Emperor Divers Maldives — Local services in Malé

I just returned from a one week trip on Emperor Virgo, my first liveaboard ever. The food was fine, given the limitations on a boat. The cabins or more precisely the whole boat was in a good condition after a long stay in the dry dock. The first time showering the water was rusty, but that didn’t happen again afterwards. The en-suite bath did smell like at a painter, but with each day it got better. The on-boat service of the employees was fine too, especially Sahan, our waiter / bar man, thx again! Diving with a separate Doni is a nice experience, such comfort when gearing up and finishing your dive. That would normally result in a 4/5 star rating, BUT why I chose not to: dive safety / procedures / measures by this company and its boat dive manager / guide. This includes the condition of their rental gear. And no, telling me, the tank was a last minute separate rental from another company is no excuse, if I booked months in advance. At least you should have checked it. It did leak and the condition of the din valve was that good, that a broken o ring of the rental first stage caused an accident when opening the valve. Something did hit my face, right before the dive and my left ear was ringing like if a gun shot was fired right next to me. This incident warranted an o ring and tank replacement by the boat dive manager. It would have been nice, to get a recommendation to not do this following dive, but ok, that was my dumb decision. After the dive, my left jaw was swollen up and hurt like hell. Also first time ever, I had a headache after a dive. I asked for oxygen, just in case and was denied it. Later on a further discussion, the boat dive manager explained he didn’t exactly deny me the oxygen, it would have meant an emergency evacuation from the boat. These kind of misunderstandings could be avoided, if he would listen and let the other person finish what they want to say and not always interrupt mid sentence. All in all, they don’t do „just in case“. The next worries dive safety wise: I remember 2/3 times I got asked about my pressure by my dive guide in all 15+ dives. But if it is chaotic dive group (I don‘t know how else to describe that) where there were already 2 cases of buddy octo usages in the first dives, I would be alarmed as a dive guide. When after a dive, my guests come to me saying I have less then 10 bar, I would ask even more about the pressure, to minimize the risk. If people in the group get lost, uncommunicated, not that kind of: „my buddy and I, we like this place and will stay here and leave the group“ that is concerning in my eyes. In this case it was my buddy and I, who got lost, because of a strong current and late descent (they don’t do negative entries). We finished this dive early and when we got on board the doni, we asked the crew about the time the dive started and who could give first aid and got no response, perhaps because of language barriers. Communicating under water is quite hard, when nobody is looking or even reacting to tank dinging, not even the guide. These examples were just the tip of the iceberg. For me, these dives were like having no buddy failsafe and no guide failsafe. I did communicate my safety concerns to the boat dive manager, but no reaction, that’s obviously how this company rolls. All in all, there can be accidents, but not this many in one week. They did cancel the rental fee for the bigger tank (which I used for one day until the „projectile“ incident) and the reg, but if I have to choose between money and safety, that is no question, SAFETY always comes first. The chosen dive sites and knowledge where to look for what, was okayish, but not comparable to my prior week of diving...

Booked due to the impressive reivews but found our experience to be very different. Having enjoyed many liveaboards worldwide with both big and small companies we have a broad experience to compare and found this trip confirmed rather than reversed our opinion of Emperor.

Both boat captains' decisions were highly questionable in challenging sea conditions, for example, the Dhoni crashed into the boat and broke the ladder. If a person had been on the ladder it would have lead to a serious injury. This was only rectified after dive guide intervened.

The existing diver recovery confirmation system is poor and open to flaws, a foolproof dual check method should be a minimum. Signing small boxes when wet and don't have glasses is pointless.

The boat staff seemed very inexperienced, such as repeatedly laying tables after items had crashed to the floor, and adding rubber netting to the bar only after being pointed out that items were repeatedly crashing to the floor.

All week food was cold, even if first in the queue and the meat was chewy and of low quality. During rough conditions slow the boat during meals. It was a rough weather week, which is not the crew's fault, but it could have been handled much better and safer.

Wet clothes drying over the rails was not allowed and therefore only using two dryers meant constantly wet and smelly kit.

We will not dive with Emperor again. This is the third negative experience I have had with Emperor and will not risk our...

My friend and me stayed aboard the Emperor MS Serenity from November 12 till November 19 (included) 2016.

This was my fourth diving safary from which I did 3 in Egypt (Marsa Alam). This safari however was far the best I did and was completely beyond my expectations from the moment I met diveguide Meri at the airport till the goodbuy from MNeri and Chiqui at airport Dharavandhoo it was all perfect.

The MS Serenity, wow what a boat. Spacy, luxurious, a boat wheron I could stay for an indefinite period of time.

The diveguides, Meri, Chiqui and Ajja, what more could you wish. Excellent divebreefings, even better dives, guided in a proper, not too strict, but at the same time very safe way. As a Padi Staff Instructor this is my personal and professional opinion. During the dives I saw my first manta's and of course whalesharks.

The crew of the serenity, outstanding. Allways friendly and willing to help or assist you. The meals aboard the MS Serenity are very good, enough variety and allways a good taste.

The Dhony, just fabulous, very spacy making the preparations for the dive so much easier and comfortable, but also the undoing after the dives.

This trip was a dream coming through, all my expections were met and even beyond that., I sincerely hope I will be able to return one day.

Please except my sincere congratulations with a ship like the Serenity, diveguides Meri, Chqui and Ajja and of course the crew of the ship.

Kind regards, Jacques Haanen Padi...