Queen of the Sea - Ratu Laut

★ 5 · Robert Baird · 2023-11-22

I just completed the seven day liver board on Ratu Laut and had a wonderful experience. There was a wonderful group of people that came together on the boat, and the crew made it all a wonderful experience. I hats off to Howie and Marcos, Eddie, all the crew, the cooks and the captain. The boat is not polished, but incredibly comfortable with air-conditioning and lots of deck space. The diving was amazing. The dive masters were incredibly supportive and helpful and extremely knowledgeable about the dive sites, I saw everything at Hope to see while visiting Raja Ampat. The only disappointing thing about the trip was that it was over too fast. I would highly recommend this experience.

★ 5 · Andrew Sundermier · 2019-02-18

If you want an affordable diving outfit with a five star crew and dive masters this is your boat. Ratu Laut will take you where you need to go and will give you the best experience you can have in Indonesia. Being involved with Barefoot Conservation also brought aboard very knowledgable members including a marine biologist for our trip. The crew would prepare all diving gear before and after each dive and would allow divers to dive a safe profile never limiting time in the water due to scheduling. Amazing experience and would recommend to anyone.

★ 3 · B Go · 2019-01-04

PROs: - Decent value for money. They are definitely a budget option among the liveaboards in Raja Ampat. Don't expect 5 star service. It's more of a family type atmosphere, which was also good. - Friendly Boat Crew. They are not conversant in English but they're nice, hardworking and helpful people. Always smiling too :) - Great dive sites. Raja Ampat is an amazing place. - Gina was a really accommodating cruise director - Yummy Food - it's all simple local indonesian food but it was yummy and they cater for vegans and vegetarians also CONs: - One of the dive masters is terrible. Very unprofessional. Doesn't join the briefings, doesn't follow the dive plan, doesn't signal, doesn't keep track of divers and he spent the first few days of the trip harassing the women (excessive inappropriate comments and touching even after being told no multiple times). He only stopped after Gina finally told him off. Then he spent the rest of the trip sullen. Horrible. The other three dive masters are good though. - Possible bedbug infestation in one of the quad rooms. People were getting a lot of bites. It has been reported to management. - Water pressure is pretty bad in the upstairs showers - There were a few whiffed boat drops that ended up in a less than optimal dive (but it happens to everyone I suppose) Other Notes: - This is NOT a science expedition. They do take manta photos and keep a database of mantas, but that's the extent of it. You cannot name a manta. Do not join this trip expecting official research work. - The sails do NOT work. Don't expect the boat to sail anywhere, despite the picture on the site. - The engine noise is very constant. You may need earplugs if you are a light sleeper. - They do not guarantee same sex room assignments, but they will try to accommodate you.