Raja Ampat Cityseahorse Deb Fugitt Ondina

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twhi

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Subject: Raja Ampat Cityseahorse Deb Fugitt Ondina

I did an 11 day trip to Raja Ampat with Deb Fugitt CitySeahorse tours on the Ondina in November 08.
This is a review I wish I'd read before I went.

A lot has been written about Raja Ampat diving.
Here's a few words about what it isn't:
It isn't about good visibility. Average viz for us was 35-45 feet.
The local guides told us this was typical.

It isn't about big fish.
We saw just a handful of sharks, a few mantas, napoleon wrasse, jacks, and
few other pelagics.

The boat:
The Ondina is a safe, stable 100 ft vessel. Diving is done from two inflatable dinghies. The crew is excellent - friendly, competent and helpful. Cabins were basic but noisy and at least three of them had AC issues and one of them had problems with fumes and exhaust from gasoline or diesel.

The food:
The kitchen staff were delightful and the food was seriously lacking. Fried something for almost every lunch and dinner. Instant noodles appeared more than once or twice. Our airline meal on Silk Air economy class back to Singapore was gourmet in comparison.

The diving:
Most dive ops in my experience strive to offer a wide variety of sites.
Not so with our charter. On most days, Deb Fugitt preferred to park the boat for the entire day at a mediocre reef and offered 'Open Deck' diving.

No less than five of the eleven days were spent at ordinary, shallow dive sites:

Two entire days (10 hours per day), were spent at The Passage - a site with 35 ft maximum depth and 25 to 30 foot visibility.

One day (four dives) at a small village pier. Depth about 15 to 45 feet.

Another entire day (10 hours) was spent diving in a mangrove area. Brown green water looking for critters amongst muddy tree roots, 25 to 30 ft viz and max depth about 40 feet. Get the picture?

Not to mention the first afternoon spent on a checkout dive in Sorong harbor.

For a capable live aboard with so much potential like the Ondina, I found this routine inexcusable.
I translated 'open deck" to mean "lets save on our fuel costs".

Yes, we did dive Cape Kri, Mike's Point and Kaleidoscope. They were great and I wanted more. A few friends and I repeatedly requested the lead dive master and cruise director for more sites like these but to no avail. The diving was clearly not about offering choices to the guests, it was all about Deb.

So, in summary, if you are a passive, sedate, complacent or sheep-like diver, content with kneeling in 35 feet on a mundane, ordinary reef dive after dive for yet one more photo of Nemo, City Seahorse tours with Deb Fugitt is for you.

However, if you are looking for world class, high voltage, or adventure diving, you might find it at Raja Ampat but its unlikely you will find it with Deb Fugitt's charters.

Here are a few of your options:
You have been warned.

Raja Ampat and Triton Bay (Papua) Liveaboard Diving Cruises on the luxurious schooner The Seven Seas
Main page
Raja Ampat Cruises, Raja Ampat Diving
Grand Komodo - Tours & Dives
 
Harsh, and thank you for your honesty. I had suspected as much. I'm sure there's even better diving in RA, but I doubt it's available as a set itinerary... -Andy
 
Good candid information. Exactly what we need to make such decisions.

Since I happened to look at her trip site before, I'll say that there is apparently room for interpretation in looking at her site. I got that she was all about photogs and was indeed going to park the boat for long periods to let them take a million shots and try all sorts of different techniques, whatever.

Obviously, like me, you're into more exciting, changing, dives than hanging out all day shooting the same spots. Doesn't do this trip any good but I learned to aggressively check out the reality of the trips. The sellers always want to minimize the questions and their importance and label me a micromanager, but this type of problem is exactly what I'm looking for.
 
I haven't been on a Deb F run trip, but I can offer some comments on the Ondina. I booked through Deb F, a 7 day trip to Komodo this past summer. Ondina is not a luxury boat, cabins have no hot water and the food is as described above. However, the crew is extraordinary--as is Rick's knowledge of Indonesian waters. I might be inclined to say Ondina is overpriced in light of what it provides in creature comforts, yet I came away from my trip pleased because of the stellar crew which put us on good sites at the right times. I'll also say that I never saw any hesitancy to burn fuel. The only time Rick remained on a single site for more than one dive was when we requested it.

