Diving for Divers
My friend and I try to get a Liveaboard booked every year so that we have chance to experience some amazing diving and catch up on a girlie gossip. Logistically it is a nightmare for us as I am UK based and she is based in Japan.
When we first made contact with the Euphoria we emailed and had a wonderful response from a lady called Ewa. Ewa looked after us from this point and all of our correspondence from Ewa was fantastic. She kept us both up to date with all of our travel arrangements, marine park fees and contact details for Raja Ampat. I have booked with other Liveaboard companies and had problems making a payments, not being updated regarding travel requirments etc but my experience with the Euphoria was a totally different experience Professional yet personal. They actually care about you and dont just see you as a Euro/Dollar/Yen/GBP.
I stayed in the VIP cabin which was clean, spacious, air conditioned. The cabin had plenty of storage space, comfy beds and a private veranda with seating. The shower was great too, it was always hot which is so important after a dive. Throughout the stay our room was cleaned daily and spotless. The laundry facilities are also excellent. I managed to get some washing done for me whilst on board.
Upon arrival Artur (one of the owners) introduced himself to us and the crew. Artur has a dark sense of humour but is a big teddy bear so dont let this fool you, he cares about his crew and the people who are diving with him and wants them to experience the best of Raja Ampat Which is what I had. He knows the dive sites inside out and makes sure you get to experience and dive the best sites.
Well down to the nitty gritty Diving, Crew & Food
Prior to diving the dive briefing where short and to the point but always got the message across. Mansur was my Dive guide and he was absolutely fantastic. He is a brilliant critter spotter so you will get to see all the weird and wonderful creatures Raja Ampat has to offer. Mansur was also cracking jokes and entertaining us on the ship - doing impersonations of Bonnie M and Hindi movie dancing. It was hilarious!! There was never a dull moment on the boat too. One of my favourite dives was a night dive at Alyui Pier where Mansur found the Ghost Pipe Fish, Banded Pipe Fish, juvenile batfish (one of the symbols of Raja Ampat marine tag), woebegongs, among numerous other things! All of the dive guides treated the underwater creatures with the respect never prodding them like I have seen happen on other boats.
One of my biggest concerns when diving on liveaboards is my equipment. Will it be looked after and handled with care? As all divers will understand its such an expensive hobby Dive Equipment and Cameras are painful to my bank balance. When you are on a liveaboard you want to know that your equipment is in safe hands. Let me reassure you it totally is. All of the crew are so careful when handling your equipment and also you. As a woman sometimes it can be a wee bit tricky to get on a boat but all of the guys made sure I got onto the boat safe and sound along with my equipment. The crew were all local, and very sweet, helpful, and were eager to include us into their conversations (they taught me some Bahasa too!) catered to my requests with a smile.
When diving it is important to be fully fuelled (food wise) to get the most out of your diving. On board the Euphoria the meals are mainly Indonesian and they taste fantastic buffet style. I never went to bed hungry and there was never something that I was unable to eat. When we went to Wayag we even had an evening BBQ on the beach. It was a beautiful setting. Floren (one of the dive guides) played the guitar and was accompanied by one of the guest on bongos. It was a wonderful evening. I had my birthday on board and the crew made me a wonderful chocolate cake The best way to celebrate your birthday Cake and amazing diving!!!
I love to dive but when you visit Raja Ampat one on shore experience you must not miss is Wayag. Get your ass off the boat and walk up the mountain. It is only 20 minutes to the top but you get to experience the most amazing view and can have a swim when you get back down. If you are like me built for comfort and not speed (code for unfit and overweight) dont think that you wont be able to reach the top. I say this because the crew made sure I did. They were patient and with me every step of the way, climbing barefoot!
The only thing that you cannot control are the people who go on the liveaboard. Unfortunately there was a group of four guests from Austria who were an absolute nightmare. Luckily I did not have to dive with them but they gained notoriety due to there constant complaining and rudeness to both crew and guests. They did not like to night dive so expected no-one else to enjoy it. They also wanted to dictate and make decisions for other guests around the diving schedule. Artur made sure that this did not happen. The night dives continued and Artur always followed the majority when making any decisions regarding the dive schedule. I was relieved when to see the crew took them in their stride, kept our zodiacs separate, and was impressed by the way the crew were so polite to them.
So the questions are .
Would I book with the Euphoria again? Hell yeah. You betcha.
Would I recommend this liveaboard? 100%, get it booked now!!!
