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In March 2012, we spent 10 days on the live-aboard dive boat Carpe Vita (Explorer Ventures) and 4 days before and after the trip at Bandos Resort. We travelled on Emirates Air from Toronto-Dubai-Male. Here is a summary of our experience....
Emirates Air
The flights were "interesting". The plane and attendants are amazing. We asked for and received a tour of First and Business class (Airbus A380). I wish we could afford that luxury. Because of a couple of issues that I'll describe in a minute, we asked about upgrading to Business class on the Dubai to Toronto leg. They wanted over $6000! - Just a little too rich. We are very particular about seat selection. I have a hip issue which isn't too serious but it causes me extreme discomfort if I have to be in a cramped position for a long time. Our travel agent had reserved bulkhead seats 43 B&C for us. These seats fit our needs perfectly. A few weeks prior to departure, I called Emirates to confirm the seating. We were informed that these were "bassinet seats" and we had been moved to accommodate a child. I whined long enough that the agent agreed to put a note on our file documenting the issue and asking that exit row seats 80 B&C be assigned to us. (This can only be done at the gate.) Not trusting the system, we arrived at the airport 5 hours before departure to be first in line to check in. I explained again and we were assigned seats 80 B&C. This worked out very well. The only problems on the Toronto-Dubai flight were the passengers. Dubai is a major hub for travel to the middle east, SE Asia and Africa. Therefore, we had a wide mix of nationalities. This isn't a problem except that many of these passengers seem to have different bathroom habits than us. The bathrooms started out clean but in short order they were a disaster. In one case, what we hope was water had leaked out under the bathroom door and soaked a large area of the carpet in the aisle!
We encountered the same "bassinet" issue on our Dubai to Toronto leg. We used the same whining and early arrival tactic. They wouldn't assign seats 80 B& C to us because apparently they are for their frequent fliers. Instead, they were good enough to assign alternate exit row seats 56 B&C. The seats were great but they were adjacent to other "bassinet" seats. In addition, we were surrounded by ill behaving small children. On a 13 hour flight, we only managed about 1 hour of peace. I have very good Bose noise canceling headphones. Even they we unable to completely block out the screaming. Thank goodness the booze on the flight was free. We usually don't drink on flights because it seems to make jet lag worse. However, in this case, it was the only thing that helped maintain our sanity.
The flight attendant's take off/landing jump seats were facing our exit row seats so we had a good chance to talk to them. They were obviously exasperated by this situation too. They told us that it is best to reserve seat number 80 and higher. The attendants have a bedroom at the back of the plane and there are never children seated in this section so that the attendants can get a peaceful rest.
Their in flight entertainment system is outstanding. They have hundreds of on-demand movies, music and games that are played on a excellent touch screen.
One of our layovers in Dubai was 9 hours. Because of this, Emirates provided us, free of charge, a hotel room, meals, visa and transportation. Very welcome and very nice. They have their own hotel and it was very good and efficient.
In short, if it wasn't for the other passengers, Emirates would have been great.
Dubai Airport
Prior to leaving, we had read many reviews of the Dubai airport. A good deal of them were negative. However, we were impressed. It is modern and immaculate. Dubai is a major hub so it is extremely busy 24 hour a day. We were in the airport through the middle of the night and you would have thought that it was rush hour. The terminal is very large and it included many, many shops and lots of seating which was a little more comfortable than most terminals.
Bandos Resort
The island, the room and the facilities were excellent. However, if anyone wants a great "couples" vacation, it would be best to chose another resort. Most guests seemed to be families with very small children. The many, many children were only an issue in the restaurants and the pool. (noisy and ill behaved). The pool issue was particularly interesting! They have a very nice swim up bar that has jacuzzi jets under the bar seats. Unfortunately, the kids pool is immediately adjacent to the opposite site of the bar. (therefore, noisy) Shockingly, many parents seemed to feel that it was a good idea to bring their screaming children to the bar stools with the jacuzzi jets (maybe to calm them down or distract them???) It didn't contribute to a nice relaxing drink!
The staff at the resort were very pleasant and had a good command of English. However, no one seemed to have any authority to resolve anything other than the simplest issue. (i.e. we had to get our travel agent in Canada involved over a late checkout and meal plan change issues)
We had reserved the Modified American Plan that included breakfast and supper. There are 4 restaurants at the resort. With the MAP, we assumed that it would be easy and economical to eat at any of the restaurants. It turned out that all MAP meals were available only in the main "buffet" style restaurant. If you chose to eat at the other restaurants, you only got a 15% or 20% discount and then only if you ate that the times that the main restaurant was open (7PM - 9:30PM for supper). This was a very bad deal! The breakfast was great but we didn't care for supper at the "buffet" restaurant. In addition, we prefer to eat earlier than 7PM. It was somewhat of a chore to change from MAP to B&B. (had to get out travel agent in Canada to do it.)
