Question Which ones are the "Russian boats" doing liveaboards in Hurghada/Sharm/Port Ghalib?

[Adr1an]

When searching for information about various liveaboards operating in the area I frequently saw various users mentioning they were trying to avoid the "Russian boats". Without getting into any politics and even less so into discrimination (I've had various experiences with Russian people over the years, ranging from excellent to not so pleasing) I'm wondering if those having this kind of information care to share?

Also (since we're at it) perhaps it would be useful to know if a certain boat (X) has almost always a high percentage of the divers belonging to a given nationality (Y) whatever X and Y may be. I find it very entertaining to be on boats where odd nationalities are mixed and much less so to be on a boat where everyone else except my wife comes from a single country. For example we'd rather avoid being the only non-Germans on a boat full of German divers etc, without harboring any anti-German feelings.

Hope it doesn't seem too weird.

 

[davecampbell]

I don't think it's weird. I like some diversity on the boat, it keeps things interesting, but you also don't want to feel like you're missing out on a lot of the banter due to language differences /barriers. On day charters, this is less important, but on a liveaboard I'd like everything to be easy.

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

If the review system permits, you may look at the distribution of reviews in different languages: that will give you a rough indication of where the people are coming from.

 

[MB NZ]

I have done many liveaboard trips. The last was the first where my own language (English) wasn't the first language of the other passengers. The other divers in my group were gracious enough to speak English at times, but I surprise myself in saying that it did detract from the experience. Something I would think about when booking in the future, especially as a solo traveller.

 

[Tippytoes12]

We dived many times with Emperor in the Maldives and also in the Red Sea. It’s a British company and all of the other drivers, from many countries, have had excellent English. The trips have all been great fun, really recommend them.

 

[Searcaigh]

I like the diversity on a boat be it day boat or liveaboard, but having too many of one nationality that tends to cause uneasiness is not something I would enjoy.

 

[rjack321]

When searching for information about various liveaboards operating in the area I frequently saw various users mentioning they were trying to avoid the "Russian boats". Without getting into any politics and even less so into discrimination (I've had various experiences with Russian people over the years, ranging from excellent to not so pleasing) I'm wondering if those having this kind of information care to share?

Also (since we're at it) perhaps it would be useful to know if a certain boat (X) has almost always a high percentage of the divers belonging to a given nationality (Y) whatever X and Y may be. I find it very entertaining to be on boats where odd nationalities are mixed and much less so to be on a boat where everyone else except my wife comes from a single country. For example we'd rather avoid being the only non-Germans on a boat full of German divers etc, without harboring any anti-German feelings.

Hope it doesn't seem too weird.

Considering how hard it is to fly in and out of Russia right now, this might not be very relevant to a 2024/2025 booking

 

[Mod63]

Considering how hard it is to fly in and out of Russia right now, this might not be very relevant to a 2024/2025 booking

There is multiple flights from Russia into Hurghada every day, and there is plenty of flights via Istanbul.

 

[Adr1an]

Considering how hard it is to fly in and out of Russia right now, this might not be very relevant to a 2024/2025 booking

I just came back from Sharm and I can tell you with complete confidence that this is not the case (not the slightest bit). There were plenty of flights from Russia on the board both on our arrival and on our departure date.

This being said, the solution of checking each boat's reviews on tripadvisor is helpful to a certain degree, but some don't have that many reviews. I was hoping that this is a bit of info that just happens to elude me, while being relatively well known.