Amira Liveaboard

This was my first liveaboard trip and I was very pleased with my experience. We dove around the Komodo islands and had a wide variety of marine life and corals to see. We did four dives a day.They have a system where you are assigned a dive group with divers, 5 or 6, of like interests and ability. Each dive site is reviewed with all groups before each dive. Each group is then sent to the dive deck to suit up in10 to 15 minute intervals and then taken to the dive site. This is so the dive deck is not to busy with everyone there at once. After each dive drinks and hot showers were available on the dive deck. They have several dive masters and rotate them with each group throughout the trip.The accommodations were comfortable each room is air conditioned and has its own bathroom.Rooms are serviced daily.They have a separate area for your camera gear with tools available to make repairs.The staff was very accommodating to all our needs. The food was abundant, we were never left for wanting and we always had many choices at each meal.At the end of the day, we go over what the next days plan.A lot depends on what you are individually expecting from your trip, but all my needs were met and I plan on diving with this crew again.

I joined a trip on board the liveaboard Amira in Komodo, departing from and returning to Labuan Bajo. Just boarding the Amira is already an amazing experience because of the boat itself: this splendid wooden vessel, a genuine traditional Pinisi ship, is a real wonder. When they even raised the sails, it was a pure “wow” moment that gave me goosebumps and felt like traveling back in time. Komodo is a very diverse destination. You can go from warm to cooler water, and the cooler areas offer incredible marine life, especially the mantas. I had an unforgettable experience being surrounded by about five of them at the safety stop on the top reef, and they were really putting on a show. Be prepared for really strong currents! Lots of fun! There are also opportunities for macro lovers, so Komodo itineraries work well for both wide‑angle and macro photography. Topside, some areas look like something out of the Jurassic era, with dramatic landscapes. And of course, there is the visit to the island where you can see Komodo dragons. Standing near these huge “lizards” really reminds you how small you are in nature. Service on board is excellent: very good food, an amazing deck where you can relax and watch the sunset after diving, and a comfortable overall atmosphere. It was a truly great experience, and I can’t wait to go on Amira again for another diving destination.

My wife and I went on the Amria for their Raja Ampat cruise for our honeymoon last year. We loved the diving and how spacious and comfortable the rooms were. My only complaint would be that the boat sounds quite a bit with the rocking of the waves. We always bring earplugs on liveaboards so it wasn't much of an issue.

My wife and I just returned from a 14 day dream vacation aboard the MSV Amira. It is the 9th Livaboard that we have been on. It ranks LAST. Though there are too many issues to list the worst was the constant presence of diesel exhaust throughout both the Dive Deck and the Salon. I have not experience this on any other vessel. We spoke to the General Manager late into the cruise. He stated that "they were having engine tuning problems and issues with getting spare parts in a remote area". Fair enough. However, another diver who was a returnee, was in the conversation. He later told us that the problem was not new, only worse! The problem existed 5 years ago when the ship was only 3 years old. I feel for the local crew members who spend a large portion of their lives working in that toxic atmosphere.The Salon currently is not enclosed and is open to the fumes at all times. No fans or A/C either. There is one small A/C unit in the forward Salon but it always has a crew member in front of it. This is the only vessel that we have been aboard that did not give a complete Safety Briefing or do a Mock Drill. The Owner (on board) did not actually know what a Muster Station was and therefore what it was for.When diving plan to go 70'+ to begin the 1st half of nearly every dive but the Night Dive. Often with your nose into the current even when it is avoidable. We noted that we frequently headed into the yellow (Oceanic Pro Plus) on our dive computers. We took it upon ourselves to stay more shallow in order not to "push our computers". The two local DM's who were both excellent in knowledge of the reef and attentive to their surroundings soon began to match our profiles as did a number of the other divers. Per a couple of later unsolicited discussions, we were not the only ones who were becoming concerned. The 2 foreign Cruise Director/DM's were both immature and clueless.