman, Flower Gardens, Fl Keys
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, surge
Water Temp	86-73°F / 30-23°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	20-150 Ft/ 6-46 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	4 dives/day, 60 minute day, 45 minute night. No planned deco dives
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	Dedicated camera room beside dive deck - plenty of power outlets. Desk in each cabin for laptop. Dive guides worked hard to find good subjects. Didn't have separate rinse tank for cameras and masks/etc. One guide per 4 divers on this trip, tons of variety. Numerous Pygmy seahorse encounters, blue ring octopus, mantas on 4 different dives, white tip, woebegong, epaullete sharks, multiple banded sea krait encounters. Adult and juvenile pinate spade fish. Barracuda, tuna, jacks, and bump head wrasse. Every description of tropical fish and coral. Not as much variety of macro subjects as I expected - no black sand dives and surprisingly few nudibranches - but fabulous coral and tons of fish. Very nice dive deck - platform at stern of the boat allowed easy on/off the dive boats. Overall - good setup for photographers. We had 10 guests on this cruise, the camera room would be crowded if 16 divers were on the charter.

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Wallacea/Ambai in Indonesia/Sorong to Maumere Transition C

Wallacea/Ambai, Apr, 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):

Dive Review of Wallacea/Ambai in
Indonesia/Sorong to Maumere Transition C