Dive Review of Seven Seas in
Indonesia

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Seven Seas: "Wonderful time on an aging boat with (mostly) excellent crew", Apr, 2023, by Angela Richards Dona, HI, US ( Contributor 12 reports with 11 Helpful votes). Report 12717 has 1 Helpful vote.
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
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I now know that it is possible to enjoy oneself immensely, having paid a large sum of money to do so, while also feeling a bit disappointed. We had envisioned this trip as being more upscale than others in the past, this was because of the price tag and the website does a good job of showcasing the boat. It indeed looks like a very nice vessel in photos and in many ways it is, but it is an aging boat in need of some detailed TLC and some space re-organization/overhauls. Overall, the chipping paint, weather-beaten diving tenders, and barnacle-laden hull did not diminish the experience, a lovely time was had, but in all fairness, it wasn’t the higher-level experience we thought it would be. I’ll also mention that this trip was planned for April 2021 and we lost two days of diving and over $1,000/pp due to COVID cancellations/rescheduling, so the expectations for this rescheduled charter were perhaps even more elevated. On a side note: It is my understanding that the lost money was used to keep the staff employed and provided time for them to explore the seas for new diving locations – a worthy use of those funds, we believe. Since this was a charter trip, organized by lovely people who spent a lot of time, effort, and headache getting it all together, I hesitate to write this review. I know they love this boat and crew and I regret having to point out the flaws where I saw them. When asked if I would return to the Seven Seas, I said yes, and indeed I meant that. I hope this review will serve to aid other divers in making good decisions on where to book their trips, in managing expectations if they do book Seven Seas, and perhaps it may help convince the owners to make some needed improvements. Regarding the boat and facilities: Our cabin was on the top deck, which was so cool. The room was sufficient in size (although it took some time to organize things for convenience) and the bathroom was adequate. The bed was comfortable and elevated high above some storage drawers and a cabinet. We had cubby-holes and a place to keep our electronics plugged in when we were in the room. On our first night crossing, our cabin door would not remain closed but the crew fixed it immediately. We had sewage smells emanating from the bathroom drains on transit nights, which is never pleasant, but it usually went away once we slowed or arrived at our destination. My greatest complaint about the room (and this may be a deal-breaker for many) was the presence of cockroaches in the bathroom (commonly sighted) and cabin (occasionally). I have never experienced them on a boat before and this was an unsettling detail, to say the least. We let the cruise director know, and surely they did something, but getting rid of cockroaches altogether once guests are aboard would be difficult if not impossible, so we knew they would be with us for the duration of the two-week trip. We learned to live with it. The rooms were nicely tidied every morning during our 2nd dive and fresh towels were provided when requested. I was well pleased with the room overall. There were several areas for relaxing between dives: the upper aft deck was comfortably furnished with large built-in lounges and cushions. This was one of my favorite places to be. And forward of the captain’s wheelhouse was another built-in/cushion area. This was a popular place for naps and reading between dives when it wasn’t rainy or too sunny. There was an outdoor seating area for meals ,but this was only used once since we were often transiting during dinner and during lunchtime it was simply too hot. Indoors, the lounge and dining area was a nice large room with two tables and ample seating for all. Meals were mostly buffet style, but not large chafing dishes, rather smaller platters of food, which came out after the soup, in the case of dinner. The wait staff was great. They were always helpful and kind. Food is one of the more important factors to me in judging a liveaboard, and I am used to getting the short end of the stick since I am vegetarian, but although I cannot say I was perfectly happy with the food, I will say the chef tried very hard to please and it was immensely appreciated. Initially it was rough, then it was wonderful. At one of the first lunches I noted that our choices for protein did not exist while (as usual) fish and meat were offered for meat-eaters. I asked our waiter if there was some tofu or tempeh and he carried my request to the chef. After a few minutes he returned with a delicious dish of tofu and green papaya. At dinner we were given another special dish of tofu or tempeh. Soon, however, the tempeh ran out and it was only tofu, then it was pretty much always the same tofu dish and the tofu was starting to taste a bit…old. After around 10 days, I just couldn’t eat it any longer. To be fair, maybe the chef just thought we loved that dish so much he kept making it for us. We didn’t want to offend him, so we didn’t say anything, and that is on us. The dishes alternated mostly between tofu with green papaya and tofu with fennel and orange slices. We cannot complain about the effort, I just wish the variety had been a bit more expansive. The chef was very good but vegetarians will never get the same value or amount of choice as others. An important detail to mention about the food was the amount. On all other liveaboards we have been on, the food had been plentiful. Here it was consistently on the sparse side except for breakfast, which was super. People were hungry, otherwise. Several did not want to complain but on the side lamented that they were always taking less food than they wanted so that all could get some. Vegetables were wiped out quickly and we all got but tiny amounts. When snack time came around, many of us were seen diving in even though the choices were on the chintzy side (a bowl of chips or popcorn or saltine crackers/cheese plates were common offerings). There were no baked cookies, brownies, or banana fritters as on other liveaboards. Many of us subsidized our meals with biscuits and coffee or tea. I actually lost weight on this trip and that has NEVER happened before. I suppose that is not a bad thing. To give the benefit of the doubt because the chef was excellent and just the nicest man, I am going to guess he thought we were content. Had we asked, he would have tried to