For those of you, who remember my "problems" with Lembeh and were curious of why we did leave the LOB, here's the full, loooong story.
Most resorts and liveaboards do a good job and get a good or even gloving review, based on stunning, healthy, beautiful dive sites and nice crew. But what happens, when things go wrong? I must say Blue Bay Divers handled everything extremely professional.
Together with friends we were looking for a LOB in Indonesia for August 2019, I found “KLM Sunshine” and after corresponding with the fast replying Anke, we booked a 11 day trip starting in Pagimana and ending in Sahaung, diving Togean Island, Buyat, Gorontalo, Lembeh and Bangka.
Anke helped us with airport transfers and suggested a nice hotel for our 1 night in Manado, before catching an early morning flight to Luwuk.
During our time in the hotel our friends (who arrived at the boat the day before us) contacted us, to tell us, the boat was a nightmare! He was so angry, he had to remove his shoes to get into the dinghy (small boat you dive from), since there was no pier. Hmm I expected to be barefooted all the time, so no problem for me. Also he said, there was no hot water, which I did not know, but this turned out to be only half true, as the water was not cold, cold – most of the time it was fine, and there was a flushing toilet and ok water pressure, so for us it was no problem at all. Still our friends’ message had me worried a bit.
After our early morning flight and fast transfer to Pagimana we finally saw the boat! I fell in love at first sight. Transfer in the dinghy was easy and staff took really good care of our bags – even took the luggage all the way to the cabin and helped us get in/out of the dinghy. Just be sure to wear shorts and flip flops, as yes, you do have to take 2-3 steps in water to get to the dinghy.
When we got on board it was evident the boat had plenty of space and was in top condition to carry divers (I was a bit skeptical about the dive deck, but it turned out to work just fine). We met our friends, who had had some back luck: during the night something happened to the pipes under their cabin, and there was a terrible smell of sewage. They had spent the rest of the night in our cabin, and the crew was trying to find a way to fix the problem, so we could sail off. Unfortunately, it was not so easy: most likely a pipe had burst under the floor, and they did not have the tools or staff to fix it there and then. Our friends decided to leave the boat, head back to Manado and ended up doing diving in Bunaken (Siladen Island), from Sulawesi “mainland” and in Lembeh. It was very hard to see them leave, we had all been looking forward to a holiday together, but my husband and I decided to stay, as there was no problem in our cabin (yet).
So, after transferring our friends back to shore (and making sure they had transfer to the airport in Luwuk), the boat started moving – and we had the sewage smell in our cabin.
Our first dive spots were Tinolapu Island – 2 dives on the first day of the LOB (I've often been disappointed to arrive at a LOB, and the first day you don't get wet at all)– visibility was amazing, and the reef was healthy and beautiful - although some places you could see the effects of dynamite fishing (and we heard it as well - under water!)..
We moved over night to Taupan Island, where we did 3 dives: 1 where we saw white tip reef sharks and an eagle ray, and 2 I rated as rather dull (but nice corals) Viz was declining.
Then we sailed to Una Una for 4 dives the next day, 2 dives at Apollo point with a huge school of barracuda putting on a show, 1 very fishy dive at "Pinnackle" and an ok night dive at "Muka Kampung".
Day 4 we only had 1 dive, due to rough weather: Lahe 1: ok dive site. Day 5 had 2 dives "Tree Angel Cave" and "Kimas Point" especially "Kimas Point" was lovely and we saw a lot.
We had all dive sites all to ourselves, and reefs/walls were mostly in good health - but not same class as Raja Ampat, Sipadan or some of the dive site in Bali.
Day 6 was supposed to be morning diving with whale sharks + some other sites, but due to rough weather it was not possible to dive at all.
As the waters were rough the captain decided we could only sail during the day (I’m sure he was right and was thinking of everyone’s safety, and the weather nobody can control), this meant we could not dive as much as planned (again: no one can control the weather), but it also made the smell in our cabin worse. We tried to be out as much as possible, but in the end, it was almost impossible to sleep in the cabin, as the smell would come and go. So: on day 6 with heavy hart we decided to leave the boat. I spoke with Ebsy (the tour leader) and sent and e-mail to Anke – to which she replied very fast, telling us how sorry she was for the inconvenience and assuring me, we would get refunded for the last days – and even the 500 euro we paid in total for Nitrox, harbor fees and transfer (this was in our account within 3 days!)
