Dive Review of Archipelago Adventurer II in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat

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Archipelago Adventurer II, Jan, 2010, by David Bader, NC, US ( Sr. Contributor 21 reports with 6 Helpful votes). Report 5372.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The travel from the USA is brutal. Six flights over three days with an overnight in Jakarta. Company reps met our group in Jakarta and Mirkassa and helped with transfers. Watch overweight baggage. The weight allowance for the last two flights was only 20 kilos (44 lbs). The overweight charge was about $4 per kilo. The Sheraton in Jakarta was comfortable but food was almost all Indonesian. One item to note was the restaurant would only accept US dollar bills dated 2006 or newer. It's better to get local currency at the airport. Once we reached the boat, all was forgotten as the crew of 18 pampered us for the next ten days. Cabins were large and comfortable with plenty of storage. Each cabin had its own hot water shower and marine toilet. Food almost always included fish and rice as a staple. The chef added some western cuisine for those of us that don't eat fish and rice at every meal. Each day started with an early continental breakfast at which time you ordered late breakfast. First dive was at 7:30 or 8:00 followed by late breakfast. Second dive was at 10:30 followed by a buffet lunch. Afternoon dives were at 3:00 and 5:30 followed by a formal sit-down dinner. Diving was done from two tenders. Gear was loaded and unloaded from the tenders by the crew. Crew was also there to help into and out of wetsuits and washed everything at the end of each dive. Water entry was made by backrolls and tanks were removed in the water at the end of the dive. The Nitrox system was not operational during our visit. Diving was awesome. Schools of fish surround you during every dive. Lots of pigmy seahorses, nudibranches, sweet lips, barracuda, wobblygong, octopus, and many species I'd never seen before. We did three manta dives and were saw others during the week. Also saw occassional white-tip and black-tip sharks and turtles. Currents were manageable but strong. Picture taking can be a chore when the current is fast. Bouyancy is critical to keep off the reef. Unfortunately, not all divers onboard had the requisite skills to be environmentally safe. I can't speak highly enough of our cruise director Dan and the entire crew. Very friendly and went out of their way to make our stay as enjoyable as possible. The final night they serenaded us with local songs and dances. We all felt a sense of sorrow when we had to leave. I've done many liveaboards and would rank the Archipelago Adventurer II as my number one choice.
Websites	Archipelago Adventurer II
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	[Unspecified]
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, surge, currents
Water Temp	84-°F / 29-°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	30-70 Ft/ 9-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	All dives were guided with one or two divemasters for every six divers. Generally, depth did not exceed 80 feet.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Large camera tables left lots of space for cameras and laptops. Air supplied by a nozzle attached to a scuba tank. Large camera tubs for rinsing.

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Dive Review of Archipelago Adventurer II in Indonesia/Raja Ampat

Archipelago Adventurer II, Jan, 2010,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Archipelago Adventurer II in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat