Anybody dove Raja Ampat aboard the Pearl of Papua Liveaboard?

[elmorri]

I haven't heard that yet, any idea what the new fee will be?

I'm looking for a liveaboard in 2019, and they told me 170$.

 

[guppyman]

Take a look at my trip report that Dan mentioned. It was from just a few months ago. The POP is not a luxury boat, but it was fine for my expectations.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Billy

 

[elmorri]

Take a look at my trip report that Dan mentioned. It was from just a few months ago. The POP is not a luxury boat, but it was fine for my expectations.

Thanks so much, I read it and it helped me to get a clearer picture of the liveaboard. I have already booked my seat

I can't wait for it!

 

[outofofficebrb]

Thanks so much, I read it and it helped me to get a clearer picture of the liveaboard. I have already booked my seat

I can't wait for it!

When are you going?

I am on April 8 sailing.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Hi, folks. I did the April 8-18 sailing on the Pearl of Papua. I’ll provide more information as requested when I get back home as I’m still traveling. In short, this was my 9th liveaboard. Pick up/drop off, check in/check out was the worst I have ever experienced.

I was told 10 AM from hotel and they showed up at 9 with no notice. We were taken to the boat and told to go to the restaurant which is usually when they check everyone in, go over safety, procedures, schedules, etc. None of that happened. We had lunch then they showed us our rooms and said a check dive was in the afternoon. We never saw the cruise director or talked to him outside of dive briefings and actual dives. However, his briefings were very good. We set sail, had dinner, and then at 9PM he reviewed basic safety and muster information and that was it. No crew introduction - you were on your own. No western cruise director - the cruise director and all the guides are all freelance. FYI one of the freelance guides ran out of air 2-3 times out of 31 dives and had to cut the dives short at 45 minutes. I’ve never heard of this and their group of 4 were miffed. He was always zipping around unnecessarily.

Crew smoked in dive deck areas while folks were getting ready - which I really disliked. The air smelled funny (nitrox) all week but only registered as 0-1 maybe 2 PPM on my Sensorcon.

DO NOT book in Seahorse 3 or 4 - these rooms back up to the engine and the room will smell like diesel all week long. As will the hallway for the lower deck which leads to all the Seahorse and Manta rooms Exhaust was in our Seahorse 4 bathroom at some points in time. I travel with a Sensorcon CO detector as recommended by @DandyDon (I think) and during a dive, we forgot to turn it off and it registered in excess of 90PPM. Needless to say.....As a result of all this, from a convenience and safety standpoint, I showered on deck with one of the on deck showers (one side has warm water the other has cold) and slept in the dining lounge area all week. I’m currently working with my travel agent on some financial recourse.

It’s a budget liveaboard but the AC was strong which was nice, as was the size of the room (not the smallest I’ve been). The water pressure was abysmal regardless of whether anyone else was showering or using water. Dive deck showers were great.

If it rains, your only sanctuary is the restaurant lounge. Middle deck is shaded by with a mesh tarp. Upper sub deck is self explanatory. Dives in Misool were as follows with briefings 15 minutes before dive times after currents were checked. We worked around Misool eco resort and other liveaboards in the area when selecting dive sites. In central and northern Raja Ampat, wake up was at 6:30 instead and all morning dives were pushed back by 30 minutes.

6 AM wake up, light breakfast
7 AM dive 1
Hot breakfast
10:30 AM dive 2
Lunch
3 PM dive 3
Snack
6:30 PM night dive
8 PM dinner

There are 2 dive tenders and crew bring your gear on and off. Gear up in boats. It has an awkward lip up from the seating area so backrolls require a little more coordination. Dive times are 60 minutes or until 50 bar/750 psi whichever comes first. 30m rough max depth though if you want to go deeper you could. Reef hook was used for safety stops and some dive sites, muck sticks are super helpful as well. The crew are great with camera and gear. They are very in tune with photographers preferences and very careful. The largest rinse tank I have seen on most boats. Camera table areas are not enough for everyone but there are ample outlets in the lounge/restaurant and also in your room if you bring a power strip.

Food was pretty good and they catered to vegetarians and vegans well as I observed with others.

The long and short of it is that it’s okay as a budget liveaboard if and only if you don’t book the lower deck rooms. The other folks in upper cabins didn’t have as much issue. After all this, I think there are better boats out there and it is worth paying a little more. I bought in at $3275 including free nitrox and MP/port fees for a 10 night sailing with 31-32 dives.

The night before checkout we actually had to find the cruise director after dinner to find out what we owed, when we were all leaving, etc. After, he had the wrong week’s MP passes and has to get them emergency printed in Sorong so that we would have them when we disembarked the next day. The fee was $125 for port and MP fee for this sailing and all Raja Ampat MP passes are valid for 1 year after issue if you return. Overall pick up/check in/check out was poorly coordinated and disorganized.