I am a photographer but not a serious geek photographer. Sometimes, I think I'd like to be, but I'm not. I dive with my wife and son and they would lose their minds if I were. But I have done some diving on trips with really serious photographers. What they want from a trip is very different from what most of us want. And DebF is clearly gearing her trips to that type of photographer. I've read lots of reviews of Deb's trips on Wetpixel (serious photographers) and they're generally raves.
 
Sorry to hear about your experience....I just got back from Sorido my second time in a year and the diving at Kri and Sardines reef is the finest diving I've ever done. Vis is an issue usually around 40' to 60'....there is so much in those waters and that is probably why. Did you have a chance to get to Mellissa's garden? the finest corals i've seen anywhere.

And a checkout dive in Sorong Harbor......Yikes....hope you took a shower and washed you gear right after!
 
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Hello twhi

So sorry for your 'terrible' experience.

I have had wonderful experiences both on the Ondina with or without Deb.
I did not dive for 10years aft my AOW and 15 dives and a DebF trip I did on the Ondina in 2006 was my first LOB since. The experiences each time is unique and memorable and we have been back with Deb on annual basis and been back on the Ondina 5 times in the last 3 years (last in Oct08).

Perhaps you should do some 'homework' (read other forums) to understand how different operators run their LOB before you go to avoid joining a group that is not suited to your pace and liking.

The diving in RajaAmpat:
Diving is like that. You dun get great vis all the time. For all you know the Eagle Ray was swimming by you and just missed it cos u focus on the fact that the vis is bad and u were sulking (we had divers on trips who saw nothing while other saw loads). I had a friend who was so focused on taking a photo she din see a wobbegong meander passed her. Perhaps you chose not to see it.

The boat:
I am glad you agree about the crew. They are indeed warm and friendly and very good with the equipments. That is a plus u may not get in many LOBs. The important thing is that the cabins were dry at all times and sheets were changed every other day.

The food:
Perhaps u did not get to have yaya's donuts and mulli's local tea-time snacks. They were awesome and dinner menu is always pretty varied day to day so u do not get bored. They are also very accomodative to the guest who had dietary requirments.

The diving:
Did u note that Deb charters the boat and organises these trips in particular for photographers. On my first LOB I did not have a camera and thoroughly enjoyed it. She has regular divers who do not do photography but dives with her with no complains consistently. She even goes on night dives when the others dun and plays the video at dinner time so the others get to see what they might have missed out. I do not know of many organisers who does that.

Since you are not a "passive, sedate, complacent or sheep-like diver, content with kneeling in 35 feet on a mundane, ordinary reef dive after dive for yet one more photo of Nemo, "... May I suggest you try the Ondina again on one of their exploratory trips. Those are way different. As it says exploratory, you are sure to get some exciting dives with some hits and misses.

I am not trying to take sides but I think the other guys on the fourm ought to know that there are also diver (photographers and non-photographers) who actually enjoyed their trips on the Ondina some with some without DebF.

Perhaps it is to each his own.
 
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Absolutely correct Raja Empat is poorly understood by a number of divers that go there. It certainly isn't about good visibility. However the viz depends on the season and where in fact you are diving in both areas (northern and southern Raja Empat)

35-40 feet is not typical for all dive sites in Raja Empat but for the dive sites closer to the rivers and streams and for some of the sites in the northern part of Misool

Raja is about bio diversity with new species being found. Unfortunately we all do see this as we are not icthologist's (a wrasse is not a wrasse not a wrasse)

There is actually some interesting stuff in Sorong Harbour and dived it a number of times, of course it depends on the type of diving you are into

Yes unfortunately some people that sell trips do not go to great lengths to describe what the trip is about, but one can be rest assured that if you on dedicated photographer trip that you will stay on one site all day on some occasions.

Unfortunately you did not have a good experience but could have also been something very similar on one of the other boats you recommend if it is a dedicated photo charter. I can remember on a dedicated photo charter in komodo where we dived cannibal rock for 2 1/2 days straight (4 dives a day) Luckily we were able to manage a couple of different sites close by for the 2 non photographers to try an appease them some.

I think you will find if your were on the Ondina with a non dedicated charter that you would have had different experience altogether.
 
I don't usually reply to people who post their opinions of the trips I organize. Tom Witt's insulting comments about the divers who enjoy these trips are very upsetting to me, as are his several misleading statements, thus this post.

