Ocean Rover Liveaboard - An Honest Assessment - Raja Ampat Oct 7-19 2011

[Luko]

<<Maybe Pindito is not the boat if you don't like cigarette smoke>> HA HA... maybe you shouldn't go to Asia if you don't.... HA HA HA...

ROFLOL!
Imagine the poor guy allergic to peanuts and who hates the taste of shrimp on top of that... :shocked2:

 

[Zippsy]

Where is Blue Magic, never heard of that site - Where is it ? How was your dive there ?

Blue Magic was the best dive I did from a Mansuar Island resort. I think it is the furthest east dive site that Mansuar / Kri resorts visit. And you are right, most of the Black Manta crew worked on the Ocean Rover at one point or another. Note though, we didn't steal the crew; most came to us from other boats or hotels that they joined after leaving the OR.

 

[photog]

...This trip was a very expensive and time consuming lesson for us in the fact that, no matter how wonderful the area of the world (Raja Ampat touted as some of the best and most biodiverse diving in the world) or how amazing the accommodations and crew, a liveaboard vacation can be ruined by ...

So many things. This post is covers many of the reasons I started organizing dive trips.

...Unfortunately 5 dives a day was not the case nor even in the plan.

It is difficult to pack in 5 dives per day. We often have people staying in the water for 1.5 - 2 hours and even though we try for 5 dives/day and start at 7AM, it sometime isn't possible. I think maybe time underwater should count more than number of dives! Doing "open deck" diving when possible helps a lot. Divers who prefer shorter dives (or can't make a tank last quite so long) can do more dives.

... We literally dove the book page by page, dive by dive for the majority of the cruise. Unfortunately, the captain did not express a solid and well-rounded personal knowledge of the areas we dove and scheduled our dives without a thought for current conditions of light, currents, reefs, etc. ... ‘We’ve never been here before and we don’t know what the currents will be like…”.

A lot of the ships new to the area are using the book. GPS coords and have little to no experience in Raja Ampat. My understanding is the book was written to help ships know more places to dive and spread them out. From reading the book, it is clear that some sites were dived only once before writing the description. Some of my favorites sites, ones that we dive year after year, are not listed.

I insist that one of our divemasters check the current before each dive briefing - I think there isn't any excuse for not checking. It may change a bit before everyone gets underwater, but usually every diver knows what to expect. Some people prefer not to dive in current so we warn them if it is strong and they can either sit out that dive or many times we can drop them in a sheltered area.

1.) Manta Sandy dive site - We dove this site twice with nary a sign of a manta. We only learned later that there had not been a manta sighting there in over two months???? Yep, we dove it twice. 2.) Night Dive on Arborek Jetty – no knowledge of the strong, ripping current.

And we were there just days after you. Saw mantas, and had some very nice encounters. Although I heard from trips just before that there were no manta sightings. Still it is a great spot when the mantas are there and worth a couple of tries on different days. The last time we were there (Nov 2011) we spotted mantas feeding - not at the dive site - and took anyone who wanted out to snorkel or dive with them BEFORE the scheduled dive.

Arborei - pretty much expected to have strong current - requires timing it.. or diving close to the shore which is fine. Usually one of the favorite spots for macro - was incredible in Oct/Nov 2011. I had one of the best night dives of my life there the last day of our 2nd trip.

4.) Misool – Three Rocks Dive Site –.... Midway through our dive, we encountered a STRONG downcurrent. Our group was literally hanging onto the reef with reef hooks and our bare hands and had to claw/work our way to the side in order to get out of the current. Both my uncle (500+ dives) and another in our group (4000+ dives) said it was the most dangerous situation they’ve ever been in on a dive.

Yes, this is known to be one to watch out for. Depending on the divers aboard, we choose to dive it or not. And if we do dive it, the briefing has to have a warning to watch out for just what you described.. which can be avoided if you know how to do it. We've pretty much stopped going there. There are sites just as good or better that are not so difficult.

