[Indonesia] My First Premium Liveaboard Experience — Indonesia, Here I Come!

The Editor says: A lively welcome dance the moment you board, three meals a day plus fruit and snacks, a jacuzzi, and fishing — no internet on board, but there's never a dull moment. Below the surface, rich schools of fish both large and small, spectacular coral, and even the chance to spot sharks and dugongs. Where is this liveaboard, you ask? Follow the Editor to find out! Article republished from: Idy.

My First Liveaboard Experience — Let's Go

All it took was a single photo I stumbled upon online — it pulled me in completely. A purple ship, and a pirate-style one at that. It turned out to be a liveaboard dive trip. After checking the departure dates, I gave my schedule a quick glance — no deep dive into the itinerary, the destination, or any other details — bought my plane ticket, and that was that.

Departing from Hong Kong, with three layovers and a total travel time of 17 hours including transit, plus another half-hour by road, I finally set foot on this fully wooden pirate ship. We were welcomed by a traditional folk dance, and just like that, our eight-day, seven-night liveaboard adventure officially began. It was my first liveaboard experience, so without anything to compare it to, I was happy as long as the facilities were adequate, there was enough space to move around, and the cabins were tidy. Beyond the ship itself, I'd also seen photos of dugongs ("mermaids") and Hammerhead Sharks online, which gave me a little something to look forward to.

5 Meals a Day on Board — I Came Back a Size Bigger

The ship served 4–5 meals a day. The earliest was a light breakfast at 06

. Seafood was on the menu every day, and lunch and dinner were essentially Chinese-style, served with fruit platters. I especially loved their homemade chili sauce. I tried not to eat too much at each meal — dive on a full stomach and you'll be feeding the fish. Most of the group were Taiwanese; I was the only one from Hong Kong. By the third day we were interacting much more, sharing photos and videos from the day's dives over dinner each evening. On the last night, under a brilliant full moon, everyone ate, drank, and talked — there was simply no end to the conversation.

On several nights during the voyage we hit massive swells — the entire ship was rocking from side to side, sending water glasses flying. Being a wooden boat, the planks creaked and groaned all night long. It felt like being on a theme-park pirate ship, tossed back and forth, drifting across the bed along with the mattress — Howl's Moving Castle, anyone? Sleep was basically impossible. And yet my cabin-mate somehow managed to sleep right through it all. How on earth do you train yourself to do that? Can you teach me a trick or two? Every single day brought a breathtaking sunset that paired perfectly with the boat scenery, keeping us constantly snapping photos.

While others book a private karaoke room, we basically had the entire ocean to ourselves — for days on end, our ship was the only vessel in sight.

Indonesia's Spectacular Underwater World

After going without sleep for 24 hours, we still squeezed in two dives on the very first day. True to form as a dive addict — no matter how tired, just dive! Located in Indonesia's Banda Sea — famous for its magnificent coral, even more abundant than the Philippines — the colourful coral reefs were an absolute feast for the eyes. It was the first time I'd ever seen a heart-shaped gorgonian / sea fan that large.

The first dive at seven in the morning offered the richest underwater spectacle. Countless schools of fish, large and small, were out foraging. Just as you focused on a school to your left, a massive swarm would suddenly rush past on your right — there was simply too much to take in.

Night diving was even more thrilling. Plants that merely drift with the current during the day actually "crawl" at night. Others that look like ordinary leaves by day curl up and tuck themselves in to sleep come nightfall — quite fascinating. It turns out plants need their rest too. A tiny blue-spotted devil ray, caught in the beam of a Flash Light quite by accident, seemed to panic like it had a guilty conscience and bolted off in a straight line, desperately trying to escape. Don't worry, I can't catch you!

In the distance I spotted a piece of coral that appeared to be "walking." As it drew closer, its true identity was revealed — a coral crab. It shuffled over to a real coral head and stopped, apparently convinced it had turned invisible. Another master of disguise: a brightly coloured coral crab, virtually impossible to spot unless it slowly moved. And there were so many other creatures fast asleep — a fat, rotund pufferfish, a baby squid no bigger than a fingertip, sea slugs…

The Fearless "Mermaid" — A Dugong Encounter

One of the highlights of this trip was a close-up encounter with a so-called mermaid. When we were told we couldn't scuba dive down or even snorkel close to it, I was genuinely a little disappointed — but safety first, of course. Our small tender had barely left the ship when the dugong swam right towards us. It seemed especially fond of human company. Our shrieks didn't frighten it at all; instead, it kept surfacing, circling all three of our tenders, and coming up to let us touch it. Apparently it loves hugging boats — no wonder we couldn't get in the water with it; being grabbed by a dugong would be genuinely dangerous. Its skin felt nothing like a dolphin's smooth hide — quite the opposite, in fact. It was rough and prickly, like the skin of a potato. And as for its looks and physique — nothing remotely "mermaid-like" about it! Whoever gave it that name was seriously misleading the public!

Another highlight: a Marble Ray (a type of manta ray) bigger than a mahjong table was taking an afternoon nap inside a large cave — and unfortunately for it, we found it. Woken up by our strobes, it immediately began zigzagging around trying to escape. We only wanted to take a close-up portrait shot; we weren't going to hurt you.

The Hammerhead Shark — every diver's dream sighting. After days of eager anticipation, one finally appeared on the very last dive. The catch: I didn't actually see it myself. Everyone else on the trip did. Even the dive buddy who went down with me got the shot. It just wasn't meant to be — absolutely heartbreaking.

Our dive guide was an exceptional artist — every pre-dive briefing featured a stunning illustration of the marine life we might encounter, always wrapped up with the caveat: "If you lucky." Lucky us — humphead parrotfish, sharks, fat and gorgeous tuna — we ticked them all off.

One of the dive sites in the Banda Sea was called Snake Village. I'm terrified of snakes, so when I found out that was on the agenda, my heart nearly stopped. But since I was already there and it should be safe enough — let's go. It was the most sea snakes I had ever seen underwater in my life — in every direction, there were sea snakes. So many! They were completely unbothered by us, just going about their own business, swimming freely and chasing one another. They had no interest in following us, which made it relatively safe, but once at this site is definitely enough for me.

Just when you'd think a city dweller would perish without internet access, the few days of being completely offline actually gave everyone more genuine time together — chatting, doing karaoke, watching movies, going crazy with photos on the deck, and even filling over an hour just hanging out in the one VIP cabin. When tiredness hit, people napped in the saloon. The ship also had an attentive crew who kept the rooms clean, presented a different menu each meal, and a witty dive guide to keep things fun. On the last night — Mid-Autumn Festival — the crew even prepared mooncakes for us.

This bunch of Taiwanese divers — forget everything else, they live and breathe diving. They even introduced me to the marine life found around Taiwan's waters. One of them is a professional underwater videographer — I absolutely adore the video you made for everyone!

Thank God — the whole trip had beautiful weather, golden-yolk sunsets every day, fantastic companions, and a wonderfully attentive organiser (Thanks Joe!), plus great food. Everyone made it through safely! This first liveaboard experience was everything I hoped for, and I'm already looking forward to the next one… though I might think twice about a wooden boat next time!

Idy, Nov 2023 — "Reliving the trip while recovering from illness gives it a whole different flavour. Good health is never a given. To be able to travel and see the world in good health — thank God!"

Further Reading:

• 【Indonesia】Part 2: What's It Like Aboard the Neomi Cruise — Indonesia's Top Liveaboard? Dugong, Hammerhead Shark, sailfish and Big-Animal Diving — An Exclusive Look at This Once-a-Year Trans-Ocean Itinerary

• 【Indonesia】Part 1: What's It Like Aboard the Neomi Cruise — Indonesia's Top Liveaboard? Dugong, Hammerhead Shark, sailfish and Big-Animal Diving — An Exclusive Look at This Once-a-Year Trans-Ocean Itinerary

• joe愛潛水

• Indonesia Neomi Cruise Official Website

• Author: Idy