Dive Review of Mermaid II in
Indonesia/Raja AMpat

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Mermaid II: "Well-run oeration. Tight for 18 guests.", Feb, 2024, by Donald Brown, WA, US ( Reviewer 6 reports with 9 Helpful votes). Report 12900.
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	This trip was a full charter of 18 divers.Pretty crowded on this boat. The cabins are small, and storage is tight. The rooms had a lot of hooks to hang up clothing and some small shelves. The ensuite bathrooms are a "wet" bath, shower and toilet combined, small. There is a main passage down the center of the main deck that is narrow. The dining area, salon, and lounging areas are large enough. The food was plentiful, good but not fancy, all served buffet style. Lunches were the best, desserts were weak (typical of Indonesia). The dive deck is small for 18, so they run a shift system of 2 groups to allow room for one group to gear up and board the 2 inflatables at the stern, then repeat 15 mins later with a second group. The dive operation is well run considering the situation. The crew is very enthusiastic and proactive. Cruise managers were professional, and responsive. The blessing for this trip was that all the guests were friendly and considerate, nobody was a problem guest. That made the crowded conditions tolerable. The diving was, as usual for Raja, spectacular. The fish life is off the charts. We were there during the monsoon season, so runoff rain was significantly affecting underwater visibility, but still everyone was thrilled with the dives. Most of the dives had some current, and you need to be looking at the reef & fish to see the direction of the currents/upwellings/downwellings before you hit them, so having experience is essential. I would recommend the Mermaid Liveaboards mainly because of the professional and well run dive operation and the smart dive itinerary.
Websites	Mermaid II
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Everywhere but the Red Sea
Closest Airport	Sorong SOQ	Getting There	We flew Lion Air/ Batik from Bali with a forced stopover in UPG. Not recommended, If you can go Garuda Air I would suggest it.
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy, rainy, cloudy	Seas	choppy, currents
Water Temp	83-81°F / 28-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	30-60 Ft/ 9-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	Try to stay close / within view of your group/dive guide. No deco dives. Dive time around 60-70 mins. Tell your guide when you are low on gas. Our group was very experienced so the guide was pretty relaxed with us and we never gave him anything to fret about.
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	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	There is one shared wet camera table on the dive deck with freshwater tubs for cameras. It was crowded. Another table was nearby mainly used for battery charging. There is no dry camera room. The salon upstairs was possibly useable for camera work in a dry setting. The boat is tight for 18 divers. You need to be considerate and flexible about you camera work.

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Dive Review of Mermaid II in Indonesia/Raja AMpat

Mermaid II: "Well-run oeration. Tight for 18 guests.", Feb, 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 Mermaid II in
Indonesia/Raja AMpat