Holly shares her experiences on a luxury liveaboard diving holiday aboard
Emperor Harmoni in Raja Ampat, Indonesia
When you arrive in Sorong, the Emperor Harmoni greets you with a commanding yet beautiful presence. This stunning contemporary liveaboard, crafted from Sulawesi ironwood, is a testament to love and attention to detail. In my experience, Emperor Harmoni stands out as the best vessel I’ve ever had the pleasure of diving from.
Spacious and Inviting Main Saloon
Emperor Harmoni’s main saloon is very spacious with individual tables for dinner, bench seating for relaxing during the day, a well-stocked bar, and a large camera and electrics area with three levels – plenty of room for everyone to charge all their goodies! Speaking of electrics, along with the camera table, there are also sockets all around the walls in the main saloon where you can plug in your laptops or charge smaller devices. The cabins do not have electrical sockets – so no charging in your cabins – and all sockets are switched off from 11pm – 5am each day. Wi-Fi is free for everyone utilising the Starlink service. It’s powerful enough for multiple people to be calling home, uploading on social media and editing pictures.
Comfortable Cabins with Stunning Upper Deck Views
Emperor Harmoni boasts 12 beautiful cabins, four of which are on the upper deck with stunning views of the Indonesian landscape. Each cabin has ample space and very comfortable beds, bedecked with curtains for the windows, reading lights by the bed, and hot water showers throughout the day. The en-suite showers come with shower gel and shampoo – perfect if you are running short on your baggage allowance! The air-conditioning is individually controlled and makes for a very comfortable night’s sleep.
Social Spaces for Relaxation
The bow of the boat offers a sociable seating area where guests can enjoy conversation or moonlit dinners. During the day, a sail provides shade from the sun. At the tip of the bow, a sunbathing area with bean bags is perfect for those looking to soak up the sun.
On the upper deck you will also find little areas of seating and bean bags – perfect if you want to have a quiet moment or two. For the yoga lovers, there are mats available onboard and there is nothing better than catching the rising or setting sun whilst striking a pose.
Exceptional Dive Deck Set-up
The dive deck is at the stern of Emperor Harmoni and what a great set-up this is! Every diver has their own station with a basket and all kit is numbered for the crew. The crew look after all your kit throughout your stay and get it ready for each dive. Even rinsing your wetsuit and hanging it up to dry before the next dive. They are on hand during kitting up to assist with any stubborn wetsuits and last-minute issues with kit.
You will find ribs winched on the side of the boat which are filled with all your kit before each dive and pull up right next to the boat staircase – yes, staircase! – ready for you to jump in and zoom off to the next site. Each rib takes up to six divers, but they are best with a maximum of five. For photographers with large camera set-ups, four would be an ideal fit. The ribs are complete with their own ladders too! This is rib diving in style and so much easier than having to haul yourself in from each dive.
Onboard Safety
On arrival day, a boat briefing is given with a very comprehensive explanation as to what safety equipment they have onboard, where to find your emergency exits, and a fire drill including grabbing the ladder from the wall in the lower deck and all climbing up through the escape hatch. Every single passenger is shown where your life vests and torches are stored in your cabins by one of the crew. Passenger safety is paramount onboard.
Dive Briefings
Included in the arrival briefing is a very thorough talk about the dive set-up, the area, what to expect, and details of what is also expected from everyone for each dive day – an overview before the daily dive briefings! Divers are split into groups which are per rib and go to the dive deck in stages to kit up and set off to the dive site. These groups are rotated during the trip so that everyone can be the first ones in the water. This also helps to avoid on congestion on the dive deck.
Dive briefings are done before every dive of the day in the saloon. These briefings cover not only the dive site information but also details of the area that you are in, the routing the boat has taken so far and some local nuggets of information. There is a great sense of pride for the Indonesian Islands from the entire crew!
