Dive Review of Mermaid Liveaboards in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat/Banda Sea/Maumere

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Mermaid Liveaboards: "5 Star Diving, 3 Star Boat", Apr, 2023, by Gary & Robin Schiendelman, PA, US ( Top Contributor 42 reports with 56 Helpful votes). Report 12430.
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	This trip was the Mermaid’s Biodiversity Super Special Trip. 16 days beginning in Raja Ampat and continuing thru the Banda Sea to Alor and ending in Maumere. There is no doubt that this is some of the best diving in the world and this area should be on everyone’s bucket list. It is a trip best suited to experienced divers due to the possibility of strong and unpredictable currents. We covered over 1000 nautical miles and were able to dive at many different types of sites. A total of 48 dives were offered. We also did two land visits. One was a short hike to a look out point at sunset. The other was a morning at Banda Neira featuring a visit to a museum, Dutch fort and a nutmeg plantation where we sampled some local tea and sweets. That was a very interesting glimpse into the brutal history of the islands. We are thinking most divers reading this have already decided on Indonesia as a destination and are looking for information on the dive boats that are available so we are concentrating this review on the boat. We stayed at a land resort for a week before boarding the Mermaid II in Sorong. The transfer was seamless and the Mermaid had a tender waiting for us at the harbor in Sorong when we arrived. We went from the transfer boat to the tender to the Mermaid without setting foot on land. Since the Mermaid allows for boarding at any time during the first day, we didn’t have all the guests arriving at once with the chaos that goes with that. Upon arrival, we were shown to our cabin. Although we had sent multiple emails requesting a cabin closest to the stern (due to seasickness) we were shown to a forward cabin. After a wait while they contacted the main office, they did change us to a different cabin that was further to the back of the boat. If we had been one of the last to board, it probably would not have been possible to change. There was a safety briefing after everyone boarded that basically consisted of a warning not to charge in your room unless you are there and awake, advising that life vests are under each bed and how to get to the muster station in the bow of the boat. No drills. There is a window hammer in each room in the event you need to break the glass to escape. A guard is posted each night but there was one night we went to the upper deck very late and he was asleep. There are 8 cabins on the main deck. All are the same and set up with a double bed for couples with a single bunk added over it in the event the room is being shared. The cabins are tiny but adequate. There was a large window that could open, decent A/C and multiple hooks and shelves. Ensuite bath had a toilet/shower combo. Again, adequate. There was an electric, on demand hot water system in the shower. Again, adequate. There are two single cabins on the lower deck that share a bathroom. Apparently these are really small and not much more than a bed. Bath towels were changed out every 3 days which was nice. No hand towels or washcloths were provided. A boat towel was provided for use if you wanted to sit on the sundeck or the party deck. These were only changed if you asked. Post dive towels were not to be taken from the dive deck. Everyone had their own numbered towel and they were dried after each dive. That always makes me a bit nervous these days as they put everyone's wet towel into dryers without washing and it seems a great way to spread illness. In fact, there were a number of people who caught colds during the trip. The upper deck consisted of an outdoor “party deck” and the indoor lounge where the dive briefings were held. This area was comfortable, if a bit crowded when everyone was in the lounge for the briefing. Dining area is on the main deck and it is crowded. Meals are all served buffet style and it got a bit tight when people were seated at the table next to the buffet. There was the normal liveaboard schedule of early cold breakfast, hot breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. The food was 3 stars at best. Most puzzling was the amount of fried foods. Often one or more of the main courses consisted of fried seafood or fried chicken. There was always white rice, 2 or 3 different main choices, fresh fruit at every meal, salad and veggies. Desserts were nothing special although they did serve ice cream a number of times. Snacks were often cake that was dry and pretty tasteless. We didn’t go hungry but sure didn’t gain weight! Again, it was adequate. Drinks were pretty standard. Reusable water bottles were provided. Coffee, tea and juice were included and always available. Other drinks including beer and wine were on the honor system with a clipboard to record anything you took, with payment due at the end of the trip. The required tin of cookies was always in the lounge. Smoking was supposed to be confined to the sun deck on the bow but because smokers were often trying to avoid the sun, they moved to the sides which meant the smoke drifted into the open doors of the dining room and continued down the cabin hallway. There were also times the smokers were on the party deck. The boat was full with 18 divers. There were 6 of us from the US and the others mostly from Europe. It was a nice mix of travelers. We were divided into 5 groups for diving from two tenders. We were further grouped into A and B because there was not enough room for everyone to gear up on the dive deck at the same time. A and B groups rotated daily for being the first to gear up and get into the water. The dive deck is really small as are the gear stations and your gear is smashed in next to your neighbor. You cannot gear up at the same time as someone next to you. Everyone did have a basket under the bench for miscellaneous gadgets as well as fins, masks, etc. There are 2 showers