njoynthewater
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Euphoria Nov/Dec 2016
Boarded the Euphoria in Sorong on November 23, 2016 and disembarked the vessel on December 4, 2016
We were in the second of two groups of Canadian scuba divers that traveled Raja Ampat for 11 days on the live aboard Euphoria. The trip was originally booked approximately 2 years previous. We were a late booking as one of the original couples had to back out of the trip at the last minute. We took over their space on the trip in July of 2016 as it was a destination we had been reading about and this was an opportunity to finally get there.
Overall we found the condition of the boat to be acceptable. The housekeeping crew kept the staterooms and common areas clean and tidy. We found the dive guides and boatmen to be hard working and willing to do anything that was asked of them as long as it was within their realm to approve the request. The only issue with the crew that we had would be with the cook who we were told was a last minute replacement for the trip.
Our hopes that what was to be the trip of a lifetime were diminished by the self-described part owner/manager of the operation. One would expect that a person in the position of ownership or manager would lead by example and go out of his way to make sure that his guests left his boat at the end of their trip wanting to recommend his boat to friends in the diving community. We left the boat after counting down the last days to when we would get back to land.
Since getting off the boat I have been trying to put together the words that would accurately and fairly describe our live aboard experience on the Euphoria. As I wrote earlier we have no issues with the majority of the crew as they did whatever they could to make our experience memorable. I believe most will agree that the food is probably the most important aspect of life on a boat. At the beginning of the trip we found the food palatable but by about the halfway point in the trip it became mundane. You can only eat essentially the same menu which was for the most part fish, rice, beans or some sort of spinach type vegetable. Soups were essentially a tasteless broth and deserts were generally another tasteless dish. When we started choosing toast for dinner over the offerings from the kitchen it should say everything that needs to be said about the food. One night when most of the main course was left on the serving table led to a change in the menu from fish to chicken. Unfortunately it wasn’t completely cooked so we passed on that as well. One night there was a barbeque on the beach. It was an amazing scene to be sitting on a white sand beach in a tropical paradise with a roaring fire burning at the water’s edge. The chicken that came off the grill was again not properly cooked and in my case it ended up in the underbrush. At some point the water coming through the water maker started to taste of salt. Included in the trip was juice and soft drinks. One would have expected there to be more choices than Coca Cola for soft drinks and Tang or some powdered drink that was called juice. Sprite was also on board but we were told that was only to be served as part of a special drink.
Prior to each dive the manager Artur would give a dive briefing. It didn’t take too long to realize that his briefings were incomplete or didn’t match the site that we would dive. Dives we were told there would be a significant current were usually found to be calm and on dives that were to be calm we would run into a significant current. I understand that currents can be hard to predict but for someone who claims the experience that Artur claims to have in the area I would have expected better accuracy both of the currents and the bottom topography. As hard as it may be to believe one of our briefings was effectively roll off the boat, drop down and swim around for a while and come up and the boat will pick you up.
Of the two dive tenders one had engine problems. To keep it running one of the boatmen or dive guides would have to keep squeezing the primer ball. On days where that would no longer work we were towed to the site by the other boat. While we were diving the boatmen would continue to work on it and usually had it running again for our return. In talking to the boatmen I found that they were interested in trying to fix it but didn’t have the necessary parts. I made the suggestion that part of the problem may be that there was a leak in the fuel system someplace and they did replace a hose that made some difference but was not the full cure. Because we had people with us that were on the first trip we found out that they had the same problem during the previous trip. In between trips the boat stays in Sorong resupplying for 4 days which should have allowed for the repairs to the tender. It may be a nuisance when diving to have an engine that can’t be depended on to run at all times but should there have been an emergency on board those dive skiffs would be pressed into a potential lifesaving rescue service.
We found Artur’s professionalism to be sorely lacking. He showed no interest in his customers in the short times that he was in the common areas. I realize that we are in a different country where customs are different but I don’t believe that can excuse him for keeping the company of a very young lady in his cabin. At first I hoped that it was his daughter that was coming out with her dad over the holidays but it didn’t take long to realize that was not the case. I had occasion to share my concerns regarding a couple of problems on the boat and found him to be disinterested at best. The first issue was when his guides insisted on swimming into the current. I can understand it when there is something to see and might be worth the effort but after it was repeated a couple of times I went to him and requested that he talk to the guides to change that (I would have talked to the guide myself but there was a language barrier). During the exchange I found him to be defensive and showed little interest in speaking to the guides. I effectively had to tell him that we would no longer swim into the (Continued in Reply)
Boarded the Euphoria in Sorong on November 23, 2016 and disembarked the vessel on December 4, 2016
We were in the second of two groups of Canadian scuba divers that traveled Raja Ampat for 11 days on the live aboard Euphoria. The trip was originally booked approximately 2 years previous. We were a late booking as one of the original couples had to back out of the trip at the last minute. We took over their space on the trip in July of 2016 as it was a destination we had been reading about and this was an opportunity to finally get there.