It was clear the whole crew were so sorry for the problem. Ebsy made sure we got a taxi from outside Gorontalo all the way to Manado (10 hours’ drive) – AND he even paid for the taxi!! This was way beyond what I expected, and only goes to show how much these people care.
Now the boat: we had the “owners cabin”: by far the biggest cabin we’ve ever had on any LOB! Bed was fine, and bathroom was also big, had a flushing toilet and running water (again only one temperature, but it was perfectly fine). AC was working fine, and potholes could be opened for fresh air. There were plenty of places to hang stuff – usually this is where I suggest and comment on missing hooks and hangers etc, but not on this boat. Some of the cabinets had “Boat stuff” in them, so maybe we could have used a bit more closet space, but to be honest it was fine. Everything was nice and clean. The hallway to our (and 2 other cabins) were wide – in fact I’ve never seen it so wide on any other LOB.
The “restaurant” was nicely decorated, and food was good – the chef did well considering, where we were, and mostly avoided the bland, boring “Western” food/taste you’re often served on LOB, he even baked a delicious chocolate cake on one of our “less diving” days and made sure hot chocolate was waiting for us, on the dive deck after the night dives. The best thing was the “evening entertainment” – crew members with guitars playing and singing for us, during dinner, it was magical! (and I’m a music teacher, so I can tell they were talented)
One area of the restaurant was set up as “charging area”, with each cabin having their own space and even a cabinet under the table. Plenty of cords and outlets for charging cameras, strobes and torches.
Dive deck: small, but due to only being 7 (should have been 9, and I’m sure that would not have been a problem) divers, it worked well: only 1 “team” would “suit up” at a time, boat staff were there to help with everything, and there were rinse tanks for cameras, masks etc. “Sunshine” is a nitrox only boat (leading me to think nitrox should be included in the price and not something you have to pay extra) and before each dive we could check O2% - or a staff member would do it, while we were looking. (This did not happen at Bastianos in Lembeh, where they analysed tanks before we got on the boat, and did not provide an analyser for us to check: new item on wish list: O2 analyser)
The 3 steps to get down to the dive platform and dinghy were wide and stable, crew was always making sure we got safely to the dinghy (and by the way: this is the best LOB I’ve ever been on for ease of going in/out of the dinghy).
When we were getting ready to dive, staff provided water and made sure water (or hot chocolate) was ready, when we got back to the boat. They had a super system with numbers on towels and cups: each diver had a number, so it was easy to find your cup and towel.
Sun/relax deck was huge with plenty of mattresses and small bean bags for everyone. Here they also had space for drying wet swimsuits, towels and clothes – even with clothes pegs! (First time ever on a LOB)
The dive briefing area was nice, Ebsy or dive masters wrote every dive site clearly on the plan, so it was easy to transfer to our logbooks. Dive briefings were short and to the point – in fact I was kind of surprised after the first one (I think they should have put in a: if you loose you dive buddy … etc), but on the other hand it was nice being treated as competent divers and not submitted to 30 min talks about what we MIGHT see. Drawings of dive sites were good and informative.
Dive guides were good! With Ebsy there was 4 dive guides for 7 divers – excellent!! It meant we were never rushed under water, never got a “I’m the dive guide, you need to stay behind and follow me” (believe me, this happened during a LOB in the Red Sea, and the dive guide was offended, when I asked him to slow down), just: “I’ll show you, what I find, and we’ll go in whatever tempo you like”. It was truly the diver in focus and all staff worked hard to make sure we had a great time under water. Once we surfaced the dinghy would pick us up shortly after (except the one time I felt sick under water and made my husband and dive guide surface early, so I could get back to the boat – sorry to say, that group 1 had to wait for the dinghy, because of me)
Now you know, why I rate this boat in top class – even though we did have problems (I’m sure they have fixed it by now) the way it was handled and the way the crew made you feel SO welcomed onboard clearly make up for this, and my only regret is going to Lembeh, when we left the boat, instead of going to Sahaung to stay at Blue Bay Divers. We hope to be able to visit in the future.
