Is Egypt Getting an Unfair Reputation When It Comes to Liveaboards?

[Germie]

I don't think it is only the safety of the boats. It is also that Egypt is not far from Israel with their problems. I know from people who are afraid to go to Egypt now. And just 5 minutes ago, a planned trip from our diveclub has been cancelled due to what happened with Iran today.

A problem I see also is that there are a lot of 'hidden costs' like 100-200 bucks reef tax. And also port-tax they ask. And then they expect also a tip. So with the 960 for a week you are not ready. And this makes it very expensive for what you get.
Another problem with for example Agressor is that they write: approx 18 dives. So this means it can be 16 or it can be 20. But maybe max 3 dives a day? What are you doing all that other hours on that boat?
Offer 4 dives a day for the same price and the prices are getting a little bit better. And tell how much dives you really get. Not approximately.

 

[BoltSnap]

To be fair, there are numerous liveaboards in Egypt all operating in the same area. I'm not certain that the accident rate per boat is significantly higher than what it could be in other parts of the world, at least outside the developed world. I doubt anyone has the definitive information or statistics to know for sure.

 

[NothingClever]

There are serious, professional operators in Egypt with strong track records when it comes to boat maintenance and overall safety.

Please list them.

 

[Living4Experiences]

A problem I see also is that there are a lot of 'hidden costs' like 100-200 bucks reef tax. And also port-tax they ask. And then they expect also a tip. So with the 960 for a week you are not ready. And this makes it very expensive for what you get.
Another problem with for example Agressor is that they write: approx 18 dives. So this means it can be 16 or it can be 20. But maybe max 3 dives a day? What are you doing all that other hours on that boat?
Offer 4 dives a day for the same price and the prices are getting a little bit better. And tell how much dives you really get. Not approximately.

Port fees, harbor fees, marine park fees, extra taxes, service charges, or whatever the operator wants to call more money in their pocket is common with all liveaboards around the globe. When you pay such low prices such as $960 for the week, that's an operator that is cutting corners, and the first thing to cut is maintenance and safety. Your dive club is smart in cancelling your Red Sea trip.

 

[DiveLikeAMuppet]

Reading through this forum, I am struck by the amount of negative press surrounding liveaboards (LOBs) in Egypt...

But does that mean we should generalize and dismiss the entire destination?

Personally, I don’t think so. There are serious, professional operators in Egypt with strong track records when it comes to boat maintenance and overall safety.

Try diving from an MCA-coded boat in the UK (e.g. Valhalla, Huskyan, Classina etc.) You will notice … things. Things like escape hoods in your cabin or crew that practices emergency drills. People will also apologise if your gas is more than 1% off, unlike Egypt where I’ve seen anything between 25-35% called EAN32. But no hot tubs .

Operators focus on different things and safety just isn’t the focus in Egypt. Mainly because the diving is easy and with so many boats, incidents happen(ed) rarely until Covid hit and maintenance budget disappeared - and because the safety margin was so low, we are seeing more incidents.

 

[gamon]

Another problem with for example Agressor is that they write: approx 18 dives. So this means it can be 16 or it can be 20. .

I had that issue with MY Discovery out of Hurghada. During the initial briefing when they went over the itinerary the number of planned dives was -3 from what I was expecting based on the website description. The answer I got was somewhat vague "we don't know, you have to ask the main office". Which I did and got a sort of apologetic answer to the effect of "the itinerary may vary based on conditions and the actual number of dives can vary". I responded to the effect of "well it sounds like that decision was made before we even left the dock and the crew didn't seem to be aware of the expected number of dives". The back and forth got me nowhere of course, however I just checked out their website and interestingly enough they too now post 18-21 dives. I wonder if my complaint had anything to do with it.

 

[BoltSnap]

I had that issue with MY Discovery out of Hurghada. During the initial briefing when they went over the itinerary the number of planned dives was -3 from what I was expecting based on the website description. The answer I got was somewhat vague "we don't know, you have to ask the main office". Which I did and got a sort of apologetic answer to the effect of "the itinerary may vary based on conditions and the actual number of dives can vary". I responded to the effect of "well it sounds like that decision was made before we even left the dock and the crew didn't seem to be aware of the expected number of dives". The back and forth got me nowhere of course, however I just checked out their website and interestingly enough they too now post 18-21 dives. I wonder if my complaint had anything to do with it.

They have to deal with weather conditions, boat traffic at dive locations, and the whimsical political/military/security conditions in the area and the local military/law enforcement authorities.

 

[Germie]

I had that issue with MY Discovery out of Hurghada. During the initial briefing when they went over the itinerary the number of planned dives was -3 from what I was expecting based on the website description. The answer I got was somewhat vague "we don't know, you have to ask the main office". Which I did and got a sort of apologetic answer to the effect of "the itinerary may vary based on conditions and the actual number of dives can vary". I responded to the effect of "well it sounds like that decision was made before we even left the dock and the crew didn't seem to be aware of the expected number of dives". The back and forth got me nowhere of course, however I just checked out their website and interestingly enough they too now post 18-21 dives. I wonder if my complaint had anything to do with it.

And then you only get maximum of 18 dives. Not more.
I had such a discussion 2 years ago for South Africa. They had a programm with unlimited diving. So 2 dives in the morning and then, weather depending 2 in the afternoon. I asked if they then really offer 4 dives a day, even if I am the only customer who wants to do 4 dives a day. They answered: the afternoondives are weather depending. So I asked further: does this mean that there is a big chance that there are no afternoon dives?
It ended with: you have over 98% chance of no afternoon dives because of wind that is coming every afternoon. This means that there is no unlimited diving. This means that if the price is 1000 for 5 days that you will not pay 50 per dive, but 100 per dive. So not unlimited. I did not go there.
With unlimited diving I expect to do at least 4 dives.

 

[gamon]

They have to deal with weather conditions, boat traffic at dive locations, and the whimsical political/military/security conditions in the area and the local military/law enforcement authorities.

I get that but as I stated, they made the call on the reduced number of dives prior to even leaving the dock. And the crew seemed to have no idea of the number of dives that were advertised/expected.

It's not like they even made an effort to explain the disparity.

 

[BoltSnap]

I get that but as I stated, they made the call on the reduced number of dives prior to even leaving the dock. And the crew seemed to have no idea of the number of dives that were advertised/expected.

It's not like they even made an effort to explain the disparity.

In Egypt, I'll always assume they are going to do 3 dives per day and any extra is a bonus, not a guarantee.