If we went to the Maldives again, we would chose a different resort.
Dive Boat (Carpe Vita)
The Carpe Vita live-aboard dive boat was outstanding!!!!! Without question, it is the most spacious and well appointed live aboard that we have experienced. Their dive tender was just as amazing. It was the nicest dive boat that I have ever experienced in 35 years of diving. The tender, at 65', was spacious, all dive gear and compressors remained on the tender. Everything was immaculate. On the Carpe Vita, the meals were all buffet style and taken on the rear outdoor deck. Most of the meals were excellent and it was hard to quibble about the very few items that weren't up to par. (e.g.. beef bacon for breakfast is a challenge). Some of the guests complained that the eggs on the breakfast buffet were always cold. The staff responded by taking individual orders and transporting them from the kitchen one deck below. (Good service and good response to guest issues!)
The staff were very good to outstanding. The bartender in particular was outstanding. He seemed to be the most available. His English was very good. He was very personable and couldn't do enough to help us. The divemasters were also very good. They were personable, helpful and allowed the divers a good deal of flexibility once they were confident in our ability. Most of the "behind the scenes" staff did not have a good command of English and were understandably a little "stand-offish". Even though we like to get to know all the staff and learn about them and their culture, this didn't really present a problem.
The diving itself was enjoyable but average. We knew that the Maldives had experienced major coral bleaching and subsequent die-off in the late 1990s. We had hoped that much of it would have recovered. However, the coral health was widely varied. It was virtually 100% dead on most snorkel trips (My wife doesn't dive so we took one/day). Most dive sites still had significant dead coral with only a small number containing healthy colourful coral. However, the fish and critter life were pretty good. I've seen better but it was enjoyable. There were a few sharks but they tended to be small. We saw large Manta Rays on a couple of dives. One of them gave us a spectacular display. There were lots of nudibranchs (my personal favourite!) and I saw Manta Shrimp for the first time. Overall, I was happy with the critters but disappointed in the coral.
Was it worth it?
Probably. It was more expensive than the average trip but at least we were able to strike one more location off our "bucket list". The diving in Palau, Yap, Fiji, Galapagos and the Great Barrier Reef is better but once again, the Carpe Vita was the best!!!
Hope this helps anyone thinking about the Maldives.
Emirates Air
The flights were "interesting". The plane and attendants are amazing. We asked for and received a tour of First and Business class (Airbus A380). I wish we could afford that luxury. Because of a couple of issues that I'll describe in a minute, we asked about upgrading to Business class on the Dubai to Toronto leg. They wanted over $6000! - Just a little too rich. We are very particular about seat selection. I have a hip issue which isn't too serious but it causes me extreme discomfort if I have to be in a cramped position for a long time. Our travel agent had reserved bulkhead seats 43 B&C for us. These seats fit our needs perfectly. A few weeks prior to departure, I called Emirates to confirm the seating. We were informed that these were "bassinet seats" and we had been moved to accommodate a child. I whined long enough that the agent agreed to put a note on our file documenting the issue and asking that exit row seats 80 B&C be assigned to us. (This can only be done at the gate.) Not trusting the system, we arrived at the airport 5 hours before departure to be first in line to check in. I explained again and we were assigned seats 80 B&C. This worked out very well. The only problems on the Toronto-Dubai flight were the passengers. Dubai is a major hub for travel to the middle east, SE Asia and Africa. Therefore, we had a wide mix of nationalities. This isn't a problem except that many of these passengers seem to have different bathroom habits than us. The bathrooms started out clean but in short order they were a disaster. In one case, what we hope was water had leaked out under the bathroom door and soaked a large area of the carpet in the aisle!
We encountered the same "bassinet" issue on our Dubai to Toronto leg. We used the same whining and early arrival tactic. They wouldn't assign seats 80 B& C to us because apparently they are for their frequent fliers. Instead, they were good enough to assign alternate exit row seats 56 B&C. The seats were great but they were adjacent to other "bassinet" seats. In addition, we were surrounded by ill behaving small children. On a 13 hour flight, we only managed about 1 hour of peace. I have very good Bose noise canceling headphones. Even they we unable to completely block out the screaming. Thank goodness the booze on the flight was free. We usually don't drink on flights because it seems to make jet lag worse. However, in this case, it was the only thing that helped maintain our sanity.
The flight attendant's take off/landing jump seats were facing our exit row seats so we had a good chance to talk to them. They were obviously exasperated by this situation too. They told us that it is best to reserve seat number 80 and higher. The attendants have a bedroom at the back of the plane and there are never children seated in this section so that the attendants can get a peaceful rest.
