The Perfection of The Arenui

By Marcio Curvelo

“Perfection” would be the word if I had to summarize in a single word my 10-day trip to Komodo on board The Arenui. The word “perfection” is not to be used lightly. It means a lot. Let me try to explain. I’ve been diving for over 12 years with my wife Kim and as a family for the past 6 years with Kids Sea Camp. During this time, We have been fortunate to dive and visit some fantastic places with Kids Sea Camp, the Turks & Caicos, Bonaire, Philippines, Palau, Indonesia, Maldives, Fiji, and many more.  I’m not a big Liveaboard fan. The trip to Komodo on The Arenui was only my second live-aboard trip.

Our first time was with Tom and Margo Peyton in the Maldives. My wife Kim and I avoided Liveaboards due to the kids’ young age and the great service that has spoiled us, the food, and the attention to detail that the land-based resort’s Kids Sea Camp offers.

Margo and Tom have taken our family of 4 to some fantastic places over the years.  But I digress. Let’s go back to the Arenui. 

After a flight from Detroit to San Francisco, we boarded a flight to Singapore: short layover, another flight to Bali. My first good impression was when I had to call the owner, Luigi, from the luggage desk. Yes, the airline lost our luggage. No problem. Come to the boat where we will get the luggage back to you. Luigi did just that! A short ride from the airport to the dock. As we boarded the tender, my wife Kim pointed to our first view of the Arenui. It looked special. Our kids Andrew and Alessandra thought it looked like something from a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. 

The Arenui

As we approached, we started recognizing the many intricate details. The Arenui looked brand new. The wood detail was unbelievable. As you board the ship, you realize that you are somewhere uniquely special. The crew was fantastic, from when we boarded to when we left. They made us feel appreciated and welcome in everything they do. It was like being a part of their family. Smiles were genuine and constant. They knew us by our first name. We went to see our rooms after greetings and hugs to a few of our familiar Kids Sea Camp dive buddies. These are not ordinary Liveaboards rooms. You feel like you are in an art gallery. Like the rest of the boat, woodcarvings and traditional Indonesian art are everywhere. The ship was built in 2008 from repurposed wood. No efforts were spared to make this ship. It is fantastic. I’ve never seen a boat with so many windows. Our room had 8! Spacious, comfortable, well-appointed, beautiful cabins. I’m not exaggerating. The pictures don’t do justice.

The Arenui is a hand-carved work of art. The common areas are spacious, comfortable, and tastefully decorated with a historic Indonesian feel. The sundeck is a utopia, a slice of zen. We watched the sunsets and sunrises from there. (See Arenui Gallery)

Food Perfection

After a short briefing, it was time for a first meal. It was a little bit different than other trips. That brings me to the next point — the food. The owner, Luigi, is a fantastic cook who used to own high-end restaurants. That reflects the culinary experience on board The Arenui. We did not have a single bad meal. Most meals were excellent. The meals were fantastic a couple of times, specifically with butter squash ravioli and pesto pasta! They could be from a five-star Michelin restaurant in any major capital of the world. The fish was fresh and included tuna, swordfish, and barramundi. The beef, pork, and sausage were terrific. Our 12-year-old daughter Alessandra is a vegetarian. It was no problem. Every meal made explicitly for her was also extremely good. I felt that I needed to be careful with a special request. Because they would fulfill them, I was afraid they would send somebody swimming somewhere to get something they didn’t have on board! The wine list was incredible. By the way, Luigi is also a wine expert and owns a high-end Italian wife distribution center in Asia. Every day, they take orders for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They made this simple, easy, unrushed detail.  We were never rushed to do anything. They kept telling us you’re “on holiday.” The alfresco dinners were decent and completely satisfying, leaving you to want for nothing. 

The Diving

The diving. after all, that’s what we’re there for. We had between three and four times a day. The dive crew was out of this world. I have experienced great dive service over the years, but this is out of the ballpark, from putting our fins on the tender to taking our booties and wet suits off once back of the boat. They were washed, dried, and folded for the second time. Unbelievable. Our gear, including my underwater camera, was taken care of immaculately. They would rinse, clean, and power dry it after each day — I’ve never seen that before. The crew made the process from moving to the main ship to the tenders effortless. You walked with nothing other than your wetsuit on. They would bring everything you needed, put it on, and take it off. Just surrender and allow yourself to be served and experience perfection.

Diving in Indonesia is out of this world. This is my third time in Indonesia, and I am impressed again. The reefs are absolutely immaculate. The amount of fish life is tremendous, from pygmy seahorses, Mantas, and sharks to vast schools of fish. The dives are all incredible! The dive briefings were also executed with perfection. The dive maps, dive descriptions, and current checks were spot on. They would send a tender out of the dive site 15 minutes before the briefing to check current disability and conditions. And that was rechecking on-site immediately before we dove. Although the crew made it seem Effortless, there was constant attention to safety. Everything I just described went on for 10 days. There were no glitches.… The owners, Luigi and Mei, were on board traveling with us. They were there diving and enjoying the experience as well. They let their crew do their own thing. I do not doubt that the experience would be the same if they weren’t there. They have an incredible hand-picked staff. 

So, back to my initial statement. Perfection! I’m not exaggerating. Margo and Tom have created a perfect family diving legacy company, and their care, attention, and choice were up to par for yet another perfect Curvelo family vacation.

This ship, the culinary experience, the staff, and the diving are out of this world! I’ve experienced excellent diving, great food, perfect service, and accommodations before, but never all at once on the same trip like this!

Another KSC agrees The Arenui is perfect (See Link)

I can honestly state that the Arenui has spoiled any further dive trip for our family. We have already contacted Margo and Tom and have booked four more trips. I’m going to keep coming back to Kids Sea Camp and again to Arenui to be reminded of what true perfection feels like.

We have enjoyed traveling with Kids Sea Camp and meeting like-minded families worldwide.  Andrew and Alessandra completed their PADI rescue diver certifications this year, and we are now looking forward to bigger adventures like Raja Ampat next year to experience the perfection of the Arenui.