Baani Explorer - Maldives

[Leslie Finnegan]

Hey all

I've no gripe with anyone here and what their opinions are etc. I was one of those affected by the fumes and it was VERY unpleasant. We were asked honestyly and candidly what did we think and we expressed our opinions and told of our experiences. It is really interesting to see that we were not alone. There are of course better operators out there but the question was directed towards this boat and this operator. It just seems too coincidental that so many people had problems with the one same outfit. A once off you could accept, put it down to bad luck and get on with it. But not the way this thread has gone. Unless Maldives Liveaboards decide to clean up their act more and more decent, fare paying customers will continue to post their bad experiences. I made the booking on behalf of our group who travelled believing that this was a reputable company (saw an advertisement in DIVER magazing). How sorry I am now that I did that.

 

[Travelnsj]

Very informative thread. I have been thinking of going to the Maldives...one of the few places I have not been to and was told the only way to see it is on a Liveaboard....but I will avoid the Baani.

BrianMered you said you have been to Palau. How do you rate the Maldives to Palau?

 

[SonOfMars]

Some weeks ago (Mid of February) I returned from a fabulous trip with Baani Explorer. The dive guides are very friendly and experienced, the food is excellent and the crew is really nice. I slept in the front cabin and was amazed about the size of the room. I was two times in Egypt on a diveboat and the rooms there were much smaller. So for me it was pure luxury and I will come back again.

 

[BrianMered]

Hi Travelnsj

Palau for me is one of the best locations I have been to. I really enjoy the Maldives because it is only 3 hours flight from Dubai, however the variety of the diving in Palau is hard to beat.
I booked with Fishnfins on a liveaboard and from the moment we arrived it was great. The boat was comfortable without being ostentacious, however the food was out of this world and I left the table on many nights groaning with over indulgence. The chef cooked in a galley that was so small you couldn't swing the proverbial cat, but the food he prepared was 5 star. We managed four dives a day plus a night dive without any complaints from the dive guides who were splendid.
This coupled with the variety of diving was hard to beat. Blue corner, Jelly fish Lake, Mandarin Lake are household names as are Chandelier caves, Helmet wreck and a multitude of other wrecks, including airplanes, etc. etc. We also made many island visits between dives to see the WWII relics, the heavy guns and the catacomb of Japanese caves remaining vivid memories in my mind. The gassing off day we spent in kayaks exploring the picturesque bays, beaches, and Japanese WWII gun enplacements.

Not the cheapest holiday but I feel a "must do" at least once in your diving lifetime.

regards...Brian

 

[BrianMered]

I've just been admonished ......:d by NetDoc

"Had Gundi been present during our week on board she would now be wearing concrete booties, an extra weight belt or two, and be thrown over the side"....

that was posted in the thread about the bannai Explorer has been deleted. We don't allow threats, implied or real on ScubaBoard. I also deleted a thread where you were taunting Gundi. That has no place here either. NetDoc

My 2 cents:
I'm very disappointed that you read it at such....it is written in the past tense and therefore not a threat, implied or real.

The real world allows for free speech and all of my comments have been factual and above board. Your real focus should be on fictitious 'new' members that post unrealistic and derisory comments, are never seen or heard of again, and then hide behind the anonymity that the web affords them.

best regards...Brian

 

[Shasta_man]

So, Travelnsj, care to give some advice on career that enables the lifestyle your itinerary dictates?

And Brian, don't sweat it. A couple of two line comments aren't going to sway the ridiculous situation you and others described.

 

[Travelnsj]

So, Travelnsj, care to give some advice on career that enables the lifestyle your itinerary dictates?

And Brian, don't sweat it. A couple of two line comments aren't going to sway the ridiculous situation you and others described.

Shasta_man...LOL.....I'm looking for something to do....In the mean time....I'm diving.....I did find somewhere better than Palau....Raja Ampat/Papua...and I do want to do the Maldives....when I get time!

 

[BrianMered]

Thanks for the support ShastaMan..., I don't intend to lose sleep.... :sleeping_

 

[BrianMered]

Travelnsj,

Just checked your personal data: Just an "Average" diver, ...! Yeah right.

Palau (8), Red sea, Christmas Island, Sipidan, East Timor, Hawaii, Australia (3), Truk, Cozumel (3), Holbox, Costa Rica, Catalina, Bali, Galapagos, Rangiroa, Fakarava, North Carolina, Lembeh Straits, Papua, South FL, Wakatobi and a few others!

You've already been to most of the places I was going to suggest, and then some....let us know if and when you find that special place.

Brian

 

[BrianMered]

I seem to be having trouble posting this on Maldivesliveaboards web site for Guest comments. It just keeps disappearing...!

Well Michelle, you can visit Baani Explorer as many times as you want in the future for those ‘wonderful’ times you have had. You certainly won't have any competition for bed space from myself or members of our dive club.

Of course the quality of the holiday is subjective, what melts your butter may not necessarily melt mine. The complaints I have registered, and those I have read from other reports, concern the basic quality of life on board.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/charter-boats-cruises-liveaboards/207214-baani-explorer-maldives.html


Yes we saw sharks and mantas and whale sharks, and schools of fish that darkened the water… etc, etc. but that was courtesy of the Maldives not the Baani Explorer. I am talking much more basic, lack of hot running water, lack of a fume free living environment, lack of fresh water in the showers, lack of air conditioning in the cabins, lack of fresh air in the cabins, food that doesn’t give you the runs, ….and most of all lack of customer care and downright lies from Hussein and Gundi…the list goes on.!!

As far as the wonderful Gundi and Hussein are concerned, read some of the independent reports on their behavior, reactions and comments to problems faced by guests on board the same boat you were on. I doubt very much you would have had the same support from Gundi had she been tucked up in her little office in Austria. Of course she had to respond, most of the guests were her relatives and friends.

Try some other liveaboards in the Maldives and elsewhere around the globe and then give your regarded opinion.

Screw me once, your fault, screw me twice, my fault.

Would I go again....Not if you paid me