Photography - Full Disclosure – my uncle and I are not UW photographers and we were the only non-photographers on the Ocean Rover. After watching amateur and professional UW photographers and videographers thrash and destroy reefs the world over in search of the perfect shot(this cruise was no exception), we have made a conscious decision that this is NOT a hobby we will pursue.

Not all ships or trip leaders allow photographers (or anyone else) to trash the reefs. We do not. Divers are informed of this before booking and at the first dive briefing. If anyone is caught "misbehaving" they are warned. If the bad behavior continues, they sit out the next dive... etc....

Now, that said, we seldom have to warn anyone. Maybe once or twice per trip. Nearly everyone that comes with us is careful of the reef, we would not even need to mention it. The difference may be the experience level of the diver/photographer - but also their background.

It will take a lot of convincing to get us to return to Raja Ampat

That is horrible! I'm so sorry you didn't see Raja Ampat at it's best!

Raja Ampat, unless you are going for high impact sharks, big animals only, is amazing. I've done over 30 trips there now and I always love each one. I could run trips anywhere I like, but that is the area I most like to dive. Each trip is different, I see different creatures and have different adventures on each one. When I dive somewhere else, I am often wondering "Why am I not in Raja Ampat?".

It really makes a huge difference if you go with an operator that has crew experienced with the area, the dive sites & the conditions necessary at those sites to make a good dive. Also an operator that puts the guests first. That is difficult to guarantee with any ship since crew change from year to year (sometimes month to month). Several years ago I started bringing my own team of cruise director, dive guides and tender driver so that we would have a consistent team of experienced people to handle our guests on the trips.

Works very well. We always have some problems - it is a remote area, conditions change, maintenance & supplies in Sorong not the best - but nothing of the sort in this post.

I know some divers don't think the experience level of the ship, crew, trip leaders counts for much. This post really points out how important it is to choose a good, experienced operator.

 

[h2okrazi]

Greetings,
A group of 4 of us are planning a trip to Dive Raja Ampat via Liveaboard. This is one of those once in a lifetime trips for my husband's birthday and I would like for it to be "VERY" special. I am wondering about the logistics of a trip like this. Any tips and is it safe?

Do you have any suggestions for a comfortable boat going to the best dive areas sometime beginning this April 2012?

Any idea the easiest way to get there from the USA?

I've read that several liveaboards are crossing or diving the Banda Sea and some divers are unhappy about that. Do you happen to know anything about that and is that a good thing?

Water Temperature that time of year? We would so welcome ANY suggestions!!!! Any good web sites for us to research?
Thank you ahead of time!

As far as I know, the Ocean Rover has ceased operation. The boat is sitting in Bitung. It is for sale.

The Raja crew has mostly gone to another boat, "Black Magic", I believe.

The Ocean Rover is a great boat and was the best run operation ever under previous ownership. It a total shame. What a great boat it was.

The OR only did Raja a few times. He used to hire contract cruise directors that knew the area.

Try again on a different boat. Arenui, Damai, Seven Seas, Pindito, Paradise Dancer. Maybe Pindito is not the boat if you don't like cigarette smoke. I've been to Raja five times and a 6th scheduled for March. It can be the greatest, but have to have a good crew and a little bit of luck on conditions to fully experience the best.

 

[Zippsy]

I suggest you might want to start a new thread for your question WaterCrazy but maybe a nice moderator will split it for you. Note that many of the Indonesia LOBs move from around RA to around Komodo at that time of year. March - April is near the end of the nice weather at RA.

Travelling from the US? It depends from which coast but there are lots of flights from LA, SF, Seattle, Houston, Chicago, etc. through Tokyo or Hong Kong to Singapore. From Singapore to Bali, Makassar or Manado to your final destination. That's a lot of flights but it's worth it.

BTW, I did a trip across the Banda Sea in October and was blown away by the diversity, remoteness (no other dive boats in sight - ever), incredible marine life and coral. The crossings are not as well explored so guides often can't promise things like "I'll take you to the massive red frogfish and mantas on this dive" but it was an incredible trip anyway.

Finally, this is the best place to research and ask questions, IMHO!