Overall we found the condition of the boat to be acceptable. The housekeeping crew kept the staterooms and common areas clean and tidy. We found the dive guides and boatmen to be hard working and willing to do anything that was asked of them as long as it was within their realm to approve the request. The only issue with the crew that we had would be with the cook who we were told was a last minute replacement for the trip.
Our hopes that what was to be the trip of a lifetime were diminished by the self-described part owner/manager of the operation. One would expect that a person in the position of ownership or manager would lead by example and go out of his way to make sure that his guests left his boat at the end of their trip wanting to recommend his boat to friends in the diving community. We left the boat after counting down the last days to when we would get back to land.
Since getting off the boat I have been trying to put together the words that would accurately and fairly describe our live aboard experience on the Euphoria. As I wrote earlier we have no issues with the majority of the crew as they did whatever they could to make our experience memorable. I believe most will agree that the food is probably the most important aspect of life on a boat. At the beginning of the trip we found the food palatable but by about the halfway point in the trip it became mundane. You can only eat essentially the same menu which was for the most part fish, rice, beans or some sort of spinach type vegetable. Soups were essentially a tasteless broth and deserts were generally another tasteless dish. When we started choosing toast for dinner over the offerings from the kitchen it should say everything that needs to be said about the food. One night when most of the main course was left on the serving table led to a change in the menu from fish to chicken. Unfortunately it wasn’t completely cooked so we passed on that as well. One night there was a barbeque on the beach. It was an amazing scene to be sitting on a white sand beach in a tropical paradise with a roaring fire burning at the water’s edge. The chicken that came off the grill was again not properly cooked and in my case it ended up in the underbrush. At some point the water coming through the water maker started to taste of salt. Included in the trip was juice and soft drinks. One would have expected there to be more choices than Coca Cola for soft drinks and Tang or some powdered drink that was called juice. Sprite was also on board but we were told that was only to be served as part of a special drink.
Prior to each dive the manager Artur would give a dive briefing. It didn’t take too long to realize that his briefings were incomplete or didn’t match the site that we would dive. Dives we were told there would be a significant current were usually found to be calm and on dives that were to be calm we would run into a significant current. I understand that currents can be hard to predict but for someone who claims the experience that Artur claims to have in the area I would have expected better accuracy both of the currents and the bottom topography. As hard as it may be to believe one of our briefings was effectively roll off the boat, drop down and swim around for a while and come up and the boat will pick you up.
Of the two dive tenders one had engine problems. To keep it running one of the boatmen or dive guides would have to keep squeezing the primer ball. On days where that would no longer work we were towed to the site by the other boat. While we were diving the boatmen would continue to work on it and usually had it running again for our return. In talking to the boatmen I found that they were interested in trying to fix it but didn’t have the necessary parts. I made the suggestion that part of the problem may be that there was a leak in the fuel system someplace and they did replace a hose that made some difference but was not the full cure. Because we had people with us that were on the first trip we found out that they had the same problem during the previous trip. In between trips the boat stays in Sorong resupplying for 4 days which should have allowed for the repairs to the tender. It may be a nuisance when diving to have an engine that can’t be depended on to run at all times but should there have been an emergency on board those dive skiffs would be pressed into a potential lifesaving rescue service.
We found Artur’s professionalism to be sorely lacking. He showed no interest in his customers in the short times that he was in the common areas. I realize that we are in a different country where customs are different but I don’t believe that can excuse him for keeping the company of a very young lady in his cabin. At first I hoped that it was his daughter that was coming out with her dad over the holidays but it didn’t take long to realize that was not the case. I had occasion to share my concerns regarding a couple of problems on the boat and found him to be disinterested at best. The first issue was when his guides insisted on swimming into the current. I can understand it when there is something to see and might be worth the effort but after it was repeated a couple of times I went to him and requested that he talk to the guides to change that (I would have talked to the guide myself but there was a language barrier). During the exchange I found him to be defensive and showed little interest in speaking to the guides. I effectively had to tell him that we would no longer swim into the (Continued in Reply)
