Dear Friends of Seven Seas,

Apologies for sending you this newsletter a second time. Our server was down yesterday so the links to the various articles were not working at the time you received our newsletter. All fixed now, please try again when you have a moment, worth checking out the Sumbawa news! One update also in the availability list, with 2018 now completely sold out.

The Seven Seas Team

Remaining Availability Cruising Season 2018-2019

Seven Seas in dry dock for annual routine maintenance… Always an exciting and important time of the year, making sure that EVERYTHING is top notch again for the new season.

The next cruising season will start on September 8 in Labuan Bajo. This season will include all our favorite destinations again and will end in 2019 on June 2nd, just before the Idul Fitri Holidays. Dry docking again soon after that.

Happy to report that we are almost fully booked again for this upcoming cruising season, with no more full charters available, and just a few cabins left on 5 different trips. Below the short list of available trips for individual cabin bookings, including a potential partial charter for Raja Ampat 2019, February 3-15:

• 2018 Sept 8-20, Komodo & Sumbawa SOLD OUT
• 2019 Jan 20 to Feb 1, Raja Ampat: 7 spots available
• 2019 February 3 to 15, Raja Ampat: 12 spots available
• 2019 March 17 to 29, Raja Ampat: 3 spots available
• 2019 May 5-19, East Flores & Komodo: 3 spots available

The earliest available full charter will be in the following cruising season, 2019 August 24 to September 7. This is now also the only full charter still available for the entire calendar year of 2019! And a great one at that, in a beautiful season. Can include our new sites in South East Sumbawa plus Sangeang, Banta, Komodo, North Flores and our top sites East of Flores including Watu Balu and Rainbow Reef. This charter can also still be customized to go exploring anywhere in the Nusa Tenggara Timor region.

See our live schedule for itineraries and available spaces until 2021.

Snapshots of Explorations - Sumbawa and beyond

By Eva Pet, Sophie Hespe, Meghan Ingram and Jacco Backx.

A jolly group of travelers got together for a trip on the Seven Seas this past month of July, planning to explore and dive some new locations, off the beaten track, around Sumbawa, Sangeang Api, Gili Banta and the North West coast of Flores. What we found was not only beyond where we travelled before, but certainly also beyond our expectations. Some of our group put together some snapshots of experiences that stood out for them on this trip.

Exploring Newly Found Dive Sites in Sumbawa - Eva Pet

Waking up to the unfamiliar coast of Sumbawa promised a day of exciting exploratory diving. The boat ride to the first site took us past countless secluded and picturesque white beaches guarded by cliffs on either side. Having passed the last beach we stopped at a point that was to be the backdrop of our adventure for the next hour. One... Two... GO! Descending onto the reef we were met by black, yellow and neon green Chrinoids, big barrel sponges and vibrant green Tubastria.

Immediately the resemblance to south Rinca put us in gear to search for the weird and wonderful, and that's just what we encountered. From the tiniest pink Pygmy Seahorse to the angriest looking Stonefish there was an endless supply of critters to be found. Passing along the mini wall we spotted upward of 5 different nudibranch species within an area smaller than 1 square meter. In the blue we were passed by a group of Rainbow Runners and four Dogtooth Tuna. Back onto the reef it seemed as though every crevice, Anemone and Bubble coral was inhabited by a transparent cleaner Shrimp or territorial Crab, and every rock had a different Scorpionfish or Lionfish perched on top.

[Read more...]

Floating through a Mysterious Cave - Meghan Ingram

Thinking back through all the breath-taking views and novel experiences, one adventure especially resonates with me and acts as a highlight of my Seven Seas Trip. Life does not get much better than watching the sunset on a beach occupied solely by our group, after having explored a mysterious cave. This cave was a newly discovered venture for the crew, so being the trip ‘guinea pigs' made the whole thing even more intriguing. Following an inconspicuous path, we were led down a series of steps into a massive opening with a stark blue pool at the bottom and icepick shaped rocks hanging from the ceiling. As bats flew out, we climbed further down and eventually dove into he salty blue water.

[Read more...]

Snow White Sand in a Seemingly Untouched Paradise - Sophie Hespe

As we arrived off the cliffy coast of Sumbawa Island it was immediately clear that we had entered some sort of seemingly untouched paradise. The strong blue of the deep, crystal clear of the shallows, sand as white as snow, rolling hills plunging into the blue water. Breath-taking it was. The activities on offer for the day included the options of 3 dives, and beach visits. As much as I love diving I couldn't help myself but explore the beaches this corner of Sumbawa had to offer.

[Read more...]

Diving the Slopes of an Active Volcano - Jacco Backx

One of our last stops of the trip was at the foot of Sangeang Api, a volcanic island located northeast of Sumbawa. As the volcano shot ash into the sky we dove along the calm, buffalo studded shore of the island discovering the beautiful creatures under the surface. Possibly the most impressive and lasting memory from those dives was seeing and feeling the ground shake underwater as the volcano rumbled. A frightening yet magnificent reminder of just how powerful nature can really be.

[Read more...]

» CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL TRIP REPORT

Family Dreams...

By Jan Soede.

"Did you ever imagine bringing your family to paradise with excellent natural scenery, activity and food? Don't look any further, Seven Seas overdelivers what is promises and believe me that's already a lot!"

» CLICK HERE FOR JAN'S TRIP REPORT ON ADOBE SPARK