Winner of our '2012 Liveaboard of the Year' award, the steel hulled Mermaid I has the finest available accommodation of all the 'best value' Indonesia diving tours, and the cabins are right up there with some of the best in the industry. All are well decorated and boast en-suite private bathrooms, TV, minibar and air conditioning. With 3 different accommodation standards, including a single cabin, you can choose the cabin that's right for your needs and your pocket.
The Master cabin is superb and boasts prime location at the bow of the boat on the main deck, so it has great forward-facing panoramic seaviews. The single and deluxe cabins also have large windows for an ocean view. The windows can easily be opened if you prefer the fresh sea air to air-conditioning. Only the lower deck budget cabins are windowless.
With spacious and modern facilities you may think you're still back at the resort rather than on a boat. You can identify the unusual marine life sightings that you find on your Komodo liveaboard trip on the shaded upper deck, edit your photos or catch a movie in the air-conditioned saloon, or just grab a relaxing sun lounger on the huge top deck. Fresh towels are in your room and on the sundeck every day.
There's a selection of fine wines in the bar and delicious Asian, Thai and Western cuisine is served in the air conditioned lounge. Every meal has a selection if fish or seafood, vegetarian and meat based dishes, so the cruise caters well for most dietary preferences and requirements.
The dive deck is also spacious and practical with 6 separate fresh water rinse tanks for camera and scuba gear. The attentive crew is always on hand to help you into and out of your equipment. Mermaid I also has tanks for enriched air nitrox diving. Get EANx qualified onboard if you don't have your license already!
Primarily a Komodo liveaboard, Mermaid I can also be seen visiting the dive sites of Raja Ampat between November and April.
There is 1 Master king-size double bed cabin and 4 Deluxe king-double or twin bed cabins, and 1 single bed cabin on the main deck. All these cabins are of a high quality. There are also 2 Budget twin/double bed cabins (noisier) on the lower deck, without windows. All the cabins have private bathrooms.
All the cabins have:
- Air conditioning
- Large sea-view windows, main deck only
- iPad TV and VCD player
- Minibar
- Bathroom with toilet, toiletries and unlimited showering
- Daily housekeeping
- Wardrobe with towel and bathrobe
- Mains outlet 220 Volts, 24 hours per day - twin prong sockets
- Life jackets
- Bedding
No. of bathrooms / showers - 8 / 8 - hot water
Raja Ampat National Park (10 Days / 9 Nights - 29 Dives)
Trip highlights: shark action, manta rays, turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, wall diving
Dive sites and activities: Raja Ampat - Misool: Sagof, Wagmab, Farondi, Boo, Fiabacet, Yuliet, Wailbatan, Warakaret and Pele; Waigeo, Batanta, Dampier Strait, Alyui Bay, Kawe, Arborek and Yangelo. Pearl farm visit.
Day 1
You will be collected from Sorong Airport or your city hotel and taken to the harbour where you will soon notice the beautiful Mermaid I liveaboard. Its crew will welcome you on board and give you a boat and safety briefing. You can then spend the rest of the day as you like while they get ready for the overnight trip to Misool. Here the diving will start the next day. A sunset dinner will take place on the main deck on the first evening.
Core Days
Welcome to Raja Ampat, a scuba diver's paradise, where you will enjoy 3 daily dives and a night dive for most of the days of your safari. Experience a great variety of environments such as deep dives around pinnacles surrounded by schools of fish, walls covered with soft corals and gorgonian fans that are home to nudibranchs and pygmy seahorses, mantas hanging out at cleaning stations, bigeye trevallies, wobbegongs, crocodilefish, and an endless list of other underwater possibilities. On night dives you will discover nocturnal critters, mainly crustaceans like lobsters, crabs and shrimps.
Please note that there will be only 2 dives in the Dampier Strait on the last full day of the safari; then Mermaid starts its cruise back to port.
Day 10
You will be transferred to Sorong Airport, after breakfast and farewells.