Most resorts and liveaboards do a good job and get a good or even gloving review, based on stunning, healthy, beautiful dive sites and nice crew. But what happens, when things go wrong? I must say Blue Bay Divers handled everything extremely professional.
Together with friends we were looking for a LOB in Indonesia for August 2019, I found “KLM Sunshine” and after corresponding with the fast replying Anke, we booked a 11 day trip starting in Pagimana and ending in Sahaung, diving Togean Island, Buyat, Gorontalo, Lembeh and Bangka.
Anke helped us with airport transfers and suggested a nice hotel for our 1 night in Manado, before catching an early morning flight to Luwuk.
During our time in the hotel our friends (who arrived at the boat the day before us) contacted us, to tell us, the boat was a nightmare! He was so angry, he had to remove his shoes to get into the dinghy (small boat you dive from), since there was no pier. Hmm I expected to be barefooted all the time, so no problem for me. Also he said, there was no hot water, which I did not know, but this turned out to be only half true, as the water was not cold, cold – most of the time it was fine, and there was a flushing toilet and ok water pressure, so for us it was no problem at all. Still our friends’ message had me worried a bit.
After our early morning flight and fast transfer to Pagimana we finally saw the boat! I fell in love at first sight. Transfer in the dinghy was easy and staff took really good care of our bags – even took the luggage all the way to the cabin and helped us get in/out of the dinghy. Just be sure to wear shorts and flip flops, as yes, you do have to take 2-3 steps in water to get to the dinghy.
When we got on board it was evident the boat had plenty of space and was in top condition to carry divers (I was a bit skeptical about the dive deck, but it turned out to work just fine). We met our friends, who had had some back luck: during the night something happened to the pipes under their cabin, and there was a terrible smell of sewage. They had spent the rest of the night in our cabin, and the crew was trying to find a way to fix the problem, so we could sail off. Unfortunately, it was not so easy: most likely a pipe had burst under the floor, and they did not have the tools or staff to fix it there and then. Our friends decided to leave the boat, head back to Manado and ended up doing diving in Bunaken (Siladen Island), from Sulawesi “mainland” and in Lembeh. It was very hard to see them leave, we had all been looking forward to a holiday together, but my husband and I decided to stay, as there was no problem in our cabin (yet).
So, after transferring our friends back to shore (and making sure they had transfer to the airport in Luwuk), the boat started moving – and we had the sewage smell in our cabin.
Our first dive spots were Tinolapu Island – 2 dives on the first day of the LOB (I've often been disappointed to arrive at a LOB, and the first day you don't get wet at all)– visibility was amazing, and the reef was healthy and beautiful - although some places you could see the effects of dynamite fishing (and we heard it as well - under water!)..
We moved over night to Taupan Island, where we did 3 dives: 1 where we saw white tip reef sharks and an eagle ray, and 2 I rated as rather dull (but nice corals) Viz was declining.
Then we sailed to Una Una for 4 dives the next day, 2 dives at Apollo point with a huge school of barracuda putting on a show, 1 very fishy dive at "Pinnackle" and an ok night dive at "Muka Kampung".
Day 4 we only had 1 dive, due to rough weather: Lahe 1: ok dive site. Day 5 had 2 dives "Tree Angel Cave" and "Kimas Point" especially "Kimas Point" was lovely and we saw a lot.
We had all dive sites all to ourselves, and reefs/walls were mostly in good health - but not same class as Raja Ampat, Sipadan or some of the dive site in Bali.
Day 6 was supposed to be morning diving with whale sharks + some other sites, but due to rough weather it was not possible to dive at all.
As the waters were rough the captain decided we could only sail during the day (I’m sure he was right and was thinking of everyone’s safety, and the weather nobody can control), this meant we could not dive as much as planned (again: no one can control the weather), but it also made the smell in our cabin worse. We tried to be out as much as possible, but in the end, it was almost impossible to sleep in the cabin, as the smell would come and go. So: on day 6 with heavy hart we decided to leave the boat. I spoke with Ebsy (the tour leader) and sent and e-mail to Anke – to which she replied very fast, telling us how sorry she was for the inconvenience and assuring me, we would get refunded for the last days – and even the 500 euro we paid in total for Nitrox, harbor fees and transfer (this was in our account within 3 days!)
It was clear the whole crew were so sorry for the problem. Ebsy made sure we got a taxi from outside Gorontalo all the way to Manado (10 hours’ drive) – AND he even paid for the taxi!! This was way beyond what I expected, and only goes to show how much these people care.
Now the boat: we had the “owners cabin”: by far the biggest cabin we’ve ever had on any LOB! Bed was fine, and bathroom was also big, had a flushing toilet and running water (again only one temperature, but it was perfectly fine). AC was working fine, and potholes could be opened for fresh air. There were plenty of places to hang stuff – usually this is where I suggest and comment on missing hooks and hangers etc, but not on this boat. Some of the cabinets had “Boat stuff” in them, so maybe we could have used a bit more closet space, but to be honest it was fine. Everything was nice and clean. The hallway to our (and 2 other cabins) were wide – in fact I’ve never seen it so wide on any other LOB.
The “restaurant” was nicely decorated, and food was good – the chef did well considering, where we were, and mostly avoided the bland, boring “Western” food/taste you’re often served on LOB, he even baked a delicious chocolate cake on one of our “less diving” days and made sure hot chocolate was waiting for us, on the dive deck after the night dives. The best thing was the “evening entertainment” – crew members with guitars playing and singing for us, during dinner, it was magical! (and I’m a music teacher, so I can tell they were talented)
One area of the restaurant was set up as “charging area”, with each cabin having their own space and even a cabinet under the table. Plenty of cords and outlets for charging cameras, strobes and torches.
Dive deck: small, but due to only being 7 (should have been 9, and I’m sure that would not have been a problem) divers, it worked well: only 1 “team” would “suit up” at a time, boat staff were there to help with everything, and there were rinse tanks for cameras, masks etc. “Sunshine” is a nitrox only boat (leading me to think nitrox should be included in the price and not something you have to pay extra) and before each dive we could check O2% - or a staff member would do it, while we were looking. (This did not happen at Bastianos in Lembeh, where they analysed tanks before we got on the boat, and did not provide an analyser for us to check: new item on wish list: O2 analyser)
The 3 steps to get down to the dive platform and dinghy were wide and stable, crew was always making sure we got safely to the dinghy (and by the way: this is the best LOB I’ve ever been on for ease of going in/out of the dinghy).
When we were getting ready to dive, staff provided water and made sure water (or hot chocolate) was ready, when we got back to the boat. They had a super system with numbers on towels and cups: each diver had a number, so it was easy to find your cup and towel.
Sun/relax deck was huge with plenty of mattresses and small bean bags for everyone. Here they also had space for drying wet swimsuits, towels and clothes – even with clothes pegs! (First time ever on a LOB)
The dive briefing area was nice, Ebsy or dive masters wrote every dive site clearly on the plan, so it was easy to transfer to our logbooks. Dive briefings were short and to the point – in fact I was kind of surprised after the first one (I think they should have put in a: if you loose you dive buddy … etc), but on the other hand it was nice being treated as competent divers and not submitted to 30 min talks about what we MIGHT see. Drawings of dive sites were good and informative.
Dive guides were good! With Ebsy there was 4 dive guides for 7 divers – excellent!! It meant we were never rushed under water, never got a “I’m the dive guide, you need to stay behind and follow me” (believe me, this happened during a LOB in the Red Sea, and the dive guide was offended, when I asked him to slow down), just: “I’ll show you, what I find, and we’ll go in whatever tempo you like”. It was truly the diver in focus and all staff worked hard to make sure we had a great time under water. Once we surfaced the dinghy would pick us up shortly after (except the one time I felt sick under water and made my husband and dive guide surface early, so I could get back to the boat – sorry to say, that group 1 had to wait for the dinghy, because of me)
Now you know, why I rate this boat in top class – even though we did have problems (I’m sure they have fixed it by now) the way it was handled and the way the crew made you feel SO welcomed onboard clearly make up for this, and my only regret is going to Lembeh, when we left the boat, instead of going to Sahaung to stay at Blue Bay Divers. We hope to be able to visit in the future.
And yes, if it was not for the smell, we would have definitely stayed on the boat and been very happy! The boat is great and crew amazing - one thing to note (I've seen this mentioned about other boats as well): it's a wooden boat, so it's noisy. For me, that's part of the charm and a calming sound, but I understand others don't feel that way.
