Raja Ampat Liveaboard Help!

[beachbunny14]

Hi!

I am looking to go on a liveaboard trip in Raja Ampat end of October or beginning of Nov 2016. We were planning on Dewi Neusantara however, due to my husbands work we can no longer go on that ship. So, what liveaboard is comprable to Dewi??? I was looking Amira but the photos of it don't look that nice. I was also looking ad Waow and though the ship looks fabulous the reviews about the dive sites are terrible.

We want to have a great experience in RA so, are there any other ships comparable to Dewi in terms of luxury and dive experience??

Thank you for the help!!

 

[PADI Travel]

Hi there beachbunny14!

Have you looked at the Arenui or the Damai? Both offer similar comforts to the Dewi Neusantara and have trips departing to Raja Ampat within your timeframe. They also get great reviews from our diving community. You’re going to love diving in Raja Ampat. If you have any more questions about these boats or others, don’t hesitate to ask. Have a great trip!

 

[scorpiofish]

Comparable boats would be one of the Damai's or Arenui. Depending on which room, I would also encourage you to look at The Seven Seas. (They have one or two rooms that are bunk beds). Most of these will be fully booked with charters, but if you contact them directly, they will reach out to the charter holders to see if they have any openings.

If you still need to explore other options, try Mermaid and one Manta boats. White Manta Diving - Home

There are other boats that will give you the dive experience, but not the luxury, e.g. Tambora, Pindito

 

[Zippsy]

I am very biased but I hope you consider the Blue Manta. It's brand new (now) and with up to 14 large cabins for 18 customers, it's very spacious. White Manta Diving - KM Blue Manta

I'm sitting in Makassar airport at the moment, heading to Sorong for my first couple of trips working on the ship. I can't wait!

 

[ukdave0]

Hi!
I was looking Amira but the photos of it don't look that nice.

I suggest you find other pictures. I've been on it and the Dewi. Both are great boats. The Amira is so huge it takes a few days to find everything. The Dewi has higher quality furnishing but the Amira certainly still has a wow factor to it.

 

[CarcharodonCarcharias]

I am very biased but I hope you consider the Blue Manta. It's brand new (now) and with up to 14 large cabins for 18 customers, it's very spacious. White Manta Diving - KM Blue Manta

I'm sitting in Makassar airport at the moment, heading to Sorong for my first couple of trips working on the ship. I can't wait!

Hehe....quit gloating.

 

[beachbunny14]

Both arenui and Damai are unavailable during my desired dates Seven Seas is not in RA and the Manta ships seem not to be in RA either

The manta trips are not long enough, we ideally want to go for 12D/11N

For those of you that have dove in Raja Ampat in October/November and in December, is there a big difference in the weather between say Oct 23-Nov 10 and Dec 6 - Dec 17?? THe answer to this question would open up availability but I figure the boats are booked in Oct/Nov first because that is the best time and we want to go during the best time Please help!!

Amira over Waow seems to be the vote, right? What about the Seahorse?

---------- Post added January 8th, 2016 at 11:33 AM ----------

And on Amira you enjoyed a variety of dive sites and saw lots of fish/coral etc? The staff was well experienced on Amira?

---------- Post added January 8th, 2016 at 11:37 AM ----------

Thank you! Is the weather and visibility much different from Oct/Nov to the beginning of december?

What would be your next choice after dewi, arenui and damai as all those are fully booked

---------- Post added January 8th, 2016 at 12:07 PM ----------

Hi!
I was looking Amira but the photos of it don't look that nice.

I suggest you find other pictures. I've been on it and the Dewi. Both are great boats. The Amira is so huge it takes a few days to find everything. The Dewi has higher quality furnishing but the Amira certainly still has a wow factor to it.

HOw was the diving with the Amira?

 

[ukdave0]

And on Amira you enjoyed a variety of dive sites and saw lots of fish/coral etc? The staff was well experienced on Amira?
HOw was the diving with the Amira?

The staff, including DM's were all really good. On my trip, 3 of the co-owners were on-board so who knows what that means for normal operations. I believe one of the co-owners is always on-board as the Cruise Director.
The trip was Bali to Komodo. We had a few nice dives but in general Komodo was a mess. I went during a period of horrible visibility. Was true for the North and South Dive sites. For example, we more or less abandoned one of the signature dives (Cathedral Rock?) due to zero visibility on an afternoon dive. Other dive sites were only slightly better. Wide angle photog was an effort in futility.
Therefore, I can't fairly judge the DM's or the boats itinerary on a more normal trip.

 

[oya]

I hope you can still get a spot on any of those boats before that Trudy Beakman books the last cabin.

 

[scorpiofish]

is there a big difference in the weather between say Oct 23-Nov 10 and Dec 6 - Dec 17?

No. Might get a bit more rain as you head through December, but nothing crazy.

Amira over Waow seems to be the vote, right? What about the Seahorse?

The Seahorse is a good boat, but it's more of the older style and size and not over-the-top big like the others, so you will have much less space. I cannot speak to the Amira vs. WAOW. I know about them, but I haven't heard specifics in a while, so I will remain silent.

So much of a trip experience is about the crew as opposed to the boat, which only makes choosing harder.

You can also check the Raja Ampat Aggressor. This boat used to be the Ocean Rover. The boat looks like a tug, but it was pretty awesome back in the day. It started in Thailand. It was a pristine boat. Then it was sold to Roman Szalsay, who moved it to Indonesian. It kind of went downhill. Roman died of cancer and the boat was sold. The new owners joined the Aggressor fleet. It's a new crew and everyone involved is in the learning process, but the boat has been fixed up a bit and it's a very comfortable layout for a boat that size. I'm really hoping they do a good job with it. [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]
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