LOB help for our once in a lifetime trip

[wildbill9]

I am now convinced that a liveaboard is the best way to see Raja Ampat area for a 2018 trip. Now which one to take? Have you been? Who did you use? Give me the good/bad/indifference. I really like the Arenui master cabin but need help and input. Next problem I am seeing is how to book??? There are no open trips listed and everything in 2017 is taken. How do I book? Who do I book through? I am not used to booking this far out for an unknown experience. Please help thanks bill

 

[Wingy]

Book directly on the LOB website. I dont see any point in booking through an agent unless they can come up with a much better price than listed on the boats site. You could always flick Arenui (if that is the boat you are set on) an email asking to be put on their list in case of cancellations which is not uncommon.

Personally I'm about to do my third trip on Tambora so I guess I'm more than satisfied with that boat.

 

[Tippytoes12]

We went with Black Manta , who now have a new boat, Blue Manta. They were wonderful. I doubt if many people will be able to give a detailed description of the differences between the boats though.there are so many wonderful places in the world to dive !

A liveaboard is definitely the way to go on a LoB. Distances between diving areas were no so great and the topside views were totally to die for.

Have a wonderful trip

 

[large_diver]

I took my first trip to RA in April - we spent a week on Damai I (part of a 2 week trip combined with a week in Lembeh). Expensive boat, but for a "once in a lifetime trip" it was nice to be pampered. Very fun and attentive crew, great food with a menu that they could flex in pretty much any direction (meaning western vs. Asian, since the customer group on our boat was 2 Americans and 10 Singaporeans), competent dive guides. Rooms were very spacious, comfortable beds, well-functioning AC and bathrooms were some of the nicest and biggest I've seen on a liveaboard, with a completely separate shower stall with fantastic water pressure and lots of hot water. Lots of very comfortable lounge areas up on deck. Dive guide/diver ratios were 4:1. Hard bottom ribs with re-boarding ladders, so no problems getting on/off if you have arthritic knees like me. My buddy and I really enjoyed the Damai experience.

Great tank stations, with individual rinse tanks, and storage under the bench

Plenty of camera room storage and room:

My station in the camera room:

Largest cabin has it's own stern gallery/seating area

 

[Dan]

Check out Mermaid Liveaboard. I took it a cruise with Memaid II from Bali to Komodo round trip. That was my lifetime trip. They also have trips to Raja Ampat -

 

[Damselfish]

I am now convinced that a liveaboard is the best way to see Raja Ampat area for a 2018 trip. Now which one to take? Have you been? Who did you use? Give me the good/bad/indifference. I really like the Arenui master cabin but need help and input. Next problem I am seeing is how to book??? There are no open trips listed and everything in 2017 is taken. How do I book? Who do I book through? I am not used to booking this far out for an unknown experience. Please help thanks bill

Many of the best liveaboards in the Pacific region seem to get mostly booked up years in advance, often by groups or travel agents. Sometimes you can ask the LOB who has it reserved and join that trip - while it may show as unavailable on the LOB site, the group reserving the boat may not have actually filled it yet and welcome some more folks. It probably won't matter that you're not local to them. Sometimes you can discover who it is via a little googling without even asking, as dive shops and travel agents will usually have these trips posted on their web sites. Sometimes the boats get booked by private groups, you might still be able to join them but they're harder to discover. And as said, cancellations happen. And sometimes a group cannot sell all it's space and turns it back to the boat at some point. (Of course those things may happen closer to the trip than you would like.)

For instance, we're on a 2 week Arenui trip in Spring 2018 that is being run by a local dive shop. It was sold out quickly, but now one cabin is available because someone couldn't make it. Message me if you want a pointer to the trip.

I actually have a bunch of bookmarks of dive shops I've come across that seem to run a lot of trips to places/boats I would like to do, some of them from people I have met while traveling but I wasn't with their group. Sometimes I check out what they're offering or get on their mailing lists (more reliable since a trip may sell quickly.) You can do the same with some of the dive travel agents that book these boats then sell trips.

 

[Dan]

Check out Liveaboard.com
Mermaid II

 

[chillyinCanada]

Check out Damai II

I was very pleased with Dewi Nusantara
and a roomie I had on the Carpe Vita said that the WAOW blows the Dewi Nusantara out of the water.

 

[billt4sf]

Check out Mermaid Liveaboard. I took it a cruise with Memaid II from Bali to Komodo round trip. That was my lifetime trip. They also have trips to Raja Ampat -

I took a Mermaid I to RA last year - loved it. They really pamper you. To me the biggest benefit (aside from easy ins and outs) was a shower on the dive deck. I suggest the regular rooms, not the budget room. Going back again (this time with my wife) Feb '17.

- Bill

 

[ppatin]

We went with Black Manta , who now have a new boat, Blue Manta. They were wonderful. I doubt if many people will be able to give a detailed description of the differences between the boats though.there are so many wonderful places in the world to dive !

My wife and I just got back from a trip to Komodo on the Blue Manta and we both absolutely loved it. The boat isn't as pretty from the outside as some of the sailboat-type liveaboards but I can't imagine a more comfortable dive boat. The rooms are huge and all have their own bathrooms with a very large (big enough for two people...) shower. The dive deck is at water level so you can step right into the tenders. Every part of the boat was spotlessly clean and almost completely free of the maritime grunge that almost every boat seems to have a little bit of. The top of the boat has an enormous, shaded sun deck that is far roomier than I've seen on any liveaboard.

The level of service from the crew felt absurdly luxurious. If you want they will carry your gear to and from the tenders, rinse and hang your wetsuit for you, hand you a towel as you walk up from the dive deck and give you a hot cup of tea after every dive. Food was pretty good, dinners were usually kind of unexciting but I loved what they had for breakfast and lunch. I plan on writing a more detailed trip report in the near future but if people have any questions about Blue Manta I'd be happy to answer them. We have zero regrets about choosing that boat though and would unhesitatingly recommend it to anyone who asks.

Re: differences between Blue Manta and Black Manta, I think the primary difference is size. Blue Manta is insanely spacious for a liveaboard. Blue Manta's current cruise director Cedric is the same guy who ran Black Manta for years.