And.. I see Tom has also posted this to Wetpixel, so you may prefer to see posts from others who have experience in Raja Ampat, photo trips and with my trips on his trip there at http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=27720&pid=193357&st=0&#entry193357



TRIP RESEARCH

Tom's is one opinion, coming from a man who didn't take advantage of the webpages, newsletters, articles, galleries, links to previous guests galleries or the private 18 page trip FAQ to research this trip before he booked for himself and two friends. More on this at the end of my post...

Those documents explain that the trips are targeted toward photographers and to those who like to dive like the photographers. They explain about the days of open deck diving where we stay and allow divers to dive as much as they like and when they like; the diversity of marine life; the variety of environments we dive, such as the shallow sites Tom dislikes so immensely.

Check them yourself as they are all linked from my trip webpage:

www.cityseahorse.com/rajaampat

Shasta_Man has it right about what he gleaned from my website. My trips are not for everyone. I always write "If you want to dive deep, go fast and do a different site on every dive, these trips are not for you".

Not correct that ALL "sellers want to minimize questions". I DO go to great lengths to describe what the trip is about. In addition to those readily available documents, I answer any and all questions from potential guests in great detail. Tom didn't ask questions... again details on this at the end of my post.

I request info from each guest so I can tailor the trip and weed out unsuitable divers. Unsuitable meaning those who aren't compatible with other divers or the type of trip I run. Tom didn't provide adequate information about his requirements or expectations.

I think it's just too bad that when Tom discovered he was on an expensive trip that wasn't what he expected, he couldn't have been open minded enough to find out the reason his shipmates were having a great time. Perhaps he could have learned something from the other divers or guides. Already several people from the Nov trips are planning to return and liked the idea of a 14 day trip so we can spend more days on the favorite dive sites.

Linda Cline already has a gallery from Nov. (and some nice comments about her trip with us) on her site:

http://www.dancingfish.com/gallery/photos/RajaAmpat08/



PASSIVE, SEDATE, COMPLACENT OR SHEEPLIKE DIVERS?


This is the phrase that really got to me!!! For SURE very few of the divers on these trips are "passive, sedate, complacent or sheep-like". The other divers on the same trip as Tom's group certainly could not be described as such. I can assure you that they were not passive, but passionate! They explored, were creative, their minds were open to a variety of experiences so they enjoyed these very diverse sorts of dive sites and the opportunity to see those sites under different conditions.


They were a pleasure to be around.


While Tom sulked in his cabin his shipmates were spending time underwater, seeing unexplored areas they wanted to dive (so we arranged for them to go there), making beautiful images at the surface in the mangroves, finding places to do over/under images , seeing nudibranch species we've never found before, watching cuttlefish placing eggs in the reef, etc. etc. and enjoying their trip for the tremendous variety of environments and life that exist in Raja Ampat.

It wasn't until Tom's post on this forum that I realized he was probably sulking. I thought he was one of those people that liked to relax in private and was not comfortable being around other people. We've had several divers like that aboard.

VARIETY OF DIVING EXPERIENCES

I think of each Raja Ampat trip as a chance to make your own mini-Blue Planet documentary in 11-12 days.


I advertise my charters as offering a lot of variety with mangroves, shallow reef and rainforest dives, piers, mantas, small critter macro, fishy reef dives, dives on rock islands. That is what we do. All of it. Unless the majority of guests aboard want to do something different, I provide what I advertise. On Tom's trip everyone wanted to spend more dives with mantas, so I adjusted the plan to provide that.


There is no set itinerary. Each trip is tailored according to the conditions of weather, visibility, strength and direction of currents. We even vary mealtimes to accommodate diving at the best times. On Tom's trip the visibility was not as good as usual. So we spent the first part of the trip in areas where good vis doesn't matter so much, hoping for improvement. Didn't get it, but we did try! Usually we can find good vis by moving from the north to south or vice versa. Not this time. Universally poor.


Although we spend a full day on some sites, we don't dive the same areas seeing exactly the same things unless requested (which does happen frequently). Most of these sites are huge with a large and diverse variety of scenes and marine life to enjoy and photograph. The experience on a site changes during the day with the direction and strength of current and sun, tidal flow, etc. Just because you dive a site several times doesn't mean you have seen all it has to offer. I spend multiple days at some of them every year. There are still parts of them I've never seen and there are always new and surprising experiences even after 10 years.


