bassplayer
Contributor
just got off the white pearl (maldives). it's a huge boat and a bit more luxurious than other liveaboards i've been on (e.g. agressor fleet, explorer fleet).
among other things, the boat has a spa room (got a massage, was great), exercise equipment (rowing machine, dumbells, benches, yoga mats), a lounge with sofa and TV, a couple of computers for guest use, and a large indoor dining area and buffet adjacent to a large outdoor bar and seating area.
the whole top level is yet another bar and lounge with lots of pads for laying out, multiple massage tables, and a set of reclining deck chairs for sunbathing and relaxing.
I booked this trip because it was only a bit more expensive than other options, looked a lot more luxurious, and had a ton of availability so i figured i'd get my own cabin without paying a single supplement. (and i did)
the cabin was huge, seemed about twice the size of other liveaboard cabins i've had. tons of storage, tons of closet space, huge windows, great view, good climate control, and large bathroom. everything was very clean. it was really a nice room. this was just the basic cabin as well, and i know the boat had some fancier options so i'm assuming those are really something.
there were only 9 passengers including me, and 2 of those were non-divers doing some promotional content creation. it seemed like we were outnumbered at least 2-1 by staff.
I heard that a large group of israeli guests had canceled due to the situation in gaza, which would make sense
it was a different kind of trip than i'm used to, with a variety of non-diving amenities and events, such as:
- beach bbq
- trip to a small island for cocktails and then another barbecue (dinner was rained out and we all fled back to the boat)
- jet skis came out a couple times for guest use
- inflatable pool was set up a couple of times behind the boat, didn't see anyone use it
- boat had a couple of jacuzzis that didn't seem to be working but were used as soaking tubs by people anyway
- shopping trip to a local island was offered
- stand-up paddleboards were offered
- musical performance by a local group with drumming, singing, and dancing (none of the guests wanted to dance making for some awkward moments but oh well)
over the course of the week, 18 dives were offered along a "central atolls" route. i did them all, but no iron diver awards were given
I guess that's not a thing on every liveaboard
all diving was from a large dhoni, with plenty of room for everyone. most of the dhoni rides were quick.
the boat had a large room at the stern with benches, rinse tanks, space to hang wetsuits, a bunch of lockers, and a couple of showers. however, we weren't assigned lockers, no one seemed to use the showers, and generally we left most of our stuff on the dhoni, bringing wetsuits onto the yacht for a rinse and hang after each dive. there was an area near the dining room with a few camera stations, complete with compressed air, but none of us had any kind of big camera, just gopros and a phone housing
there were a few "event" dives, or you might say "gimmick" dives because several were based around feeding sharks.
- tiger port: just outside the hulhumale port, an area where feeding has led to huge swarms of rays and sharks. saw multiple tiger sharks, guitar fish, lots of reef sharks, i'm told a couple of the small ones were lemons, etc.
- manta night dive at fespu lagoon: a row of flashlights was used to create a runway for mantas, attracting at least 7 good sized mantas for swooping action. very impressive.
- there was a good effort made to find whale sharks but we didn't have any luck. I heard it's fairly common but not guaranteed
- night dive at alimatha with nurse shark feeding: attracted some big nurse sharks
- day dive at dhiggiri with nurse shark feeding: also very well attended
Beyond those gimmick dives, there were some cool "natural" dives:
- several different hook-in dives, similar to dives like the blue corner in palau: dive down, hook in, watch the shark / tuna / jacks parade.
- a few nice pinnacles to visit, lots of life
overall for the week vis was not great. the guides say the best diving here is the southern routes in Jan-Feb.
a couple of the dives were a bust. current was fairly high (maybe due to full moon?). the first time we tried to do a hook-in dive, a couple of the guests were blown away and we had to bail and follow them. to their credit, they learned from the experience and handled later dives much better but i also think this led the guides to take us on easier routes which is always a bit of a disappointment
they had all 7 of us diving together a lot of the time. I liked everyone on the boat and it didn't really cause any issues but i tend to prefer when there are smaller groups that do their own thing. I think they would probably give a buddy team some latitude to pick their own route through some of the sites but i didn't have a buddy other than the group/guides so didn't pursue that option. and as you can see from the dive info above all the "gimmick" dives really are just for the whole group anyway
also one of the dives we dropped in and seemed to miss our target, instead drifting over a deep floor for a good portion of the dive time before eventually reaching nothing much. hey, it happens.
the owner of the company was on the boat, which was a bit of a strange vibe because i didn't see him talk to any of the guests except once to a chinese woman. he sat a bit apart from us and mostly ate alone or with a woman who was introduced as the chinese translator for the boat. could be a language barrier thing. apparently he's a keen diver but didn't bother to suit up this week because it's a mediocre time.
a lot of effort went into the food and it was generally good with a lot of variety. i was always able to find something to eat. there was an egg station at breakfast to get an omelette or eggs your way. one of the 2 bars on the boat (reminder that it's a huge boat) had a nice espresso machine (extra cost), but free tea and instant coffee were also available.
there was always salad available and also fresh fruit. always a few vegetable options and a few meat options, quite a variety.
One thing i did really like was that they served mas huni for breakfast a couple of times which i have grown to crave. who knew that tuna salad and flatbread would be an amazing breakfast but i just love it after being here a while.
overall i would say the food was fancier than other liveaboards i've been on, but paradoxically i liked it less. maybe i'm just a commoner they also went to huge efforts to set up meals off the boat a couple of times, which was impressive but not something i value.
bottom line:
i had a great time and enjoyed the trip, but for me i'm afraid a lot of the efforts and finer touches were a bit wasted. Personally I'm on a liveaboard to dive, so i'd rather cut all the other stuff, have more dives, and have those dives be the best possible, even if difficult / strenuous.
among other things, the boat has a spa room (got a massage, was great), exercise equipment (rowing machine, dumbells, benches, yoga mats), a lounge with sofa and TV, a couple of computers for guest use, and a large indoor dining area and buffet adjacent to a large outdoor bar and seating area.
the whole top level is yet another bar and lounge with lots of pads for laying out, multiple massage tables, and a set of reclining deck chairs for sunbathing and relaxing.
