Dive Review of Mermaid Liveaboards - Mermaid 1 in
Indonesia/Komodo

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Mermaid Liveaboards - Mermaid 1, Oct, 2013, by Naomi Arrowsmith, Western Australia, AU ( 2 reports). Report 7182.
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	Mermaid liveaboards depart Bali - Benoa Harbour - and cruise across the north of Lombok and Sumbawa, diving on route, before reaching the Komodo national park. We took the 10 day / 9 night cruise on Mermaid 1. The diving was outstanding. The diversity of dive sites included black volcanic slopes with amazing critters and colour contrasts, hard coral reefs, soft coral walls, plenty of strong currents, warm waters in the Flores sea and cooler waters in the Sumba sea, bringing lots of manta rays. Mermaid 1 is an excellent boat with an outstanding crew. All 15 crew members were great and fun company, and provided fantastic service. We felt very spoilt. The food from the Thai chef was great, lots of variety, plenty of fruit and vegetables, and plentiful supplies. The only criticism is that it could have been kept warmer. We had a budget cabin below deck which was all that was left when we booked. It was small and a little claustrophobic without a window, and sometimes the head was a little bit smelly, but the beds were very comfortable. The double cabins on the main deck looked great and other guests said they were very comfortable. I would book one of those in the future. Other facilities on the boat, including the lounge, outdoor sitting area, sun deck on the top, and the main dive deck, were very spacious and functioned well, and we never felt that we were living on top of each other. The dive briefings provided by PJ, the cruise director, were the best I have ever experienced. PJ's sense of humour was wonderful and he was a great dive guide. He was a wonderful host and it was his leadership and attitude that really put the icing on the cake, so to speak. I can't recommend Mermaid Cruises and the Mermaid 1 boat highly enough. It is not the most expensive of the boats plying this area, but the quality of the service was equal to any. And it was really convenient to be able to join and leave the boat in Bali, rather than making an internal flight in Indonesia.
Websites	Mermaid Liveaboards - Mermaid 1
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Palau, Sulawesi, around Australia
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, currents, no currents
Water Temp	24-28°C / 75-82°F	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	20-40 M / 66-131 Ft
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	70 minutes, maximum depth recommended
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	1 or 2	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	Plenty of rinse tanks, charging stations and tables for the many photographers on the trip.

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Dive Review of Mermaid Liveaboards - Mermaid 1 in Indonesia/Komodo

Mermaid Liveaboards - Mermaid 1, Oct, 2013,

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 Liveaboards - Mermaid 1 in
Indonesia/Komodo