Raja Ampat, Lembeh & Halmahera (12 Days / 11 Nights - 33 Dives)
Trip highlights: shark action, manta rays, turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, wall diving
Dive sites and activities: Raja Ampat: Dampier Strait: Cape Kri, Yanggefo, Gam; Misool: Fabiacet, Farondi, Boo; Pulau Pisang, Strait on Pantinti, Procco, Halmahera: Goraichi islands; Pulau Tifore; Lembeh Strait
Day 1
You will be collected from Sorong Airport or your city hotel and taken to the harbour where you will soon notice the beautiful Mermaid I liveaboard. Its crew will welcome you on board and give you a boat and safety briefing. You can then spend the rest of the day as you like while they get ready for the overnight trip to Misool. Here the diving will start the next day. A sunset dinner will take place on the main deck on the first evening.
Core Days
Welcome to Raja Ampat, a diver's paradise, where you will enjoy 3 daily dives and a night dive for most of the days of your safari. Experience a great variety of environments such as deep dives around pinnacles surrounded by schools of fish, walls covered with soft corals and gorgonian fans that are home to nudibranchs and pygmy seahorses, mantas hanging out at cleaning stations, bigeye trevallies, wobbegongs, crocodilefish, and an endless list of other underwater possibilities. On night dives you will discover nocturnal critters, mainly crustaceans like lobsters, crabs and shrimps.
The marine biodiversity at Halmahera is also exceptional and its pristine coral reefs offer exceptional conditions for scuba diving and snorkeling; it is a secret gem with so much still to be discovered. You will have the chance to do some wreck diving and experience some of the best coral gardens that Indonesia has to offer. Dive sites range from ridges, pinnacles, caverns, swim-throughs, muck and ancient volcanoes, creating a diversity of diving and coral habitats. Schooling reef fish such as spadefish and surgeonfish, and bait balls attract numerous hunters, tunas, and mackerel and you can also search under the docks at Makian and Lilai for critters. Other encounters can include hammerheads, barracuda, oceanic whitetip sharks, mantas, mobulas, bumphead parrotfish, trevallies, Napoleon wrasse, bonitos and wahoo.
No place on the planet gives you the chance to see more shy critters the Lembeh Strait, such as the mimic octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, harlequin shrimps, skeleton shrimps, seahorses, frogfish and innumerable nudibranchs. Day after day you will want to extend your bottom time!
Please note that there will be only 2 or 3 muck dives in Lembeh on the last full day of the safari, before the yacht heads to Bitung Harbour.
Day 12
You will be transferred to Manado airport or your hotel, after breakfast and farewells.
Please note that the trip sometimes runs in reverse - check above for details.
Raja Ampat, Banda Sea & Ambon (12 Days / 11 Nights - 32 Dives)
Trip highlights: shark action, manta rays, turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, wall diving
Dive sites and activities: Raja Ampat - Misool, Fabiacet, Boo, Farondi, Waigeo, Dampier Strait, Airborek and Yanggefo, Banda Sea: Manuk, Koon; Banda Islands, Ambon, Nusa Laut. Banda Neira historical visit.
Day 1
You will be collected from Sorong Airport or your city hotel and taken to the harbour where you will soon notice the beautiful Mermaid I liveaboard. Its crew will welcome you on board, give you a boat and safety briefing, then you can spend the rest of the day as you like while they get ready for the overnight trip to Misool where diving will start on the next day. A sunset dinner will take place on the main deck.
Core Days
Welcome to Raja Ampat, a diver's paradise, where you will enjoy 3 daily dives and a night dive for most of the days of your safari. Experience a great variety of environments such as deep dives around pinnacles surrounded by schools of fish, walls covered with soft corals and gorgonian fans that are home to nudibranchs and pygmy seahorses, mantas hanging out at cleaning stations, bigeye trevallies, wobbegongs, crocodilefish, and an endless list of other underwater possibilities. On night dives you will discover nocturnal critters, mainly crustaceans like lobsters, crabs and shrimps.
The Banda Islands never fail to deliver great diving on pristine and colourful corals that attract hundreds of different species of fish, from big pelagics to tiny critters, with high a chance to see endemic species like the Ambon scorpionfish. Even dolphins and whales can be spotted from the boat in the Banda Sea. Schools of fish will welcome you in their habitats, especially reef fish such as damsels, anthias, soldierfish and angelfish. There will also be a land visit to Banda Neira, one of the Banda Islands, for a visit to a local market, the museum and a nutmeg plantation.
