French Toast in Flores

Last chance for a Seven Seas cruise this year: Two nice double cabins left for 2018 September 8 to 20 in Komodo National Park. Beautiful time of year out there and just after summer Holidays so the crowds will mostly be gone while the sky is blue and breeze is cool from the South East! :)

Next availability is in early 2019 in Raja Ampat, but not much left available for the that upcoming Raja Ampat season either. Next chance for Komodo or East of Flores is not before May 2019. So check our schedule now and start planning your next trip with us.

These are the ONLY 4 cruises left which are still available for customized charter next year.

French Toast in Flores

This was an epic Indonesian liveaboard adventure, cruising from Maumere to Alor in the East and back around Flores to Komodo in the West. A long way away from our home in France, but it was worth every nautical mile of it. The nights sometimes bumpy on some of our open water crossings, but the Seven Seas is a comfortable vessel, well designed, and probably often refurbished. The cabins are nice with the white washed wood from the original hull and the marble in the bathrooms. Fresh cabin towels come out regularly, dry deck towels are provided after the dives.

No rush, very good food, and such a pleasure to have dinner on the upper deck, like on a floating restaurant, under the stars, except when we have to cruise all night long. For breakfast the best French toast this side of Paris and on some evenings when we stayed at anchor, we had "apéritif" on tiny islands at sunset. Every day life is easy onboard, with plenty of time between the dives. Much appreciated, when you have some gear to fix, because diving vacations are often a succession of small dramas, like drowned strobes for example...

Testimonial

"Thanks for one of the best travel experiences. Every day in some way was enjoyable and the scenery never failed to impress. I will miss the escape from reality but hopefully one day will be back aboard the Seven Seas. Karl and all the staff were extremely helpful and entertaining, they made the trip for me. Thanks and hopefully see you all again."

Freya Tanzer (Raja Ampat, January 2018)

» Click here for more testimonials.

The Spice Islands

Jeffri, our dive master, eased his hand out in a lightly closed fist about 12 inches from the cloud of tiny yellow and black fishes hovering over a delicate spray of greenish coral. With a sudden flick of his fingers to an open palm, the fishes instantaneously dove for the cover of the indentations among the coral branches. There were no laggards. It was as if they were one single organism reflexing from an electric shock.

Einstein is quoted as saying that there are two ways to live your life. One is as if there were no such things as miracles. The other is to understand that everything is a miracle. He chose, and recommended, the latter.

Floating weightlessly above a coral reef in the Banda Sea may be one of the best ways to be reminded of the miracles of life. A trip to Banda and other islands in April 2018 comprised fifteen open minded explorers looking for the exceptional moment. And we found it.

Sometimes it was a pair of banded sea kraits dancing an intertwining ballet to the surface for a gulp of air. Another time it was clownfish darting in and out of their gracefully swaying anemone. And other times it was the moment of attention when a white tipped reef shark appeared in the distant gloom of the deep blue beyond the wall of coral.

These are the moments during which we forget everything else that is going on in the world beyond.

For most of us, the two weeks on the Seven Seas was unfairly brief after the months of anticipation. Generally, the seas were mild, the weather dry and warm, and the days full of interesting things and people.

We were lucky. Among our diving companions were two acclaimed marine biologists, Rodney V. Salm, PhD, and Charles Birkeland, PhD who brought with them perhaps a century of research, teaching, and diving experience around the world. This gave us access to a perspective that was more than just viewing beautiful underwater scenery. After so many reports of coral bleaching, smothering algae blooms, and horrific fish harvest practices involving toxins and explosives, we were prepared for anything. While in the Banda Sea, we saw evidence for hope, and reason for celebration of the recovery potential of nature when good conservation practices are used.

Postscript: It was with enormous pleasure that upon returning to Bali, we learned that our friend, Rodney Salm has been recognized by his scientific peers for a lifetime of achievement in research and conservation. The International Society for Reef Studies has established a Coral Reef Conservation Award. Rod is the recipient of the inaugural award which he has generously dedicated to the Nature Conservancy’s Indo-Pacific Marine Conservation Fund. We congratulate Rod and thank him for his enormous contributions to the conservation of our true gardens of eden.

Just 2 cabins left on 1 cruise in 2018!

French Toast in Flores

Testimonial

The Spice Islands