Liveaboard in October: JP Marine or Amelia or Emperor Echo or Sunlight or?

[Lriemann]

Hi all.

After doing a week of boat dives in Sharm last September, me and a friend are planning a liveaboard in October.

This time we want to try the South, and hopefully see a shark or two.

Been looking over the liveaboards and many are fully booked...
Also, many places have no or little rating online, which is strange.

We're looking for a boat with the best combination of the following:
1 Okay conditions on board- nothing fancy
2 Good guides- safety first for me
3 Good company- I'm afraid some of the boats have mostly Russians on board and they tend to keep to themselves. Will the Liveaboard company tell me where the people are from before I book?
4 Sharks- they stood us up last time
5 Nice night dives- love these
6 Nice food if possible

Currently I'm looking at these boats:

JP Marine- 7 nights- 17 dives
St. Johns, Rocky, Zabargad (Marsa Ghalib-Marsa Ghalib)

Amelia Discovery- 7 nights -19 dives-
Brothers, Daedalus, Elphinstone (PG - PG)

Emperor Echo- 7 nights- 21 dives
South and St. Johns (Marsa Ghalib Departure)

Sunlight- 5 nights- 17 dives
South Route Brothers-Daedalus-Elphinstone (PG-PG)

Any input on these boats and routes would be appreciated.
Also open to other suggestions.

Thanks!

 

[Christian]

For sharks, BDE better than St Johns. Emperor good operator that has been around for many years. Blue o Two is my reccomendation—mostly Brits. Always great crews and boats in good shape.

 

[ReefHound]

I'm not a Red Sea liveaboard expert but since I paid for a liveaboard and didn't receive a liveaboard (or a refund), further details in this thread, I would highly recommend going with an established company with a strong and recent reputation. I've heard Emperor has been around a long time and has multiple boats. There are a couple Aggressor boats there as well.

 

[Lriemann]

Thank you for the reply.

I love Brits but there's not much on offer from Blue O2 for October.

In the ( very unlikely) event that something goes terribly wrong, I will have to deal with the companies themselves and get no help from Padi or Liveaboard.com?
That would influence my decision by just a little bit, as the odds for a serious problem are probably about one percent- correct me if wrong.

Right now it looks like Amelia or JP Marine are ahead, due to route and rates.

Any additional input would be welcome.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Emperor is probably the most established and largest out of all of those and they have a larger fleet. If you are looking for sharks, BDE (Brothers, Daedaelus, Elphinstone) is the better route to see sharks. You'll mostly see British people on Emperor Fleet.

Night dives are a bit underwhelming in the Red Sea in my opinion. A lot of it (timing, place) is strictly regulated because of the military/government. Things can change at the drop of a hat. Also, guides don't always get in the water for night dives (they did not on Blue Planet fleet) but they always did guided dives during the day. You can easily navigate at night yourself, though.

I would book with Padi Travel or an agency you trust if you have concerns about managing something going wrong. You will not have to deal with the operator directly. Perhaps if the operator does not come through, they will come through for you and offer you credits or alternatives. Additionally, do pay with a credit card as that will give you some protection as well, not only from an insurance standpoint for travel, but for chargebacks/refunds, etc. Please see this reply by me on another thread about the benefits of booking through an agency vs. direct sometimes: Pros & Cons of using a Dive travel agency versus booking direct?

 

[Lriemann]

Thank you.

I will probably only book with Liveaboard.com or Padi.

 

[Christian]

FYI—no night diving in Brothers, Dedalus and Elphinstone. Prohibited by law due to risks.

 

[bshort4]

I'm booked into the Amelia in late September---St. Johns---BDE was stilled closed to diving when I booked through PADI---yep not many reviews but the price was right (upgraded to a main deck cabin). Hope I don't come back speaking Russian but oh well---

 

[Lriemann]

I pre- booked the Samira but then realized there were little to no night dives, at least that's what the LIveaboard adviser said.
Currently switched pre-booking to JP Marine.

 

[Sunn]

I'm booked into the Amelia in late September---St. Johns---BDE was stilled closed to diving when I booked through PADI---yep not many reviews but the price was right (upgraded to a main deck cabin). Hope I don't come back speaking Russian but oh well---

If you come back speaking russian, you'll also come back knowing how to drink vodka... ;-)

M/Y Amelia is a nice boat, looks very clean