Live aboard Contact for Last minute Trip? Also gear questions.

[atagirl]

I have an airline ticket to Male for June, this year, so in about one month. I have been trying to book a live aboard since mid April. There seems to be availability and some good deals but I cannot get anyone to contact me or answer questions. I have tried, websites, social media, brokers etc! Any suggestions? Should I take this as a sign that divers are not valued on these boats? I have tried to contact the Nautilus Two the most. If anyone has any suggestions for a contact I would appreciate it. In two days I will just give up and either book a resort or do day trips from an inhabited island.

In terms of equipment. Has anyone rented equipment from liveaboards in Male? They seem to charge 48 euros a day? I do not need a full set, and will be bringing some pieces, but am unable to determine any other options. This seems out of line with the cost of the boat. Equipment at the resorts seems skewed too. They charge per dive not day for equipment but then offer unlimited diving? How can you really dive the house reef 24/7 in this situation? This is part of a longer trip of several months, without much additional diving, or I would not hesitate to bring all of my own gear. I would appreciate any tips for equipment rental. Thanks!

 

[chillyinCanada]

No guarantees but you could try Greg at Liquiddiving.

greg.carter@liquiddivingadventures.com

Don't miss the double 'd' in the address.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Also, just curious. How long are you giving the (boat) companies to respond to you?

 

[atagirl]

Thanks I will give that email a try! I started calling, emailing, filling out contact forms, social media messages etc on April 17th. I left for Bonaire shortly after and made no calls from Bonaire but followed up by email/messages/contact forms. So, it has been weeks with no response. I sent everything I sent before Easter again the Wedenesday after Easter in case everything got lost in the big holiday weekend as many seem to be in Europe, and again last week. Again this is across multiple companies and points of contacts! I am baffled!

 

[diveUAE]

Sounds weird.
1: did you check spam/unwanted folder?
2: if you’re using hotmail, I often have problems receiving emails (and even sending them as some has show me the mail they received was empty)
3: I’ve seen some operators here on ScubaBoard, try contacting them via “start conversation”.

 

[RB7]

checkout Emperor divers. They operate a couple of liveaboards in maldives and have been very reaponsive when i have reached to them for last minute trips.

 

[Hoag]

Try Fly and Sea Dive Adventures. They might be able to help (but no promises, just another point of contact).

 

[atagirl]

Greg at liquid divers was responsive and very helpful! Thanks for the contact! It looks like a LOB is not going to work out for the my limited dates and budget but he helped me determine that. There are other options in the Maldives, and I was not going at prime time or counting on this. I was just going to be in the area for a while and wanted to try.

No guarantees but you could try Greg at Liquiddiving.

greg.carter@liquiddivingadventures.com

Don't miss the double 'd' in the address.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Do you know your other land based options?

 

[atagirl]

I definitely checked Spam and am not using hotmail. I can even see where the social media messages have been read, they just never bothered to respond! One of the brokerage sites sent me an email to have me create an account but would not answer questions! Do people really just add a LOB to a cart and pay without needing any clarification first? This seems to be all they are set up for.

Greg from above was able to reach out for pricing there really are only a couple in the range I was looking at, the fees and extras really add up there does not seem to be flexibility on equipment, you have to pay for a full package even if you only need a BC. Note the equipment package adds over 30% to the trip cost.

Sounds weird.
1: did you check spam/unwanted folder?
2: if you’re using hotmail, I often have problems receiving emails (and even sending them as some has show me the mail they received was empty)
3: I’ve seen some operators here on ScubaBoard, try contacting them via “start conversation”.