Reviews from our Komodo guests

"A 7 day cruise on Komodo Dancer recently marked the high point of a 3 week round trip to Bali for my family and me. Right from the time we stepped aboard and were greeted by Carine, Onno, Wayan and the rest of the team on board, we appreciated the special character and atmosphere of the boat and crew.

The accommodation on board was just as advertised and the catering and steward service was the best that we have so far experienced on any liveaboard (6 to date!) On the diving side, we were treated to an assortment of increasingly impressive sites between Satonda Island and Komodo itself, with extremely good diversity of life forms (from pygmy seahorses through to a manta ray) and terrains (including both the magnificent profusion at Castle Rock, and the unforgettable volcanic springs and underwater jacuzzi effects at Hot Rocks). The pre-dive briefings were professional and what's more we saw how the day-to-day itinerary and choice of dive locations kept under close control in the light of the tidal / current conditions at the time. The Komodo Dancer's system with the two tenders (and the absence of any need for passengers to carry much more than their masks and snorkels to and fro) worked very smoothly and was for us only surpassed by the novelty of being able to depend on not one but two warm water showers on deck, with soap and shampoo dispensers - followed by the signature warm towels.

The dive leaders were always enthusiastically responsive after each dive to our requests for help in identifying the inevitable new "mystery fish" problems that we managed to present, and the digital photographers amongst us were extremely appreciative of the special charging, chip downloading and equipment rinsing & storage arrangements on board.

Our main regret? To have booked only 7 and not 11 days on board!

Tony & family
Surrey, UK
28-Aug-2006"

Thanks to all, my wife & I have just had a great trip on Komodo Dancer. Onno & Carine were excellent guides, I particularly appreciated the use of a larger tank so my air consumption "matched" that of my wife. All in all a wonderful trip, fantastic local style lunches which I personally preferred
to the more western food served in the evenings, great service all round, great diving, though still can't see what's so great about the pygmy sea horse. I will happily be recommending Komodo Dancer to my friends. As you Americans say "Good Job"

Steve B.
St. Albans, UK
Sept. 6-17, 2006

Guest would go back in a heartbeat
"I look through my photos and reflect fondly on my 10 day diving trip aboard the Komodo Dancer. Less than 3 weeks ago I embarked on this adventure to a remote part of Indonesia with two of my dive buddies with whom I have experienced some excellent diving in the Red Sea, Maldives, Coral Sea, Thailand and PNG. As it turned out, we were in for a treat in every respect.

The diving in and around Komodo National Park is indeed very special. The corals at sites like "Cannibal Rock" and "Hot Rocks" rivaled anything I've seen, (including PNG), not only for their variety, abundance and pristine condition, but also for their sheer uniqueness. It blew me away. Other sites such as "GPS Point" and "Manta Alley" (my personal favourite) delivered the 'big stuff' as well as some strong currents. Sharks and mantas as well as large schools of fish of all sorts made for an action-packed panorama. Then there were the treats for the macro fanatics; nudibranchs everywhere in stunning colours, crabs and shrimps of all sorts, ribbon eels, ghost pipefish, pygmy seahorses etc. (the latter two spotted only with the expert guidance of divemaster Jan).

The experience was made special however not only because of the superb diving, but also because of how well we were looked after in and out of the water. Everything from the excellent food, efficient dive operations and land excursions contributed to a memorable experience in this stunning part of the world. Of course the laughs and friendships made with like-minded adventurers who shared the boat with me on this particular visit, will make this wonderful trip remain a fond memory for me long after my tan fades.

In the wake of the Bali disaster, no one was sure whether they would be on this trip, but I for one, am delighted I was and would go back in a heartbeat! "

Sandy Celovsky
London, UK
10 day Komodo Dancer trip Nov. 13 - 24 2002.

Message sent to Dive Easy Travel

Dear Jeff,

I am writing to tell you we had a terrific time on the Komodo Dancer. Our tour was Nov 3 for a week. Bali is as close to heaven as I have been so please tell all your divers who inquire about Bali and the boat to please go. Its an adventure they do not want to miss.

The island was safe (except the taxis ;0) ) and the people are wonderful but sad because tourism is horribly down. The diving is exceptional and I will most definately go back.

Feel free to quote me.
Karen Lundberg ( from the Pirate group)

Copy of a message from a satisfied guest forwarded from her travel agent:

From: Lynn Chao [mailto:lynnchao@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2002 7:34 PM
To: dom@reefrainforest.com
Subject: Indonesia

Dear Dom: Just got back from Komodo!! I should be very mad at you for suggesting this trip because it was so spectacular, I do not know where I would go next time!!! I would go back to Indonesia in a second! And I will certainly never dive the Carribean again (well, maybe a few places). The diving was incredible--pristine reefs with so much life and so much variety. We saw things we NEVER even heard of like sea apples. We also saw pygmy seahorses, cuttlefish, swimming crinoids, manta rays and a zillion other things that I can only broadly categorize as "fish" or "anemones", etc., etc. Even Peter Hughes himself was impressed as was Brett Gillem from Fathoms magazine, who said this was the best diving he had ever done (and he has been diving for probably 25-30 year!) The land stuff was great too. The Komodo Dragons were neat and I really liked Bali. We were delighted with the Alam Indah--Bob said that your choice was impeccable. Anyway, I wanted to thank you for another great trip!!
Take care,
Lynn