BikerManiac
Contributor
Booking:
I have to say it was quite hard researching and booking the liveaboard from the States. I searched several forums and didn’t find that many reviews about the Maldives. There was only one travel site that had a trip to the Maldives. “Reef and Rainforest” which I've used previously and they are pretty good at taking care of all the arrangements. However, I did not use them this time, as their trip for that week was not what I was looking for. Bummer!!
A travel agent from the Maldives participating in SB with the screen name of “Awesome” sent me a message and gave me information for the MV Ari Queen. He is real name is Ismail and the schedule and itinerary for the liveaboard fit perfectly to my vacation plans.
Ismail was very helpful and answered all my questions before the trip. I highly recommend him if you are planning on going to the Maldives in the future. But, I have 2 comments on dealing with Awesome (Ismail).
1.-He requires Bank to Bank Wire Transfer. It seems this is common in Europe. I was very hesitant about sending money this way with no guarantee whatsoever. I almost didn’t go to the liveaboard just because of this reason. It's hard to send cash to somebody half the way around the world.
2.-A few days before the trip, I still didn’t get any sort of confirmation. I was starting to fear I got scammed, I sent an email to Ismail and he told me somebody would meet me at the airport. Even after reading this email, I was still afraid I would arrive in the Maldives with nothing waiting. I was already thinking having a Plan B just in case.
When you are spending 6-7K on a vacation you want something to ease your mind. As I said before, everything turned out fine and maybe I was just too anxious about the entire trip.
Getting There:
I flew out from JFK on Friday 22nd, flew Emirates new A380 to Dubai and then had to almost 8 hours in Dubai for the connecting flight to Male. I went out to town, had a beer, sightseeing and just relax for a few hours before heading back to the airport. The emirates flight from Dubai to Male is horrible. The flight was fully booked and the seats were so cramped. I have to say it was one of the hardest flight I had, those 4 hours were pure agony and I couldn’t wait for the plane to land. Total time traveling=13 hours + 8 hours + 4 hours = 25 hours starting from NY to Male.
The Weather:
I arrived in Male on Sunday May 24th. It was raining and cloudy. Not a good way to start my vacation.
The crew from the Ari Queen picked us up from the airport and we boarded the dhoni. Let me say the trip from the airport to the Ari Queen was an adventure. The seas were so rough, the waves were hitting the everywhere, they had to put straps around the luggage. We were bouncing all over the places, at this time I was keeping note were the lifejackets were and which direction I had to swim to get to land.
After a 20 minutes ride we arrived a a protected inlet and boarded the boat that would become my home for 1 week.
I left on Friday and arrived on Sunday morning to Male. I wanted to see clear sky and sunshine!!!, but I did not get that the first day... Well I cannot believe how lucky I was. After the first day, the weather was perfect!!!, sunshine and clear sky for the next 2 weeks!!!. I heard from the crew the weather from the previous week was horrible and they got rain almost everyday. I arrived just at the end of the bad weather. Hoooooorrrrrrrrraaahhhh
The Liveaboard:
The MV Ari Queen is a new boat, so you won’t find much information online. The website is ARI QUEEN for Scuba Diving, Surfing, Fishing, Cruising, in Maldives - Maldives Liveaboards,, I will post better pictures in my gallery once I get a chance. I was lucky enough to get a single room, so the room assigned to me was fine for 1 person. But it would be too crowded and small for 2 or more people. Before booking the trip I heard there were only 11 people booked for the trip. When I arrived there were a total of 22 guests. Originally I was assigned to share the room with another person, but somehow after some confusion with other guest and myself. I was put into an isolation room. Yeah!!! The trip was starting to be alright.
I realize I didn't take any pictures of my cabin. There is nothing special about the rooms. They are small with a private bathroom and I would rate them at 2 1/2 or 3 stars (from 5). Not the best nor the worse cabins I have stayed in previous trips, but it was OK as I was able to stay by myself.
Last edited:
