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Dive Review of Eagle Ray in
Maldives/South and North Male atoll

Eagle Ray, Dec, 2006,

by NCD, NM, USA (Reviewer Reviewer 4 reports). Report 3201.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 3 stars Food 2 stars
Service and Attitude 2 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 2 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments This was our first liveaboard.
We booked thinking it was a new boat, but was actually refurbished in 2006. Unfortunately they didn't paint the outside, so your first impression upon arrival is rather negative. The picture on the website is actually a computer generated one - it bears little resemblance to the real thing.
We were only the second group on the boat, so there were some teething problems, the worst being that the air conditioning system pumped diesel exhaust fumes into the living areas - we had to turn off the whole system. Luckily the cabins do have good natural ventilation and it was not hot in early December.
Dive master is very experienced and safety conscious(he had done over 8000 dives in the Maldives) and knew the dive sites very well.
We dived three dives a day, plus one night dive.
We looked after our own gear, as the crew was not very detail orientated.
We have never dived in the Maldives before, but we could see a lot of visible damage to the reef from El Nino and the Tsunami. We saw many sharks, eagle rays and napoleon rass.
My biggest complaint about this boat is the divemaster's obsession with tips. In our opinion the service was not good, apart from underwater. Every single day tips were mentioned. When it came to the end of the trip, we gave our tips, then the dive masters left the boat and the rest of the crew got out the power tools and starting drilling, banging and doing major construction work until midnight, and totally ignored us. It was not a nice ending to a rather disappointing trip. I wouldn't stay on the boat the last night - leave the boat as soon as you get into port and stay in one of the nearby resorts.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 51-100 dives
Where else diving Tanzania - Mafia island and Pemba island
Gulf coast of Florida
Lake diving
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather windy, rainy, cloudy Seas choppy, surge, currents
Water Temp 24-27°C / 75-81°F Wetsuit Thickness 6
Water Visibility 15-30 M / 49-98 Ft

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions National 30m depth limit
50 minute max
Must dive with guide
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 2 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 4 stars
Large Pelagics 4 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments They have many powerpoints - both 110 and 220 v
Wash tank on board dive boat
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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