Trip Report Trip Report: Mermaid 1 (Route: Bali-Komodo-Bali)

[jetsettingbarista]

Beautiful video! I always enjoy your footage.

I agree, bad things can happen at any time, and that applies to anything in life. I place a high standard for liveaboards when it comes to maintenance and safety, more than other types of vacation experiences. IMHO, besides weather, most instances of a liveaboard to cease operation before and during a trip are avoidable and human driven. Proper and regular maintenance checks will keep the boat in tiptop shape. These liveaboard companies are insistent to turn the boat for the next trip, and I wonder how they can do any bow-to-stern inspections in the short time the boat is back at the dock. Well, they really can't, because greed drives the schedule.

An experienced captain who is well familiarized with the waters in which he/she is sailing should not hit obstacles in the ocean. My only experience on a boat is as a passenger, but it seems like GPS, gauges, nautical plotting maps, and advanced technology should keep any boat from impacting any fixed object in the water.

Very much of the same opinion, particularly when two issues occur on the same trip. One incident can of course be chalked up somewhat to bad luck, but two issues impacting the same trip is IMHO less likely to be bad luck and more likely to be due to controllable predictive maintenance and proactive servicing and repairs not being followed as rigorously as you'd hope, as a passenger.

 

[jetsettingbarista]

I

Thanks for your report. I was on the Mermaid I in October 2023 and my trip also started late due to maintenance. It was only about 8-9 hours late but still pretty frustrating. I can't imagine losing 3 days on a liveaboard trip. Land based diving does not compare to liveaboard diving- especially when it comes to the cost of premium liveaboards like Mermaid I.

I feel this! Any diving time lost is always a disappointment. Glad you only missed part of a day!

 

[jetsettingbarista]

I am super impressed how gracious your report was...not sure I would have been so generous towards Mermaid if I were in your shoes.

I suppose it does go to show that even though lemons were tossed about, the way a company deals with them really is important, and the Mermaid team seem to have done a fairly decent job of making lemonade from the dem lemons.

Glad you got some good diving in.

Were you offered any form of compensation for missing out on a third of your trip?

Thank you for saying that! I wanted to be fair and factual, so that members of this board could have the information and draw their own conclusions from the data. I also wanted to be sure to give praise where praise is due, as plenty of people (particularly those on the boat) weren't the responsible party and worked hard to accommodate, and the boat is also their livelihoods.

From what I've read on a few other threads, including other ID liveaboards, it does seem like Mermaid did a fair-to-very-fair job of providing an alternative diving option and covering additional costs. The compensation was loosely as follows:

- 3 days of replacement shore diving covered (though note that the accommodation was a 3-star hotel, definitely not the 5-star as they claimed in their official comms linked above; the hotel was the Mimpi Tulamben - Mimpi Resort Tulamben · Mimpi Resort Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia, Tulamben, Karangasem, Kabupaten Karangasem, Bali 80853, Indonesien)
- no charges for rentals through the trip (we only needed regs)
- refunded our fuel surcharges
- covered the Komodo park fees
- complimentary nitrox through the trip
- covered transport costs (~50 euros)

They also offered a 20% discount for a future trip if occurring within the next 2 years, but after the second maintenance issue, I'm not sure we're keen to use it.

 

[matts1w]

I promise I am not being a contrarian, but Mimpi Tulamben is probably the nicest resort in Tulamben—it is at least in the top 3. By remote Bali standards, it is way, way, way above a three-star resort. They could not have put you anywhere better.

 

[Dan]

I promise I am not being a contrarian, but Mimpi Tulamben is probably the nicest resort in Tulamben—it is at least in the top 3. By remote Bali standards, it is way, way, way above a three-star resort. They could not have put you anywhere better.

I completely agree with you, as I have stayed there before and also in Mimpl Menjagan, which is also 5 stars resort. Some of the bungalows have hot springs piped up directly to private jacuzzi.

Mimpi Resort Menjangan - Guest Reservations

As an independent booking service offering over 100,000 hotels worldwide, we can get you the same deals you expect with a bigger travel agency or direct from the hotel.

www.guestreservations.com

A dive resort that may be better than Mimpi would be Amanwana in Moyo Island, Sumbawa, where Lady Diana used to come for vacation.

Luxury Resort on Moyo Island, Indonesia - Amanwana

Discover Amanwana, a hideaway luxurious resort on the beautiful and secluded Moyo Satonda National Park in the Flores Sea. Book today with Aman.

www.aman.com

 

[matts1w]

A dive resort that may be better than Mimpi would be Amanwana in Moyo Island, Sumbawa, where Lady Diana used to come for vacation.

Luxury Resort on Moyo Island, Indonesia - Amanwana

Discover Amanwana, a hideaway luxurious resort on the beautiful and secluded Moyo Satonda National Park in the Flores Sea. Book today with Aman.

www.aman.com

David Bowie loved it there too.

 

[Madacub]

Disappointing to hear about this and I'll put in my two cents worth.

I've been on the Mermaid-1 without problems 4 times in the last 15 or so years. As far as I can tell they are a well run outfit and an excellent crew, they seem happy, probably means they are well treated. The owner (met a couple of times) seems like a decent person (looks like they took care of the affected passengers fairly). I hope to dive with them in the future, so I hope they take care of the quality control issues. The older these boats get, the more attention they need, I guess.

Thanks to @aquabluegreg for getting that comment/explanation from the owner.

 

[Madacub]

SH! Accident can happen at anytime, anywhere and to any boat.

Last year a yacht (as you see in the video, below) that I was on hit an uncharted pinnacle and wrinkled 2 out of 3 propellers. It had to be towed back to Jakarta.

Dan! You certainly know how to find and video these mantas!

By the way, where was this pinnacle you hit? Manta Alley? And what arrangements were made for the passengers?

 

[Centrals]

Hidden pinnacle! Must had sailed through that water nth times!! Lousy seamanship.
Accommodation in a 7* hotel would not compensate for missing 3 days of diving in Komodo.
The operator would have to pay me to dive Tulamben.

 

[Dan]

Dan! You certainly know how to find and video these mantas!

By the way, where was this pinnacle you hit? Manta Alley? And what arrangements were made for the passengers?

Thanks!

It happened when we were heading to Siaba Besar.

Here is the captain’s description of the accident:
“Coming from southern to northern Bering 351° meanwhile Dive & anchor site on Bering 30 to 40
Which is where the reefs was.
Position coming from 86 towards 16 meter depth of the water, and no number was shown among these two Depth.
No marker buoy or Beacon ( danger cardinal or west Cardinal mark )”

We were cruising about 8 knots, all of a sudden stopped. The chef almost stabbed herself with a knife while preparing food for dinner.

We were then towed to Labuan Bajo and all passengers flew home. I flew to Bali & finished my vacation in Lembongan, dving with Lembogan Dive Center (LDC).

I saw 8 Mola Mola during that trip, 6 with LDC, 2 with MY Agnes.

Here are a few of videos I made with LDC.