Dive Review of Mermaid Liveaboards in
Indonesia/Sorong to Maumere

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Mermaid Liveaboards: "The premier liveaboard dive cruise", May, 2015, by Harvey S. Cohen, NJ, US ( Sr. Contributor 25 reports with 18 Helpful votes). Report 8229 has 2 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	[893154635730638911.weebly.com link] [mermaid-liveaboards.com link] The 15-day Biodiversity Cruises on Mermaid 1 and Mermaid 2 are the world's best liveaboard dive trips. Twice a year the boats reposition between Raja Ampat and Bali and offer this 1500-mile journey through the Spice Islands with about 45 dives. (True believers can continue from Maumere to Bali for another week). The dive sites include all the natural diversity of the Coral Triangle-- walls, bommies, muck-- and offer a wealth of big pelagics, macro, hard and soft corals. No wrecks. IMHO Mermaid is the best combination of quality and price in the region. The rooms, food, and service are resort-standard, and the dive operation is superbly run. The boat is a steel-hull twin-engine, which seems to me an excellent thing for remote waters. Because the cruise involves several open-water crossings (mostly at night), it can be a bit rough. There was only a single one-day case of seasickness among the divers, but at times the boat would roll hard for several hours while under way. None of this affected the diving, when the boat was anchored in more sheltered locations. Diving is from zodiacs, in groups of 3 or 4 guests to 1 guide. Divers could stick with the guide, with a buddy, or solo. Divers surfaced with a (required) SMB and were picked up by a zodiac. The guides are expert at spotting and pointing out interesting stuff, so people typically follow them. Divers on these trips tend to be experienced and skillful, but the crew will do EVERYTHING for you if you let them-- carry gear, rinse and hang wetsuits, etc. Almost all divers doff their tanks and fins in the water and let the driver haul the gear into the zodiac. Back at the boat, the crew takes all gear from the zodiac and gets it ready for the next dive. Divers normally wear their tanks to walk (about 10 feet and a short staircase) from the dive deck to the zodiac. But two divers (while expert in the water) could not safely handle the weight, so the crew carried their BCDs and tanks to the zodiac for each dive.
Websites	Mermaid Liveaboards
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Bali, Komodo, Raja Ampat, Fiji, Coral Sea, Galapagos, many Caribbean locations, New Jersey, Florida, Gulf of Eilat, National Aquarium, Dutch Springs
Closest Airport	arrive Sorong, depart Maumere	Getting There	I strongly recommend booking in-country flights and hotels through an agent based in that part of the world. If anything gets screwed up or needs to be changed, you want someone who knows the turf. I've had good experience on several Pacific trips with diversiondivetravel.com.au Sorong and Maumere are jet airports served by a few domestic carriers. The most convenient connections are via Jakarta or Bali. Try to fly via Bali and stay over for at least a day to enjoy the local culture and beaches.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy	Seas	calm, choppy, currents, no currents
Water Temp	79-85°F / 26-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	40-90 Ft/ 12-27 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Carry SMB. Surface with SMB. 5-minute safety stop.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	1 or 2
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	Camera table, rinse tanks, chargers, compressed air were fine. Camera-handling by crew for dives very good. Divers bring their own PCs if they want to process pics or videos during the cruise.

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Mermaid Liveaboards in Indonesia/Sorong to Maumere

Mermaid Liveaboards: "The premier liveaboard dive cruise", May, 2015,

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/Sorong to Maumere