Sure, you can blow down a reef in a few minutes; say you've BTDT and tic it off your lifetime dive site list. But if you become interested in watching or photographing the marine life and move slowly the experience is much richer and you see much more than if you are speeding along.


Comments were from others on the Nov. trips are that the variety of sites and marine life on this trip were far more than on any other trip they've ever made.


KEELING IN MUCK FOR SHOT OF NEMO?


Deep doesn't mean better.. it just means deeper and less bottom time. We do spend quite a lot of time at shallow sites. Those are some of the best sites and the reason we can offer so much variety. For example in Nov. at 10ft and above I encountered: reef sharks, Wobbegong sharks, the "Walking Sharks", seahorses, pygmy seahorses, many species of nudibranchs including 2 I'd never seen before; schools of silversides, bream, fusiliers and batfish; archerfish schools and cleaning stations, turtles, many soft corals, black corals and colorful fans Really far too many creatures to name here.


Those sites Tom specifically berated are exactly the ones where most of the best images are made. Most photographers have trouble passing up an attractive "Nemo", I know I do, but these photographers weren't "kneeling in 35 feet on a mundane, ordinary reef dive after dive for yet one more photo of Nemo", they spent their trip swimming through and exploring a huge variety of underwater terrain while watching and photographing a diverse array of interesting and usual marine life.


One example. That shallow pier Tom mentioned happens to be one of the favorite sites for photography. Others on the Nov. trips produced images at that pier that ranged from stunning to breathtaking and I expect to see them taking top prizes in International UW photo competitions. Even Tom's non-photographer friend came made a very nice shot of mating Mandarianfish with his point and shoot camera (won a 2nd place in the trip contest) at that pier. One photog did a 2.5 hour dive. Couldn't get him out of the water! There were 6 dives offered that day. Two with mantas and four at the pier (pier was open deck). First two dives the pier had massive schools of bream and silversides, soft corals on the pier pilings, a fair sized school of approachable young batfish, large schools of several varieties of fusiliers, giant clams, cuttlefish at 5ft., nudibranchs. 2nd dive the kids were out of school so were fishing on the pier, paddling wooden canoes around the area and diving down to pose for photos. 3rd dive was for Mandarianfish (always a favorite subject), 4th pier dive was a night dive. All dives very different.


MISLEADING COMMENTS:


CABINS

"at least three of them had AC issues"

I will say that the AC units on Ondina are old and need replacing. My cruise director and I reported to the owners and they have instructed the crew to immediately replace any units that are not functioning correctly.

One compressor services two cabins. On this particular trip the AC in each cabin was checked before departure. Yet, on the 3nd day, one unit was sending all the cold air into one cabin and none into the other cabin it supported. We had an AC technician from a pearl farm come out for a look. He could not solve the problem so the guests were immediately moved into a different cabin. Problem solved. I took the cabin with no AC, added a fan and was quite comfortable. I learned the last day from Tom's cabin mate (not from Tom) that the fan in Tom's cabin wasn't pushing air properly it was cold air, just fan not working. It was serviced between trips. Fan needed cleaning.

"and one of them had problems with fumes and exhaust from gasoline or diesel"

This was reported by Mark and Linda, who investigated when the problem occurred a second time. They determined that when at anchor with the breeze a certain direction it occasionally blew generator exhaust through the outside door into the cabin corridor where it came into their cabin through the vents in the door. Problem solved by keeping that outside door closed.

FOOD

"the food was seriously lacking. Fried something for almost every lunch and dinner. Instant noodles appeared more than once or twice"


If Tom doesn't eat fried food or noodles, there was ample opportunity to state his food preferences before and during the trip. There are other choices and the kitchen would have prepared something special for him if he asked. He asked only for "beer, cold, lots of it". As per his request we had plenty of beer!

Baked, steamed, raw, grilled, sauteed and boiled food also appeared. I'm not sure what fried food or noodle dish was a problem. Krupuk appeared at every meal (Indonesian version of potato chips). They are fried. I remember Tempura, a lightly breaded pan fried chicken breast stuffed with cheese and French Fries. Does fried include stir fried? Instant noodles? Not sure which noodles Tom refers to. Ondina doesn't make noodles.. so all are instant? Perhaps it was the Mie Kuah or the Mie Goreng? Those are standard Indonesian fare that most people like just fine and are some of our favorite dishes. As I said, there is always more than one choice.

continued....

