Thank you Pillpusher for sharing your information!
I got the same impression, when searching the web.
Hiya
The above recent Facebook comments were from me; so what can I tell you.....
This was our 1st visit to Indonesia but not our 1st liveaboard and I have to say it's the best liveaboard we've had the pleasure of sailing on.
There's plenty of space above and below deck (cabin 3) and kitting up was pleasurable given the space!
The Italian owner was on the boat and was involved in the building of the boat and has a real sense of what's needed on a liveaboard and it's clear to see his 'love' for the boat.
On our trip there were 8 divers (2x Brits, 2x Swiss, 2x German, 1x Serbian, 1x Aussie) and we all came together as one group of divers along with a crew of 18 but at time I felt like I was the only one on the boat which was great!
The dive day & diving:
7am wake up which for us was a sleep-in for is as we're used to the Maldives where it's a usual wake up of 6am and a small breakfast and then 1st dive and back on the boat for full breakfast.
2nd dive was around 11am
3rd dive was around 3pm
4th dive was around 7pm
There's 2 small tenders for the dives and we had 3 guides on every dive plus the owner dipped in/out of the dives as and when.
The crew wash all your gear after every dive and keep the kitting up area spotless; you've a plastic crate for keeping all of your dive bits & bobs and if you've a camera there's a dry room near kitting up area with plenty of sockets.
The diving was fantastic; yes there were some 'interesting' currents (mainly dive 1) but that said they were better than I expected but on 1 dive we did come up a 'little early' due to an up current and minus a safety stop so once back on Samambaia we were asked to take a seat and partake of some free O2.
I'm so glad I upgraded my mask last year for some lenses to help me see things a little easier as there's some real small stuff to see; how the eagle eyed guides spotted some of 'wonders' amazes me that said there was still stuff I missed!
Water temp varied 28 to 23 but that said I managed in my 3mm full on most days and topped it up with a skin and was fine and I am only ever a warm water diver but a few of the divers used a full 5mm x2 on some dives.
I did chose some am 'duvet time' and didn't do all of the morning dives; I was on holiday and one morning I came up on deck to see the waters surface going in every direction it could and it was very clear to see it was obviously all 'kicking off' below and hubby did return from the dive saying it was one of the 'craziest dives' he had ever done!
Another morning again after some am 'duvet time' I came up on deck to the crew calling me to tell me a Kom dragon was in the water and attempting to get from one island to another, all the time my dive buddies were in close proximity on their 1st dive of the day - I did contemplate making a call to our insurance company and upping the policy cover but alas no signal on my phone!!!
For the most part of our trip we were the only divers on most of the dives which was great.
Feeding time:
Breakfast was a case of deciding before 1st dive from noodles/rice, eggs/bacon, toast/pancakes, fruit
Lunch and dinner were 3 courses and was a mix but with a strong Itilian presence; I'm a non-fish eater and I wasn't forced to live on veg/noodles/rice unlike other boats I've been on!
Chef was fantastic and very accommodating; the freshly made chilli dip(thing) seemed to get hotter as the trip went on once I think he realised there were some 'chilli-heads' (my husband being one of them) around the table!!
The Komodo dragons were amazing to see; we went on land to see them which was great and then another day we went on the tenders with some crew and a bucket of 'fish heads' to an island where they were on the beach and whilst remaining on the tenders we got to see 'up close and personally' how bloody agile' they are in the water when there's some fish heads up for grabs!
We did a short visit to an island to see some views and a sunset which was nice but for me I'm more than happy to stay on the boat or below the waves.
Luggage allowances; we had 30kg (hold) & 7kg (cabin) each to Bali but for domestic flights to Bima/from Maumere the allowance was 10kg - they didn't weigh our hand luggage but did weigh hold luggage and charge us excess both ways (wasn't ££££)
I'm more than happy with the Samambaia and will without a doubt book a return trip onboard; it won't be until 2019 as 2018 dive plans are already booked and I'd strongly recommend the boat to dive friends.
I know I've 'waffled' on but if you have any specific Q's then please ask away
Enjoy the bubbles......
Vicky
