North Sulawesi - the Serenade & Froggies

[shiri]

Hi everyone,

We just came back after 3 weeks in Indonesia. We have been on the Serenade liveabooard, which belongs to Murex resort.
The liveaboard itself is definitely not recommended!

The boat is very neglected - we had such a bad smell of damp from the pillows and mattresses, it took us each night around one hour to fall asleep, although we were exhausted. We also had terrible smell of petrol while the boat was sailing, because we were just above the engine room - we couldn't breath!

Also we didn't find the boat so comfortable for diving - doesn't have enough space for the diving arrangements and for relaxing after.

The Sangih area, in our opinion, is nice but does not deserve a liveaboard. it would have been much better if we would have combined dives in Lembeh (which is an amazing place) and Bunaken from shore.

And finally, the dive masters were not responsible enough - we had one dive that, thanks to god, ended with all of us back on the boat and nobody was hurt, but it looked like it was going to end that way...

Conclusions: We will not go back to the Serenade!

Froggies, on the other hand, was a homely and caring place, which we felt comfortable there from the first moment. The staff is very professional and each and one of them is so nice and friendly. And of course Christhiane! She is an amazing person. We enjoyed a lot talking with her and she helped us whenever and with whatever we needed.

 

[DontLieToMe]

I am told the Murex Symphony is even worse.

 

[Rickg]

Hi everyone,

We just came back after 3 weeks in Indonesia. We have been on the Serenade liveabooard, which belongs to Murex resort.
The liveaboard itself is definitely not recommended!

Shiri,

Sorry to hear that you had a bad trip. My wife and I were on the Serenade for a similar trip in Jul '04 and had a wonderful time. Granted the the Serenade isn't a luxury LOB but then the price is only 1/3 - 1/2 the price of a luxury LOB. The DM and crew we had was great. Then again, over a year has passed and lots of things can change in a year.

For anyone interested here is the link my trip report from last year.

Here is the link to my dive trip report.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread...ighlight=Rickg


And a link to another trip report by "Albatross" who made a very similar MUREX/Serenade trip in '04.

http://www.digitaldiver.net/trip_rep...p?reportID=132

 

[pelan-pelan]

Am not sure, but I think I heard that the Murex management has changed in the last year.

 

[grace]

Hi Shiri, sorry to hear that your trip on Serenade was not what you'd expected. A bunch of us (12 divers) were on Serenade from 29 Nov – 5 Dec 2005 and we had a great time diving at N. Sulawesi. I understand there will be more liveaboards available in Manado in 2006, perhaps you would be able to find a more suitable one then.

Below is a trip report which I hope will be useful for others who may be headed up there in the future.

Day 1 (evening) and Day 2:
We were met at Manado Sam Ratalungi airport and transferred to Murex resort where we boarded MV Serenade on the evening of 29 Nov. The weather was calm and that night, we sailed north towards Siau. The first dives were around Siau and generally, the waters there have good visibility and are wall dives. Plenty of beautiful, massive hard and soft corals, schools of snappers and fusiliers…. The route we took passed by several islands with active volcanoes and it was really pretty.

Day 3:
After Siau, we headed further north towards Mahengetang which had underwater volcanoes as a highlight of the area. We saw pilot whales that morning too and I recall it being 5.30am in the morning! There were about 7 of them who were about 20m away from the boat. It was quite awesome. The currents around Mahengetang were slightly stronger but manageable. The corals there are very pristine. We saw some larger stuff there too, such as humphead parrotfish, school of barracudas, napolean wrasse. The underwater landscape there is quite interesting: plenty of bubbles coming from the seabed, the water there is warm and the rocks there are all brown – I guess it’s covered with sulphur or some kind of algae that thrives on sulphur? We also headed to a nearby cove which had hot underwater thermal vents and the water in the area there was really hot, almost as if you were in a spa! We brought down beer (some of the guys slapped volcanic mud on their bodies saying that it was cheaper than going to a spa treatment back home!) We headed back south towards Siau after that, and the sea that night was a bit rough. But Dramamine did the trick and those who were feeling a bit green had an early night that day.