DebF (Deb Fugitt)
www.cityseahorse.com/rajaampat
 
MISLEADING COMMENTS - FOOD (continued)

Ondina doesn't offer gourmet food, just good tasting, quality food. I've noted in my years of travel that the best food is always local dishes, so that's the special menu I request unless guests' state their preferences otherwise. This is not the menu offered on the standard Ondina trips.

We served mostly Indonesian dishes (Western style with less chilli and more meat/veggies) with some Western dishes mixed in. Excellent bread is baked every day on the ship as were fresh muffins, pastries. DOUGHNUTS are my favourite. Not the soaked in sugar goody masses of dough we get in the USA, but nice fresh slightly sweet ones with a few sprinkles of chocolate or sugar. There were different fresh soups at every dinner, sates, fresh salads (like green papaya, Gado Gado, mixed veggies), grilled fresh fish, sashimi, prawn and veggie Tempura, Beef Rendang, stuffed eggplants, some curries of different sorts, minced fish with spices steamed in a banana leaf, minced prawns or calamari with spices tied in a thin pastry bag, really good pizza, different freshly made sambals (chilli sauces) each day for those who like their food hot and spicy, etc. etc. Plus of course, always available fresh fruits like oranges, tangerines, mangosteen, passion fruit, rambutan, apples, bananas, pineapple, mango, papaya.

This menu has evolved over the years. We've eliminated dishes when the majority of people in the groups don't like them (even some of my personal favorites). Even when food it great, it sometimes doesn't suit everyone. Yet, I can't imagine choosing a dive trip based on the food. BTW, we can hardly find any restaurants in Fort Worth worth visiting. People here line up for plates containing huge quantities of microwaved tasteless glop at chain restaurants. We are sad to be home, but hope to lose some weight!

Comments from other guests served the same menu were that it was; the best liveaboard food they'd ever had; better than other top dive resorts in Indonesia (I could but won't name the specific resorts they mentioned.. they are ones noted for their good food); that they were overeating because it was all so wonderful.

DIVING:

"Two entire days (10 hours per day), were spent at The Passage"

This is one of the favorite sites for most photographers. Actually we spent not two 10 hour days, but one short day (had to leave early as we had a long overnight cruise) and came back the last day as the site enforces shallow diving so that we can allow plenty of diving that last day before a flight the next. Max. depth averages 12-17ft. We used to spend only 1/2 day there, but the best images require certain conditions, so I am trying to offer a partial day mid-trip to have a better chance of getting those conditions.

"One day (four dives) at a small village pier. Depth about 15 to 45 feet."

Actually we did two manta dives in the morning (at the request of the divers aboard) and spent the afternoon at the pier. Depth 0-45ft. This was the pier I used as the example of different type of dives on the same site (see above).

"Another entire day (10 hours) was spent diving in a mangrove area."

That's true. It's a favorite spot, one that many divers request before booking the trip. I arranged the itinerary on the next trip so we could stay longer and yet several people asked to spend a second day. Unfortunately I could not oblige as they had requested we stayed two days at another area Tom hated and we needed to move or completely miss part of the diving around Misool. We are now talking with some of the Nov guests about a 14 day trip so we can spend more time at these favorite sites. Mangroves has excellent unusual wide angle photo ops.. plus loads of unusual nudis, ghost pipefish, odd fishes, shrimps, crabs, archerfish schools. I even found an archerfish cleaning station!

See my mangroves video from last April at Indonesia Underwater Videos, Raja Ampat Video, Diving Videos from Indonesia


"the first afternoon spent on a checkout dive in Sorong harbor."

I've dived Sorong harbor. There is some nice diving for critters, but exceptionally poor vis. The 2004 Ondina contest winner was taken in Sorong harbor. However we didn't dive in Sorong harbor on this trip.

A few years ago Mikel took us exploring looking for good sites near Sorong. We found a good critter site just outside the harbor with zero to mild current, shallow. Perfect spot for checkout dives without going 5-6 hours to Raja Ampat and throwing divers into current for their checkout. Close means we can offer several dives the 1st day and then do the 5-6 hour cruise at night. On that site we've seen Wobbegong sharks, Raja Ampat epaulette sharks, Blue Ribbon eels, Spanish Dancers, frogfish with eggs!, anemones with a variety of anemonefish and loaded with shrimps and crabs, many nudibranchs, lobsters, eels, bommies covered with glassfish and cardinalfish, crinoid critters... it isn't Raja Ampat but it's loaded with stuff.

