Because Raja has been reported on so often, I'll focus this report on two things: The boat and Raja for a first-timer.
The Boat: Yes, this boat is on the high end. This was our 7th LOB. Though Gaia Love was the most expensive we have done, it was not much more than two other boats we've been on. Consensus was that this was the best boat we've been on and well worth the extra cost for us.
General Aspects to the Boat: We had a great cabin with a large queen-type sized bed and a narrow step-out onto type balcony. The lounging, dining area was very large and comfortable for the 20 folks in our group. That's the max of guests. Three different outdoor spaces to hang out, though it was pretty hot except early and late in the day. Camera room was nice but might only hold 8 folks with very big rigs. We had 11 set-ups fit in the camera room but only a few DSLR types. The boat had extra counter space if necessary.
Food: Wonderful selections. All meals were cooked to order. The only buffet was a traditional Indonesian dinner on the last night with four main course choices. The boat offered a specific lunch and dinner menu each day and asked each guest if that was OK. Some chose a veggie alternative. Some chose fish when beef was offered. You could make the call. The chefs really aimed to please. The service staff, Anto and Andy, did everything they could to personalize your service and basically waited on you 24/7 if necessary. IMHO, best food on a LOB yet.
"Diving, Diving, Diving...time for Diving". This was announced 4 times a day, 15 minutes before the dive. Here's the routine: 6:00-7:00ish cold breakfast. First dive at either 7:15, 7:30 or maybe 7:45. In Misool area, all dive sites in the park need to be reserved ahead of time so first dive time might vary. Hot breakfast after first dive, then dives at 11:00, 3:00 and 6:30 night dive, with dinner afterwards. If you didn't do the night dive you could be served at 7:00 or anytime until the divers were served.
Diving process: The dive deck was interesting. Your spot was a space on each side of the aisle, three aisles. On one side was a personal camera rise tank below and an open cubby space above for your personalized (each had a different saying, not your name) towel they gave you, storage of your shorts, t-shirt and small stuff. On the other side was your tank set-up and a basket underneath for masks, flashlights, etc. The skiff boarding area was down 6 or so stairs off the back of the boat. You just walked down in your wetsuit, wrist computer and mask. Your tank/bc was carried down along with a box with the cameras for each of the five groups. 4 to 1 divers to guide. Each skiff left with 4 to 1 plus a driver. Two skiffs would come back to pick up groups 4 and 5. A good touch was that you rotated skiffs each day so you dove with all five guides at least once. We chose to switch up the 5 groups after 5 days for a change of pace. Skiffs are very sturdy and brand new. Not a rubber dingy. Built to hold 7 divers, but max was 5, including guide, so plenty roomy. Hot tea put on your dive space after every dive and hot chocolate and a special warm towel after night dive. Staff walked around offering to zip up your wetsuit, etc. Spouse and I tried to do it ourselves, but they sometime beat us to it.
Dives were 60 minutes with some slippage (usually 62-65). There was no boat reserved after our time at Magic Mountain (because our time was 3:30 pm) so they let us stay down for 90 minutes because 4 mantas were there circling the whole time.
Dive guides: All good and tried to spot. Message to us at the beginning, they will go ahead and look for stuff and your dive is your responsibility. They are spotters, not hand-holders. Perfect. Occasionally we discussed with the guides that we did not want things "moved, uncovered. messed with" just for a picture. They got it.
Cruise directors: A true alter-ego pair. Geil is Dutch and has that personality. Dry sense of humor, but very helpful, especially in the camera room. Always giving ideas, little equipment helpers, etc. He has good tools and stood ready to use them in any way to help. Geri is bursting with personality and is a blast to be with. She radiates fun. They joined us at every meal, sometimes splitting up to different tables and made meals even more fun. Both are excellent divers and guides and one or the other is on every dive.
Conclusion, we would return in a minute if we had the $$$. All members of our 20 person group were thrilled with the boat and the crew.
Raja newbie thoughts: As said here before, you get the fish, reef health and much more due to the particulates in the water. That made the viz a bit "milky", but you could still see clearly for a good while. I could photoshop my pics to show brilliant clear blue water, but that's not what I saw. Prior trip to Wakatobi had better viz but a tad less of everything else. People who view pics before coming should at least know you'll see great stuff, just not clear blue seas for 200 feet, at least not for us. The overall impression for me was that there is just a bit more in Raja than other places we've been in the Coral Triangle. A bit larger and more frequent schools of fish, more colorful corals, a bit more critters, and just a sense of a bit more of everything. Though Misool is always discussed and we did love that diving (especially a great manta dive) I personally liked some of the Northern and Central spots a bit better. Again, just a bit better viz, a bit more fish, etc. Lastly, though current was never bad and our guides never made us fight it, it was there and you need to be aware it's there.
