LittleNat
Registered
My husband and I booked via liveaboard.com because it looked good, reviews were pretty good & the journey worked for our schedule. We had a wonderful time! A few things could be worked on (some occasional smells, sticky doors, a few cockroaches) but nothing that got in the way of our good time. The crowd was a great mix...Hong Kong, Thailand, Kuala Lumpur, Germany and US. Everyone spoke English and we had fun together. There is a great space for relaxing & reading in front of the bridge, which we all loved.
Our room was on the main deck (as opposed to below) and it was pretty much all bed. But it was a big bed, and very comfortable. Private bathroom had plenty of hot water. Our towels were changed twice during the trip, and it was kept very clean. One day our AC broke, but they brought us a fan and fixed it the next day.
The food was delicious and very healthy. Second breakfast always had eggs to order, along with other things. We discovered that ordering eggs poached or sunny side up worked great on top of the Indonesian noodles or rice dishes that were offered. Lunch & dinner had lots of fish & chicken, vegetables, rice, noodles and always sliced fruit. Every dinner had a soup, and there was always a salad. Each meal was buffet style, which we really enjoyed. Whole fruit was always around for snacking on also. Beers & sodas were on the honor system, water, coffee & tea were always available.
The crew was exceptional! They were all so friendly & helpful. We especially loved the towel 'hug' we got as we came back from every dive. We also were given a drink of juice or tea or something special after each dive. Afternoon dives often had a snack too, since dinner wouldn't be served after the night dive.
Diving was fantastic. Wish the viz was better for some of the dives, but that certainly wasn't the fault of the La Galigo! They actually did work around the weather a bit, along with avoiding sites that had other divers around. We always had a briefing before each dive, and the nitrox testing was always logged. Our dive guide was newish, which was the only bummer. My only complain would be that we were assigned dive guides at the first dive, and we dove with them for every dive. I understand that they want the group to get to know the guide and vice-versa, but with our guide being new and another being a total Raja Ampat pro, we would have liked to get this experience. With 24 dives, it seems like a little rotating might be considered.
Our gear was put in the tenders so all we had to do was grab our masks & cameras, and get in. Then, when we returned from a dive they took care of all the equipment and rinsed & hung our wetsuits. What a luxury.
Our cruise director David, from Spain, was a great addition to the crew. He always kept us appraised of what was going on. We also had a few evenings with programs, one on sharks & another on the work that Raja Ampat is doing to keep the environment clean. One evening we had dinner on the roof of the boat, with tables & beanbags & lights. The last evening was an incredible beach BBQ, with fish grilled on the beach & other foods brought over from the boat. A bunch of the crew guys serenaded us, and we had a big bonfire.
This was a very memorable liveaboard trip, and a wonderful introduction to Raja Ampat. We hope to join the La Galigo again for a Komodo trip, or perhaps Raja Ampat North.
Our room was on the main deck (as opposed to below) and it was pretty much all bed. But it was a big bed, and very comfortable. Private bathroom had plenty of hot water. Our towels were changed twice during the trip, and it was kept very clean. One day our AC broke, but they brought us a fan and fixed it the next day.
The food was delicious and very healthy. Second breakfast always had eggs to order, along with other things. We discovered that ordering eggs poached or sunny side up worked great on top of the Indonesian noodles or rice dishes that were offered. Lunch & dinner had lots of fish & chicken, vegetables, rice, noodles and always sliced fruit. Every dinner had a soup, and there was always a salad. Each meal was buffet style, which we really enjoyed. Whole fruit was always around for snacking on also. Beers & sodas were on the honor system, water, coffee & tea were always available.
The crew was exceptional! They were all so friendly & helpful. We especially loved the towel 'hug' we got as we came back from every dive. We also were given a drink of juice or tea or something special after each dive. Afternoon dives often had a snack too, since dinner wouldn't be served after the night dive.
Diving was fantastic. Wish the viz was better for some of the dives, but that certainly wasn't the fault of the La Galigo! They actually did work around the weather a bit, along with avoiding sites that had other divers around. We always had a briefing before each dive, and the nitrox testing was always logged. Our dive guide was newish, which was the only bummer. My only complain would be that we were assigned dive guides at the first dive, and we dove with them for every dive. I understand that they want the group to get to know the guide and vice-versa, but with our guide being new and another being a total Raja Ampat pro, we would have liked to get this experience. With 24 dives, it seems like a little rotating might be considered.
Our gear was put in the tenders so all we had to do was grab our masks & cameras, and get in. Then, when we returned from a dive they took care of all the equipment and rinsed & hung our wetsuits. What a luxury.
Our cruise director David, from Spain, was a great addition to the crew. He always kept us appraised of what was going on. We also had a few evenings with programs, one on sharks & another on the work that Raja Ampat is doing to keep the environment clean. One evening we had dinner on the roof of the boat, with tables & beanbags & lights. The last evening was an incredible beach BBQ, with fish grilled on the beach & other foods brought over from the boat. A bunch of the crew guys serenaded us, and we had a big bonfire.
This was a very memorable liveaboard trip, and a wonderful introduction to Raja Ampat. We hope to join the La Galigo again for a Komodo trip, or perhaps Raja Ampat North.
I could live the sailing lifestyle almost forever