Day 4:
The dives we did the following day were on the other side of Siau and near Pahepa, pleasant dives and not too difficult, mostly wall dives (good for those who like wide angle shots). After Siau, we headed further south (around Ruang) but the variety of marine life there were not as good. Bangka was the next stop and the dives here were a bit of Lembeh and Bunaken rolled into one. There were sites with great wall dives and other sites for muck diving. It was a pity we did not have more time to spend there but apparently there are more than 20+ dive sites around Bangka alone. We spotted the yellow pygmy seahorse here. It was quite a sight indeed. And as expected, these little things love strong currents so the place where we saw this was quite a bit of a dive.

Day 5:
Next stop was Lembeh for muck diving! At Jahir, we saw the mimic octopus and flamboyant cuttlefish in the same dive. Everyone came up feeling very excited and I was very contented on having seen these two critters on this trip. We did not see them on our previous trip last year. We did about 5 dives in Lembeh including a night dive where we saw huge seaslugs, belonging to the genus Notaspidea. These are side-gilled slugs and we saw some which were about 20cm! Frogfish in all the colours you could imagine, we found them in Lembeh – orange, hairy, white, red and white, plus green and yellow ones in Bangka.

Day 6:
On the last day, we headed towards Bunaken and were planning to do some dives around there and Manado Tua. That morning, while heading towards Manado Tua, we saw a school of about 100+ spinner dolphins. There were so many of them and everyone got so excited. Some went out on the chaseboats and we swam with them. It was simply a sight that you wouldn’t forget. These cute spinner dolphins did some flips and somersaults, and were swimming alongside our boat for almost half an hour. The dives at Bunaken and Manado Tua were our fun dives. We took group photos underwater and enjoyed the last 2 dives admiring the clear blue waters and vivid colours of hard and soft corals on the walls. We had a great time on this 6D/5N liveaboard and I must say that for me, the highlights were the pilot whales, spinner dolphins, yellow hippocampus, flamboyant cuttlefish, mimic octopus, and of course, the hot spa!

Although the Serenade is not a luxury liveaboard, it has the basic amenities: twin sharing cabin with attached toilet and shower. There is sufficient fresh water on board for showering and also for rinsing after a dive. The divemasters were great at spotting the critters and the boat crew were there to help us gear up before every dive. The boat may not be big (26m length) but we spent our surface intervals in the dining area logging dives or playing cards and also at the front of the boat taking naps!

For those who are prone to seasickness, bring lots of Dramamine. If you have not encountered strong currents before, you may be taken by surprise at some dive sites but these currents are manageable. As they say, no currents, no fish!

My friends and I will be on the Serenade again in April 06 heading up to Bangka, Lembeh and Bunaken. Do check out these links for photos taken by my friends who were on the same trip.

Eve’s photos:
http://public.fotki.com/foongling13/beneath_the_sea/manado_-_mv_serenad/

Goh Siang’s photos:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/p...276230&mode=invite&DCMP=isc-email-AlbumInvite

Happy diving!

 

[grace]

Correction: The mimic and flamboyant were spotted at Hairball in Lembeh, not Jahir...

 

[rickyd]

I was on the Serenade with 11 friends in late October this year. As stated already, the Serenade is not a luxury boat, but I found it very accommodating and comfortable. We were on board 6 nights, and did the northern islands, much as Grace describes.

The crew was great. Lots of guys to help with gear. DM's knew the spots, provided great dive briefings.

Cabins are basic, but no odors, dampness. My only complaint is that the air conditioning cannot run at the same time the compressors are running. Usually not a problem a night.

Food was basic, but plentiful and tasty. Always fresh fish, either caught off the bow, or, bartered from the local.

Price is right. Sorry you did not have the great time we did.