pinkerton
Registered
We were a group of 4 Americans who live on the north east coast of the US. To get to the boat we traveled to Los Angeles, Manila, Jakarta, and then Sorong. It was a long trip. We are grateful for Tim Yeo at Bluewater Travel for guiding us through all of the travel arrangements. This 12 day tour was called the Raja Ampat Ultimate.
There were 17 guests, 4 Americans, 1 Italian, and the rest were French. The boat had a new relief cruise director who flawlessly switched languages (including Indonesian). He was honest about not knowing the boat and routine. He was very helpful and worked hard to make sure each guest was heard and needs were met.
All staff were friendly and helpful throughout the cruise. They could not have been better.
The less positive aspects of the Ambai are the state of the boat and general upkeep. There was a picture of the staff on the dive deck but it was outdated and several people weren't on it. Staff weren't introduced until the night we had a beach barbecue. Trash was not emptied regularly and the small bins for cans and bottles were often overflowing. The boat is a little rough around the edges and could use some "maintenance ".
The steward was super friendly and organized. He went out of his way to meet all of the guests' needs.
The food was just okay. There was a good amount of food but the quality and variety was missing. At the beginning the food was already on the table when we got back from diving. Everything was cold. The cruise director talked with staff and most of that problem was resolved. Two people notified ahead of time that they don't eat fish. The cruise director confirmed, but there were still days with no protein option for them. Often it was microwaved chicken nuggets. One night it was a gray colored beef. There was always fruit and vegetables at each meal but the quality was missing. We also missed baked goods like cookies.
All dive staff were super friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. They handled all of our gear for us, and even rinsed our wetsuits. At the end of the trip they washed and hung everything to dry for us. There was 1 dive guide for 4 guests. At our request we had the same guide for the duration which really helped as we got to know each other. Our guide was obviously experienced. He did a great job finding the teeny critters Raja Ampat is known for. My husband, a macro photographer, was very happy! At one point we were caught in a downdraft and our guide worked really hard to get us all to the surface safely. Another time a stranger ran out of air on a night dive and our guide shared air and returned him to his group. We really appreciated his composure and training. My one negative comment would be that we were not briefed about reef hooks. We are typically Caribbean divers with no need for reef hooks. I think it was assumed that we had them as standard equipment. After our first experience with very strong current we were given hooks for all 4 of us to use. We really appreciated that.
Someone was always on the dive deck to answer questions or help as needed. There were 2 showers and 2 heads on the dive deck.
The diving was varied with really big fish, mantas, sharks (one dive had 5 Woebegongs), all kinds of tiny critters, and stunning soft and hard corals. There were times when the schooling fish were like a cloud we swam through.
The first dive was before breakfast (cereal and fruit available early), the second after a big breakfast, 3rd after lunch, 4th a night dive. Dinner was after the night dive which was very late some nights.
There was a big issue at the end of the cruise when we were informed that there was no credit card machine and on board bills should be paid in cash. That included port fees, fuel surcharge, wine, rental equipment, etc. It was a shock to many of us and something that should have been advertised ahead of time.
There were 17 guests, 4 Americans, 1 Italian, and the rest were French. The boat had a new relief cruise director who flawlessly switched languages (including Indonesian). He was honest about not knowing the boat and routine. He was very helpful and worked hard to make sure each guest was heard and needs were met.
All staff were friendly and helpful throughout the cruise. They could not have been better.
The less positive aspects of the Ambai are the state of the boat and general upkeep. There was a picture of the staff on the dive deck but it was outdated and several people weren't on it. Staff weren't introduced until the night we had a beach barbecue. Trash was not emptied regularly and the small bins for cans and bottles were often overflowing. The boat is a little rough around the edges and could use some "maintenance ".
The steward was super friendly and organized. He went out of his way to meet all of the guests' needs.
The food was just okay. There was a good amount of food but the quality and variety was missing. At the beginning the food was already on the table when we got back from diving. Everything was cold. The cruise director talked with staff and most of that problem was resolved. Two people notified ahead of time that they don't eat fish. The cruise director confirmed, but there were still days with no protein option for them. Often it was microwaved chicken nuggets. One night it was a gray colored beef. There was always fruit and vegetables at each meal but the quality was missing. We also missed baked goods like cookies.
All dive staff were super friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. They handled all of our gear for us, and even rinsed our wetsuits. At the end of the trip they washed and hung everything to dry for us. There was 1 dive guide for 4 guests. At our request we had the same guide for the duration which really helped as we got to know each other. Our guide was obviously experienced. He did a great job finding the teeny critters Raja Ampat is known for. My husband, a macro photographer, was very happy! At one point we were caught in a downdraft and our guide worked really hard to get us all to the surface safely. Another time a stranger ran out of air on a night dive and our guide shared air and returned him to his group. We really appreciated his composure and training. My one negative comment would be that we were not briefed about reef hooks. We are typically Caribbean divers with no need for reef hooks. I think it was assumed that we had them as standard equipment. After our first experience with very strong current we were given hooks for all 4 of us to use. We really appreciated that.
Someone was always on the dive deck to answer questions or help as needed. There were 2 showers and 2 heads on the dive deck.
The diving was varied with really big fish, mantas, sharks (one dive had 5 Woebegongs), all kinds of tiny critters, and stunning soft and hard corals. There were times when the schooling fish were like a cloud we swam through.
The first dive was before breakfast (cereal and fruit available early), the second after a big breakfast, 3rd after lunch, 4th a night dive. Dinner was after the night dive which was very late some nights.
There was a big issue at the end of the cruise when we were informed that there was no credit card machine and on board bills should be paid in cash. That included port fees, fuel surcharge, wine, rental equipment, etc. It was a shock to many of us and something that should have been advertised ahead of time.
