jetsettingbarista
Registered
TL;DR: Maintenance issues plagued the trip, leading to the loss of 3 days of diving (⅓ of the trip) and a Coast Guard incident. Diving was overall excellent with the superb reefs, but viz was fairly limited. Crew was fantastic and did their best to accommodate the delays and issues.
ISSUES:
FOOD: Some of the best liveaboard food we’ve had. We particularly appreciated the variety and the mix of proteins every night. There was generally a balance of Western and Indonesian food options, and the quality was excellent.
CREW: Everyone was absolutely fantastic. People were friendly, kind, and accommodating. Rooms were turned quickly and efficiently, and spotless. Service quality was amazing. Dive guides were very knowledgeable, and there was a strong focus on safety, which we appreciated.
DIVING: For the remaining 6 days of diving we had left, the dives in Komodo National Park were stunning. The coral reefs were the best we’ve ever seen, and it was incredibly heartwarming to see such abundant and thriving marine life.
The dives on the way to and from Komodo were good, but significantly less fantastic. Note that this route does mean you spend more dives outside of the park than routes that involve a one flight.
ISSUES:
- Initial maintenance problem - We were notified the night before departure that the trip was delayed by 3 days, as the boat needed to go into dry dock for extensive repairs on the propeller shaft. The company did a decent job of arranging an alternative land-based diving option in Tulamben. While the organization was not flawless, it was a decent accommodation in high season. The diving in Tulamben was fine, but below Komodo and general ID quality. Beware the rocks with shore diving!
- Second maintenance issue - On the final night steaming back from Sangeang Island to Bali (~15 hours), the coolant intake pipe for the air conditioner broke, and the engine room started to flood. The boat sunk ~ 2 feet in the water, which we could tell because the dive deck was submerged. While the crew managed to patch the hole and make it back to dock on time, the Coast Guard had been notified of our emergency and was on standby to rescue everyone.
- Bonus - norovirus went around the entire boat.
FOOD: Some of the best liveaboard food we’ve had. We particularly appreciated the variety and the mix of proteins every night. There was generally a balance of Western and Indonesian food options, and the quality was excellent.
CREW: Everyone was absolutely fantastic. People were friendly, kind, and accommodating. Rooms were turned quickly and efficiently, and spotless. Service quality was amazing. Dive guides were very knowledgeable, and there was a strong focus on safety, which we appreciated.
DIVING: For the remaining 6 days of diving we had left, the dives in Komodo National Park were stunning. The coral reefs were the best we’ve ever seen, and it was incredibly heartwarming to see such abundant and thriving marine life.
The dives on the way to and from Komodo were good, but significantly less fantastic. Note that this route does mean you spend more dives outside of the park than routes that involve a one flight.
