Dewi Nusantara in Raja Ampat - how many dives?

G'day all,

I'm considering a 12d/11N LOB with Dewi Nusantara at Raja Ampat over new year's, but am worried about the trip structure as there is no planned itinerary; there is no information about the # of dives offered/planned (they only say up to 4 - which may mean 2-3 on average), and I heard that the trip would include "land excursions" which will reduce the number of dives even more.

For those who have done this trip with them: Approximately how many dives were offered? Was it 4 on most diving days (except boarding/disembarkation) or were there many days with only 3x or even 2x dives, due to these land excursions etc.
I've researched the forum and read the positive reviews, but none went into detail about # of dives.

It's a big investment at over $5K so I want to make sure I get the money's worth

Thanks all!

I believe there were 4 dives offered almost every day plus night dives on almost every night. We didn't do any land excursions so we didn't lose any diving to that.

I won't repeat my glowing endorsements, but you get plenty of diving. If you can do every dive, you'll be doing very well as it gets to be something of a marathon of diving and equalization. I believe I missed 2 dives out of the trip, with one being one of the first night dives where you see the epaulette sharks (RATS!).

Thanks heaps - just to confirm, you were on R4 and not on Komodo trip with DN?

Shasta_man:

I believe there were 4 dives offered almost every day plus night dives on almost every night. We didn't do any land excursions so we didn't lose any diving to that.

I won't repeat my glowing endorsements, but you get plenty of diving. If you can do every dive, you'll be doing very well as it gets to be something of a marathon of diving and equalization. I believe I missed 2 dives out of the trip, with one being one of the first night dives where you see the epaulette sharks (RATS!).

Click to expand...

I just checked my logbook. We got 35 dives on our raja a. trip on the dewi nusantara.most days we got 4 dives and on a few big moving days we got 3.Great boat!

I was on this boat and would echo what Shasta_man said. Did New Years on board so very similar time of year - R4 for sure. We did one land excursion - dropped in to Misool resort for an hour or so. Don't think we missed a dive for the tour.

Thanks heaps to all for replies. This is encouraging.
Strange thing is, I was just in contact with an agent to book the trip, who suggested there will be some activities offered on land which may mean there would not be time for 4 dives on some days.
I wonder if the focus of the trip has changed recently, or if this is simply a miscommunication/misinformation.

Just to confirm, yes, I'm referring to R4.

I'd suggest that the agent is just providing the official version of the info on the trip. The CYA version. These liveaboard trips to island locations always offer the potential for a couple of land excursions. However, actually going on those excursions depends specifically on the situation during the trip. For example, I recall the potential for a visit to a pearl farm we dive near. On our trip, the passengers didn't end up going but some of the crew went for a game of soccer with the local people. The owner of the pearl farm ended up coming aboard for dinner. It just depends on what's happening. I'd put little to no stock in what the agent is saying unless they have actually been on the boat themselves. And even then, their vested interest in you going will impact the story they tell so consider that.

If you want to see what you will see on the trip, go to YouTube and search for Dewi Nusantara. Usually the top video that comes up is a long video showing all of the critters you encounter.

When we were on the Dewi in North Sulawesi they gave you a choice to do the land tour or to do the dive. Get ahold of the boat directly to ask questions.6518474]Thanks heaps to all for replies. This is encouraging.,
Strange thing is, I was just in contact with an agent to book the trip, who suggested there will be some activities offered on land which may mean there would not be time for 4 dives on some days.
I wonder if the focus of the trip has changed recently, or if this is simply a miscommunication/misinformation. [/QUOTE]

Thanks all for the feedback. After back-and-forth discussions with the agent, I managed to confirm there are no planned land excursions and get an itinerary that plans for 36+ dives. This was fine for me so went ahead and booked this for New Year's. Most expensive New Year's present I ever got myself!
R4 - here I come!
Thanks to everyone again for their valuable feedback!

You will have a very Happy New Year indeed!!! Great decision!!! :0)