Pro/Con Komodo on Damai 11 for Christmas 2013 Comments appreciated

[divekraz]

My wife and I are planning on diving Komodo on the Damai 11 for Christmas 2013. I'd like to hear any comments, pro/con, on the boat operation/diving in Komodo, any suggestions on travel from Fort Lauderdale FL, like perhaps, who to use. A 4 star + resort on the way back from Komodo to relax, sight see or do some Land dives for 3-6 days before going home. We've been on week long liveaboards to Gallapagos (darwin buddy), Cocos Island (agressor was by far the worst boat I've ever been on), Socorro Island (nautilus explorer), Hawaii (agressor), Fiji (2 times on Naia and Beqa Lagoon Resort), Aqua Cat in Bahama's for 500+ dives. I do underwater video so want the diversity as I've done all the Caribbean and east coast from Carolina's/Bermuda and south. I tried the Arenau and Damai 1 for Raja Ampat but they were sold out for 2013 Christmas. I want to Thank everyone for any suggestions or comments you think could be helpful on such a long trip.

 

[Darnold9999]

Have done Damai I not II, but it was spectacular in terms of service and amenities. I gather that they made some improvements in terms of layout, but otherwise I understand the boats are similar. They raise the bar in terms of what a liveaboard is. I am betting you will be impressed.

I would recommend getting to Indonesia early and getting yourself adjusted as much as possible to the local time zone before getting on the boat. I have done Indonesia three times three different ways and find the longer I spend in country before going out on the liveaboard the better the experience was. Have gone right from the plane to the boat, four days at a dive resort then to the boat and three weeks holiday and then to the liveaboard. Not always possible to get there early, but if possible it is worth doing.

I did do a five day stay at Lembeh after one trip at Black Sands resort and was very impressed. However the resort is very much dive focused and there is not much else to do in the area so if you want to relax and take in just a few dives before coming home as opposed to dive,dive,dive, I would look to Bali. If you want to dive and like muck diving I would have a look at Black Sands.

 

[Shasta_man]

We did Xmas in Komodo in 2009 on the Komodo Dancer and had a great trip. Due to my own paranoia about getting sick, I prefer getting to the boat as quickly as possible but YMMV. We embarked from Bali. Note that Xmas is a big holiday in Bali so much more crowded for the locals in Bali during that time if you go through there. We did our land excursions after the liveaboard and there was plenty of cool stuff to do. Note you don't necessarily need the big money resort to have a nice place there. You wouldn't want the bottom, but you don't need the big money either.

I know that the Dewi Nusantara was running $500 off specials during Nov-Dec. That was a heckuva boat that does Komodo and RA. They would deliver plenty of luxury for your interests and its a big boat. I wouldn't hesitate to go again. Search for their website.

And if you haven't done Indonesia yet, you should be quite pleased

 

[LiquidDivingAdventure]

The Arenui, and the Damai boats are the best in Indonesia. Without getting into a lot of detail, my general recommendation is to be sure you get flights. I am finding for my clients wanting to travel from about Dec 15 to Jan 5 of the next year, air fares are nearly double the cost of the same flight a month or so earlier or later. That is a huge cost. Also, as mentioned above, that is a very heavy travel time for locals in Asia so Indo domestic flights on Silk Air and other fill fast.

Comparing the Arenui to Damai, the Damai takes a couple less people and their package can include rental gear so you do not have to haul gear on small planes with bag weight restrictions. Both offer first class service. I can see if I can get you anything on the Arenui for your travel dates. I do have a full boat charter on the Arenui in Aug 2014.

I have some folks in Colorado who I have recommended to NOT travel during that time period and we can get them almost a full second week at a resort offset by the lower air fare. But that is just my recommendation.

 

[Darnold9999]

Comparing the Arenui to Damai, the Damai takes a couple less people QUOTE]

My understanding is that the Arenui typically takes 16 divers, the Damai 8. Same size boat. On the trip I did we had 9 divers - two of them were travel guides checking out the boat and they stayed in the guides cabin which is not quite as nice as the regular cabins.

Not to disuade you from the Arenui - would be my second choice if $ was no object, but it is a different experience with only 8 divers as opposed to 16.

Dewi Nusantara is also a great boat, much bigger than anything else. Very comfortable, we had 19 divers on the trip I did. Not at all crowded.

 

[mantajohn]

I agree with Darnold about arriving in good time. Perhaps is the effect of ageing, but each time i have arrived in Bali completely out of it (long flight in steerage/ many time zones) & have really appreciated 48 hours of down time in Bali to get fit to enjoy the lob.

Not the two boats that are being discussed here, but i recently posted a compare/contrast on Indo Siren v Komodo Dancer.

Link here http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/indonesia/428427-komodo-trip-report-dancer-v-siren.html

in case it has any useful info for your planning.

Cheers

John