Their in flight entertainment system is outstanding. They have hundreds of on-demand movies, music and games that are played on a excellent touch screen.
One of our layovers in Dubai was 9 hours. Because of this, Emirates provided us, free of charge, a hotel room, meals, visa and transportation. Very welcome and very nice. They have their own hotel and it was very good and efficient.
In short, if it wasn't for the other passengers, Emirates would have been great.
Dubai Airport
Prior to leaving, we had read many reviews of the Dubai airport. A good deal of them were negative. However, we were impressed. It is modern and immaculate. Dubai is a major hub so it is extremely busy 24 hour a day. We were in the airport through the middle of the night and you would have thought that it was rush hour. The terminal is very large and it included many, many shops and lots of seating which was a little more comfortable than most terminals.
Bandos Resort
The island, the room and the facilities were excellent. However, if anyone wants a great "couples" vacation, it would be best to chose another resort. Most guests seemed to be families with very small children. The many, many children were only an issue in the restaurants and the pool. (noisy and ill behaved). The pool issue was particularly interesting! They have a very nice swim up bar that has jacuzzi jets under the bar seats. Unfortunately, the kids pool is immediately adjacent to the opposite site of the bar. (therefore, noisy) Shockingly, many parents seemed to feel that it was a good idea to bring their screaming children to the bar stools with the jacuzzi jets (maybe to calm them down or distract them???) It didn't contribute to a nice relaxing drink!
The staff at the resort were very pleasant and had a good command of English. However, no one seemed to have any authority to resolve anything other than the simplest issue. (i.e. we had to get our travel agent in Canada involved over a late checkout and meal plan change issues)
We had reserved the Modified American Plan that included breakfast and supper. There are 4 restaurants at the resort. With the MAP, we assumed that it would be easy and economical to eat at any of the restaurants. It turned out that all MAP meals were available only in the main "buffet" style restaurant. If you chose to eat at the other restaurants, you only got a 15% or 20% discount and then only if you ate that the times that the main restaurant was open (7PM - 9:30PM for supper). This was a very bad deal! The breakfast was great but we didn't care for supper at the "buffet" restaurant. In addition, we prefer to eat earlier than 7PM. It was somewhat of a chore to change from MAP to B&B. (had to get out travel agent in Canada to do it.)
If we went to the Maldives again, we would chose a different resort.
Dive Boat (Carpe Vita)
The Carpe Vita live-aboard dive boat was outstanding!!!!! Without question, it is the most spacious and well appointed live aboard that we have experienced. Their dive tender was just as amazing. It was the nicest dive boat that I have ever experienced in 35 years of diving. The tender, at 65', was spacious, all dive gear and compressors remained on the tender. Everything was immaculate. On the Carpe Vita, the meals were all buffet style and taken on the rear outdoor deck. Most of the meals were excellent and it was hard to quibble about the very few items that weren't up to par. (e.g.. beef bacon for breakfast is a challenge). Some of the guests complained that the eggs on the breakfast buffet were always cold. The staff responded by taking individual orders and transporting them from the kitchen one deck below. (Good service and good response to guest issues!)
The staff were very good to outstanding. The bartender in particular was outstanding. He seemed to be the most available. His English was very good. He was very personable and couldn't do enough to help us. The divemasters were also very good. They were personable, helpful and allowed the divers a good deal of flexibility once they were confident in our ability. Most of the "behind the scenes" staff did not have a good command of English and were understandably a little "stand-offish". Even though we like to get to know all the staff and learn about them and their culture, this didn't really present a problem.
The diving itself was enjoyable but average. We knew that the Maldives had experienced major coral bleaching and subsequent die-off in the late 1990s. We had hoped that much of it would have recovered. However, the coral health was widely varied. It was virtually 100% dead on most snorkel trips (My wife doesn't dive so we took one/day). Most dive sites still had significant dead coral with only a small number containing healthy colourful coral. However, the fish and critter life were pretty good. I've seen better but it was enjoyable. There were a few sharks but they tended to be small. We saw large Manta Rays on a couple of dives. One of them gave us a spectacular display. There were lots of nudibranchs (my personal favourite!) and I saw Manta Shrimp for the first time. Overall, I was happy with the critters but disappointed in the coral.
Was it worth it?
Probably. It was more expensive than the average trip but at least we were able to strike one more location off our "bucket list". The diving in Palau, Yap, Fiji, Galapagos and the Great Barrier Reef is better but once again, the Carpe Vita was the best!!!
Hope this helps anyone thinking about the Maldives.