Please let me know if you have questions and I can reply more when I get home. This was my second trip to Raja Ampat.

 

[DandyDon]

I travel with a Sensorcon CO detector as recommended by @DandyDon (I think) and during a dive, we forgot to turn it off and it registered in excess of 90PPM.

That's why I never turn mine off. Why did you?

 

[outofofficebrb]

That's why I never turn mine off. Why did you?

I usually turn it off during the day when I’m not in the room. A happy accident!

 

[Robert Geist]

Hi, folks. I did the April 8-18 sailing on the Pearl of Papua. I’ll provide more information as requested when I get back home as I’m still traveling. In short, this was my 9th liveaboard. Pick up/drop off, check in/check out was the worst I have ever experienced.

I was told 10 AM from hotel and they showed up at 9 with no notice. We were taken to the boat and told to go to the restaurant which is usually when they check everyone in, go over safety, procedures, schedules, etc. None of that happened. We had lunch then they showed us our rooms and said a check dive was in the afternoon. We never saw the cruise director or talked to him outside of dive briefings and actual dives. However, his briefings were very good. We set sail, had dinner, and then at 9PM he reviewed basic safety and muster information and that was it. No crew introduction - you were on your own. No western cruise director - the cruise director and all the guides are all freelance. FYI one of the freelance guides ran out of air 2-3 times out of 31 dives and had to cut the dives short at 45 minutes. I’ve never heard of this and their group of 4 were miffed. He was always zipping around unnecessarily.

Crew smoked in dive deck areas while folks were getting ready - which I really disliked. The air smelled funny (nitrox) all week but only registered as 0-1 maybe 2 PPM on my Sensorcon.

DO NOT book in Seahorse 3 or 4 - these rooms back up to the engine and the room will smell like diesel all week long. As will the hallway for the lower deck which leads to all the Seahorse and Manta rooms Exhaust was in our Seahorse 4 bathroom at some points in time. I travel with a Sensorcon CO detector as recommended by @DandyDon (I think) and during a dive, we forgot to turn it off and it registered in excess of 90PPM. Needless to say.....As a result of all this, from a convenience and safety standpoint, I showered on deck with one of the on deck showers (one side has warm water the other has cold) and slept in the dining lounge area all week. I’m currently working with my travel agent on some financial recourse.

It’s a budget liveaboard but the AC was strong which was nice, as was the size of the room (not the smallest I’ve been). The water pressure was abysmal regardless of whether anyone else was showering or using water. Dive deck showers were great.

If it rains, your only sanctuary is the restaurant lounge. Middle deck is shaded by with a mesh tarp. Upper sub deck is self explanatory. Dives in Misool were as follows with briefings 15 minutes before dive times after currents were checked. We worked around Misool eco resort and other liveaboards in the area when selecting dive sites. In central and northern Raja Ampat, wake up was at 6:30 instead and all morning dives were pushed back by 30 minutes.

6 AM wake up, light breakfast
7 AM dive 1
Hot breakfast
10:30 AM dive 2
Lunch
3 PM dive 3
Snack
6:30 PM night dive
8 PM dinner

There are 2 dive tenders and crew bring your gear on and off. Gear up in boats. It has an awkward lip up from the seating area so backrolls require a little more coordination. Dive times are 60 minutes or until 50 bar/750 psi whichever comes first. 30m rough max depth though if you want to go deeper you could. Reef hook was used for safety stops and some dive sites, muck sticks are super helpful as well. The crew are great with camera and gear. They are very in tune with photographers preferences and very careful. The largest rinse tank I have seen on most boats. Camera table areas are not enough for everyone but there are ample outlets in the lounge/restaurant and also in your room if you bring a power strip.

Food was pretty good and they catered to vegetarians and vegans well as I observed with others.

The long and short of it is that it’s okay as a budget liveaboard if and only if you don’t book the lower deck rooms. The other folks in upper cabins didn’t have as much issue. After all this, I think there are better boats out there and it is worth paying a little more. I bought in at $3275 including free nitrox and MP/port fees for a 10 night sailing with 31-32 dives.

The night before checkout we actually had to find the cruise director after dinner to find out what we owed, when we were all leaving, etc. After, he had the wrong week’s MP passes and has to get them emergency printed in Sorong so that we would have them when we disembarked the next day. The fee was $125 for port and MP fee for this sailing and all Raja Ampat MP passes are valid for 1 year after issue if you return. Overall pick up/check in/check out was poorly coordinated and disorganized.

Please let me know if you have questions and I can reply more when I get home. This was my second trip to Raja Ampat.

Great review learned a lot.

 

[DandyDon]

I usually turn it off during the day when I’m not in the room. A happy accident!

I leave mine on 24/7.