Please note that there will be only 2 dives at Nusa Laut or muck diving in Ambon Bay on the last full day of the safari; then the yacht starts its cruise to port.
Day 12
You will be transferred to Ambon airport, after breakfast and farewells.
Please note that the trip sometimes runs in reverse or has differing ports - check above for details.
[Information is best estimate in ideal circumstances and subject to changes beyond our control. The itinerary is a guide only and may be adapted to best suit the weather, tides, currents, availability and other prevailing events. Price is for the cruise, not for an exact number of dives].
Crew comprises:
- Tour Leader
- 3 x Divemasters
- Captain
- Cook
- Engineer
- Dinghy Skipper
- Assistant
- Cleaner
- 2 x Deck hands
Enriched air nitrox system - 40 HP motorised dive dinghies - 36 m² diving deck - Air-conditioned saloon with IPad player, video & music system - Internet (subject to coverage) - 60 m² sundeck with sun loungers - Water dispenser
PADI certification courses available including Advanced Open Water Diver and EANx.
Fuel your diving adventures with 4 hearty meals daily, expertly prepared by the talented chefs using fresh local ingredients and aromatic spices. The buffet-style dining offers the best of both worlds - a delicious fusion of Asian and Western cuisine, served in the main deck dining room.
Enjoy unlimited complimentary beverages throughout your cruise, including tea, coffee and hot chocolate, soft drinks, juices and mil. Fresh snacks are available all day. For those who appreciate fine wines, Mermaid I offers a selection from Australia, Chile and New Zealand. Alternatively, sample a refreshing local beer.
A typical day onboard begins with a 6-6:30 am wake-up call and continental breakfast, followed by the first dive at 7-7:30 am. After surfacing, guests enjoy a full breakfast before the second dive at 10:30-11 am. Lunch is served at 12:30-1 pm, with the third dive scheduled for 2-3 pm. Afternoon tea is offered at 4:30-5 pm, and a night dive may occur at 6:30-7 pm. The day concludes with dinner at 8 pm, providing the perfect end to an active day of diving and relaxation.
The liveaboard will happily accommodate most dietary requirements - just let us know in advance. After an exhilarating day of diving, there's nothing better than relaxing with great food, fine drinks and good company!
"
Excellent staff throughout the boat. Good standards of cleanliness and comfort. Good standard and selection of food.
Dive The World is a truly international agency, with facilities for payment in various currencies. Always prompt and helpful response times. Honest to a fault, even reminded me of a credit following a covid reschedule that I had forgotten about." -
Jane Knobel, U.K., 30 April 2024 ...
"
Nice boat, great staff, facilities and food, and great diving area and itinerary." -
John Finch, Australia, 30 April 2024 ...
"
The most coordinated team I have ever come across. Amazing customer service. They really looked after us. I am talking about the team on Mermaid." -
Yana Brake , Monaco, 28 January 2024 ...
"
Best cruise director, dive guide, and the staff among all the liveaboards we have had. Food was very good, and a comfortable and well managed boat. Dive The World made an excellent recommendation on the liveaboard." -
Timothy Chae, United States, 13 May 2023 ...
"
This is our 3rd time on Mermaid II, the standard of Service on this boat is always first class. The crew are professional, helpful and always smiling, the food is yummy, high quality and plentiful. The budget Cabin is spacious and comfy. Thanks Mermaid for restricting the areas where guests can smoke to the front deck only, this is much appreciated." -
Sarah Drew and Liam Donnelly, Australia, 30 January 2019 ...
"
We received excellent service on the liveaboard in terms of care from the staff, the quality of food, amazing diving. We brought mostly our own equipment but the equipment available was good." -
Jack Hardman, UK, 4 March 2018 ...
"
The boat is probably the best liveaboard vessel overall I have been fortunate to dive from to date." -
Gabor Tamas, Hungary, 16 February 2017 ...
"
The service was exceptional. The staff and all the facilities were very accommodating and we felt they would do everything in their power to ensure we had a great experience." -
Marty Van Keulen, Canada, 17 March 2015 ...
