Destinations

Raja Ampat: Raja Ampat casts a spell on all who visit – scientists, photographers, novice divers and crusty sea-salts alike. This group of majestic islands, located in the northwestern tip of Indonesia’s Papuan “Bird’s Head Seascape,” lies in the heart of the coral triangle, the most bio-diverse marine region on earth. Raja Ampat is all about diversity – not only diversity of species, but also of dive sites. There are some areas where soft corals and sea fans dominate, others with amazing diverse hard corals, seagrass beds, mangroves, shallow reefs, drop offs, caves, black sand, white sand…Then there are the fish, lots of them, in more shapes and sizes than anywhere else in the world.

Komodo: KomodoNational Park offers a journey to a place of dazzling coral reefs, spectacular marine life, fierce dragons and smoking volcanoes, a real life “JurassicPark” above and below the surface of the seas. KomodoNational Park includes three major islands: Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as numerous smaller islands creating a total surface area (marine and land) of 1817km (proposed extensions would bring the total surface area up to 2,321km2). The Park includes one of the richest marine environments including coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, seamounts, and semi-enclosed bays. These habitats harbor more than 1,000 species of fish, some 260 species of reef-building coral, and 70 species of sponges. Dugong, sharks, manta rays, at least 14 species of whales, dolphins, and sea turtles also make KomodoNational Park their home

Cenderawasih: Most of the diving is within Cenderawasih Bay National Park, Indonesia’s largest. This park is huge, half again larger than Raja Ampat; even a 14 day dive trip barely scratches the “surface” of this underwater wilderness. Pristine and vast, the bay’s reef tops comprise some of healthiest hard coral gardens to be seen. Dramatic vertical walls with prolific sponge life abound on the outlying atolls, schooling fish along the reef points and ridges.

Banda Sea: Set in the heart of Indonesia in splendid isolation are the BandaIslands. This group of volcanic islands played an important role in the history of colonial Indonesia. While big fish and pelagics are the usual suspects in the BandaIslands, its true treasure is in the large variety and sheer volume of fish life, for both large and small marine life. Some of the creatures worthy of special attention, because they characterize the diving in the Banda Sea are the dogtooth tuna and mobula rays. At many of the dive sites you’ll see large schools of fusiliers and thousands of red tooth trigger fish. At the other end of the size scale, there are prolific mandarin fish and the native Ambon scorpion fish.

Wakatobi: Wakatobi’s water is host to a busy underwater life. The seascape is the living ground of 590 fish species, 396 species of scleractinia hermatipic coral, 10 species of non-scleractinia and 28 genera of soft coral. The islands of Wakatobi are blessed with white sand beaches and pristine water. This is the place where you can see the gradation color of the ocean.

Accommodations

Deluxe Staterooms: The lower deck is the main cabin area with four Deluxe Staterooms on the port side and four on starboard. Dewi Nusantara’s air conditioned staterooms are all individually designed, and are each adaptable for either twin or double use. These cabins are some of the most spacious on any dive liveaboard with each one having its own elegant en-suite bathroom, reading lights, desk and chair, 220V power points and clothing storage.

Master Suite: The Master Suite in the aft quarters of the main deck is the signature room of the ship and is a marvel of design and comfort. It occupies the full width of the vessel and from the stern it has a 180 degree view of the ocean behind the ship. The Master Suite has one king size bed. The own en-suite bathroom offers a shower as well as a bath with ocean view. The suite has its own sitting area; a large corner sofa with a table made out of one piece of natural shaped teak. There is ample additional storage in the wardrobe for all personal belongings.

Dining

Meals prepared by the onboard chef consist of an international mix with a local flair. If you have any special dietary requirements, please advise us as soon as possible so we can relay the information to the booking office so they can adequately prepare to meet your needs. Certain special dietary and beverage requests may not be available on a consistent basis due to the remote nature of this location. There is a “grazing” breakfast available from 6 am before the first dive. Breakfast is cooked to order and is served after the first morning dive. There is a buffet lunch and an elegant meal at dinner with waiter service. Additionally, fresh mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks are served. Beverages (non-alcoholic and local beer) are complimentary while onboard.

Amenities

The Dewi Nusantara has a multi-system TV unit for digital video camera playback, a CD player, a DVD player and iPod docking player in the main salon. If you have a favorite movie, slide show or a video to share, bring it along! You may also bring your own favorite music CD’s or DVD’s. A small library of “books for exchange” is maintained onboard, as well as marine life identification books for reference. There are also backgammon gaming tables if you are so inclined.

The Dewi Nusantara has two sun decks with loungers and hammocks available to wind down from a long day or wonderful diving. Take advantage of the onboard massage therapy offered and indulge in a full body massage or a shorter post dive massage. There are also Sea Kayaks for your use should you wish.

Diving

As you would expect of a premier liveaboard vessel in Indonesia, Dewi Nusantara is equipped with all of the amenities an adventurous visiting scuba diver could wish for, and more. Comprising a huge main dive deck and at the front, an indoor dive centre/camera room with a large compressor room and technical area on the deck below, Dewi Nusantara has more than enough room to comfortably accommodate a full complement of guests along with all of their scuba and camera equipment, no matter how much you like to bring.

Up to 4 dives are offered daily, including a night dive. On the last dive day there will be two dives (weather and sea conditions permitting).

There will be a briefing on the first day of the cruise regarding general dive procedures, safety issues and photographic as well as marine life awareness concerns. Directly preceding every dive a full dive briefing is given with information concerning dive type, suggested depths and marine life expectations amongst other things. Hand drawn site maps will be used for these briefings. Groups never consist of more than 4 to 5 divers per dive guide. Sorry, there is no solo diving permitted from the vessel.

All dives will be made from two dive tenders. Guests board the tender and then don their gear at the dive site. Backward roll entry from the tender is the most convenient way to enter the water. The crew will hand down cameras and other equipment. The crew will assign deck baskets to guests for stowage of their personal equipment (i.e. masks, lights, boots etc). Your scuba unit will either be stored on the main vessel or on the dive tenders.

The Dewi Nusantara is very photographer & videographer friendly. There is a very spacious dedicated camera and equipment room with multiple charging stations, camera benches and a workstation with data transfer and CD/DVD burning facilities. The lounge is equipped with a DVD player and TV for photo/video playback. They have purpose built wash down tanks on the main dive deck. The tank on the starboard side is for camera and computer wash only, the tank on the port side is used for general equipment wash down. Water is changed twice daily.

All rental scuba equipment available is manufactured by Aqualung. They have six full sets of scuba gear with BCD’s ranging from small to extra-large, masks, and snorkels. Their custom made wetsuits are made from 5mm neoprene have long arms and legs. Fins are available free of charge and they also carry a supply of underwater lights. Dewi Nusantara uses 11.2 liter (80′s) aluminum cylinders. These are designated for use with either air or Nitrox 32. Nitrox cylinders have the standard yellow and green banded NITROX stickers. Air cylinders have no markings. In addition, they have a limited supply of larger 15 liter (100’s) and smaller 10 liter (63’s) cylinders should you wish to use smaller or larger units. All cylinders are fitted with DIN adaptable valves. There is a $200 charge for Nitrox for an 11 day cruise.