Aggressor vs Carpe Vita vs Emperor Voyager

[slh02]

Hello,
I am looking at a liveaboard for the end of December and torn between the Aggressor, Carpe Vita, and Emperor Voyager. I've read the reviews on liveaboard.com and the itineraries all seem similar. They all leave on the same dates so that isn't a consideration for us. Does anyone have any strong thoughts on one boat over another?

We are also considering flying to Male a few days early to get some more dives in (assuming this is still allowed due to Covid restrictions). Are there any good dive resorts in Male, or do we have to fly to another island and then back to Male?

 

[jmsenger]

I’ve been on the Vita many times and never had a bad experience.

 

[Dan]

I have been on all 3 liveaboards. I like Carpe Vita the most.

 

[shmuggy]

I have been on the Carpe Vita twice and the Carpe Novo once and both were well run LOBs. I was on the Carpe Novo last August and it was the first time they went out after the covid shutdowns and it went very smoothly. On the Vita- last January- everything was well done. I have back issues so I present challenges for the dive staff and on the Novo there were 3 of us with these issues and it was monsoon season- yet everything was handled well and we had great dives. This was all handled on both boats with no issues for the other divers. The divers were on dives with small groups of us with our own DM and the DMs were great at finding the macro stuff. Of course, we went to the signature sites and saw mantas, sharks, eagles, etc.

I have not been on the other boats so I cannot give you a comparison. If you have specific questions about the Carpe Vita- please let me know and I will do my best to answer.

I think the LOBs talk to each other to avoid too many divers swarming a dive site at once. I have been to other places where this is not done and that can be obnoxious.

If I go back to the Maldives- I will go with the Carpe Diem fleet.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I’ve been on the Vita many times and never had a bad experience.

Same

 

[Joan H.]

Hello,
I am looking at a liveaboard for the end of December and torn between the Aggressor, Carpe Vita, and Emperor Voyager. I've read the reviews on liveaboard.com and the itineraries all seem similar. They all leave on the same dates so that isn't a consideration for us. Does anyone have any strong thoughts on one boat over another?

We are also considering flying to Male a few days early to get some more dives in (assuming this is still allowed due to Covid restrictions). Are there any good dive resorts in Male, or do we have to fly to another island and then back to Male?

 

[Joan H.]

My husband and myself and a few friends will be on the Aggressor in the Maldives in 13 days. I cant wait. I definately can let you know if it is up to par of their other boats. We went on their Aggressor II in Belize and it was wonderful.... the crew, the diving, the boat, the large staterooms and the food was good too. I was very happy that we chose the Aggressor II ( the larger boat ) as they have the Aggressor I going out in Belize too.

Be careful with the extra time you spend in the Maldives. The some resorts are asking that you come to them directly from the airport and not visit any other islands. This does not surface until you are trying to book your room. We thought it would have been fun to experience some of the outer islands resorts. Most mentioned that they will check your passport to verify that you are coming directly from the airport. We are staying 1 night before the 10 days on the Aggressor in the Maldives and then 1 night prior to flying out. We decided to stay close to the airport as the restrictions did not seem to be present. Covid is still a concern or maybe they are being extra cautious with visitors to their country or both.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Hello,
I am looking at a liveaboard for the end of December and torn between the Aggressor, Carpe Vita, and Emperor Voyager. I've read the reviews on liveaboard.com and the itineraries all seem similar. They all leave on the same dates so that isn't a consideration for us. Does anyone have any strong thoughts on one boat over another?

We are also considering flying to Male a few days early to get some more dives in (assuming this is still allowed due to Covid restrictions). Are there any good dive resorts in Male, or do we have to fly to another island and then back to Male?

If you choose Carpe Vita, they have a land based resort too. I'm sorry that I don't know the name or even if it is convenient to the airport island but your booker should be able to help in that regard.

 

[tarponchik]

Hello,
I am looking at a liveaboard for the end of December and torn between the Aggressor, Carpe Vita, and Emperor Voyager. I've read the reviews on liveaboard.com and the itineraries all seem similar. They all leave on the same dates so that isn't a consideration for us. Does anyone have any strong thoughts on one boat over another?

We are also considering flying to Male a few days early to get some more dives in (assuming this is still allowed due to Covid restrictions). Are there any good dive resorts in Male, or do we have to fly to another island and then back to Male?

I do not think there is any diving in Male or Hulhumale, but we stayed on Biyadhoo for couple days. We did not really like their boat diving but shore diving was decent. This atoll is a 45 min ferry trip away from the airport. I can assume that there are some operators in Male who take divers to the same dive site because the place was quite crowded, but this must be a long boat ride to see a couple of reef sharks and pretty much nothing else. A 10-min ride from Biyadhoo may be worth it but not a 40-60 min ride from elsewhere.

 

[Dan]

I do not think there is any diving in Male or Hulhumale, but we stayed on Biyadhoo for couple days. We did not really like their boat diving but shore diving was decent. This atoll is a 45 min ferry trip away from the airport. I can assume that there are some operators in Male who take divers to the same dive site because the place was quite crowded, but this must be a long boat ride to see a couple of reef sharks and pretty much nothing else. A 10-min ride from Biyadhoo may be worth it but not a 40-60 min ride from elsewhere.

There are plenty of great dive sites around Male. Here’s one example;