Raja Ampat Liveaboard -which boat?

[Heg]

Hi
I am trying to narrow down what seems a huge amount of options for our trip to Raja next march/april.
We want a liveaboard rather than land based, but choosing a boat is confusing the life out of me.

We require a double cabin with private shower/head. Doesn't have to be high end, as long as it is clean and comfortable.
We want a crew that are very experienced in the area, that know the sites like the back of their hand. THis is VERY important.

We also want Nitrox.

Can anyone offer any advice?
Thanks

 

[Shasta_man]

Understand your predicament. Don't stress too much on different boats. Look for boats in similar price range. There is not that much difference between boats of a similar price range. I don't choose low end price boat because quality is important to me and I don't want them trying to save money by cutting that. I'll put in a plug for the Dewi Nusantara. You can find their website by searching that name. I went when she was the Paradise Dancer of the Dancer fleet. Very large boat (187 feet long) so there is very little movement from waves. Beautiful boat. Cabins are very large (20 sq. m) with nice bathroom. Probably won't find many cabins this large. Great mix of Western and Indo food. Great crew, excellent dive guides. Diving is from two skiffs so dive groups are small. Easy walk up ladder on skiffs and back on the boat. After dive massages are standard. They know RA very well (I went with them in 2009) Dives just got better and better. I've heard nothing but good reports since.

 

[gizmo1972]

i have to agree with Shasta the Dewi Nusantara is stunning!! you wont be dissapointed!!! have a great time!!!

 

[Heg]

So that's 2 votes for the dewi Nusantara then. Anyone else got a favorite ? The Mermaid and the Black Manta seemed good price wise , but the Manta trips are shorter which doesn't really appeal. I reckon we need at least a 10 night trip to this area. Does that seem about right?

 

[ocdiver1]

The best liveaboard company I've dove with is the Siren fleet (Worldwide Dive and Sail), and they do Raja Ampat. While I have only done RA with other boats, you really cant go wrong with WWDS. And I'd agree 10 days+ is the right amount of time due to the vastness of the area, otherwise you'd be limited to just one want part of RA.

 

[Heg]

The best liveaboard company I've dove with is the Siren fleet (Worldwide Dive and Sail), and they do Raja Ampat. While I have only done RA with other boats, you really cant go wrong with WWDS. And I'd agree 10 days+ is the right amount of time due to the vastness of the area, otherwise you'd be limited to just one want part of RA.

Do you mind me asking which other boats you have used?

 

[ocdiver1]

Sure Heg...have been on the Seahorse, which was good...definitely knew the divesites, but I thought a little overpriced, the Felicia, which was Indonesia-owned and run boat/company. That boat was the lowest price option I'd even seen for RA, but was pretty basic and you not incredibly organized. I'm not sure I'd really recommend that one but I think the company has since changed hands...and actually, I forgot about the Aurora...a boat I don't see advertised that much that I really liked. I've taken them on two different itineraries and loved it..they also have seemed in the past to be a little more reasonably priced that many of the boats. If you get on their email list, sometimes they'll discount up to 30% on more last minute departures where they have space.

 

[Worldwide Dive and Sail]

Hi Heg

Whilst we'd of course agree with ocdiver that the Indo Siren is the best option , unfortunately our trips to Raja Ampat are currently booked up for the 2014 season.

Nikki of ScubaXtravel (based in California) is hosting a trip 28th March- 7th April and she may have a space remaining so you could get in touch with her niki@scubaxtravel.com

Equator Diving, who are on scubaboard, have a charter 09-19 April but we believe they only have 1 male and 1 female space in separate cabins :-( It may be worthwhile checking in with them by pm?

We would also agree that the Dewi Nusantara is a stunning boat and the dive guides know the area (one used to work on Siren!) but it seems also they are booked for March/April and only have spaces for northern RA in February. Alison Bygrave (based in the UK) would be your best contact there - sales@dewi-nusantara.com

The Damai II would offer another luxury option with experienced dive guides, and they have space available in March - but whether its a double bed cabin we don't know. They work extensively with Burt Jones & Maureen Shimlock in finding new sites and species and have operated in the region for some time now.

We don't have experienced with lower end yachts so cannot comment on the quality of the guiding and their knowledge of the area.

Best of luck with your search,
Siren Fleet

 

[Heg]

Hi Heg

Whilst we'd of course agree with ocdiver that the Indo Siren is the best option , unfortunately our trips to Raja Ampat are currently booked up for the 2014 season.

Nikki of ScubaXtravel (based in California) is hosting a trip 28th March- 7th April and she may have a space remaining so you could get in touch with her niki@scubaxtravel.com

Equator Diving, who are on scubaboard, have a charter 09-19 April but we believe they only have 1 male and 1 female space in separate cabins :-( It may be worthwhile checking in with them by pm?

We would also agree that the Dewi Nusantara is a stunning boat and the dive guides know the area (one used to work on Siren!) but it seems also they are booked for March/April and only have spaces for northern RA in February. Alison Bygrave (based in the UK) would be your best contact there - sales@dewi-nusantara.com

The Damai II would offer another luxury option with experienced dive guides, and they have space available in March - but whether its a double bed cabin we don't know. They work extensively with Burt Jones & Maureen Shimlock in finding new sites and species and have operated in the region for some time now.

We don't have experienced with lower end yachts so cannot comment on the quality of the guiding and their knowledge of the area.

Best of luck with your search,
Siren Fleet

Looks like we might have to do Palau this march and leave RA until 2015. Unless November/ December is a good time to go ?

 

[Worldwide Dive and Sail]

Looks like we might have to do Palau this march and leave RA until 2015. Unless November/ December is a good time to go ?

Hi Heg

Nov/Dec is also a good time to dive RA. Most liveaboards will end the Komodo trips around October time and transition to RA. For 2013 the Indo Siren is fully booked with a wait list already, but in Dec 2014 there are some spaces on either the 09-19Dec or 20-30Dec (both have double bed cabins available).

But Palau Siren is currently fully booked in March 2014 so we can't be of assistance there for you. Sorry about that! guess the trips in Dec 2013 didn't work out for you - have you decided to go to Truk instead?

Feel free to pm if we can offer any assistance with the above mentioned

Best wishes,
Siren Fleet