My daughter used Bluewater for our Philippines trip and both of us were very happy about all the interactions.
Overwhelmed with decisions (should I get a travel agent?)
- Thread starter NitroxNemo
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Darnold9999
Contributor
All of your boat choices are good ones. My first choice would be Damai but would take any one of them on the right itinerary. I would add Samambia to the list. Definitely RA over Banda. You want a trip that is at least ten days and includes both north and south, not a repositioning trip. If at all possible do a few days diving in Indo land based before the liveaboard. Lembeh for example. Traveling from North America you will be seriously jet lagged and recovering on a very expensive dive boat is a waste. You won’t even remember the first few days diving. If you can’t do diving consider doing a few days in Bali or Singapore before the trip.
I do almost all of my bookings myself but when I do bookings through a travel agent in Indo I use and highly recommend Underwater Tribe. Based in Bali with extensive experience in the area. The benefit over someone from the US is that they are local with local connections. If something goes wrong they are nearby and can fix it with a call or two. I don’t believe they arrange international flights, but I am not sure. They do local flights.
I do almost all of my bookings myself but when I do bookings through a travel agent in Indo I use and highly recommend Underwater Tribe. Based in Bali with extensive experience in the area. The benefit over someone from the US is that they are local with local connections. If something goes wrong they are nearby and can fix it with a call or two. I don’t believe they arrange international flights, but I am not sure. They do local flights.
reubencahn
Contributor
FWIW, I was recently on Dewi Nusantara. It' s a very nice boat and very well run, but it didn't feel like a luxury boat to me. I booked at a significant discount. Had I paid full price, I would have been annoyed. Damai II is great as long as the seas are not rough. When they are, it is the noisiest boat I've ever been on. Everything else about the boat is fantastic, and it is luxurious. I was on Damai I many years ago, and it was also a great boat. Finally, I highly recommend Samambaia. It's a little smaller and maybe service is a bit less than Damai, but I loved the boat itself and the crew. It's probably my favorite of these. Never been on Arenui, but have heard great things about it.
cetacean
Contributor
Having been on both Damai boats and the Arenui, the boats are very similar in construction quality, comfort, dive platform, etc. Where the Arenui might slightly exceeed either of the Damai boats is in the service area. The Arenui provides an excellent experience, and the food is very, very good.
As for liveaboards - the most comfortable boat I've ever been on was the Argo, at Cocos. The boat is rock solid, and their system to lessen rolling while at anchor definitely works.
My preferred agent is Greg at Liquid Diving Adventures:
Scuba Diving Destinations - Vacation Specials - Liquid Diving Adventures
He has helped me all over the world but especially so for Raja Ampat.
Scuba Diving Destinations - Vacation Specials - Liquid Diving Adventures
He has helped me all over the world but especially so for Raja Ampat.
Dan
Contributor
I have used Bluewater Travel and Liquid Diving Adventures. I prefer the latter. @aquabluegreg would give me a better deal.
I’ve been on Damai and other Indonesian wooden boats (Amira, ****kira, Tarata, Pindito, Pearl of Papua, La Galigo). They are noisy and slow. If you are a light sleeper, get a metal boat like White Manta, Blue Msnta, Mermaid 1 or 2, and pick an upper deck cabin.
rsfinn57
Contributor
another one for liquid diving adventures. When traveling in that area my wife spend two or three days in Singapore on the way in. Recover from the flight and enough time to see the beautiful gardens by the sea and enjoy amazing food in the hawker halls
My wife and I go on dive trips with another couple annually, and for our bigger trips to the Pacific we always use a highly experienced local dive travel agent. In fact, as I type she is working on options for next year's trip, which might be to Raja Ampat or the Philippines, depending upon what she comes up with. A good travel agent not only knows the diving options, he or she will know the other options in the area. For example, on our 3-week trip to Bali, she had us in 3 different locations for the diving, and we had a number of highly interesting cultural excursions along the way.
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