Mermaid I -reviews please?

[Heg]

Hi,

Has anyone been on the Mermaid I on her Raja Ampat itinerary? I'm struggling to find any recent reviews.

Thanks

 

[jeremyl]

I went on this boat to Komodo and had a great time. Crew and boat and food were as good as I expected. My dive partner and another guy we met on that boat are booking their RA trip for Jan '15. I actually came across this post because I think I might join them and was looking for reviews as well. What did you find? Did you find something you think is better. I was hoping to do the RA trip earlier but did Komodo instead. Looking back at my notes Mermaid was one of the better choices, but there are several good boats in this price range. I dont think I am going to get them to change, and a trip like this I would like to go with people I know - so I will very likely be booking their RA trip. Probably will spend a week in Lembeh on the return if I can get the time off work.

 

[Heg]

The boat certainly seems to have a good reputation. I had a few PM's from another member who had done the Komodo trip and had a great time. It may not be high end luxury, but we cant afford that anyway . It looks very clean and comfortable and the crew have been diving in the area for many years. I ruled out a few boats based purely on pricing. (Dewi Nusantara, Areniu, etc) and a few more based on reviews. We considered the Black Manta, having done the Similans on the White Manta a few years back, but the trips are a lot shorter and a lot of things are 'extra' which starts to add up.

We are actually about to book for Komodo on the Mermaid in 2014 ,as she seems to offer value for money.

 

[Hennyb]

I went on the Mermaid 1 with my wife when they operated in the Similans. Nice boat, great crew and service. Would definitely go on them again.

 

[weeksd]

I did the biodiversity cruise from maumere to sorong which does most of the mermaid 1 raja ampat cruise. The route we did was very good. We did alot of the famous raja ampat sites. But raja ampat to do all the famous sites would take months if not years as raja ampat is a huge area. Raja ampat must have thousands of dive sites. I have done the mermaid liveaboards 6 times and on both boats i find the boats clean and run very professional. Mermaid 1 does have a little more space than mermaid 2 and has less passengers. Rooms are of a good size. The mermaid 1 is faster than the pinsi schooner liveaboards so crossing are shorter. Crossings are done at night and the liveaboard rides pretty smooth. The crews are excellent. Here is a trip report from the biodiversity trip i did on the mermaid 1. Biodiversity Cruise Maumere to Sorong Indonesia - Crazy Dive Stories and Trip Reports - Wetpixel :: Underwater Photography Forums

 

[Sorrows]

Thanks so much for posting this, weeksd; I am very interested in the Ambon-Banda-Sorong trip and the biodiversity seems to incorporate a lot of that route. Almost all the reviews one sees are about Komodo, so I appreciate the report and the wonderful video! Particular thanks for including bits about the shore excursion--I've always been fascinated by the history of the Spice Islands and have wanted to see it for myself for years.

Am I right that you didn't find the currrents are ripping as they are at Komodo?

We've only done one liveaboard trip before (Rocio del Mar in the Sea of Cortez) and have only been to Lembeh in Indonesia. Nearly two weeks on a boat may be too much for us, I'm not sure. The Mermaid seems comfortable enough, and I don't think we can justify the cost of Arenui--if we could even get a booking! My husband is a marine engineer, and he greatly prefers a steel hull to a wooden one--in fact, he's pretty adamant about it.

Thanks again!

 

[dmoore19]

There is a review in the newest Undercurrent Chapbook.

It is from Feb 2013 though.

Rated over all 4-5 stars.

 

[Sorrows]

Yes, thank you, I know, there are two of them! Being in the planning stages--a good thing to be doing during this super cold weather--I like to read all the reviews I can.