I booked this trip because it was only a bit more expensive than other options, looked a lot more luxurious, and had a ton of availability so i figured i'd get my own cabin without paying a single supplement. (and i did)
the cabin was huge, seemed about twice the size of other liveaboard cabins i've had. tons of storage, tons of closet space, huge windows, great view, good climate control, and large bathroom. everything was very clean. it was really a nice room. this was just the basic cabin as well, and i know the boat had some fancier options so i'm assuming those are really something.
there were only 9 passengers including me, and 2 of those were non-divers doing some promotional content creation. it seemed like we were outnumbered at least 2-1 by staff.
I heard that a large group of israeli guests had canceled due to the situation in gaza, which would make sense
it was a different kind of trip than i'm used to, with a variety of non-diving amenities and events, such as:
- beach bbq
- trip to a small island for cocktails and then another barbecue (dinner was rained out and we all fled back to the boat)
- jet skis came out a couple times for guest use
- inflatable pool was set up a couple of times behind the boat, didn't see anyone use it
- boat had a couple of jacuzzis that didn't seem to be working but were used as soaking tubs by people anyway
- shopping trip to a local island was offered
- stand-up paddleboards were offered
- musical performance by a local group with drumming, singing, and dancing (none of the guests wanted to dance making for some awkward moments but oh well)
over the course of the week, 18 dives were offered along a "central atolls" route. i did them all, but no iron diver awards were given
I guess that's not a thing on every liveaboardall diving was from a large dhoni, with plenty of room for everyone. most of the dhoni rides were quick.
the boat had a large room at the stern with benches, rinse tanks, space to hang wetsuits, a bunch of lockers, and a couple of showers. however, we weren't assigned lockers, no one seemed to use the showers, and generally we left most of our stuff on the dhoni, bringing wetsuits onto the yacht for a rinse and hang after each dive. there was an area near the dining room with a few camera stations, complete with compressed air, but none of us had any kind of big camera, just gopros and a phone housing
there were a few "event" dives, or you might say "gimmick" dives because several were based around feeding sharks.
- tiger port: just outside the hulhumale port, an area where feeding has led to huge swarms of rays and sharks. saw multiple tiger sharks, guitar fish, lots of reef sharks, i'm told a couple of the small ones were lemons, etc.
- manta night dive at fespu lagoon: a row of flashlights was used to create a runway for mantas, attracting at least 7 good sized mantas for swooping action. very impressive.
- there was a good effort made to find whale sharks but we didn't have any luck. I heard it's fairly common but not guaranteed
- night dive at alimatha with nurse shark feeding: attracted some big nurse sharks
- day dive at dhiggiri with nurse shark feeding: also very well attended
Beyond those gimmick dives, there were some cool "natural" dives:
- several different hook-in dives, similar to dives like the blue corner in palau: dive down, hook in, watch the shark / tuna / jacks parade.
- a few nice pinnacles to visit, lots of life
overall for the week vis was not great. the guides say the best diving here is the southern routes in Jan-Feb.
a couple of the dives were a bust. current was fairly high (maybe due to full moon?). the first time we tried to do a hook-in dive, a couple of the guests were blown away and we had to bail and follow them. to their credit, they learned from the experience and handled later dives much better but i also think this led the guides to take us on easier routes which is always a bit of a disappointment
they had all 7 of us diving together a lot of the time. I liked everyone on the boat and it didn't really cause any issues but i tend to prefer when there are smaller groups that do their own thing. I think they would probably give a buddy team some latitude to pick their own route through some of the sites but i didn't have a buddy other than the group/guides so didn't pursue that option. and as you can see from the dive info above all the "gimmick" dives really are just for the whole group anyway
also one of the dives we dropped in and seemed to miss our target, instead drifting over a deep floor for a good portion of the dive time before eventually reaching nothing much. hey, it happens.
the owner of the company was on the boat, which was a bit of a strange vibe because i didn't see him talk to any of the guests except once to a chinese woman. he sat a bit apart from us and mostly ate alone or with a woman who was introduced as the chinese translator for the boat. could be a language barrier thing. apparently he's a keen diver but didn't bother to suit up this week because it's a mediocre time.
a lot of effort went into the food and it was generally good with a lot of variety. i was always able to find something to eat. there was an egg station at breakfast to get an omelette or eggs your way. one of the 2 bars on the boat (reminder that it's a huge boat) had a nice espresso machine (extra cost), but free tea and instant coffee were also available.
there was always salad available and also fresh fruit. always a few vegetable options and a few meat options, quite a variety.
One thing i did really like was that they served mas huni for breakfast a couple of times which i have grown to crave. who knew that tuna salad and flatbread would be an amazing breakfast but i just love it after being here a while.
overall i would say the food was fancier than other liveaboards i've been on, but paradoxically i liked it less. maybe i'm just a commoner
they also went to huge efforts to set up meals off the boat a couple of times, which was impressive but not something i value.bottom line:
i had a great time and enjoyed the trip, but for me i'm afraid a lot of the efforts and finer touches were a bit wasted. Personally I'm on a liveaboard to dive, so i'd rather cut all the other stuff, have more dives, and have those dives be the best possible, even if difficult / strenuous.
