I posted a review of my whole trip to Indonesia on the Indonesia forum but I added more detail about the boat on this forum...
KOMODO and THE DEWI NUSANTARA
What a beautiful boat….. We were on the boat within an hour of landing at the airport. The whole crew greeted us as we pulled up to the boat to board and this became a welcomed ritual after every dive. All the bags made it and we were all pretty excited. Many of the guests were return customers so everything went pretty smoothly. Wendy the cruise director is fabulous and made the trip all the more enjoyable. We were also lucky enough to meet and talk to the owner /boat builder while we were in port. His was quite a character and shared some great stories with all of us. We had people from all over the world so it was a great mix of people and turned out to be a great group of companions!!!
We headed out of Labuan Bajo after the last person arrived and we were able to dive that first afternoon! The diving was great and the crew was fantastic. All the groups were fairly small. Ranging from 2-4 divers with a DM/Guide. All of the dives were guided due to currents and conditions, and all the guides were great. Our group was the biggest with 4 divers but we were all good divers and became fast friends. I was the only photographer in our group and we had two videographers so I thought it was perfect. We did 30 dives total with some exploration dives that were just as good as the popular ones!
We dove north Komodo for five days and had some awesome diving. We dove:
Sebayur Kecil – check out dive
Castle Rock – Great Dive!!
Crystal Rock – Ripping Current but great dive!
GDL Pass
Hot Rocks – One of our favorites!!
Estuary
Gila Banta K2 – Little colder but nice dive
Batu Monco
Coral Garden
Shot Gun – Manta, sharks = J
Batu Bolong – Current worked out perfect for us so this was an amazing dive!
Wainlu – Picturesque Dragonets and Mandarin Fish mating!!
Then we headed to the South to Horseshoe Bay Rinca, where water got considerably colder, but diving remained fantastic. The crossing was a little rough but the boat is big and handles it well. We surprised a few fishermen who probably were not expecting any dive boats to make the crossing. They took off pretty quickly but unfortunately their presence became quite evident on our Cannibal Rock dive. There were dead fish everywhere from obvious bombing. It was a little distressing to say the least….
The crew took videos and pictures and made a report but it sounds like not much will be done.
Other sites:
Torpedo Alley
Yellow Wall
W-Reef Padar
Secret Garden Padar
Pasir Putih Padar
I was quite thankful to head back north to warmer water….
Tatawa Besar
Karang Makasar in Current City – Best dive of trip! Exciting Roller Coaster current. Mantas, a huge squadron of Mobula Rays, Spotted Eagle Rays, Sharks, Green Turtles, Hawksbill Turtles and we even spotted a pretty rare nudi!!
We repeated Wainlu (More Mandarin fish and a couple people even found the eel that has not been identified yet!) and Shot Gun.
After every dive there were two crew members there with warm towels and a neck and back massage!!! Any kinks you had from travel were quickly relieved!!
On the trip back to port they put the sails up and we sailed. Great wind and a beautiful Sail!!!
The food was good. You had a continental breakfast available at 6am and the first dive was usually around 7:30am. Breakfast was after the first dive and was made to order. Second dive was usually around 11:00 followed by your typical Indonesian fare for lunch. Second dive was around 2:00pm and they always had a great snack available after. Night dive was usually at 4:50 and we were always handed warm hot chocolate after the night dive. Dinner was very good and the service was impeccable. The soups were delicious and not to be missed. Henrick was an amazing steward and would try to make everyone happy.
The rooms are all nice on this boat. They are beautifully appointed and roomy! The crew was fantastic and so much fun!!! They all sang to us on our anniversary and my cheeks have not hurt so much from smiling since my wedding day so it was very special! We are already looking at our next trip on this amazing boat!! Komodo diving was exciting and had something for everyone!!!!
KOMODO and THE DEWI NUSANTARA
What a beautiful boat….. We were on the boat within an hour of landing at the airport. The whole crew greeted us as we pulled up to the boat to board and this became a welcomed ritual after every dive. All the bags made it and we were all pretty excited. Many of the guests were return customers so everything went pretty smoothly. Wendy the cruise director is fabulous and made the trip all the more enjoyable. We were also lucky enough to meet and talk to the owner /boat builder while we were in port. His was quite a character and shared some great stories with all of us. We had people from all over the world so it was a great mix of people and turned out to be a great group of companions!!!
We headed out of Labuan Bajo after the last person arrived and we were able to dive that first afternoon! The diving was great and the crew was fantastic. All the groups were fairly small. Ranging from 2-4 divers with a DM/Guide. All of the dives were guided due to currents and conditions, and all the guides were great. Our group was the biggest with 4 divers but we were all good divers and became fast friends. I was the only photographer in our group and we had two videographers so I thought it was perfect. We did 30 dives total with some exploration dives that were just as good as the popular ones!
We dove north Komodo for five days and had some awesome diving. We dove:
Sebayur Kecil – check out dive
Castle Rock – Great Dive!!
Crystal Rock – Ripping Current but great dive!
GDL Pass
Hot Rocks – One of our favorites!!
Estuary
Gila Banta K2 – Little colder but nice dive
Batu Monco
Coral Garden
Shot Gun – Manta, sharks = J
Batu Bolong – Current worked out perfect for us so this was an amazing dive!
Wainlu – Picturesque Dragonets and Mandarin Fish mating!!
Then we headed to the South to Horseshoe Bay Rinca, where water got considerably colder, but diving remained fantastic. The crossing was a little rough but the boat is big and handles it well. We surprised a few fishermen who probably were not expecting any dive boats to make the crossing. They took off pretty quickly but unfortunately their presence became quite evident on our Cannibal Rock dive. There were dead fish everywhere from obvious bombing. It was a little distressing to say the least….
The crew took videos and pictures and made a report but it sounds like not much will be done.
Other sites:
Torpedo Alley
Yellow Wall
W-Reef Padar
Secret Garden Padar
Pasir Putih Padar
I was quite thankful to head back north to warmer water….
Tatawa Besar
Karang Makasar in Current City – Best dive of trip! Exciting Roller Coaster current. Mantas, a huge squadron of Mobula Rays, Spotted Eagle Rays, Sharks, Green Turtles, Hawksbill Turtles and we even spotted a pretty rare nudi!!
We repeated Wainlu (More Mandarin fish and a couple people even found the eel that has not been identified yet!) and Shot Gun.
After every dive there were two crew members there with warm towels and a neck and back massage!!! Any kinks you had from travel were quickly relieved!!
On the trip back to port they put the sails up and we sailed. Great wind and a beautiful Sail!!!
The food was good. You had a continental breakfast available at 6am and the first dive was usually around 7:30am. Breakfast was after the first dive and was made to order. Second dive was usually around 11:00 followed by your typical Indonesian fare for lunch. Second dive was around 2:00pm and they always had a great snack available after. Night dive was usually at 4:50 and we were always handed warm hot chocolate after the night dive. Dinner was very good and the service was impeccable. The soups were delicious and not to be missed. Henrick was an amazing steward and would try to make everyone happy.
The rooms are all nice on this boat. They are beautifully appointed and roomy! The crew was fantastic and so much fun!!! They all sang to us on our anniversary and my cheeks have not hurt so much from smiling since my wedding day so it was very special! We are already looking at our next trip on this amazing boat!! Komodo diving was exciting and had something for everyone!!!!
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