Mermaid I

Mermaid I is a 28-metre steel motor yacht purpose-built for diving: twin Hino engines of 450 hp each, 2.5 m draft, 7 m beam. She works Indonesia year round and covers almost the whole country in a season — Komodo and Saleh Bay, Raja Ampat and Misool, the Banda Sea with the Ring of Fire and the Forgotten Islands, Alor, Ambon, Halmahera, the Lembeh Strait and the Togian Islands. The operator is Mermaid Liveaboards (PT Indonesia Liveaboards, office in Sanur, Bali); the fleet has only two vessels, Mermaid I and the larger 33-metre Mermaid II, so fleet shots are easy to mix up: Mermaid I has a dark navy hull with a gold sheer line and a handwritten “Mermaid I” on the bow, IMO 8987761.

There are only fifteen guests and eight cabins — generous by Indonesian liveaboard standards. The master cabin with a king-size bed, one single cabin and four deluxe cabins sit on the main deck: all have panoramic sea-view windows and their own door straight onto the side gangway, so you never have to cross the saloon to get outside. Two more cabins are on the lower deck, with bunk beds and no windows, but with direct access up to the main deck. Every cabin has its own bathroom, plus there is a separate deck toilet — eight bathrooms and nine toilets in all. Air conditioning is controlled cabin by cabin; cabins have bathrobes, toiletries, a fridge or mini bar and an iPad instead of a television, with bed linen of at least 300 thread count.

The dive deck was built with room to spare: a wide stern platform with two ladders, a fresh-water shower on deck, six camera rinse tanks and dedicated camera tables. Three Bauer compressors and a nitrox membrane mean EANx32 is available on every cruise. Fifteen-litre tanks are free and there are ten of them on board; DIN adaptors are carried, and sidemount and twinsets are accepted as long as you bring your own rigging. Two 4.3 m tenders with 40 hp Yamaha outboards ferry the groups; the standard ratio is four divers to one guide.

Above there are two open decks: a shaded lounge with soft sofas and a sun deck with an awning and sunbeds where massages are given. Inside there is an air-conditioned saloon with television and music, a library of marine-life identification books and the “Sawasdee” restaurant with large windows. Food is buffet style — Indonesian, Asian and Western — with a light breakfast before the first dive and a full one after, lunch, an afternoon snack and dinner. Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, juices and soft drinks are included; beer and wine are sold on board. Starlink is fitted: 3 GB of data are free, more is on the price list.

The money matters to know in advance. Park and port fees are not in the cruise price: they are paid on board only and depend on the itinerary — the operator publishes EUR 250 for the ten-day Komodo trips and EUR 275 for the twelve- and sixteen-day Banda Sea, Ring of Fire and Halmahera routes, and does not name a figure for the rest. If you already hold a valid Raja Ampat tag, the operator deducts EUR 60. From the cruise starting 20 September 2026 onwards there is also a fuel surcharge of EUR 20 per day — EUR 200 for 9 nights, EUR 240 for 11 and EUR 320 for 15 — invoiced with the balance payment. Everything paid on board carries Indonesian VAT of 11 % and card payments are processed in rupiah only.

Dive insurance is mandatory under Indonesian regulations: you will not board without proof, but it can be bought on the vessel (DAN or DiveAssure). A personal dive computer is mandatory too — your own or rented at EUR 10 a day. The entry bar is gentle: Open Water certification and at least four logged training dives; snorkellers and non-divers are welcome at the same rate, while freedivers are not accepted and the operator does not run technical diving. Guests over 75 need a medical certificate, over 80 a valid policy as well. Children are welcome from the age of eight.

The vessel goes into port for maintenance every year and publishes the windows in advance: 27 May - 20 June and 20 August - 2 September 2027, 28 May - 20 June and 20 August - 2 September 2028. There are no cruises on those dates — this is scheduled maintenance, not sold-out weeks. One more clause worth knowing: if a cruise fills to less than the equivalent of four deluxe cabins, the operator may cancel it and offer a transfer to the sister vessel or to an adjacent date.