Trip Report Avoid Blue Horizon in Maldives

[Centrals]

At less than $1000 for a week-long liveaboard...............That will make you think a bit.

Too good to be true.
What you paid is what you got.
There is no free lunch in life.

 

[sjane1974]

At less than $1000 for a week-long liveaboard...............That will make you think a bit.

hindsight is a beautiful thing!

 

[dhuskins]

At less than $1000 for a week-long liveaboard...............That will make you think a bit.

Our week was more than $1000…

 

[Marie13]

At less than $1000 for a week-long liveaboard...............That will make you think a bit.

Pre-Covid, people would pay $1K for a one-week camping at sea type liveaboard with Blackbeards (unsure what cost is now) in the Caribbean. Always heard good reviews, but people always knew what they were getting.

 

[Johnoly]

Our week was more than $1000…

How much??
Cause in March they were offering $986 PLUS free spots if you were the trip organizer.

You didn't make any mention/photos of the fish/animals/coral/flora. All of us have crap-ola sleeps on dive trips(beanbag chairs/salon couch/dive deck),,,but OHH WOW,,was the diving off the charts incredible.

I'm sorry it was a failed trip and Thank you for posting the review so others can make an informed trip decision.

 

[drrich2]

In fairness, a trip can look quite cheap for a range of reasons that might not alarm people.

1.) People new to a destination aren't that familiar with what one 'should' cost. I've been shocked at some prices I've seen posted on Red Sea itineraries; quite some bargains it seemed. In regions where many offerings are for longer than a week, it's harder to know what a week should cost.

2.) A new operation may offer steep discounts to get people booking right away. Aggressor boats to Roatan and now the British Virgin Island routes have done this.

3.) Sales - I've booked Caribbean region Aggressor trips at over 30% off.

4.) Luxury level - Blackbeards was mentioned in the Bahamas; there's also the Juliet. You can save money if you forego some pampering, but still get good diving and quality crew.

I understand the 'too good to be true' mindset. This was a historically reputable operation per alleged reviews that came under new ownership and may've offered great pricing for relatively short trips. One might suspect they wanted to build market share. If so, they may have 'shot themselves in the foot,' per the old metaphor.

Richard.

 

[Catito]

The other recent reviewers on Trip Advisor accurately detail some of the issues with the operation and the facilities. None of them capture just how horrific it was. Keep in mind, the is not an isolated event. The boat has a string of similar weeks. In just a few hours of wandering the internet, we found other weeks in the recent past that matched our experience. The management offered a minor compensation provided we remove any negative review. This week’s guests have agreed to update our reviews when we receive compensation. Until then, read on.

I checked the PADI pro-chek for the dive masters on the boat. All of them have not maintained their pro status with PADI. The one instructor was up to date. Since my only need for a dive guide is to point out hard-to-find creatures, maintaining PADI pro status means less to me than less experienced divers.

PRO: There we’re no cockroaches in my bed. Thankfully, the twice daily insect spraying helped.

PRO: One of the 8 dives we did actually had us drop in up current of the site. That was the only drift dive where we drifted with the current.

PRO: There is plenty of places to plug in chargers and electronics. A few of them are adequately grounded to not spark or shock you.

PRO: There is plenty of food to eat if you love plain white rice, pasta, bread, and random fish caught and gutted on the side of the main boat. I’m grateful I was not asked to pay extra for the items they offered . . . Let me rephrase… We didn’t have the island bbq that did require extra cost (as did all drinks beyond coffee, tea, bottled water…one per person per day… and milk.)

Not everything about this trip was so pleasant. There were several CONS to deal with. I am lead to believe the boat is under new ownership for the last year or so. The nice reviews from years ago refer to a different owner.

CON: There was no check-out dive to check weighting or to let the dive operation organize the divers by skills. As a result, two Master Scuba Diver Trainers ended up in a group with fairly new divers. If you are an experienced diver, your dive time will be limited by the more novice divers. If you are fairly inexperienced, read the next CON.

CON: The dive guides are inexperienced in leading dives. For example, one novice diver was very low on air when they were just above 30m. By “low” I mean only the volume of air divers should have as a reserve when back on the boat. They told the DM they were at half. The DM signaled back OK. When the diver then signaled low-on-air (50bar or 500psi) the DM signaled OK again. The DM then proceeded to continue with the dive.

CONS: The dive guides could not find the dive sites. We overshot one of the 8 dives and spent it entirely in open water. On another dive, the guide lost the group.

CONS: We did a hook-in dive where we learned it was a hook-in during the dive. Several divers did not have a hook. A couple of them did not know what a hook is or how to use it. As a result, the group spent the rest of the dive regrouping. Yes, this was the one “drift dive” the guides dropped us in up stream.

CONS: While the engine hatch was open, I had an opportunity to look at the engine and area. For those of you who have worked with marine engines, I will spare you the frightening description that makes it in the bottom one of my list. For those of you who haven’t such experience, rest assured, there is a real reason the dive platform boat (dhoni) breaks down. They own three dhoni… They are all broken.

It has been quite an experience. I could go on for pages. Instead, I will go back to commiserating with the other 19 divers in the main boat’s salon that seats 17 uncomfortably.

Yikes. Sorry it was so terrible. Thanks for the info.

 

[dhuskins]

How much??
Cause in March they were offering $986 PLUS free spots if you were the trip organizer.

You didn't make any mention/photos of the fish/animals/coral/flora. All of us have crap-ola sleeps on dive trips(beanbag chairs/salon couch/dive deck),,,but OHH WOW,,was the diving off the charts incredible.

I'm sorry it was a failed trip and Thank you for posting the review so others can make an informed trip decision.

Very little. For example, one dive, the crew dropped us near the corner of a channel where the current was leaving the channel. Consequently, we dropped down away from the channel and into the open sea where there was nothing whatsoever.

For the sites we did get to, the coral we saw was mostly broken pieces, like a hurricane wiped it out. 1 guitar shark, about 4-7 reef sharks, several nurse sharks, 0 whale sharks, 4-6 manta, 1 eagle ray. 2 clown fish, a large number (but less than normal) CARF (colorful assorted reef fish).

Because of the site choices and the inept drop locations, the diving failed to come anywhere close to incredible… unless that word was paired with incredibly poor.

I’m certain the Maldives offers much better diving than what we were shown. I’m not sure I want to take that chance.

 

[living4experiences]

Thank you for sharing your experience and I'm sorry it was so poor. It sounds like a dangerous operation. If your "minor compensation" is worth foregoing, maybe you could blast every review site that's out there to warn others. It's only a matter of time before someone is lost, injured, or dies.

 

[also_anon_dc]

I’m certain the Maldives offers much better diving than what we were shown. I’m not sure I want to take that chance.

I can assure you it does. I was just on a liveaboard about 3 weeks ago- the Emperor Explorer. The diving was fantastic and the boat was okay. My trip cost about twice as much though but I guess you get what you pay for.