Dive Review of Amira Indonesia in
Indonesia/Alor and Southern Banda Sea

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Amira Indonesia: "A Wonderful Cruise to the Remote Islands of South-East Indonesia", Oct, 2024, by Jason Marks, CA, US ( Sr. Reviewer 8 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 13160.
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 Amira is a Pinisi-type boat like many other liveaboards in Indonesia, but around 40% longer and substantially wider. The space is used well, making everything -- the cabins, the dive deck, the outdoor dining area, the camera room, and the indoor salon -- incredibly spacious and comfortable. All the decor and furnishings are very nice and the boat was in excellent shape for our trip. Crew was fantastic, from the housekeeping to the engineers and especially the four dive guides. Our 13-day cruise was a "Forgotten Islands" trip from Maumere to Saumlaki. Volcanic ash closed Maumere airport a couple of weeks before we started, so Amira arranged for us to fly into Ende and come over the mountains to Maumere by car, around 4 hours. Because of that, most of the 18 passengers arrived late on the first day of the trip, requiring some adjustments to the schedule. And later in the trip, in the Banda Sea, we had some high winds and big swell, keeping us off a couple of the more exposed sites. The cruise director made the necessary itinerary changes and found us excellent, safe sites. I appreciated her clear communications about this -- you can't be too disappointed when you understand that the changes are necessary and everything is being done to make the trip as good as possible. A few windy and choppy days aside, conditions were good -- mostly good vis and warm water (even around Alor, where there can be some cooler currents. The reef conditions varied some, but most reefs were in very good shape and some were incredibly rich and full of life. I was doing macro photography and was pretty happy with what we (meaning mostly the guides) found. The wide angle opportunities might not have been quite as satisfying, though we did see some big schools of trevally etc., a few sharks and tune, sea snakes and turtles, and a group of mobula rays. Dolphins and whales were seen from the boat, but not UW. If you want to get some of the best Indonesian diving from a well-run, very comfortable boat with a friendly, ultra-competent crew, the Amira is an excellent bet.
Websites	Amira Indonesia
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Indonesia, Phillipines, Maldives, French Polynesia, Caribbean, Micronesia, Fiji.
Closest Airport	Maumere	Getting There	Maumere airport is subject to closure from eruption of a volcano on the east end of Flores.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	40-120 Ft/ 12-37 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Divers were requested to stay with the group, which was a guide and 2-5 divers.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	1 or 2
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	The boat has a spacious dedicated camera room and rinse tanks, and the crew was careful and helpful with the cameras.

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Dive Review of Amira Indonesia in Indonesia/Alor and Southern Banda Sea

Amira Indonesia: "A Wonderful Cruise to the Remote Islands of South-East Indonesia", Oct, 2024,

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 Amira Indonesia in
Indonesia/Alor and Southern Banda Sea