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
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