Dive Review of Amira in
Indonesia/Forgotten Islands

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Amira: "Another excellent trip", Apr, 2023, by ann mcgrath, VA, US ( Sr. Contributor 27 reports with 20 Helpful votes). Report 12468 has 2 Helpful votes.
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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 my third trip on Amira, and if I dive Indonesia again, it will be on Amira again! My dive buddies (we came from the east and west coasts of the US) agreed that they have the best dive operation we’ve seen. And we’ve been diving for decades! They have an excellent safety briefing, and do a very good job of making sure their passengers are safe. Even when my roommate got a head cold, and then I caught it, they watched me underwater (after a couple of days when I felt safe to go back in) to make sure I didn’t have any issues. Sadly, there were very few big fish on this trip, compared to many previous trips to Indonesia. The water is heating up, and big Pelagius are going elsewhere. Even the anenomes are turning white, which is beautiful, but not good at all. There were fewer fish than I remember from my last trip in 2019, but it was still amazingly beautiful. The corals are spectacular, and we saw spawning barrel sponges on two dives! There were a couple of days when a thicker wetsuit is necessary, but we all planned ahead and brought two suits. As always, Amira herself is in good shape. She is a very comfortable boat with plenty of room for the passengers and crew. Most of the cabins are spacious (some more than others), and the salon, dining area, briefing area and sun deck are large! The dive briefings are detailed. Our cruise director, Nora, draws pictures of each site in detail. I’m amazed she can remember all of it! The cooks also did an excellent job for me. I requested vegan, no oil, and they did just that. They had a special plate prepared for me at almost every meal (not every meal required that). I did bring my own oatmeal ingredients, thankfully, because the boat could not get oatmeal before the charter. If there’s something you really want to eat, check with the staff before you go, you may have to bring it! I also helped Nora make yogurt out of soy milk (they could not get any plant based yogurt), and everyone loved it! Now that she knows how to do it, I hope it is offered on every charter. Most of the divers are German speaking, because the owner is German speaking. But they all wanted to practice their English (I wanted to practice my German), so there were no communication issues. Nora is fluent in English, German and Indonesian, so she can always translate, but it wasn’t necessary. The boat has hired a new cruise director, Kevin, who is great! He is an excellent addition to the crew, you will enjoy meeting him and diving with him. Thanks again to Nora, Kevin and everyone on the Amira staff for a good trip. It was emotionally difficult for me, because my mom had died about two weeks before I left. I dived with my mom for over 20 years, and traveling and diving without her was emotional for me. But we toasted mom with pina coladas on her birthday, and the other passengers were very sympathetic - they wanted to know her name and see her picture. Thankfully, getting away to a familiar boat and crew, with two of my good dive buddies, helped take my mind off that.
Websites	Amira
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Caribbean, Thailand, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Indonesia (Lembeh, Komodo, Raja Ampat, Komodo, Forgotten Islands), Galapagos
Closest Airport		Getting There	We flew in through Jakarta and out through Bali. You will have to work with your dive operator for local flights once you get to Indonesia, and many are overnight flights.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy, cloudy	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	72-82°F / 22-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	30-100 Ft/ 9-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Depth and time
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	1 or 2
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		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	The open camera area is enough space for all the photographers we had on this trip, which was almost everyone!

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Amira in Indonesia/Forgotten Islands

Amira: "Another excellent trip", Apr, 2023,

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 in
Indonesia/Forgotten Islands