feed us more, I think. I would advise folks to ask for more food if you feel you need it. The safety briefing covered the essentials but we did not do any drills. We were told not to charge our devices (or anything) in the room when not in it and we were told where our life jackets were. We were advised where the muster station was, how we would be signaled in case of emergency, and we were informed of the basic procedures for the two life rafts. In the main dining area was the photography table/charging area. This is a major downer of a situation. We had four photographers on the boat and a table that was barely large enough for two. EVERTHING that needed to be charged was here: cameras, strobes, diving computers, batteries, GoPros, watches, phones, toothbrushes, and odd items like ear dryers. The table was accessed behind a bench that was always encumbered with books and folks’ personal items. It made it a chore to approach and was in general unpleasant. Only one person could realistically putter around with his/her camera at a time. People found their items unplugged at times or buried. One of the photographers started to leave his camera on the floor in front of the table since it was so crowded. This of course meant the camera was in the middle of the room and we had to go around it. We were a group that mostly knew each other. I cannot imagine how this would have gone had we all been strangers. If you are a photographer, you will likely be disappointed in this arrangement. This is the area where the boat could most improve. The diving deck was ok. It was often quite exposed but easy enough to get ready. Cabin-shared bins were tucked away behind hanging wetsuits, which was a tad annoying, but not the worst. I prefer to have my own area and bin or drawer to get ready at (also nice to have just one tank that gets filled rather than having your kit moved to a different tank after each dive) but the crew excels here. They made everything so easy. All we had to do was basically show up at the diving tender with our wetsuits on and masks and they took care of all the rest. You then sit next to your kit on the tender, check that everything is there (it always was), check your air (it was always good), and head to the dive site, which was never more than five minutes away. Two crew members were with us on every tender helping us to don our tanks and to help us get back on the boat after the dive. Regarding diving operations: The diving itself was terrific. This was our second Banda Sea trip and although we had several changes to the plan due to weather, we got to dive plenty and the sites were all very nice. We saw many places that were off-the-beaten-track (likely as a result of the COVID exploration time) and I really appreciated that the cruise director optimized all operations for diving. For example, when land-based excursions were on offer, those who wanted to go could do so while those who preferred to dive could dive. This was different from the liveaboard we were on the last time in Banda. Dive briefings were good. Our cruise director spent time drawing the site and explaining to us where we would be dropped off, which way we would do the dive if the current was going one way and what we would do if the current was going the opposite way. The problem was the dive guides did not listen to the briefings and more than half of the time they did something different. It became a joke since our group would confirm the dive plan with the guide in the diving tender and he would STILL do the opposite. It was kind of funny at first, and then it was not. It began to be irritating when we did a dive that featured rocks and sand, whereas the other group went to the corals and had a lovely dive. Once again our guide did the opposite of the dive plan. Later the same guide took us in the opposite direction of the area we clearly stated we wanted to see. Knowing he had not listened to the briefing, we stated to him that we wanted the nice EASY dive in the coral shallows per the briefing, we did NOT want to go towards the current-ripping point with all the fish. He took us towards the point, the current began to rip, we got caught in it, and I and my buddy got separated from the group and ended up on the other side of the point. We ended the dive early and inflated our DSMB to signal the diving tender. Although they did not expect us to pop up on the other side of the point, they were strategically placed to see us when we did. Kudos to our boat drivers! That guide was switched to the other group afterwards. Now we had our first guide again and he in essence still wanted to do what he wanted, not what we wanted. It was bizarre. We are all experienced divers and did not want to just blindly follow him. In the end, we worked it out. We got our guide to communicate better underwater and do the dives we wanted, although he still tried several times to go his own way. He became overly solicitous underwater and it was a bit annoying but it worked. People that have been on the boat with this particular dive guide before said that he used to be so engaged and awesome. Perhaps he was having a bad week, I am not sure. The other guy was new. The company needs to have a nice long talk with these guys about listening to the briefings and going with the wishes of the guests. The diving tenders are also aging and looking like they could use some love but they worked and the drivers were excellent. Overall, I would say the staff was excellent (with the exception of those dive guides) and we had a lovely time with some amazing diving.
Websites	Seven Seas
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Indonesia: Raja Ampat, Banda Sea, Lembeh, Bunaken; Philippines: Tubbataha, Southern Visayas and Honda Bay; Micronesia: Yap, Pohnpei, Kapingamarangi, Nakuoro, Olimarao, Kosrae; Fiji; Egyptian Red Sea: St. Johns, Fury Shoals, Sharm, Marsa Nakari; Hawaii; Bonaire; Turks & Caicos; Bahamas; Cozumel
Closest Airport	Kaimana	Getting There	Honlulu to Tokyo to Jakarta to Sorong to Kaimana. It is long and arduous, but worth it.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, choppy, currents
Water Temp	28-31°C / 82-88°F	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	20-50 M / 66-164 Ft
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	> 2
Turtles	1 or 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	You will be happy if you are the only UWP or if there is perhaps only one more but it will be crowded and difficult otherwise.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Seven Seas in Indonesia

Seven Seas: "Wonderful time on an aging boat with (mostly) excellent crew", 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 Seven Seas in
Indonesia