This trip aboard the Arenui has been my best diving experience to date. I celebrated my 200th dive on this trip, while seeing a huge variety of marine life, from a newborn baby pygmy seahorse no bigger than a grain of rice, to seven metre giant mantas. And a pod of dolphins even escorted us back into Sorong harbour at the end of the trip. Well done! You offer a very high level of service for your guests. Stacey and I have been on several different liveaboards and dive operations with different procedures and set ups. Your service level is a point of differentiation for the Arenui. I suppose at the same time it’s possible that some guests become forgetful or complacent and don’t really take responsibility to get themselves prepared to dive. We shared a tender with divers who forgot their dive computers three different times, dive booties, lights and pointer sticks several times. So I offer only constructive criticism and/or something to consider: divers still need to act and be responsible for themselves, even with a high level of service. (Too much of a good thing I suppose!) The boat – very responsive to repair a small maintenance item in our cabin. Thanks again.
Archives: Testimonials
Francoise
This is a repeat trip for me. As enchanting as the first, and one of many more. Arenui’s distinction is the quality of the vessel, the diving, but most of all a serendipitous bringing together of all divers into a fun, memorable and rewarding experience thanks to its superb crew.
Steve and Ann
Number 1 liveaboard: after 14 months of waiting we have just experienced Raja Ampat diving and liveaboard of our dreams. You’ve seen the pictures, then you truly see the mind blowing creature of see the mind blowing creature of the shallow and deep for real. We were awestruck at the amount of fishes, octopuses, crabs, etc!!! The Mantas were here for Andrea Marshall and us all. Majestic special mantas. Let’s not forget teeny tiny seahorses, so small. Wobbegongs, my new all-time favourite. The Arenui made this possible. The most gorgeous ship. Lovely crew and dive staff. Debbie and Jerry are awesome. Great guests. Forever memories and lots of pics! Awesome cabin Shinta. Thank you all, so much!! The boat – wow if I built a boat this would be my cabin.
Andrea
I have been researching giant mantas all over the globe for the last decade. Our dives at Blue Magic rate in my top 10 sites and certainly are some of my most memorable ever. It is wonderful to see such a healthy population of giant mantas in Indonesia and a team that is so keen to protect them! The boat – by far the best dive boat I have ever been on in my 22 year diving career. Wonderful and top class. The diving – lovely to have seen so many areas of Raja Ampat. The crew – marvelous crew. Real attention to detail and friendly smiling faces every day! The food – going home fat! ☺ –
Tonia
The diving – wow! Thanks for helping us become better divers and to enjoy Raja Ampat! The crew – what a team! So responsive and helpful and warm and patient with us! Rare to have such a cohesive team. The food – wonderful, but too much for me! I felt bad that I couldn’t eat it all every meal. Thanks for offering ½ portions!
Herb
Fantastic trip!!! You spoiled us in every way.
Dave
Debbie and Jerry are great leaders. They knew just when and how hard to push us to do things. When we leaned toward snorkeling, Jerry encouraged a second scuba dive at Manta Sandy and the dive was mind blowing. We heard birds of paradise were in the area and they encouraged us to trade a dive for a spectacular walk. The birds were so inspiring I imitated them to make an underwater proposal! So now I’m getting married and you’re partially to blame! Thank you. The boat – unexpected and great to have the 2 iMacs to review photos and transfer files. The diving – Debbie and Jerry are so well organized, no wasted motion. The food – the expense of alcohol was well explained.
Michelle
Best liveaboard I’ve ever been on. This crew is superb. We will be back! The boat – what a gorgeous boat. I am spoiled for any other. The diving – diving was amazing. The briefings were thorough and so helpful with the graphics. The crew – I cant say enough good things about the crew. The service we received was 5 stars – out of this world. Every little touch was thought of and every need or desire attended to with a smile. Plus, they are wonderful, fun people to spend time with. The food – the food was excellent, and I probably gained 5lbs this trip to prove it.
Billy
Don’t miss the swim trip through the caverns. The caverns are enormous and full of stalactites and stalacmites. Bats swoop around the ceilings. Make sure Debbie shows you the secret cavern which you can just barely squeeze into through a secret passageway. An awesome excursion. The crew – very friendly and helpful crew. I enjoy the performance and dancing last night.
Kathleen
This crew is truly service orientated. The happiness factor is off the charts high starting with the two Cruise Directors and throughout the crew. Your Debbie and Jerry are true assets to Arenui. They set a tone that is infectiously happy to all. The boat – Wow! From the craftsmanship to the décor, all the attention to detail is visible and appreciated. Safety concerns were always addressed and appreciated. Cleanliness factor is uber high – very impressed with all aspects – cabin, restaurant, etc. The diving – wow thank you for showing us amazing dive spots. am impressed about communication between boats so groups take turns at locations. It makes us feel we’re the only ones in the location! (which we usually were!) Briefings – great video presentations! Rental equipment – my own mask cracked in travel but rental mask even better than mine! The crew – oh my! Bravo! Brava! The truly personalized service was really felt. I felt all crew knew me by name, which made me want to know them all by name. So good you have the computer monitor flashing all the crew and their names! Food was excellent – so many choices! The food – as mentioned above, food was excellent, fresh and in huge ample quantity. Keep it up!