Ariyal Дайвинг-сафари, Мальдивы

Excellent diving without the crowds

We did the classic Maldives route which can get busy. However, the guides were excellent at selecting dive sites and timings, meaning we had most dive sites to ourselves. The boat is new and comfortable with plenty of space for everyone. The dives were excellent (as they normally are!) and the briefings were detailed and informative.

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Very comfortable cabins. Spacious boat. Great diving without the crowds.

A 50th Birthday I'll never forget for all the wrong reasons!

The boat itself was extremely comfortable. Mr Mahesh, the chef and the dhoni crew were excellent. The highlight dives: Dhiggiri (nurse shark feeding) and H'Male Neru were definitely a spectacular sight! However, the rest of the dives were mediocre at best. The main guide Shamil was defensive/standoffish. Dive briefings often lasted in excess of 25mins. The dive group of 20 persons - some with a handful of dives, others very experienced- was too large for only having 2 guides onboard. There were 2 groups of 10 divers in each! This meant that dives were often cut short due to less experienced divers running low on air. The size of the groups and disorgnisation resulted in various incidents throughout the trip. First incident occurred when a diver had a rapid ascent to the surface. She felt she required 02 as she had missed her safety stop (it was a deep dive 25M+) The dhoni boat/dive leader could not administer 02 as they did not have the required emergency equipment of face mask/valve fittings. Another diver suffered an ear perforation injury after a rapid descent. His tank was changed to 15l steel tank, and his weight was not adjusted accordingly. The manta viewing dive was set up in 24M. It was incredibly unsafe. No record of who was in/out of the water. The depth and extremely poor visibility due to sandy bottom caused mass panic, with many divers rushing to the surfce after only a few minutes in the water. Fesdhoo Wreck: we never saw the wreck. Apparently we were dropped in the wrong location. We had a deep dive with strong currents, zero viz, in a sand channel with a barren/poor quality reef at the end for our safety stop! I am not sure how qualified or experienced our dive guides were with the area/dive sites. They didn't socialise with us outside of the dives. They didn't eat with us or spend time between dives in our company. As soon as a dive was over they would disappear from view. I found this behavior from the guides most unusual and disappointing. I have never experienced this behaviour on any liveaboard- I have been on many and have worked on liveaboards in the past for over 10 years. I would like to say a special "Thank you" to Mr Mahesh who recognised my 50th Birthday with a G&T and the Chef who made me a cake! It was delicious and very kind!

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Mr Mahesh. The dhoni crew. Fellow passengers.

Unorganized, not safe, 3 nights in the harbour

Well a bit unorganized, reef hooks and tourches were not enough. Eventhoug we had completed forms in advance we had to give all info again. Unsafe we were 20 persons and 2 dive guides, due to miscommunication between captain and dive master one night dive was very unsafe and mucked up. We had no bbq, we spent 3 nightS close to the airport. 2 days was no program. We want a refund.

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The standard of the boat. Convenient and good service at dives. Food nice.

Classic Maldives diving

This is the 2nd time on a luxury liveaboard boat in Maldives, but still was stunned by the spacious setups. See amazing Oceanic Manta feeding on plankton, lots of sharks, nice drift dives, surreal underwater beach and rocks.

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the cabin room is enormous - for a liveaboard. Mashuni dish in the breakfast. the crew.

Great!

Great trip Great boat Great diving Great crew Great food Great fun Great wine

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Captain and crew made extra effort to make the trip amazing. Any Dolphins, Animals or Baitballs the boat would stop and get close.. Chefs made food on request. Fresh caught Tuna sashimi was unbelievable and local Mashuni, chilli and fresh lime was a close second. The wine was all lovely too!. Diving and guide was excellent. Guides made a great a effort and the equipment on board was brilliant. Free 13.5L ally tanks and strong nitrox made a huge difference to the week..

I will come again

Too many highlights to describe. But I had a wonderful week on board and will surely come again

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Friendlyness of crew. Experience and knowledge of dive guides. Cleanlyness on board.