This was my third location in a multi-country, two-month dive trip from February to April 2025. I’m a solo traveler with 700 dives, and this is an independently planned trip with the help of Bluewater Travel for dive and stay package pricing. My first two weeks were spent in land-based resorts in Raja Ampat, and I wrote trip reports for those stays. Since my last liveaboard trip on the Damai II in December 2023 was ruined by the accidental death of one of the divers who drowned in a downcurrent at Weka’s Wow dive site, I wanted to get on another liveaboard to fully experience Raja Ampat, The New White Manta (WM), with a Misool itinerary. This report will focus on the boat and logistical operations more than the dive sites since I covered the diving in the previous two reports. Feel free to ask questions. Trip Report - Raja Ampat-Cove Eco-February 2025
Trip Report - Raja Ampat Dive Lodge-March 2025
Getting There. Raja Ampat Dive Lodge provided the fast boat transfer to Sorong to join the White Manta. It took approximately 1 ½ hours.
The Boat. I was very impressed with this dive boat. As opposed to the Damai II being a wooden boat, the WM is a steel boat. I like steel boats much more than the wooden style. The wooden boats are constantly flexing and creaking, and a good night’s sleep was elusive on the Damai. I slept wonderfully on the WM and woke up every day fully rested.
The gallery of photos on WM’s website are an accurate representation of the cabins offered. Launched in 2019, it’s a very spacious, clean and modern dive vessel. I had an upper deck cabin, number C4. With all the liveaboard fires, sinkings, and deaths, I will only stay above the waterline. With the solo traveler penalty in my own room, White Manta charges 20% more. It’s the only company in Raja Ampat with a low solo penalty. All other companies charge 65%-100% more for a solo in your own room. I refuse to pay those exorbitant penalties, so my liveaboard diving opportunities are limited.
They have a rule that your cabin door must remain open at all times when you’re not in the room so the crew can monitor that you’re not charging devices unattended. I think this goes a little too far, and for privacy, I never left my cabin door open, and I was not reminded to do so. I also like to return from the hot dive deck to a nicely cooled down cabin with my A/C running.
There is a camera room, but with my small setup, I did my camera work in my cabin. I have an Olympus TG-6 on a single arm tray with a strobe and a video light mounted on the PT-059 housing.
Safety. There was a thorough boat briefing the day we set sail. The ship has smoke detectors and life jackets in every room and a night watchman on patrol. I travel with my own smoke and CO detector. My cabin had a full-sized, two-piece window that slid sideways to open for an emergency escape. My emergency go bag was assembled and ready on the first day.
Wifi. Satellite wi-fi is available for purchase for $35 for the week.
The Food. Their website says they serve Western and Indonesian food, but it skews more to Indonesian. There was plenty of food for everyone and you certainly won’t go hungry. I don’t eat most seafood because I’d rather dive with those critters than see them on the dinner table. They had what WAS a beautiful coral grouper, octopus, and squid on the buffet, which just made me sad. These liveaboard operations (40 of them in Raja Ampat) are contributing to the overfishing in Indonesia. Add to that how filthy the ocean is in Indonesia, and you can use your imagination as to what you are really eating.
The Crew. All of the crew are local to Indonesia, so the guides have intimate knowledge of the Raja Ampat marine life and currents. Everyone was cheerful and very helpful with anything you needed.
The Diving. Groups were not organized by experience, which was problematic for me because I do not consume a lot of air and I am comfortable in the currents. The groups were formed based on your country of origin. There were Germans, Swiss, and a majority of Americans on board. Groups were 4-5 divers per guide. I was placed in a group of divers that had to surface in 30 minutes, and after the first two dives, I spoke with the cruise director to get moved to a more experienced group. Then I was able to dive my computer or 60 minutes max.
The website states there are four tender boats, but there were only three, and one of them was down all the time. The broken boat required the navigator in the front of the boat to manually pump the fuel with his foot, otherwise, we were traveling at half speed. And if he wasn’t pumping the fuel, the motor would stall every 2-3 minutes. This was really annoying, especially when we were diving in Misool where the dive sites have a time limit. Getting back onto the broken boat was a funky ladder system that curled under the boat instead of straight down into the water, making it very difficult to get on.
Water temps were a toasty 83-89 degrees F. I brought a 3-mil wetsuit but never wore it except on the night dives for stinger/rash protection. I wore a full-body lycra skin. The currents were manageable and not extreme, and there were no dangerous down currents.
The nitrox fills were usually 200 bar (2900 pounds). I asked for and received top-up fills that were at least 210 bar (3000 pounds) with consistent fills at 31%-32%. Nitrox is $20 per day or $7 per fill. Nitrox is filled and analyzed by the crew, and there was no self-analyzing unless you wanted to do that. There was no logbook to sign. There were only a couple of people that chose to analyze their own tanks, but they failed to do this before the call to get ready, which caused their group to be delayed getting in the water.
The Dive Sites and Itinerary. As mentioned in my trip reports for Cove Eco and Raja Ampat Dive Lodge, the central Dampier Strait is bleached, including Kri Island and the surrounding sites. WM’s online schedule still shows the itinerary includes these areas, but we did not go there due to the severe bleaching of the corals and lack of fish.