Hope some of this long write-up helps.
Rob
The Boat: Yes, this boat is on the high end. This was our 7th LOB. Though Gaia Love was the most expensive we have done, it was not much more than two other boats we've been on. Consensus was that this was the best boat we've been on and well worth the extra cost for us.
General Aspects to the Boat: We had a great cabin with a large queen-type sized bed and a narrow step-out onto type balcony. The lounging, dining area was very large and comfortable for the 20 folks in our group. That's the max of guests. Three different outdoor spaces to hang out, though it was pretty hot except early and late in the day. Camera room was nice but might only hold 8 folks with very big rigs. We had 11 set-ups fit in the camera room but only a few DSLR types. The boat had extra counter space if necessary.
Food: Wonderful selections. All meals were cooked to order. The only buffet was a traditional Indonesian dinner on the last night with four main course choices. The boat offered a specific lunch and dinner menu each day and asked each guest if that was OK. Some chose a veggie alternative. Some chose fish when beef was offered. You could make the call. The chefs really aimed to please. The service staff, Anto and Andy, did everything they could to personalize your service and basically waited on you 24/7 if necessary. IMHO, best food on a LOB yet.
"Diving, Diving, Diving...time for Diving". This was announced 4 times a day, 15 minutes before the dive. Here's the routine: 6:00-7:00ish cold breakfast. First dive at either 7:15, 7:30 or maybe 7:45. In Misool area, all dive sites in the park need to be reserved ahead of time so first dive time might vary. Hot breakfast after first dive, then dives at 11:00, 3:00 and 6:30 night dive, with dinner afterwards. If you didn't do the night dive you could be served at 7:00 or anytime until the divers were served.
Diving process: The dive deck was interesting. Your spot was a space on each side of the aisle, three aisles. On one side was a personal camera rise tank below and an open cubby space above for your personalized (each had a different saying, not your name) towel they gave you, storage of your shorts, t-shirt and small stuff. On the other side was your tank set-up and a basket underneath for masks, flashlights, etc. The skiff boarding area was down 6 or so stairs off the back of the boat. You just walked down in your wetsuit, wrist computer and mask. Your tank/bc was carried down along with a box with the cameras for each of the five groups. 4 to 1 divers to guide. Each skiff left with 4 to 1 plus a driver. Two skiffs would come back to pick up groups 4 and 5. A good touch was that you rotated skiffs each day so you dove with all five guides at least once. We chose to switch up the 5 groups after 5 days for a change of pace. Skiffs are very sturdy and brand new. Not a rubber dingy. Built to hold 7 divers, but max was 5, including guide, so plenty roomy. Hot tea put on your dive space after every dive and hot chocolate and a special warm towel after night dive. Staff walked around offering to zip up your wetsuit, etc. Spouse and I tried to do it ourselves, but they sometime beat us to it.
Dives were 60 minutes with some slippage (usually 62-65). There was no boat reserved after our time at Magic Mountain (because our time was 3:30 pm) so they let us stay down for 90 minutes because 4 mantas were there circling the whole time.
Dive guides: All good and tried to spot. Message to us at the beginning, they will go ahead and look for stuff and your dive is your responsibility. They are spotters, not hand-holders. Perfect. Occasionally we discussed with the guides that we did not want things "moved, uncovered. messed with" just for a picture. They got it.
Cruise directors: A true alter-ego pair. Geil is Dutch and has that personality. Dry sense of humor, but very helpful, especially in the camera room. Always giving ideas, little equipment helpers, etc. He has good tools and stood ready to use them in any way to help. Geri is bursting with personality and is a blast to be with. She radiates fun. They joined us at every meal, sometimes splitting up to different tables and made meals even more fun. Both are excellent divers and guides and one or the other is on every dive.
Conclusion, we would return in a minute if we had the $$$. All members of our 20 person group were thrilled with the boat and the crew.
Raja newbie thoughts: As said here before, you get the fish, reef health and much more due to the particulates in the water. That made the viz a bit "milky", but you could still see clearly for a good while. I could photoshop my pics to show brilliant clear blue water, but that's not what I saw. Prior trip to Wakatobi had better viz but a tad less of everything else. People who view pics before coming should at least know you'll see great stuff, just not clear blue seas for 200 feet, at least not for us. The overall impression for me was that there is just a bit more in Raja than other places we've been in the Coral Triangle. A bit larger and more frequent schools of fish, more colorful corals, a bit more critters, and just a sense of a bit more of everything. Though Misool is always discussed and we did love that diving (especially a great manta dive) I personally liked some of the Northern and Central spots a bit better. Again, just a bit better viz, a bit more fish, etc. Lastly, though current was never bad and our guides never made us fight it, it was there and you need to be aware it's there.
Hope some of this long write-up helps.
Rob
