Need Help with a Last Minute Decision

[KLETCO]

We were booked on the January 24 Charter for the Archipelago Adventurer II - we booked this trip in August 2009.

Sadly, the Archipelago Fleet announced that they are ceasing operations as of Dec 20.

Now, we are scrambling to come up with a trip. Here are our options at the moment:

1. Switching to a land-based resort, Maluku Divers in Ambon, Sorido Bay Resort, or Misool Eco Resort. Of those, Misool is our favorite, but it might be out of our price range (only the villas seem to be available). Maluku looks nice, but I really wanted to keep us in Raja Ampat. Any thoughts on Sorido Bay?

2. **** Kira has similar travel dates to our original plans. Anyone have any experience on this boat?

3. Paradise Dancer might be available, but its dates do not match with ours, so we would be forced to change our flights from the US, which could result in some fees.

4. It's been suggested that we switch to the Ocean Rover, which is not doing Raja Ampat for those dates, but will be doing Lembeh. Any thoughts on this one? I know that Lembeh will be different diving and different conditions than we've been looking forward to for 17 months.

Or, are there any other ideas? This is terribly frustrating.

Kim

 

[highdesert]

Wow ... what a bummer on short notice! What is the "incident" with AA II that they talk about on their website?

I haven't been aboard ****kira, but we have done a RA trip with Grand Komodo, the company that runs the boat. They've been in business a long time, been in RA a long time, the guides we had were very good, and the trip ran smoothly. They rotate their dive guides among their boats, so no clue who would be aboard your trip. One of the guides we had now works out of the Grand Komodo resort. The other one, Noak, was a native Papuan with very little English, but he could read current and find critters like a wizard.

I don't know what level of service you want/need/are expecting. Grand Komodo boats are generally "standard class." Not fancy, but not a moldy rust bucket. Just a good, decent boat. Food was good on our trip. I would not hesitate to tell someone to go ahead and book on a Grand Komodo boat. I'm betting it would be a cheaper trip, too.

 

[Quero]

Wow ... what a bummer on short notice! What is the "incident" with AA II that they talk about on their website?

She ran aground in late October and sustained serious damage. In mid-November, the owners informed agents that they wouldn't attend DEMA and that the earliest the boat might be ready would be the end of January. There was also some indication that there were negotiations with the insurance underwriters. I'm only guessing here, but this is a tough industry to be in; when disaster strikes, even insurance is sometimes not enough to "refloat" a business that has sustained both material loss and canceled/refunded bookings.

 

[KLETCO]

My understanding is that after the first incident, the replacement boat (Sea Safari III) also ran aground, although it was the SSIII's captain, not the AAII.

I think we're going to end up on the ****kira, I haven't really seen anything bad about it. And, it is cheaper!

 

[imtoad]

Hi,
You might try the Putiraja. They are catering to my schedule. So maybe you can work it out so that you don't have to change your plans. There is a thread about them here:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/indonesia/359539-hidden-gem-raja-ampat-liveaboard-putiraja.html

I am not affiliated in any way shape or form. I can only attest to the fact that they have let me choose my arrival and departure dates and itinerary for travel this coming March.
Good Luck!

 

[AlMitch]

Check out Mandarin Siren
They have a trip that may still be open from 09 Jan to 19 Jan.
Not sure if this is just too early.

 

[jake11]

Maybe you can add on a trip to Maluku Divers Resort in Ambon before or after to help coordinate with your international travel dates. We have been on the Paradise Dancer and had an AMAZING time! Top crew, boat, etc. etc. We just got back from RA where we first flew from Jakarta to Ambon and stayed at Maluku Divers Resort for a few days before continuing on to board our boat in RA. You can change your domestic travel tickets pretty easily as we have done this before due to cancelled flights etc. What a complete and total bummer for you guys. We were on the AA2 last year and had a wonderful time with a awesome crew! How sad for everyone involved! Good luck and I hope it all works out for you!!!