Queenesia Tauchsafari, Indonesien

Rustic dive boat with a variety of dive sites

Pros -very friendly, helpful crew and divemasters -cold AC in cabin -variety of dive sites for wide angle & macro -big portions of tasty Indonesian food -tender can do pickups -private ensuite bathroom -spacious boat to relax -plenty of clothes line to hang wet gear -plenty of storage under the bed (stored unused suitcases there) -2 charging stations in the indoor eating area with space for cameras -charging prohibited in cabin -1 microfiber towel and 1 bath towel provided -bathrooms & shower on dive deck (one bathroom has hot water) Cons -compressor system is “artisanal”: 2 portable compressors on dive deck with only 1 fill whip each. Extremely noisy when running. -minimal safety briefing about boat & emergency procedures (no information given on: location of fire extinguishers, smoke detectors/alarms, person overboard procedure, fire evacuation procedure, AED location, [as for emergency oxygen, I believe they said there were 2 emergency oxygen bottles, but did not show us exactly where stored]) -no briefing on what do to if you get caught in down current (luckily did not happen), reef hooks not provided (we brought our own, but some divers were just grabbing onto rock in crazy current!)

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Attentive crew & divemasters, mantas, komodo dragons

It was an awesome trip with lots of Great dive sites.

Going to see the Komodo dragons, Castle, rock, and shotgun.

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Castlerock, the shotgun and hanging out with the crew and fellow divers.

Great Liveaboard

*Disclaimer - We were upgraded to a larger boat due to maintenance on the boat we booked (but that's already a great indication of the outstanding service this company provided)* It was my first live aboard and I will for sure do another one! Staff and dive guides were outstanding. There was so much food and tea or hot chocolate served after every dive. The dive guides knew the sites super well and were flexible to requests to go early, do a day dive instead of night dive, etc. Overall a 5 star experience and I would highly recommend this company to other divers.

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1) Crew, 2) Itinerary (lots of dives!), 3) Nature

You get what you pay for

We had a great time diving. The boat was run down and had few food options.

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The diving

Beautiful dive sites, accommodations could be better

I'll start with the positives of our 6d/5n trip on the Queenesia. It was much less expensive than other options in Komodo and we were able to dive the same amazing dive sites. +We enjoyed the variety of diving and shore excursions aboard the Queenesia (watching flying foxes at sunset, visiting Pink Beach, snorkeling a beautiful sandbar and trekking with komodo dragons on Rinca). +The crew was very nice and hard-working. There was a bit of a language barrier (we don't speak Indonesian) so we had limited communication with the non-diving crew. +The shady lounging deck was a great place to spend time onboard in the hammock or one of the beanbags. +Having night dives every day was an awesome part of the trip. Rental torches were in great condition and worked well. Our expectations were a bit higher than they should have been since this was our fourth liveaboard experience. We were a bit disappointed with the overall comfort aboard the Queeneasia. I think it would be fine for a 3 day trip but after 6 days it wasn't great. - Accommodations are pretty basic (no hot water in ensuite showers, toilets clogged even without flushing paper, no ac in common areas, loud generator running under our bedroom all night). -The food is the same few meals on rotation. The food was tasty for the first few times but we got bored with the same dishes by the end of the trip. I'm fine with Indonesian food but mix up the sauces and spices some. -The bedding included only a bottom sheet, pillows and a small decorative throw on the foot of the bed. We had to ask for a top sheet/blanket and were met with confusion. The microfiber towels (2 per guest) provided were great for the trip and in like new condition. -Our cabin air conditioner cooled well but smelled poopy when running. -The rental gear was in very poor condition (ripped wetsuits, cracked hoses on regs, leaking masks, BCDs were great) and after returning we've been informed it was at the end of its life and the new gear shipment was delayed at port. -Finally, the dive briefings should have been more detailed. We often exceeded max depths we discussed during the briefing and the one time I asked why, the dive master said there was a current. As experienced divers (over 100 dives each and higher certifications), I think the dive master assumed we knew more than we did. We were caught in a pretty scary downcurrent and I didn't feel prepared to handle it. Having never dived in currents like Indonesia, I would have appreciated a more detailed explanation of down currents, reef hooks, etc. In summary, if you have a tight budget and really want to dive on Komodo, then the Queenesia will get you there but be prepared to forgo some comforts. But most importantly, you should be prepared to aggressively be your own safety advocate (triple-check your gear, ask lots of questions before and after every dive and ideally I'd recommend completing a rescue certification before your visit).

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beautiful dive sites, friendly crew, and non-diving excursions

Great crew gave us a once in a lifetime experience!

The only less than perfect part of the trip was that is was combined with a 4 days/3 nights last minute add on. This caused us to return one day early to Labuan Bajo harbor to drop off those passengers. Therefore that last night and last dive were outside of Komodo National park, in much busier water and the diving was of much lower quality.

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Quality of the diving, amazing crew, delicious food.