How far in advance should we book a liveaboard to Indonesia?

[batts]

Hello-
I am considering an Indonesia liveaboard trip for a fall 2014 honeymoon. Based on my research, I am very interested in a trip that visits both Raja Ampat and the Banda Sea, but would also consider other itineraries. We are targeting September, October or November 2014. We've looked at several boats but are not seeing many options for this window. Is it possible that some trips are not yet posted on the calendar or should we choose based on what is available now? Given the few trips available, should we consider other locations for this time period? Does anyone have recommendations for specific boats?

Thanks for any insight,
Lindsay Battles

 

[Hintermann]

If you are going in November, Raja Ampat is a great choice. There are plenty of liveaboard options and Dive the World and Symbiosis Travel give a good choice (some overlap). The Raja Ampat cruises are very popular and it would be wise to book about now to be sure you get the dates & trip you want.

I booked a 11-day cruise to Raja Ampat on the MSV Seahorse a couple of months ago. The cruise is in November 2014.

 

[Quero]

For trips that include multiple destinations, like Banda Sea and Raja Ampat, these are generally unique cruises in the sense that they're repositioning trips. So if you have this particular objective and a specific date range, my advice would be to book as soon as you can. These trips don't repeat until the next repositioning cruise, and there are not likely to be many cruises that fit your dates closely.

 

[Shasta_man]

You can also book direct, but check with Indo travel agents for their domestic air. A local travel agent can be very helpful with flight problems (I found that out at 5 AM one morning on the way to RA)

 

[batts]

Thanks everyone for the good advice. We will give serious consideration to consulting a travel agent.

 

[Hintermann]

This site can help with flights and hotels. They reply very promptly to e-mails.

http://www.indonesiamatters.com/

 

[moonypixels]

Hi Batts,

In September most vessels are still in Komodo and some are in Alor (great diving there by the way!). October and November is the time where the vessels usually head through the Banda and the Ceram Sea (most do this in 2 cruises, one "Banda Sea" cruise from Maumere/Flores, via Banda Islands to Ambon/Moluccas and the second one "Ceram Sea" cruise from Ambon, via Banda and South Raja Ampat to Sorong/West Papua). Either one of those cruises takes around 12 days. A few boats do the run from Maumere to Sorong in one go, without passing through Ambon and these cruises are generally around 15 to 17 days. In November the majority of Indonesia's liveaboard fleet is already in Sorong and operates around Raja Ampat. A few don't go and stay in Komodo all year around.
Your two choices to cover the Banda Sea as well as South Raja Ampat are a.) Do "Back to back" cruises (nearly one month of absolutely amazing diving) or b.) Join one of the vessels who do the long journey in one go.
One thing is certain... Book well in advance because those "out of the ordinary" cruises are always well booked in advance!