I translated 'open deck" to mean "lets save on our fuel costs".

In the quest to get to the best sites in good conditions we probably use more fuel than a set itinerary because we backtrack. (I hope the owners arenÃÕ reading this !! But if you do hey guys we do try to save your fuel but not at the expense of the best diving.)

"A few friends and I repeatedly requested the lead dive master and cruise director for more sites like these but to noavail."

In the email with the invoice (3 divers) for the trip Tom received this paragraph: " I oversee everything on the trip and am the ultimate boss of it all. If, during the trip you have any problem with the ship, the crew, other passengers, the diving whatever, please come to me directly. You can tell the crew if something needs repair, but also tell me so that I can follow up. Sometimes they do a repair and it doesn't "take", so I need to know if whatever problem you have is still not corrected. Then I can deal with it. For me, this is not a holiday. Although I do enjoy it and take some photos, my top priority is to be sure that divers in my group have a great trip."

During the ship briefing I again advised the group to come to me with any requests or problems so we could sort it out.

Tom and friends never made any requests to me about the diving. Not before or during the trip. I asked the cruise director if Tom requested anything from him. He didn't.

"It isn't about big fish. We saw just a handful of sharks, a few mantas, napoleon wrasse, jacks, and few other pelagics."

We saw fewer fish than usual on this trip, much less that in April/May. This was at least partially due to the poor visibility. I could often see large schools of fish faintly in the distance. Since Tom & friends skipped about 1/2 the dives, they may have missed the dives where we did see more sharks, larger and more fish.


MY COMMENTS: SMY ONDINA

I've visited many other ships I could charter. So far, I prefer SMY Ondina.

The crew is (as noted) excellent and stable. They are intelligent, skilled people. Many other ships go out with inexperienced crew that change every few months, new crew who don't know the area, poor and/or not enough dive guides (the reason I always check and add experienced guides). The other ships either aren't flexible, safe or are damaging the reefs. (Please don't misinterpret, I'm not bashing all other liveaboards some ships are safe, not damaging reef, just aren't flexible enough to suit me. Others are for sure damaging reefs and I would NEVER charter one of them and wish I could name them here). I've rejected all in Tom's list of recommended alternatives. Not that they aren't good ships, just not suitable to me for the small group, high guide/diver ratio, flexible, photography trips I want to run.

Ondina's owners and I work together to make the ship perform well for my (and their own) trips. Anyone who has been out with me knows that I always make a list of things that need improved, repaired or added to help make the next guests more comfortable or safe. The owners take my lists to heart and nearly all my suggestions are implemented before my return in about 6 months. The exception being our April 2008 trip. When I arrived I was appalled at the condition of the ship. I didn't see any reason to upset the guests, but at the end of that trip, I let the owners know that it was totally unacceptable and would be the end of my charters with them if it wasn't in shape before my May trip (4 days to prepare). I would cancel the other charters I had booked with them. It was mostly corrected. An unsuitable assistant cruise director/divemaster (Daniel) was fired at the end of my trips after I talked to Ric about him. There were a few things that couldn't be done in 3 days in Sorong but were done in September at mid-season dry dock.

Ondina isn't top luxury (depends a bit on how you define luxury) but it has an inside dive deck and wetsuit room with hot showers so that we and our dive gear isn't sitting in the sun, rain and wind; it has large dedicated camera rinse tanks right behind the camera table; it has cabins with plenty of storage space, lots of hooks, outlets for charging, individually controlled AC, ensuite bath; the ship is very stable and cabins are below deck so less seasickness; there are 3 public areas for relaxing; dive deck, camera table, charging and rinse is all on one level so cameras don't have to be carried up and down stairs; the food is excellent (according to most.. to me it is better than most any resort or restaurant in Bali for Indonesian cuisine); it is nearly insect free (always a couple of big bugs fly in.. and occasionally a few ants).

Sure, heated water for showers in cabins would be OK. The water is heated by the engine, so the first day or so after filling at port its cool, but after that, its bathwater temp, not cold, just not scalding. I guess while linen and crystal would be nice, but then I'd need to dress for dinner and that's a hardship after a night dive! Gourmet food? I have to ask the waitresses to put me on a "no seconds" diet as it is... and I doubt it would taste as good as the special Indonesian food we are served.

continued again...

DebF
 

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