The Blue Horizon III was by far the worst and most unsafe liveaboard Iāve been on.
There are often small issues on board but itās how the boat recovers that makes it better. This was nonexistent onboard the Blue Horizon 3.
We did two weeks aboard from the Deep South back to Male. This trip required Blue Horizon to book a domestic flight from MLE to GKK. Months prior, before booking, I was communicating with Blue Horizon management regarding the domestic flight time. I, and others on the boat, were told that it was a 1200 flight. I booked my flight inbound to MLE the previous day. Two days prior to the flight we were told that it was now at 1655. The 1200 flight still ran, and so did a 1420 flight. I could have saved a night in a hotel had they kept us updated. The boatās excuse was āthings changeā, but the airlineās ticketing agents said the booking wasnāt made until the day of departure.
Nitrox is pretty much a requirement in the Maldives. Multiple dives a day to 30m/100ft where you stay at the same depth as youāre hooked in. Not on this boat. Upon arrival at the airport and being picked up by the Dhoni as we were setting up, an inquiry was made and the dive guides told one person. The rest of the boat found out at dinner from the other guests. Throughout the two weeks we were forced to end dives early due to our NDL. The guides would also consistently pick shallow giriās. When it was brought up to boat management, they said they didnāt know the nitrox system had been broken for weeks.
We also spent five days next to the island the captain was from doing the same sub-par dives. There is not a shortage of dive sites in the Maldives, why would we spend 5 days there? I know one day was to stay late for rental gear and attempt to fix some of the air conditioning units, which were constantly breaking.
The second week, a few divers had to rent gear, the gear they had pre-booked wasnāt actually onboard so we had to wait another day for this gear. And two check dives had to be made because half the boat missed the first one due to not having equipment.
The gear they did have onboard was unsafe. Want to have a BC inflate without your knowledge? Look no further than this boat.
There is no leadership on the boat. They have a ācruise directorā, Zinah that does nothing. There was no weekly or daily plan shared with the group. The plan for the day was found out by asking the crew and word of mouth of the guests to spread it around. Multiple times he said āI just donāt care anymore.ā That attitude is about a toxic as a urinal cake in Chernobyl. He didnāt even know what was on the itinerary for both weeks.
Both his and the guides briefings covered the site, but planned the dive for Nitrox, when the boat hadnāt had nitrox for multiple weeks.
This boat is unsafe, there is no regard to industry standard safety practices. For example, while fueling, next to the open fuel tank, the dive guides decided it would be the perfect time to light a cigarette. The captain walked past them while this was going on and did nothing.
The boat is in disrepair with the jacuzzi, dhoni steps, room air conditioning, etc. broken. Most of the sun chairs are broken and many that are usuable have exposed nails so youāll be cut. Their constant excuse was the boat hadnāt been in Male for a couple months. The boat is filled with termites and cockroaches; they say that the boat is treated monthly. Many times the inside of the main deck would smell like smoke. The dive guides would smoke before and after the dive, filling the dhoni with smoke.
The lack of leadership from boat management provides no pressure for the dive guides and staff to improve.
At the end of the two weeks a member of management, Ameer, visited the boat to hear our complaints. At the time he offered no resolution. After a couple weeks going back and forth with my agent, they offered a refund of $150USD.
Lots of time and money was wasted due to their inability to manage and run...
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