Lavalamp
Registered
If you're looking for a trip report with colorful pictures, videos, and detailed accounting of the dive sites, this report is not for you. If you are looking for a report on a general sense of the overall experience of the trip and of this particular boat, I hope you will find this helpful.
Earlier this year (Dec 2017 - Jan 2018), my wife and I were on an 11-night diving trip in Raja Ampat aboard the Amira. We booked the Amira through Diviac.com - it was out first time booking anything through Diviac.
www.amira-indonesia.com
Actually, I didn't really book the Amira. It was shoved down my throat by the super aggressive Diviac sales agent. In the end, it was fine.
All in all, we had a positive experience. It was expensive for what it was, but we don't regret it. Raja Ampat is a truly special place. The most memorable dives for us were the ones where we swam with Manta Rays and Wobbegongs.
The Yacht:
MSV Amira is a gorgeous Pinisi-style diving liveaboard owned and operated by a Swiss German dive enthusiast. 'Amira' is the Arabic word for 'princess' - The princess of Indonesia's ocean. Operating in Raja Ampat, her beauty is second to none, especially when her white sails are drawn against the equatorial sun.
One of the first few things I noticed about MSV Amira was the size of her hull (square footage and # of people on board). She carried 20 guests and 30+ crew members. The main deck felt very spacious, stylish, and surprisingly never crowded. Being a larger ship means the hull doesn't rock as much even when the sea gets a bit choppy or when we cruise at full speed. This was good for my wife who's prone to sea sickness.
The hallways, hangout areas, cabins, and bathrooms were all larger than those of the other liveaboards we've been on. They were well maintained and sported minimal but stylish decorations in all the right places. We stayed in cabin #25 on the upper deck. Our cabin was right behind the bridge and adjacent to the captain's quarter. We never had any noise issue.
The main salon (dining room) has an A/C but they never turned it on, even when it was 100 degrees out and we the guests asked them to do so. Their refusal just came across as cheap.
The People:
We had 30+ all-male Indonesian crew members taking care of 22 guests on board. The 22 guests are: 18 German speakers (Germans/Swiss/Austrians), 3 Americans, and 1 Indonesian. The crew spoke enough English. Most of them had excellent service attitude. The crew played music for the guests at night (acoustic guitar, bass, and percussions).
The Operations:
Diving services were well-organized and executed with German-style precision. No one was late. Everything was on schedule and everything went according to plan. Indonesian dive master 'Ape' was the best dive guide - we suggest requesting him. Otherwise the other guides were okay.
Diving in Raja Ampat:
Raja Ampat diving needs no review. It's world famous and most of the dive sites are very similar from one site to the next. In fact this was the first dive trip in the past 5-6 years for us where we couldn't pick out one single favorite dive site at the end. They were all beautiful and interesting, but ultimate didn't really have any "wow" factor at any point (compared Palau or Galapagos).
SUMMARY:
When, not if, we return to Raja Ampat, would we sail and dive with the Amira again? Probably not. Nothing wrong with the yacht, the crew, or the service. But also nothing especially memorable either. There are so many liveaboard operators in this corner of the world (30-40?). We feel we should diversify our experience and try out different yachts.
Earlier this year (Dec 2017 - Jan 2018), my wife and I were on an 11-night diving trip in Raja Ampat aboard the Amira. We booked the Amira through Diviac.com - it was out first time booking anything through Diviac.
www.amira-indonesia.com
Actually, I didn't really book the Amira. It was shoved down my throat by the super aggressive Diviac sales agent. In the end, it was fine.
All in all, we had a positive experience. It was expensive for what it was, but we don't regret it. Raja Ampat is a truly special place. The most memorable dives for us were the ones where we swam with Manta Rays and Wobbegongs.
The Yacht:
MSV Amira is a gorgeous Pinisi-style diving liveaboard owned and operated by a Swiss German dive enthusiast. 'Amira' is the Arabic word for 'princess' - The princess of Indonesia's ocean. Operating in Raja Ampat, her beauty is second to none, especially when her white sails are drawn against the equatorial sun.
One of the first few things I noticed about MSV Amira was the size of her hull (square footage and # of people on board). She carried 20 guests and 30+ crew members. The main deck felt very spacious, stylish, and surprisingly never crowded. Being a larger ship means the hull doesn't rock as much even when the sea gets a bit choppy or when we cruise at full speed. This was good for my wife who's prone to sea sickness.
The hallways, hangout areas, cabins, and bathrooms were all larger than those of the other liveaboards we've been on. They were well maintained and sported minimal but stylish decorations in all the right places. We stayed in cabin #25 on the upper deck. Our cabin was right behind the bridge and adjacent to the captain's quarter. We never had any noise issue.
The main salon (dining room) has an A/C but they never turned it on, even when it was 100 degrees out and we the guests asked them to do so. Their refusal just came across as cheap.
The People:
We had 30+ all-male Indonesian crew members taking care of 22 guests on board. The 22 guests are: 18 German speakers (Germans/Swiss/Austrians), 3 Americans, and 1 Indonesian. The crew spoke enough English. Most of them had excellent service attitude. The crew played music for the guests at night (acoustic guitar, bass, and percussions).
The Operations:
Diving services were well-organized and executed with German-style precision. No one was late. Everything was on schedule and everything went according to plan. Indonesian dive master 'Ape' was the best dive guide - we suggest requesting him. Otherwise the other guides were okay.
Diving in Raja Ampat:
Raja Ampat diving needs no review. It's world famous and most of the dive sites are very similar from one site to the next. In fact this was the first dive trip in the past 5-6 years for us where we couldn't pick out one single favorite dive site at the end. They were all beautiful and interesting, but ultimate didn't really have any "wow" factor at any point (compared Palau or Galapagos).
SUMMARY:
When, not if, we return to Raja Ampat, would we sail and dive with the Amira again? Probably not. Nothing wrong with the yacht, the crew, or the service. But also nothing especially memorable either. There are so many liveaboard operators in this corner of the world (30-40?). We feel we should diversify our experience and try out different yachts.