"
The crew was excellent, always willing to help. Our room was fantastic, nice big bed. Lots of excellent food choices. They took very good care of us and were very good at helping us have great and safe dives." -
Albert Dubord, Canada, 17 March 2015 ...
"
Service was EXCELLENT! Big warm towels always handed to us right after our dives, staff took very good care of our equipment. Very tasty meals, big thumbs up for made-to-order eggs for breakfast. Staff are very attentive. Dive briefings were SUPERB, very creative graphics and beautiful photos! All DMs were very good and knowledgeable. All in all, the boat was very good except for bathroom in the room where toilet and shower areas would be better if they were separated." -
Carol Lau, Hong Kong, 4 October 2013 ...
"
Excellent service. I must admit however that I do not like paying for nitrox, and the price charged for the nitrox was in my view expensive." -
Mark Sciberras, Malta, 3 September 2013 ...
"
Mermaid I liveaboard: accommodation, full board, and scuba diving. Great boat with very comfortable accommodations and excellent food. The crew was exceptional, and if ever a problem occurred, they were quick to rectify the problem." -
Martin Janacek, USA, 8 August 2013 ...
"
The whole trip in Komodo was very well organised. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful, the equipment in a very good state and the food delicious." -
Jennifer Aengst, Germany, 25 July 2013 ...
"
We were pleased with the boat, a bit older, but well maintained and good crew. Just what we were expecting. Only disappointment was quality of food, a bit tasteless and boring and as the operator advertises Thai food - a lot of the spices were missing.
We dived with the tour leader and he was at times more concentratating on making a video he could sell than guiding the group. But I liked his choice of dive sites and the guy in general and I don't expect to be pampered every second underwater. " -
Johanna Vuorte, Finland, 24 November 2011 ...
"
We have just returned from a trip to Komodo on Mermaid I. The crew on board Mermaid I were an exceptional team who seemed to go by the mantra that 'the customer is king', going the extra mile by providing welcome hot towels and hot chocolate drinks on the dive deck.
The food was delicious with plenty of variety and plenty of it with special cakes frshly baked with afternoon tea. The boat was kept extraordinarily clean and the staff were hard working and extremely friendly and attentive. I would be delighted to go on this boat again. My partner is a non diver but found plenty to occupy himself with excellent snorkelling and kayaks on board." -
Christine Blakeley, England, 24 October 2011 ...
"
This was a fantastic live-aboard experience. Warm deck towels were provided after every dive, and hot chocolate after the night dives, while the crew rinsed your gear. The whole crew was absolutely great, always friendly and smiling and willing to help out. A maximum of 5 divers were with each guide who were very knowledgeable and helpful and excellent at spotting critters.
The diversity of the sites and the critters to be found there was amazing; dive site topography varied from beautiful coral reef formations to muck dives or black sand with hot volcanic thermal bubbles emerging from the soil." -
Bart Mertens, USA, 23 October 2011 ...
"
The on-board crew, both the dive crew and the boat crew, did a great job to make me and other guests comfortable. The boat was well designed and never felt crowded even though it was almost full but for one person. Generally was comfortable and pleasant. Their equipment was fine, it was good they had a full mix of tank sizes available to choose one that's comfortable and not too big or empty too quick. It was good they had spares, my personal computer had issues and they were able to rent me one for the holiday." -
Andrew Szymanski, USA, 28 February 2011 ...
"
Everything one can expect from a liveaboard trip: The facilities, service, food, divemasters & other staff, and of course the diving were all great and left little or no to wish for." -
Veiko Termonen, Estonia, 21 October 2010 ...
"
The boat was of a good standard, and the cabin was clean and comfortable. The boat crew were excellent, and the DMs friendly and helpful. Equipment was also well maintained." -
Shelley L. Jenkin, UK, 8 October 2007 ...
"
Both boat and diving staff were excellent; always helpful and very informative ... the boat itself is a beaut! Well equipped and very comfortable." -
Leigh Ayres, UK, 8 January 2007 ...
"
Helpful, smiling, efficient. Both the local crew (boat) and the foreign crew (divemasters) were very nice." -
Pierre Martin-Cocher, France, 3 May 2006 ...
