About the ship. As this is our first time aboard PG, we have no past experiences to compare with. This ship seems to be in fine shape for an older vessel. Appointments are clean and bright, befitting a tropical environment.
After spending the first night in port in Benoa, it was a day in port before departing around 6pm. The ship ran a number of tours which we passed on as we had seen much of Bali already. Then it was off to sea, with a pleasant night sailing. Arrival at Komodo Island was the next day around noon.
We had been at Komodo Island a number of years back on a Seabourn cruise. As normal, the weather was hot and humid. PG ran the tenders well, and we were at the pier. At which point, there were things to notice. Because Komodo is a national park, only shorex groups can proceed to view the dragons. It was quickly noticeable that there were a number of people who should not have participated in the excursion. I tend to fault the shorex team of PG (or as they call themselves, the “travel concierges”) for not accurately describing to guests what was involved in the excursion.
Venturing in to see the dragons, you are on a 2.5 kilometer (1.55 mile) dirt path through the jungle. There are NO places to sit along the way, though the guides do make regular stops as you walk along. It was clear that there were guests who were struggling to do this trek, and many folks later said they had no idea what would be involved. Plus, there were people who had difficulty with the steps at the tender landing, to even get to the island. All told, three dragons were spotted – less than our last visit, but at least there were some for folks to see.
After Komodo, it was a full sea day as we left Indonesia and set sail for Dili, Timor-Leste.