Diving in Raja Ampat
Corals are the order of the day in Raja Ampat – it is part of the Coral Triangle after all! One of the many sites that we dived is called Melissa’s Garden – this dive site is one of the best in the world and is home to over 250 different species of hard and soft coral, sponges, and crinoids. Photographers could spend many hours here with brightly coloured nudibranchs, pygmy seahorses, mushroom coral pipefish, ghost pipefish, and masses of anemone fish on this coral carpet that reaches as far as the eye can see.
Throughout Raja Ampat you will be surrounded by angelfish, anthias, damsels, large schools of surgeons, sweetlips, and munching parrot fish – with some very large bumphead parrot fish, schools of fusiliers and barracudas. Watching the schools of fish moving gracefully over the reef is like witnessing an orchestra – one where we cannot hear the music. The fish glide along in large shoals with an imaginary conductor changing the direction and beat within a nano second. It is mesmerising to watch.
The keen-eyed diver will spot the weird and wonderful wobbegong shark all around Raja Ampat. Usually cleverly camouflaged under reef ledges with its whiskery beard poking out – if you’re very lucky you will find one or two patrolling the reef!
A reef hook is a must here! Some of the currents can be very strong and not for the faint hearted – usually short-lived whilst you find a reef to tuck behind – but these will bring in Manta Rays and dolphins. The most memorable Manta Ray dive on my trip was at Magic Mountain also known as Shadow Reef. This incredible dive began with Manta Rays at the surface as we back-rolled into the water. Hooking on to the reef, we spent a whole hour watching Manta after Manta parading over the reef for a clean. In one ceremonious line we had four Oceanic Mantas with one smaller black Reef Manta joining in the fun. This was an incredible dive made all the better by some very inquisitive dolphins and a few of my fellow divers spotted a blue-ringed octopus to boot! I am not ashamed to admit that I burst into tears when I begrudgingly surfaced.
Our trip began in Sorong diving Raja Ampat, West Papua and on to Triton Bay – this was a total of 641 nautical miles in 13 days. Triton Bay is very remote with largely untouched reefs. The highlight here, for me and my fellow guests, were the Whale Sharks. We had two VERY special dives on our last day – ones that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Two dives where we spent the whole time with three, very friendly Whale Sharks and a pod of dolphins. I literally didn’t know where to look next for the whole dive – dolphins coming so close that you could feel the water movement on your skin, whale sharks gliding around us, above us, and underneath us – heaven on earth! Even when it was time to surface, it was clear that the whale sharks did not want us to go – the smaller one of the group swam circuits around our rib whilst we were removing our BCD’s so we spent another 15 minutes watching them playing on the surface.
The Crew
The crew aboard Emperor Harmoni are to be applauded! There are 21 crew members in total and every single one of them makes this liveaboard what it is. I would say that this crew is the best crew I have ever encountered on a liveaboard. The operation is so smooth – everyone is so happy to see you, full of smiles and cannot do enough to help you during your stay. Every single crew member has his own daily agenda and does it with such pride that it shows in the energy and atmosphere on the boat.
Conclusion
The Emperor Harmoni is not just a liveaboard, it’s a luxurious experience designed for divers who appreciate comfort, safety, and exceptional service. From spacious accommodation to the most amazing crew, every detail is crafted to enhance your dive holiday. If you’re looking for the ultimate diving adventure, the Emperor Harmoni is the vessel for you.
Interested in an Indonesian diving adventure with Diverse Travel?
As Dive Travel Experts, we know the Indonesian archipelago like the back of our hands. From owning and running dive resorts in Indonesia, to travelling and diving the region extensively, our team has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with you. Whether you’re looking for a liveaboard or land-based adventure (or a combination of both!), please get in touch with us today or give us a call on 01473 852002 for a chat, and we will tailor-make the holiday of a lifetime to Indonesia for you.
Photos by Jake Davies – JDScuba
Photos of Emperor Harmoni – Emperor Divers
