Emperor Harmoni

Emperor Harmoni is a large wooden phinisi, launched in 2022 specifically for Indonesian conditions and operated under the Emperor Divers flag. Forty-eight metres, three decks, a hull of Sulawesi ironwood, twelve cabins for twenty-four guests and — a rarity for a traditional phinisi — two 400 hp Yanmar engines instead of one. The second engine is not a luxury here: crossings in Raja Ampat are long, and speed decides how many sites fit into a trip.

She is easy to recognise: a grey-olive hull with a rust-coloured boot stripe, a long raked stem and a wooden name board reading Emperor Harmoni on the bow. Inside — dark timber from sole to deckhead, woven wall panels, olive cushions and a communal table running the length of the saloon. She was refitted in 2024 and is dry-docked every year.

Geography and flights

The vessel works Raja Ampat and the neighbouring archipelagos only — Komodo is not in the schedule, although older descriptions of the boat still mention it. Almost all trips are round trips from Sorong (SOQ airport, West Papua), reached by connecting flights via Jakarta, Makassar or Manado. The operator advises arriving in Sorong the day before: a domestic flight delayed by a day will not hold the boat.

Three programmes are one-way, which matters when you buy tickets: the Banda Islands run between Sorong and Ambon, the Forgotten Islands between Sorong and the Kei Islands (Tual airport), Triton Bay between Sorong and Kaimana. The direction of each departure follows its name: “Raja Ampat & Triton Bay” starts in Sorong, “Triton Bay & Raja Ampat” runs the other way.

Season: October to May brings calmer seas and better visibility in Raja Ampat, and most of the schedule falls in those months. The boat does not sail in June and July — that is a closed window, not unsold inventory. August departures run at a reduced rate.

Money: what you pay on board

There are no compulsory extras on board. Raja Ampat park fees, port fees and local taxes are inside the price — stated outright in Emperor’s terms of sale (“all mandatory park fees, port fees, and local taxes are included in the published liveaboard price”), repeated in the Indonesia FAQ, in the pre-departure briefing and in the on-board price list as the line “National Park & Port fees — INCLUDED”. For Raja Ampat that matters: nearly every vessel in the region collects the marine park permit separately on the pier, and carrying that sum onto an Emperor card would be an invention.

On board you pay only for the bar, equipment rental, non-standard tanks, courses and tips. The on-board price list is kept in Indonesian rupiah; cash is accepted in rupiah, US dollars, euros and pounds — notes only, no coins, and no Scottish or Irish banknotes. Visa and Mastercard are accepted, but the operator describes the billing currency two ways: the pre-departure briefing and the fleet comparison sheet say rupiah, the FAQ and the price list say US dollars. Same with the local sales tax on purchases: the briefing and the comparison sheet say 11%, the price list says 12%. Both halves are given as published.

Tips are voluntary; the operator suggests around 10% of the trip price, an envelope waits in the cabin and the money is split equally between guides and crew.

Cabins

Twelve cabins, each with an ensuite shower room and individually controlled air conditioning. Eight cabins on the lower deck, four on the upper; the main deck has no guest cabins at all and is given over entirely to the saloon, bar, dining area and dive deck.

Lower deck: cabins 1 and 2 have a 200×160 double bed, cabins 3 and 4 are twins with two 200×90 beds, cabins 5–8 have a 200×180 double plus a 200×80 single (the operator suggests cabins 7 and 8 for a couple or a family). Upper deck: cabins 9 and 10 are “flexi” — two 200×90 beds that convert to a double; cabins 11 and 12 have a 200×180 double. Upper-deck cabins have large windows and their own aft balcony, lower-deck cabins have portholes.

Solo travellers are guaranteed a same-sex cabin share: if no match is found, the cabin is yours alone with no single supplement. Separately, if a solo traveller wants a guaranteed double bed in a twin cabin, that costs €10 per night.

Diving

Dives run from three five-metre RIBs with 50 hp outboards — precise drop-offs matter more than comfort in Raja Ampat currents. Usually three dives a day, with a night dive every three or four nights. Aluminium 12-litre tanks are included, 15-litre on request for a fee; DIN valves with INT adapters on board, M26 regulators need their own adapter. Free nitrox up to 32% from a membrane system.

The operator states the entry bar two different ways and both are worth knowing. The Indonesia FAQ is strict: Emperor Indonesia liveaboards take guests certified Advanced Open Water or Deep Diver as a minimum. The pre-departure briefing is softer — Open Water as the minimum, with Advanced or Deep advised because some sites go below 18 metres. The recommendation is the same in both documents: certification to 30 metres and confidence in drift diving. Decompression, solo and technical diving are prohibited.

A reef hook is mandatory on every dive — written into the terms of sale as a separate clause for Indonesia and the Maldives; so are a dive computer and an SMB with at least five metres of line, plus a torch for night dives. There is no reef hook on the rental price list, so bring your own.

Anyone who has not dived for a year or more does a refresher: divers with fewer than 50 logged dives take a full Skills Review, otherwise a free check dive. Everyone does a check dive on the first, sheltered site.

Water is around 27 °C; 3–5 mm is enough for Raja Ampat. Bring a copy of your diving insurance in English — without it you will have to buy a policy on the spot.