Dive Review of Dewi Nusantara in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat, Triton Bay

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Dewi Nusantara: "Sets the bar at the top", Feb, 2017, by Mary McCombie, CT, US ( Sr. Contributor 27 reports with 17 Helpful votes). Report 9516.
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	This was easily the finest liveaboard we've ever done (and it was my 45th liveaboard trip). The cabins are enormous (staterooms fit the bill better); ours had a huge shower, big enough for two, with Commando 450-style water pressure (a Seinfeld reference!), and plenty of room for personal stuff. The king bed (or two twins) sported all-cotton sheets and a fluffy duvet. Each cabin had a large desk, a closet for hanging stuff, and multiple drawers and shelves. No one has ever said that I travel light, yet we left many shelves empty! During dinner, your stateroom was turned down and the bathroom cleaned. Each person was given two bath towels, changed midway during the trip (along with sheets), and one beach towel. I always supplement towels on liveaboards with a few microfiber towels that dry quickly but you could have been fine with what they supplied. All diving is done from tenders. They were large and intelligently designed, with foam-covered seating; all you did was board wearing your suit and mask, and your gear had been set up for you (though I recommend checking to make sure you liked the setup, as several different hands set up gear and there could be variations). Shrug on your BCD, and backroll into the water, with an easy exit onto the tender after handing up weights; the crew hauled up the BCD, so you just needed to climb the ladder. Because this trip was full, several of us dove in threesomes with the guide (rather than the usual buddy team with one guide). The itinerary for this trip was from Sorong to Kaimana/Triton Bay, which included some iconic Raja Ampat sites around Misool as well as more far flung sites further southeast. Most sites boasted lush hard and soft corals; currents were more common than not (we used reef hooks a couple of times), and thermoclines made a warm wetsuit important. The guides are expert in finding the weird and wonderful, and during briefings, the cruise director suggested macro or wide angle, depending on the site. It's often challenging diving, not for the inexperienced, with currents and sometimes very low vis; for the experienced, it was a blast. This trip was organized by Secret Sea Visions, which meant the divers were passionate about fish ID and conservation. After diving, there were two freshwater deck showers, usually with sun-warmed water and a warm towel. But the best after-dive treat was a good back, neck and shoulder massage that really took out the knots! If a meal was not forthcoming, we were offered a snack, either savory (like egg rolls) or sweet (like cake). The food was highly respectable for a boat: pre-breakfast was the usual fruit, yogurt, toast, etc., but breakfast offered French toast, eggs Florentine, eggs any style, pancakes, etc.. Lunch was served buffet-style, with several types of protein (fish, chicken, beef), a vegetarian option, sates, burritos, and a variety of salads. Dinners were served plated, always beginning with a soup. The menu was posted in the morning, so if you had a request, there was plenty of time for the kitchen to accommodate it. We had rack of lamb, beef saltimbocca, fresh fish, duck confit, sirloin steak cooked to order, Indonesian buffet, and so forth. There was always a salad at dinner and though we rarely eat dessert, this time we rarely passed one up. It was not gourmet food but pretty ambitious for a boat, and impressive for this location, where good food is far more the exception than the rule. The boat is comfortable enough that a 12 day trip didn't leave us with cabin fever. The crew was kind, dedicated to service, and helped in every way. She costs more than most boats but the value made it worth it. BTW, if you want to sound Indonesian, say it like this: DAY-wee nus-AHN-tear-ah!
Websites	Dewi Nusantara
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	all over the world
Closest Airport	SOQ	Getting There	bit of a trek
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy	Seas	calm, surge, currents
Water Temp	78-83°F / 26-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	2-50 Ft/ 1-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	common sense
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	> 2
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	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Dewi Nusantara in Indonesia/Raja Ampat, Triton Bay

Dewi Nusantara: "Sets the bar at the top", Feb, 2017,

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 Dewi Nusantara in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat, Triton Bay