Komodo Trip Review with Mermaid II Liveaboard

[Illini_Fan]

Thanks for the report -- I'll be there in a few weeks on the Mermaid 1 on a similar itinerary. Hopefully that crew will match the experience you had on the Mermaid 2.

@jasonreid50 - what was the water temp while you were there?

 

[paolobl65]

thank you for the deteiled report !!

 

[scubaNYC16]

Great report. I’ll be on Blue Manta August 22nd, so excited to go.

 

[Dan]

Great report. I’ll be on Blue Manta August 22nd, so excited to go.

Nice! It looks like we’ll be missing each other by few days. According to their schedule, White Manta Diving - Schedules & Rates for KM Blue Manta:
8/22 - 8/28 Komodo - your trip
8/30 - 9/06 Komodo-Maumere
9/09 - 9/19 Maumere-Ambon - my trip.

 

[jasonreid50]

Fabulous report, Jason. Thank you so much for painting pictures in my mind.

Have you ever been aboard the Mermaid I? And have you been to other parts of Indonesia for diving and if so, where, please?

I'm asking because a friend of mine told me that he really likes Mermaid I, though this may be because they have rooms for singles. Also, I am trying to see if I can compare what you saw to some sites I seen in other parts of Indonesia because I haven't been to Komodo yet.

Hi-

I’ve not been on Mermaid I nor to other parts of Indonesia.

That being said, everyone else on my boat had. They unanimously said that Komodo was second only to Raja Ampat, with Raja Ampat beating Komodo on dense schools of fish.

 

[jasonreid50]

Your number one?

How much?

Komodo ties with Papua New Guinea for me. I’ve not been to Raja Ampat - the dive crew and other guests ranked that slightly higher than Komodo.

The cost was $3000 for the entire 8d/7n journey.

 

[jasonreid50]

Thanks for the report, and very well written. How was the space on the boat? When I was in Thailand the crew kinda lived in the common areas, and the Mermaid II looks almost identical to the boat I was on in Thailand.

Dan T, Im kinda shocked anything ranks ahead of Raja for you haha. Is that because of the large animals?

The rooms were slightly larger than average. Headroom on the top bunk was decent - the first liveaboard in which I wasn’t in constant fear of hitting my head when sitting up.

The bathrooms combined shower/toilet/sink. It worked.

There were 3 spaces to hangout - a shaded outdoor salon, an indoor air-conditioned salon and a front sun deck.

It never felt cramped.