Paradise Dancer in Raja Ampat was great

[ncchuck]

I did a trip to RA a few years ago. Best trip of my life by a good margin. I also did the Komodo Dancer and while it was great it wasn't nearly as good. We flew to Singapore, then Manado where we dove nearby for a few days (highly recommended muck diving) and then onto Sorong. The only hassle was Sorong where the flight home was delayed for 48 hours but then they woke us up about 3am an said the original flight was a go. Another problem we ran into was a shortage of Indonesian dollars. Our group had to find a broker and he charged about 20% over the going rate to exchange our money.
This trip is worth skipping a dive trip or two to save up the money. When we went there were only a couple of liveaboards to choose from. It appears there are several now.
You'll remember many of your other dive trips but you'll never forget the unbelieable sights of Raja Ampat.

 

[mjh]

This is one area and boat we are considering repeating. How did they do with groups underwater? We had several dives where the pangas dropped the groups at opposite ends of the reef and we ended up with a big mess in the middle. Was my only "issue" with their op and a very minor one.

 

[Shasta_man]

I never felt a problem with groups underwater. They rarely had us cross paths underwater. They either staggered the boats leaving so one boat was ahead of the other, or we did different sites, swapping on the next dive, or they might drop us in different spots. On top of that, we had a decent group of divers overall with few "bowling balls" and everyone was usually courteous and cooperative. Perfect weighting is a must, and what a pleasure it is when you have achieved it. Can't overemphasize how much it helps and how easy the diving is when properly weighted. Then you can be in close proximity without running into each other.

Ncchuck: I can tell from the tone of your response that we're both feeling that same good vibe. I had the opposite money problem. I thought I better get some IDR for the inevitable stops on the boat. After ATMing a million IDR and boarding, I found out there weren't going to be any stops on the boat! A few people got some pretty good tips on the way back.

 

[petsygal]

Thanks for the timely report, we just booked the Paradise Dancer from Jan. 29-Feb. 11th yesterday. We're based in Florida and are going to take our time getting to Sorong. Will overnight in LA, then a night in Tokyo, then 2 nights in Manado before getting to Sorong. We hope to stay healthier this way and cut back on the jet lag. Did you get your laundry done while on board? I'm looking to pack as little as possible. Also, how much were the massages?

We're going to spend 5 days in Tokyo on the way home so will have additional luggage for that portion of the trip. Is there room in the cabin for 5 pieces of luggage or perhaps you know if we could store the luggage at Peter Hughes' offices in Sorong? Looking forward to your pictures!

 

[Darnold9999]

Lots of room in the cabin, but you may have issues with domestic air and that much baggage. I don't recall the cost of the massage, but the after dive massage was excellent.

 

[Shasta_man]

Depends on what size luggage you are talking. There is quite a bit of room in the cabins. For example, I could just about fit my fullsize dive bag under the end of the bed (it's sort of cut out and actually has a big drawer under there). I would say you actually could fit it all in the room though it would take up some space and, as typical, they have storage room elsewhere on the boat.

As Darnold points out, your biggest problem would be bringing on the domestic (within Indonesia) flight. Luggage limits on most of the domestics is 20 kgs (44 lbs) total weight per person. Carryons are 5 kg (11 lbs). It was about $3.75 per kilo over. I had to pay in IDR.

I'd thought about laundry on board but never got it done. I know they specifically said they do not have a dryer on board. However, the engine room served that purpose well and it was very clean (I took a tour).

Massages are apparently a usual thing on many Peter Hughes boats though not always practiced. It was always performed on the Paradise though, by Karim and DiDi aka Clamps 1 and Clamps 2. After every dive, you take off your gear, wash off in the dive shower, then get a towel, sit down and they massage your neck, back and arms for ~5 minutes.

I did SFO - HKG, to SIN, to CGK (Jakarta) all in one go, which was only eased by the fact that Changi in Singapore is so nice. I stayed one night in CGK transit hotel, then again in SOQ (Sorong) before getting on the boat. I started to mention the heat standing around at the airport in SOQ but you're from Florida, so it will be normal.

It's going to be awesome. I'm getting a couple video clips ready to upload.

 

[jake11]

Hi there Mr. Yellow submarine owner!!! I think you mentioned me in your post!!!
I was very sick in Bali the first night we were there. I had to go straight to bed because I was so nauseous! It could have been that nasty Sorong airport with a combo of dehydration and smoke inhalation! Or.. One of our British friends who was sick ended up in the hospital and maybe I caught a touch of that ! Yikes! I did rally and we had a great time in Ubud and then Hong Kong! Shasta Man is right on all counts in his post! We were the crazy ones who flew first to Bali and overnighted,then to Makassar and overnighted and then to the lovely city of Sorong and overnighted at the Je Meridian.( Bring your own breakfast like SM did! He was very smart as the food was pretty awful!) The Paradise Dancer is an amazing ship and the rooms are fantastic! The diving is some of the best that we have ever done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I loved the crew !!!!!!!!!! They made my trip for me! Wendy is THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!! I would love to do that trip all over again as I am sure it would be amazing every time!
I would like to add that it was a blast having Shasta Man on the trip! We had some good laughs!!!!

 

[Darnold9999]

I did get laundry done on the boat. No recollection of cost but I don't recall it as unexpected.

 

[Shasta_man]

Hi Mrs Master and Commander!

Welcome the awesome critter spotter! With magnifying glass in hand, she is a master!

Great to hear from you and I intend to get in touch soon. You were pouring sweat in the Sorong Airport. I would have been toast too without the fans in there. I was trying to get some of my "media" together before emailing you guys. Yellow submarine got some really good stuff. I'm still watching the 11 hours of video with the wife. She is alternating between marveling at the views and smacking me for what I got to see. We just passed the "Kaleidescope" dive. I've gotten some really good stuff including multiple octopus changing texture, and colors, great Manta footage from 3 Windows, amazing silverside footage completely filling the screen while swirling and moving in all directions, then whoosh into the camera lens. Mega fish at Melissa's Garden, beautiful sunsets, soft corals of all colors, boxer shrimp, etc, etc. You know, the whole id book we saw when there. You'll see it all soon enough.

As all can see, we really enjoyed our time.

Hmm...interesting comment about the Brits. Did Mo end up in the hospital? I talked a lot with them in Jakarta.

I'll send you an email.

 

[jake11]

Heard from Bill and he said Mo was in the hospital but he did not say what she had!
Looking forward to some of your awesome footage!! Will look forward to your email!
Where do we go now???? I talked to a travel agent about a possible Lembeh trip..maybe land based and hitting 2 different resorts. We have been to KBR and it was great. We would go back there for sure. 3 dives a day plus their house reef is great! All kinds of cool critters! Perfect for Master magnifying glass viewing!
Talk to you soon!!!

Mrs. M.& C.