Emperor Group: "Over Dived and Absolute Madness", Apr, 2019,by Christhol Swanson, NT, AU ( Reviewer 6 reports with 9 Helpful votes). Report 10968 has 3 Helpful votes. |
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No photos available at this time | |||
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best): |
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Accommodations | Food | ||
Service and Attitude | Environmental Sensitivity | ||
Dive Operation | Shore Diving | N/A | |
Snorkeling | N/A | ||
Overall Rating |
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Value for $$ | |||
Beginners | |||
Advanced | |||
Comments |
While much has been written about global warming and the resulting damage to the reef, not a lot has been written about the impact divers have on the reef. It is unfortunate that even though dive operators strongly encourage a no touch policy there is no real way of making sure divers do the right thing once they are in the water. Some of the dive sites in the Maldives could do with a well deserved rest from divers at least for just a couple of years to help the sites recover from the human handling they receive. The scheduled whale shark experience was a circus. We had been briefed on the rules, don't go too close, don't get in front etc etc etc. When we arrived at the site there were about 12 boats each with an average of 20 snorkelers. A whale shark appeared, there was a lot of shouting and there were instantly at least 50-60 snorkelers in the water. Then a speed boat appeared from no where, raced through all the snorkelers already in the water and dumped all of it's 15 snorkelers, including some small children, smack bang on top of the whale shark. Absolute Madness. The other circus was nurse shark night dive. Lots of divers in the water, great experience but definitely not one I'd like to repeat. Overall, it was a fabulous experience, the briefings were excellent, the food was varied and plentiful, the cabins are roomy and the staff are absolutely wonderful. It was only the diving that was a little disappointing. |
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Websites | Emperor Group | ||
Reporter and Travel |
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Dive Experience | 101-250 dives | ||
Where else diving | Indonesia, Australia | ||
Closest Airport | Male | Getting There | Singapore to Male. |
Dive Conditions |
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Weather | sunny, cloudy | Seas | calm, choppy |
Water Temp | 28-30°C / 82-86°F | Wetsuit Thickness | 3 |
Water Visibility | 5-20 M / 16-66 Ft | ||
Dive Policy |
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Dive own profile | yes | ||
Enforced diving restrictions | 60 mins 50 bar | ||
Liveaboard? | no | Nitrox Available? | yes |
What I Saw |
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Sharks | Lots | Mantas | 1 or 2 |
Dolphins | None | Whale Sharks | 1 or 2 |
Turtles | > 2 | Whales | None |
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best): |
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Corals | Tropical Fish | ||
Small Critters | N/A | Large Fish | |
Large Pelagics | |||
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best): |
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Subject Matter | Boat Facilities | ||
Overall rating for UWP's | Shore Facilities | N/A | |
UW Photo Comments | Small rinse tanks and a small camera space on board, no air, no towels. We were fortunate to only have a couple of serious photographers on board. |
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