Empress II or Mikumba

[Satto95]

No one can work forever.
Vidar probably decided it was time to retire to his pot of land in Lombok. Enjoying his favourite gin and tonic and his wife cooking without worrying any tec divers might got trapped inside the wreck or whatnot.

Did lots of divers end up dying on the expeditions?

 

[Centrals]

Did lots of divers end up dying on the expeditions?

If the question is specially on Empress then as far as I know the answer is NO.
If it is a general question then I am NOT qualified to answer that.

 

[Uno1]

I was on the Empress ll last year (I have had one Empress trip cancelled). The boat is very basic. Only one toilet/bathroom available for all guests (only the main cabin has an en suite). It worked out OK on this trip although it does have the potential to get interesting if a couple of passengers have stomach problems. My cabin was basic but comfortable. The fan kept the cabin at a reasonably pleasant temperature. The food was OK.

I used my own gear. The rental equipment appeared OK though they crew could be slow to fix little things. I used Nitrox for the trip. The boat had a Nitrox analyzer so you could check tanks prior to dives. The the briefing and guides are fine.

The re-compression chamber is not operational (or nobody is qualified to operate it). I believe they will be removing it to make space for crew accommodation. The lift is OK however it would be very difficult to use in a choppy/rough sea. Of the two tenders one was operational for the entire trip. However, it didn't have a ladder so you could either take your gear off for the crew to stow and launch yourself into the tender or be towed back to the Empress. The other tender had motor problems and the only time we used it, it nosed into the choppy and started taking on water. Fortunately we were close to the dive site and kitted for the dive so we rolled out and let the crewman sort it out. I do not think it is seaworthy.

There were issues with a generator.It was billowing smoke for the entire trip. I would put my mask on and regulator in my mouth as soon as I boarded the tender (as did the other divers) to avoid as much of the diesel smoke as possible.

I will be considering a Komodo trip in the next year. I will not be choosing a budget live aboard. I will spend the extra dollars for a mid range boat. I hope my experiences are of use to you.

 

[Satto95]

I was on the Empress ll last year (I have had one Empress trip cancelled). The boat is very basic. Only one toilet/bathroom available for all guests (only the main cabin has an en suite). It worked out OK on this trip although it does have the potential to get interesting if a couple of passengers have stomach problems. My cabin was basic but comfortable. The fan kept the cabin at a reasonably pleasant temperature. The food was OK.

I used my own gear. The rental equipment appeared OK though they crew could be slow to fix little things. I used Nitrox for the trip. The boat had a Nitrox analyzer so you could check tanks prior to dives. The the briefing and guides are fine.

The re-compression chamber is not operational (or nobody is qualified to operate it). I believe they will be removing it to make space for crew accommodation. The lift is OK however it would be very difficult to use in a choppy/rough sea. Of the two tenders one was operational for the entire trip. However, it didn't have a ladder so you could either take your gear off for the crew to stow and launch yourself into the tender or be towed back to the Empress. The other tender had motor problems and the only time we used it, it nosed into the choppy and started taking on water. Fortunately we were close to the dive site and kitted for the dive so we rolled out and let the crewman sort it out. I do not think it is seaworthy.

There were issues with a generator.It was billowing smoke for the entire trip. I would put my mask on and regulator in my mouth as soon as I boarded the tender (as did the other divers) to avoid as much of the diesel smoke as possible.

I will be considering a Komodo trip in the next year. I will not be choosing a budget live aboard. I will spend the extra dollars for a mid range boat. I hope my experiences are of use to you.

That sounds like a huge turn off for me! The trip cancelation was for what? Weather? What time of year was it?

The deco chamber is useless so that's one less pro for them. So you wouldn't go with the Empress II again? I keep hearing mixed things about it.

I'm about to say screw it and just go with the Blue Manta. There are even some other options I'll look at but all the things you said make it sound like its not worth the time. I'll be flying from the USA and it will take me a lot of time and money to get there. Might as well make a proper investment.

What other Liveaboards are you looking into?

 

[Satto95]

If the question is specially on Empress then as far as I know the answer is NO.
If it is a general question then I am NOT qualified to answer that.

Thanks for the insight but now it seems like the info is irrelevant due to the original owner selling her. Great stories though!

 

[Satto95]

Nitrox works fine for me too. I made 25 dives in 6 days no problem. I saw guys dove with air got tired and skipped dives.

How much bottom time did you gain compared to your air breathing brethren?

 

[Dan]

How much bottom time did you gain compared to your air breathing brethren?

The short answer is minutes longer. The long answer is there are 2 parameters involved in comparing the bottom time of those air vs. EAN32 divers. First parameter is the difference between the EAN32 vs. air bottom time at equivalent depth, which you can check it yourself with dive table for air vs. EAN32. Second parameter is how much diving experienced are the divers.

I dove to about the Non Decompression Limit (NDL) bottom time. My Respiratory Minute Volume (RMV) is 0.4 Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM), so I won't be running out of EAN32 in AL80 tank before running out of NDL. When I was a rookie, ~ 13 years ago, my RMV was about 0.8 CFM. I'll be running out of air before running out of NDL. So, you need to know what the other diver RMV and whether he / she a rookie (air hogger) or an experienced diver to compare apple-to-apple. Most of the time I'll be the last one getting out of the water.

 

[Dan]

That sounds like a huge turn off for me! The trip cancelation was for what? Weather? What time of year was it?

The deco chamber is useless so that's one less pro for them. So you wouldn't go with the Empress II again? I keep hearing mixed things about it.

I'm about to say screw it and just go with the Blue Manta. There are even some other options I'll look at but all the things you said make it sound like its not worth the time. I'll be flying from the USA and it will take me a lot of time and money to get there. Might as well make a proper investment.

What other Liveaboards are you looking into?

Since you are still considering other liveaboard options, you may check Mermaid Liveaboards too. I took Mermaid I Bali-Komodo-Bali back in August 2014. It is the best liveaboard trip that I have ever experienced among 9 liveaboards I have been in. Mermaid II

I also went with MV Tarata twice (June 2008 & December 2012). It is a good budget liveaboard. Tarata.

 

[Satto95]

Since you are still considering other liveaboard options, you may check Mermaid Liveaboards too. I took Mermaid I Bali-Komodo-Bali back in August 2014. It is the best liveaboard trip that I have ever experienced among 9 liveaboards I have been in. Mermaid II

I also went with MV Tarata twice (June 2008 & December 2012). It is a good budget liveaboard. Tarata.

My only concern with the mermaid is the limited amount of time in Komodo itself. Only a few days are actually in Komodo while the rest are not.

 

[Dan]

My only concern with the mermaid is the limited amount of time in Komodo itself. Only a few days are actually in Komodo while the rest are not.

I've been to Komodo 3 times. You don't need to spend too many days there. 3 full days are plenty enough, as long as you have a chance to dive in the south (Horseshoe Bay) to dive in the world class dive sites like: Cannibal Rock, Yellow Wall, Crinoid Canyon, Torpedo Alley, away from the rift-raft of the north Komodo. You will also have a chance to dive in Hot Rock, Sangeang Island, where you see the volcanic gas coming out of the sand. You don't need to buy another domestic flight from DPS to LBJ, save that 2-day flight (inbound & outbound) and trade the time and money with sailing & diving along the way and may be some diving in Nusa Penida, Bali.