Dive Review of Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards/Murex MV Serenade in
Indonesia/North Sulawesi

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Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards/Murex MV Serenade, Oct, 2011, by Wally , CA, US ( Reviewer 3 reports). Report 6281.
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	I was on this boat previously in 2007 so I had a good idea of what to expect this time. I call it "backpacking at sea" to give you an idea of the spartan conditions on the boat. I'm tall, about 6'-2", so I have to duck in every doorway and in the hall leading from the dive area to the eating area. This time I was in cabin #1 which is in the bow of the boat. You have to go down about 5 steps to get into it. It had the most horizontal space, but the head doorway was 5' tall at best, and the ceiling inside was at different levels with the tallest area about 6' high. I hit my head repeatedly in this cabin during the 7-day trip, mostly in the beginning. My wife (5'-10") hit her head even more often that me going in and out of the head. The cabin leaked significantly during the frequent rain and one night the rain ran across the ceiling and a stream of water landed on the small table that I had my laptop and battery charges on. That scared the heck out of me. Over all, the boat is worse for wear that it was five years ago and needs some TLC. The food on-board is exclusively Indonesian so take that into consideration if you want to dive this boat. Rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner got old by the end of the week. That said, the food was much better this trip than in '07. The crew is Indonesian and their English capability varied greatly. The crew that the divers interact with the most speak the best English, but usually you can communicate even with the others with gestures and pointing. And it always helps to wear and smile and have a good attitude!
Websites	Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Indonesia (3X), Cozumel, Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, St. Martin, Saba, St. Kitts, Statia, Grand Cayman, Bonaire (2X), Roatan, Florida, California.
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	1
Water Visibility	40-150 Ft/ 12-46 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Generally they wanted us to stay above 120 feet (two dives were excepted). Dive times were supposed to be 60 minutes, but several greatly exceeded that.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 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	There is a wooden tank on the back for rinsing cameras. It is about 15" tall x 15" wide x 48" long. However, it is usually only 1/3 full (about 8") due to sloshing. Also, during the week it starts getting algae as it's never cleaned or emptied. As for working on the camera you either have to do it on your bed in your cabin or on one of two tables in the eating area when they aren't being used for food. Power is also a problem. The rooms have one outlet with 220V, but if you need 110V there is a single converter in the eating area. This is usually busy in use charging other diver's batteries.

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Dive Review of Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards/Murex MV Serenade in Indonesia/North Sulawesi

Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards/Murex MV Serenade, Oct, 2011,

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 Murex Dive Resorts & Live-Aboards/Murex MV Serenade in
Indonesia/North Sulawesi