Amira Liveaboard
My wife and I just returned from a 14 day dream vacation aboard the MSV Amira. It is the 9th Livaboard that we have been on. It ranks LAST. Though there are too many issues to list the worst was the constant presence of diesel exhaust throughout both the Dive Deck and the Salon. I have not experience this on any other vessel. We spoke to the General Manager late into the cruise. He stated that "they were having engine tuning problems and issues with getting spare parts in a remote area". Fair enough. However, another diver who was a returnee, was in the conversation. He later told us that the problem was not new, only worse! The problem existed 5 years ago when the ship was only 3 years old. I feel for the local crew members who spend a large portion of their lives working in that toxic atmosphere.
The Salon currently is not enclosed and is open to the fumes at all times. No fans or A/C either. There is one small A/C unit in the forward Salon but it always has a crew member in front of it. This is the only vessel that we have been aboard that did not give a complete Safety Briefing or do a Mock Drill. The Owner (on board) did not actually know what a Muster Station was and therefore what it was for.
When diving plan to go 70'+ to begin the 1st half of nearly every dive but the Night Dive. Often with your nose into the current even when it is avoidable. We noted that we frequently headed into the yellow (Oceanic Pro Plus) on our dive computers. We took it upon ourselves to stay more shallow in order not to "push our computers". The two local DM's who were both excellent in knowledge of the reef and attentive to their surroundings soon began to match our profiles as did a number of the other divers. Per a couple of later unsolicited discussions, we were not the only ones who were becoming concerned. The 2 foreign Cruise Director/DM's were both immature and clueless.