My friend and I try to get a Liveaboard booked every year so that we have chance to experience some amazing diving and catch up on a girlie gossip. Logistically it is a nightmare for us as I am UK based and she is based in Japan.
When we first made contact with the Euphoria we emailed and had a wonderful response from a lady called Ewa. Ewa looked after us from this point and all of our correspondence from Ewa was fantastic. She kept us both up to date with all of our travel arrangements, marine park fees and contact details for Raja Ampat. I have booked with other Liveaboard companies and had problems making a payments, not being updated regarding travel requirments etc but my experience with the Euphoria was a totally different experience Professional yet personal. They actually care about you and dont just see you as a Euro/Dollar/Yen/GBP.
I stayed in the VIP cabin which was clean, spacious, air conditioned. The cabin had plenty of storage space, comfy beds and a private veranda with seating. The shower was great too, it was always hot which is so important after a dive. Throughout the stay our room was cleaned daily and spotless. The laundry facilities are also excellent. I managed to get some washing done for me whilst on board.
Upon arrival Artur (one of the owners) introduced himself to us and the crew. Artur has a dark sense of humour but is a big teddy bear so dont let this fool you, he cares about his crew and the people who are diving with him and wants them to experience the best of Raja Ampat Which is what I had. He knows the dive sites inside out and makes sure you get to experience and dive the best sites.
Well down to the nitty gritty Diving, Crew & Food
Prior to diving the dive briefing where short and to the point but always got the message across. Mansur was my Dive guide and he was absolutely fantastic. He is a brilliant critter spotter so you will get to see all the weird and wonderful creatures Raja Ampat has to offer. Mansur was also cracking jokes and entertaining us on the ship - doing impersonations of Bonnie M and Hindi movie dancing. It was hilarious!! There was never a dull moment on the boat too. One of my favourite dives was a night dive at Alyui Pier where Mansur found the Ghost Pipe Fish, Banded Pipe Fish, juvenile batfish (one of the symbols of Raja Ampat marine tag), woebegongs, among numerous other things! All of the dive guides treated the underwater creatures with the respect never prodding them like I have seen happen on other boats.
One of my biggest concerns when diving on liveaboards is my equipment. Will it be looked after and handled with care? As all divers will understand its such an expensive hobby Dive Equipment and Cameras are painful to my bank balance. When you are on a liveaboard you want to know that your equipment is in safe hands. Let me reassure you it totally is. All of the crew are so careful when handling your equipment and also you. As a woman sometimes it can be a wee bit tricky to get on a boat but all of the guys made sure I got onto the boat safe and sound along with my equipment. The crew were all local, and very sweet, helpful, and were eager to include us into their conversations (they taught me some Bahasa too!) catered to my requests with a smile.
When diving it is important to be fully fuelled (food wise) to get the most out of your diving. On board the Euphoria the meals are mainly Indonesian and they taste fantastic buffet style. I never went to bed hungry and there was never something that I was unable to eat. When we went to Wayag we even had an evening BBQ on the beach. It was a beautiful setting. Floren (one of the dive guides) played the guitar and was accompanied by one of the guest on bongos. It was a wonderful evening. I had my birthday on board and the crew made me a wonderful chocolate cake The best way to celebrate your birthday Cake and amazing diving!!!
I love to dive but when you visit Raja Ampat one on shore experience you must not miss is Wayag. Get your ass off the boat and walk up the mountain. It is only 20 minutes to the top but you get to experience the most amazing view and can have a swim when you get back down. If you are like me built for comfort and not speed (code for unfit and overweight) dont think that you wont be able to reach the top. I say this because the crew made sure I did. They were patient and with me every step of the way, climbing barefoot!
The only thing that you cannot control are the people who go on the liveaboard. Unfortunately there was a group of four guests from Austria who were an absolute nightmare. Luckily I did not have to dive with them but they gained notoriety due to there constant complaining and rudeness to both crew and guests. They did not like to night dive so expected no-one else to enjoy it. They also wanted to dictate and make decisions for other guests around the diving schedule. Artur made sure that this did not happen. The night dives continued and Artur always followed the majority when making any decisions regarding the dive schedule. I was relieved when to see the crew took them in their stride, kept our zodiacs separate, and was impressed by the way the crew were so polite to them.
So the questions are .
Would I book with the Euphoria again? Hell yeah. You betcha.
Would I recommend this liveaboard? 100%, get it booked now!!!
