Dive Review of Insider Divers / MSV AMIRA in
Indonesia/Komodo

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Insider Divers / MSV AMIRA : "Komodo Liveaboard - Amazing & ill", Aug, 2023, by Ellen Marie Smith, MN, US ( Sr. Contributor 27 reports with 18 Helpful votes). Report 12797.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
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	Immediately following a photo workshop with Insider Divers, we took the Indsider Diver's add-on trip to the Komodo National Park with a one-day layover in Bali. Our boat was the ‘MV Amira Liveaboard' and a beautiful princess she was! The boat is one of the best laid-out ships I’ve been on. It has three engines (excellent redundancy) plus the sails they put up for the ship photo. The cabins were spacious (we had an upper deck front), and there was a large lounge, indoor & outdoor seating for meals, and more. The camera accommodations were roomy and the dive deck was spacious. The crew far outnumbered the guests and seemed to always be working to make the trip as smooth and easy as possible. The food was excellent and there were options for those with special diet needs. The diving was varied, from some dives with relatively little current to dives with quite a bit of current (sites like Shotgun and Castle Rock). All dives were briefed in advance and we were split into 4 “get ready” groups to ensure roomy, safe loading of the pangas. Cameras were loaded by the crew after they had been placed in the rinse tanks. During the briefing, guests were carefully noted as either going on the dive or staying on the boat and buddies were paired. I wore a 5 mil/hooded vest and was never cold, some others (who are on the light side like me) only had 3 mils and were too cold to dive every dive. This trip was led by photography pro Pauline Wong and I can’t say enough wonderful things about her. I learned so many new techniques (focus peaking aka fairy dust!), shooting up to the sun and many other handy tips. We had a fun and competent group of divers, some were photo nuts (like me) and some (like my husband) were not. All was going well until Tuesday evening, when I was violently nauseous and I had to miss the night dive. Wednesday I was in bed all day with a fever. We found out others were ill as well, more and more diving guests as the week went on. Thursday I got back on my feet despite being tired and completed the rest of the week of dives. I didn’t test for COVID-19 (I had tests with me) because I didn’t have a sore throat or cough. Big mistake! By the time I got home (after diving the remainder of the trip and traveling for 2 days), I decided to test, and you guessed it, it was COVID. I suppose there is nothing anyone can do - COVID is going to join us on these trips but I kicked myself for not testing and wearing a mask on the way home. Please don’t be like me, COVID doesn’t always feel like a cold/sore throat (my prior experience!). Despite being sick, I would easily do this trip again. Komodo is so beautiful and I’m sure each time, different. We saw everything from muck-type diving macro critters to full-size cuttlefish, turtles, various sharks, and mantas. We also visited Rinca Island and the Komodo Dragons Park Reserve. This is a must when you visit Komodo. The island's inhabitants ensure that these fierce creatures can live in their natural habitat. The tour guide who took us around appeared to be a teenager, aided by two(maybe)10-12-year-olds, all with forked long sticks to protect us. The lead young man told me that he lived on the other side of the island and took a boat around to work each day as he would have to fend off the dragons if he went overland. His village consists of houses all on stilts so that they are not bitten by the dragons. I asked him if anyone ever gets bitten and he said “sometimes”. I asked “Do they die?” And he said “mostly”. I thought about it…they don’t have car accidents or crime so the risk factor probably isn’t any higher than what we experience daily. I really enjoyed this trip but it did take me a week to recover when I got home. Maybe plan a little extra rest time in case you come down with the dreaded C!
Websites	Insider Divers MSV AMIRA
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Red Sea (North and South), Galapagos, Hawaii, Caribbean most places, California (Catalina), False Bay (South Africa), Cocos Island, Socorro Islands, Baia & Ustica (Italy), Yap, Palau, & Truk, Thailand(Surin Islands), Indonesia (Raja Ampat, Komodo & Lembeh).
Closest Airport	Labuan Bajo	Getting There	Denpasar (Bali) (DPS)Despasar (Bali) to Labuan Bajo on Batik Air (Lion Air is better if you can get the times to work)
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, currents
Water Temp	73-82°F / 23-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	75-150 Ft/ 23-46 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Dives were kept to an hour and groups generally stayed together, with those who needed to surface allowed to do so in buddy groups.
Liveaboard?	no	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		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Great camera area with stations for charging. Large rinse tanks. Cameras are handled with care by staff on and off boats. Panga drivers hand cameras to divers (if desired). The area to blow water off the cameras was located on the dive deck. Overall excellent facilities.

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Dive Review of Insider Divers / MSV AMIRA in Indonesia/Komodo

Insider Divers / MSV AMIRA : "Komodo Liveaboard - Amazing & ill", Aug, 2023,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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 Insider Divers / MSV AMIRA in
Indonesia/Komodo