but no bathroom on the dive deck. The only bathroom other than in your room is on the top deck right behind the bridge. Most divers geared up and walked down a nice wide stairway onto the back deck and then stepped into the tender. There were always 2 crew members to help you step in. Alternatively, you could have them carry your gear into the tender and once you board, they will help you gear up. After the dive, you could hand up your camera and fins and climb the ladder with gear or remove your gear in the water. We found the ladder difficult because the first step was high. We had to kneel on the bottom rung and then step up. We always opted to remove gear in the water. One of the biggest complaints is the total lack of care shown to your gear when the crew had to move it. Gear was piled into the front of the tender and often the crew would grab the hoses and pull on them if they had to re-position the bc. There were multiple instances when they were moving gear to/from the tenders that we witnessed regulators hanging and hitting every step between the gear stations and the tenders. After the dive, there were multiple crew members unloading the tender of gear, fins, camera and weights. It’s understandable they are in a hurry to unload so the tender can go back for the next surfacing divers but they would run into you and shoulder you out of the way. We also experienced tank fills starting even while you are sitting at your station and removing your wetsuit. There were multiple instances when the hoses were banging into the back of your head. The dive guides did rinse and hang your wetsuit once you removed it. Dive briefings were pretty comprehensive with drawings of the site displayed on the TV. Photos of what you might see on the dive were also shown. They told us what kind of conditions to expect but they frequently got it wrong, particularly with currents, even though they sent someone to check right before the briefing. Perhaps this was because each dive guide determined how and where to dive each site. It was never clear if the dive guide made choices based on their determination of the desires and abilities of their group (with no discussion) or merely what would be easiest for them. Since the dive guides made the final determination, a final pre-dive briefing on the tender or while gearing up would have made sense but that never happened. We were told at the first briefing that you could stay with your guide or go off on your own with a buddy. It seemed that was only ok for some divers but not others. When we left our group on one dive where the conditions were benign and the depth shallow, our dive guide actually got angry. The other couple in our group said they were on vacation and not in the army after he got angry at them for straying too far from him. There were other divers with a different guide who went off solo and did longer dives than the “approved” 60-70 minutes consistently throughout the trip and that seemed to be ok. Our guide was a pretty good spotter and took his time during the dive and we did appreciate that. No accommodations on the tenders for cameras. They were placed on the floor of the tender and handed out before the backroll. Hand up at the end of the dive and they were put on the floor and then taken to the main boat and put in a rinse bin. There was a main camera table that would have been way too small if there were a large group of “big camera” divers. There are no outlets on that table. There is another smaller table that had a couple of outlets but that was also used by the boat to stage dry towels for after the dive as well as the clipboard for divers to sign with depth and time post dive. We often saw the crew shove cameras and chargers out of the way to make room for the towels. There are some outlets in the salon but it seemed most people were charging in their rooms. The safety briefing warned against charging except when you are actually in the room and awake but that’s about impossible if you are charging multiple items. They did provide a power strip in each room. Nitrox was an additional charge. There was a flat fee for use during the entire journey but if you missed more than a few dives, they did give credit for the unused tanks. We originally had this trip booked for 2019 and had to cancel due to a health issue. At that time, there were not many boats doing a 2 week trip across the Banda Sea. We then re-scheduled and Covid hit so this has been postponed a few times. Since then, we’ve noticed there are quite a few other boats doing the crossing. It’s an awesome itinerary with a lot of diverse diving and we would definitely recommend it. The Mermaid is one of the cheaper boats out there so if budget is a consideration, and you are ok with “adequate” then it’s an option. If you have the ability to stretch your budget a little, there are WAY better boats out there. We would not travel on this boat again.
Websites	Mermaid Liveaboards
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Indonesia, PNG, Solomon Isl, Red Sea, Maldives, South Africa, Mozambique, Cocos Isl, Galapagos, Socorro, Palau, Var Caribbean locations, New Jersey, Florida, No Carolina, Philippines, Fiji
Closest Airport		Getting There	Philadelphia to Doha to Jakarta to Sorong Return flights Maumere to Bali to Doha to Philadelphia. Long but not difficult. We planned long layovers that allowed some sleep at airport hotels in Doha and Jakarta
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, choppy, surge, currents
Water Temp	84-86°F / 29-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	40-90 Ft/ 12-27 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	No deco diving 60-70 minute dive time
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	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	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Mermaid Liveaboards in Indonesia/Raja Ampat/Banda Sea/Maumere

Mermaid Liveaboards: "5 Star Diving, 3 Star Boat", Apr, 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 Mermaid Liveaboards in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat/Banda Sea/Maumere