Dive Review of Mermaid Liveaboards/Mermaid 1 in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat

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Mermaid Liveaboards/Mermaid 1, Mar, 2014, by Harvey S. Cohen, NJ, US ( Sr. Contributor 25 reports with 18 Helpful votes). Report 7548.
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
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was my 2nd trip on Mermaid 1 (1st was Komodo). Very comfortable, uncrowded with full 15-diver load. Great food, and great people. Dive operations superb-- efficient, safe, and with extraordinary level of service. Dives are all dingy dropoff and pickup, usually ending shallow on wonderful coral. Typical dive times more than one hour, so four dives are really a full day. It's a lot of flying to get there, but worth the trip. We spent an hour watching 9 mantas parade around the Manta Sandy cleaning station. On another dive, we were cruising a coral head and several mantas joined us-- zooming past repeatedly at arms-length. Then there was the manta who pulled up to keep me company in the blue as I did my safety stop. These were all ocean mantas with wingspans around 25 ft. Wobbegong sharks were a dime a dozen, blacktips and whitetips pretty common. One walking shark. Huge fish, big schools of all kinds. Lots of pygmy seahorses. Great critter and muck diving. This is a really remote area, and I like the security of a twin-engine steel-hull boat. Mermaid dive guides all carry Nautilus Lifeline radios. I carried my own, but never used it after the initial radio check. I think it's smart insurance, though. If you're traveling solo, the one single cabin is a good deal. But you usually need to book it a year or more in advance.
Websites	Mermaid Liveaboards
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Coral Sea, Palau, Galapagos, Fiji, Caribbean, Florida, New Jersey
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy	Seas	calm, currents, no currents
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	40-90 Ft/ 12-27 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	requested 5 minute safety stops (because no deco chamber anywhere nearby) SMB required (but they will loan you one).
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	None	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	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

Subscriber's Comments

By Jeff Moore in FL, US at Apr 03, 2014 21:21 EST

Was water safe to drink in Raj Ampat and Jakarta hotel? Do you need to bring Rupias or will U.S.$ be ok? Can you use credit cards? Did you take anti-malarials? What % for crew tip? I go on Raj Ampat Explorer in May 2014. I'd really appreciate your response soon so I can prepare.

By report author: Harvey S. Cohen in NJ, US at Apr 04, 2014 11:32 EST

These are questions that your travel provider (Grand Komodo, in your case) or travel agent really should answer. However, for what it's worth... Indonesian airports charge a departure tax, and you must have cash in Rupia for that. I think Jakarta is 150,000 and Sorong is 50,000. If you have excess or overweight baggage, you are also likely to need cash Rupia to pay the airline. I took an anti-malarial, but most divers on the boat did not. Service on the Mermaid 1 was outstanding; the crew was extremely efficient and worked very hard. I tipped 10% of the basic price. Wishing I were back on the boat right now. Enjoy your trip!

By carl berenson in WA, US at May 06, 2014 19:57 EST

jeff-be sure to write a review of the Raja ampat explorer as I am going in Oct and would appreciate your views on the trip and boat. Thanks.

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Dive Review of Mermaid Liveaboards/Mermaid 1 in Indonesia/Raja Ampat

Mermaid Liveaboards/Mermaid 1, Mar, 2014,

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):

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Mermaid Liveaboards/Mermaid 1 in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat