Samambaia -- GREAT Raja Ampat Liveaboard

[Trailboss123]

Great blog! What was the water temps like during the trip? Thanks!

 

[ChyLn]

Raja Ampat has been on my bucket list. Seems like a LOB is probably the best way (only way?) to see all the sites you covered.

I think LOB is definitely the way to do it. There are clusters of dive sites that you can hit from the land-based resorts but I think the sites are otherwise spread too far apart to be feasible to see from a resort. We learned that there are probably somewhere between 60-80 dive sites overall in the area that are dived with some frequency... so that means at least 3 trips to Raja to see it all

How about the ins and outs? What kind of tenders? How many steps from the dive deck into the tenders? How skilled and safety-conscious were the boat men?

Did the crew test the O2 percentage, did the divers watch them or did the crew just do it and ask you to sign.

- Bill

There are maybe a dozen steps with steel railing down to the boats from the dive deck. The only thing you have to carry is your mask to and from each dive and the crew are always their with open hands to help you get in or out of the boat. Can't think that it could get much easier than that.

The dive tenders were two dinghies/speed boats with enough seats for 8 divers. Entries were all backrolls over the side. The boat men were quite competent and helpful with getting into and out of the water, handing us our cameras after we splashed (except for times when we did negative entry) and taking our gear back out of the water (including tank/weights/bcd) before we climbed the ladder back into the dinghies. We never had to wait long before the dinghies came around.

They have a nitrox analyzer on board.

 

[ChyLn]

I do feel Dan_T's pain when it comes to long walks with gear on to get to the skiffs. Not my best performances in those situations. I slip! Rob

Just wanted to re-iterate/clarify: ALL of your gear: tank, weights, BCD, fins, camera equipment, are loaded by the crew/guides into the dinghies before each dive and brought back to the dive deck after. The only things that I carried the entire trip down those steps were my mask and dive computer.

Great blog! What was the water temps like during the trip? Thanks!

Temperatures were pretty steady around 85F.

 

[AlMitch]

Congrats on a great blog, with some really great photo's!
RA is a special place.
And it looks like the Samambai is a very good LOB.

 

[sefuchs]

Thank you for the great trip report and nice blog! We will making our 1st trip to RA on the Samambaia on 1/20/19. Our dive experience is limited to the Caribbean and Hawaii so very excited to experience the indo-pacific. My only LOB trip was on the Turks & Caicos Aggressor which I just loved. I am kind of a foodie and a bit of an old fart so comfort/food is a big factor in my LOB decision, looks like the Samambaia is the perfect LOB. Fantastic diving, cool boat and great food - can't wait! Thanks again.

 

[billt4sf]

There are maybe a dozen steps with steel railing down to the boats from the dive deck. The only thing you have to carry is your mask to and from each dive and the crew are always their with open hands to help you get in or out of the boat. Can't think that it could get much easier than that.

It can be, actually. Some boat designs have just a couple steps from the dive deck to the tenders, with a metal railing to hold on to, and a large platform (like 3m x 1.5mm) to get onto the tenders. While this may not matter to many people, it does matter to me.

- Bill

 

[Dan]

It looks like Samambaia has great cruise director.

Check this podcast posted by @Mike Veitch :
Podcast With Serge From Samambaia Liveaboard

 

[BDSC]

I saw that this weekend. I was impressed.

 

[Pillpusher]

I'm on it as I type this. Just got done with another outstanding four dives and yet another great dinner. You won't regret booking this boat.

 

[BDSC]

Thanks Pillpusher!

I can’t believe my trip is not until 2020 but at least it’s January of 2020. We were out to dinner last night with one of the couples going and I was telling them about all the great reviews I’ve been reading.

At least I have a land based Indonesia trip, Belize, Grand Cayman, The Solomons, and the Socorro’s before then.