Would I Return on the WM? Absolutely! This was my 9th liveaboard, and besides the AquaCat in the Bahamas, it’s the best liveaboard I’ve been on. I would, however, inquire about having fully functioning skiffs and confirm there are four of them before booking again.
Would I Return to Raja Ampat? No, for the sole reason of the bleached reefs. If it recovers in the future, I will consider going back.
Trip Report - Raja Ampat Dive Lodge-March 2025
Getting There. Raja Ampat Dive Lodge provided the fast boat transfer to Sorong to join the White Manta. It took approximately 1 ½ hours.
The Boat. I was very impressed with this dive boat. As opposed to the Damai II being a wooden boat, the WM is a steel boat. I like steel boats much more than the wooden style. The wooden boats are constantly flexing and creaking, and a good night’s sleep was elusive on the Damai. I slept wonderfully on the WM and woke up every day fully rested.
The gallery of photos on WM’s website are an accurate representation of the cabins offered. Launched in 2019, it’s a very spacious, clean and modern dive vessel. I had an upper deck cabin, number C4. With all the liveaboard fires, sinkings, and deaths, I will only stay above the waterline. With the solo traveler penalty in my own room, White Manta charges 20% more. It’s the only company in Raja Ampat with a low solo penalty. All other companies charge 65%-100% more for a solo in your own room. I refuse to pay those exorbitant penalties, so my liveaboard diving opportunities are limited.
They have a rule that your cabin door must remain open at all times when you’re not in the room so the crew can monitor that you’re not charging devices unattended. I think this goes a little too far, and for privacy, I never left my cabin door open, and I was not reminded to do so. I also like to return from the hot dive deck to a nicely cooled down cabin with my A/C running.
There is a camera room, but with my small setup, I did my camera work in my cabin. I have an Olympus TG-6 on a single arm tray with a strobe and a video light mounted on the PT-059 housing.
Safety. There was a thorough boat briefing the day we set sail. The ship has smoke detectors and life jackets in every room and a night watchman on patrol. I travel with my own smoke and CO detector. My cabin had a full-sized, two-piece window that slid sideways to open for an emergency escape. My emergency go bag was assembled and ready on the first day.
Wifi. Satellite wi-fi is available for purchase for $35 for the week.
The Food. Their website says they serve Western and Indonesian food, but it skews more to Indonesian. There was plenty of food for everyone and you certainly won’t go hungry. I don’t eat most seafood because I’d rather dive with those critters than see them on the dinner table. They had what WAS a beautiful coral grouper, octopus, and squid on the buffet, which just made me sad. These liveaboard operations (40 of them in Raja Ampat) are contributing to the overfishing in Indonesia. Add to that how filthy the ocean is in Indonesia, and you can use your imagination as to what you are really eating.
The Crew. All of the crew are local to Indonesia, so the guides have intimate knowledge of the Raja Ampat marine life and currents. Everyone was cheerful and very helpful with anything you needed.
The Diving. Groups were not organized by experience, which was problematic for me because I do not consume a lot of air and I am comfortable in the currents. The groups were formed based on your country of origin. There were Germans, Swiss, and a majority of Americans on board. Groups were 4-5 divers per guide. I was placed in a group of divers that had to surface in 30 minutes, and after the first two dives, I spoke with the cruise director to get moved to a more experienced group. Then I was able to dive my computer or 60 minutes max.
The website states there are four tender boats, but there were only three, and one of them was down all the time. The broken boat required the navigator in the front of the boat to manually pump the fuel with his foot, otherwise, we were traveling at half speed. And if he wasn’t pumping the fuel, the motor would stall every 2-3 minutes. This was really annoying, especially when we were diving in Misool where the dive sites have a time limit. Getting back onto the broken boat was a funky ladder system that curled under the boat instead of straight down into the water, making it very difficult to get on.
Water temps were a toasty 83-89 degrees F. I brought a 3-mil wetsuit but never wore it except on the night dives for stinger/rash protection. I wore a full-body lycra skin. The currents were manageable and not extreme, and there were no dangerous down currents.
The nitrox fills were usually 200 bar (2900 pounds). I asked for and received top-up fills that were at least 210 bar (3000 pounds) with consistent fills at 31%-32%. Nitrox is $20 per day or $7 per fill. Nitrox is filled and analyzed by the crew, and there was no self-analyzing unless you wanted to do that. There was no logbook to sign. There were only a couple of people that chose to analyze their own tanks, but they failed to do this before the call to get ready, which caused their group to be delayed getting in the water.
The Dive Sites and Itinerary. As mentioned in my trip reports for Cove Eco and Raja Ampat Dive Lodge, the central Dampier Strait is bleached, including Kri Island and the surrounding sites. WM’s online schedule still shows the itinerary includes these areas, but we did not go there due to the severe bleaching of the corals and lack of fish.
Would I Return on the WM? Absolutely! This was my 9th liveaboard, and besides the AquaCat in the Bahamas, it’s the best liveaboard I’ve been on. I would, however, inquire about having fully functioning skiffs and confirm there are four of them before booking again.
Would I Return to Raja Ampat? No, for the sole reason of the bleached reefs. If it recovers in the future, I will consider going back.
