Dive Review of Amira in
Indonesia/Komodo

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Amira: "Another awesome trip on Amira", Aug, 2019, by ann mcgrath, VA, US ( Sr. Contributor 25 reports with 19 Helpful votes). Report 11083 has 3 Helpful votes.
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	Luckily, before we left, Gabrielle at Amira warned us that we were traveling in winter in Indonesia, so the water is cooler now. I brought a 5mm wetsuit and an extra hood, which was just enough for the temps which got at low as 72F in the Southern region. Amira is simply the best liveaboard we've experienced so far, and we've been on a lot! She is large and comfortable, and well thought out. There were only eleven divers on this cruise, but even with a full boat, there is plenty of room to relax. The service and crew are excellent - you will have a hard time finding a better crew. The cabins are clean and roomy. I chose an upstairs cabin this time, to take advantage of the windows, and we loved it. The only criticism of the upper cabins is that water pressure and temperature in the shower is spotty. The crew fixed the water pressure issue, but never fixed the water temperature problem, so we showered downstairs in an empty cabin for most of the cruise. The cooks do an excellent job. I encourage them to stick with Indonesian food, however, as their attempts at Western food (lasagna and pizza) were not good. And who wants to travel to Indonesia and eat American food? I requested no meat, no dairy, and nothing fried, and usually had a separate plate waiting for me. I also celebrated my birthday on this cruise, so the cooks baked a cake, covered in fresh fruit, in case I didn't want to eat the cake. That was a surprise! The diving in Komodo is always excellent, and it was excellent this time. I didn't see as many dartfish as I've seen previously, but I understand they are a favorite of the aquarium trade, unfortunately. Manta Alley was incredible, and we even had a close encounter with a black marlin on one dive! We saw mobula on a few dives, cuttlefish, mantis shrimp and blue ribbon eels. There weren't as many nudibranch as I remembered, but there were quite a few. On the dives where our group didn't want the adrenaline rush of the current, the dive guides found us a calm reef or slope to dive, and those were all excellent. One of my favorite features of diving Amira is the way they break the dive groups into six or less, and have each group gear up separately, so that the dive deck is never crowded. Brilliant! And the fresh ginger tea after the morning dive is another one of my favorite things. Nora was our cruise director on this trip, and she is also amazing. She is professional at all times, knowledgeable and attentive. One of the best in the business. We dove mostly with Andris and Ronald, also excellent.
Websites	Amira
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Caribbean, Thailand, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Indonesia (Lembeh, Komodo, Raja Ampat), Galapagos
Closest Airport	Denpasar	Getting There	From East Coast US: DCA to LAX to HKG to DPS. Despite the unrest in Hong Kong, there were no delays or issues.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	choppy, surge, currents
Water Temp	72-82°F / 22-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	30-70 Ft/ 9-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Nitrox restrictions only
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	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		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	The dive guides take good care of your equipment. I did get a few new scratches on my Canon camcorder housing, but nothing serious. They put the cameras in the rinse tanks after each dive. The camera room is very good, with plenty of outlets for charging, and the best tool selection I've ever seen. It may get crowded if everyone on board is using cameras.

Report currently has 3 Helpful votes

Subscriber's Comments

By Victor Ayukawa in BC, CA at Dec 18, 2019 14:47 EST

Hi, thanks for the review of the Amira. I'm not sure which Amira liveaboard trip you took and how many days/nights, or what month. I have heard that South Komodo and Rica islands have cooler waters than the North. Your review is from August, but you also mention 'winter' (?).

By report author: ann mcgrath in VA, US at Dec 18, 2019 17:12 EST

Hi Victor! Yes, August is winter in that part of the world! We were there in August this year, for a 10 day charter to Komodo. South Komodo and Rinca were the coolest, as low as 72F on some dives.

By Gabrielle Villarino in Prachuap Khiri Khan, TH at Feb 07, 2020 00:31 EST

Thanks Ann for your AMIRA review. Actually the SOUTHERN SITES of KOMODO region are always colder there, while the NORTHERN sites stay warmer all year round . It has to do with the water curents coming from both sides... THANKS for the great comments. I will pass them on to crew! Hope you come visit your AMIRA family again soon :) Gabrielle

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Dive Review of Amira in Indonesia/Komodo

Amira: "Another awesome trip on Amira", Aug, 2019,

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 Amira in
Indonesia/Komodo