Hi all, my girlfriend and I have just come back from a weeks liveaboard in the Northern Red Sea and I thought a review might help some in making their trip decisions. Before I start Id like to make clear this is a completely independent review of our trip and my opinion only.
We did our research through the web with plenty of searching of this site and due to dates and times found our best option to be with Tony Backhurst Scuba Travel. I didnt want the cheapest option but at the same time the luxury options are also beyond my modest budgets! So we decided to book onto the Whirlwind for our trip. On Saturday morning we arrived with plenty of time to Gatwick to find the place in seeming chaos at 9am. The crowds were fantastic and queues truly amazing. So we queued at the place we guessed to be right and as we proceeded there were various people shouting out destinations and able to confirm we were indeed in the right queue (no joke as the queue finished no where near our checking in desk) at one point I spotted a lady with a clipboard on the back of which was a Tony Backhurst sticker. Hoping (it springs eternal) that she would whisk us away to a private checking in desk with immediate upgrade I approached her. She was indeed looking for people who were diving with the group but alas she just ticked us off her list and back to the queue we had to go. Having allowed ourselves three hours before departure we found ourselves at the check-in with about half an hour or so to go. Usual questions at the check-in but looking at our bags the chap decided that our bags were outsize and we would have to check them in at a different part of the airport. I pack light to be honest and the bags were only 35 litre size so I found this odd but he apparently didnt like the straps on the ruck sacks.
So all checked in but not much time to mooch around duty free we got on the plane and off we went.
Movie OK.
Food OK.
Once off the plane and into a greatly improved Sharm El Sheik airport (about 10 years since I was there last) we were met by a really nice guy who proceeded to talk us through the customs procedure. He even licked and stuck on our entry visas into our passports! Such service. Once through though he had to come clean, our luggage hadnt quite made it onto the plane. So, a liveaboard without scuba gear, hmmm.
There were apparently 15 bags that hadnt made it to the plane so we all had to queue again to fill in forms that we could have done ourselves for the most part but Egyptian bureaucracy would not allow us. After much waiting and not a little anguished complaining from some, the forms were filled and we were put on the bus for the short journey to the port. I have to say that the guy who greeted us had the most sympathetic face in the world; every time I felt my blood beginning to boil he would offer his sympathies in such a wonderful way that the problem became trivial, and I guess in the real world it was. We were told we would be taken into town to buy toiletries and clothes for the trip and gear would be available on the boat. Knowing they would most probably only have shorties aboard I explained that my girlfriend really feels the cold and that she dives in a 5ml full and I would also need a full wetsuit as I have a skin condition (vitaligo) which means I have no protection from the sun. He made a call and a selection of full suits arrived for us on the boat later on. So when the paperwork was done on board we are taken into town by one of the guides Valeria who showed an in ordinate amount of patience as we were bartering with the locals at 1am! My god, 60 euro for four cheap t-shirts and a pair of swim shorts! We were tired, grumpy and in no mood to have the p1ss taken. Finally sorted and Valeria took us back to the boat. Sleep eventually came but what a day! Everybody had gone out of their way to help us and offer sympathies and I must say it was really appreciated.
The Whirlwind. - Id done a liveaboard in the Red Sea about 10 years ago, boy have things come on! What amazing luxury, hot power showers on-suite, we had a twin birth but the bed was plenty big enough for two. Beautiful cabins, dining area and lounge. And a nice big diving platform with not too many divers. The service was exceptional from the boat staff, always happy and as the week proceeded were always ready with a practical joke or two. The quality of the food was outstanding, I even went as far as to suggest the chef write one or two of his recipes down Id buy them. The two people in charge were Therese and Stefan who throughout the trip were fun engaging and consummate professionals. Always ready to offer advice and guide us when we needed.
Our bags had arrived back in Egypt the next day and the Tony Backhurst people did their best to try and get us our kit without changing the boat schedule to much, in the end it came via a day boat on the morning or the fourth day (oh the joy of your own fins!)
Id like to thank everybody at Tony Backhurst and all the team in Egypt for an outstanding weeks liveaboard. Oh, the diving fantastic! Special thanks to the Napoleon Wrasse that was bigger that me and the huge school of unicorn fish that let me swim up to and through them grins all round.
Sean Dixie
We did our research through the web with plenty of searching of this site and due to dates and times found our best option to be with Tony Backhurst Scuba Travel. I didnt want the cheapest option but at the same time the luxury options are also beyond my modest budgets! So we decided to book onto the Whirlwind for our trip. On Saturday morning we arrived with plenty of time to Gatwick to find the place in seeming chaos at 9am. The crowds were fantastic and queues truly amazing. So we queued at the place we guessed to be right and as we proceeded there were various people shouting out destinations and able to confirm we were indeed in the right queue (no joke as the queue finished no where near our checking in desk) at one point I spotted a lady with a clipboard on the back of which was a Tony Backhurst sticker. Hoping (it springs eternal) that she would whisk us away to a private checking in desk with immediate upgrade I approached her. She was indeed looking for people who were diving with the group but alas she just ticked us off her list and back to the queue we had to go. Having allowed ourselves three hours before departure we found ourselves at the check-in with about half an hour or so to go. Usual questions at the check-in but looking at our bags the chap decided that our bags were outsize and we would have to check them in at a different part of the airport. I pack light to be honest and the bags were only 35 litre size so I found this odd but he apparently didnt like the straps on the ruck sacks.
So all checked in but not much time to mooch around duty free we got on the plane and off we went.
Movie OK.
Food OK.
Once off the plane and into a greatly improved Sharm El Sheik airport (about 10 years since I was there last) we were met by a really nice guy who proceeded to talk us through the customs procedure. He even licked and stuck on our entry visas into our passports! Such service. Once through though he had to come clean, our luggage hadnt quite made it onto the plane. So, a liveaboard without scuba gear, hmmm.
There were apparently 15 bags that hadnt made it to the plane so we all had to queue again to fill in forms that we could have done ourselves for the most part but Egyptian bureaucracy would not allow us. After much waiting and not a little anguished complaining from some, the forms were filled and we were put on the bus for the short journey to the port. I have to say that the guy who greeted us had the most sympathetic face in the world; every time I felt my blood beginning to boil he would offer his sympathies in such a wonderful way that the problem became trivial, and I guess in the real world it was. We were told we would be taken into town to buy toiletries and clothes for the trip and gear would be available on the boat. Knowing they would most probably only have shorties aboard I explained that my girlfriend really feels the cold and that she dives in a 5ml full and I would also need a full wetsuit as I have a skin condition (vitaligo) which means I have no protection from the sun. He made a call and a selection of full suits arrived for us on the boat later on. So when the paperwork was done on board we are taken into town by one of the guides Valeria who showed an in ordinate amount of patience as we were bartering with the locals at 1am! My god, 60 euro for four cheap t-shirts and a pair of swim shorts! We were tired, grumpy and in no mood to have the p1ss taken. Finally sorted and Valeria took us back to the boat. Sleep eventually came but what a day! Everybody had gone out of their way to help us and offer sympathies and I must say it was really appreciated.
The Whirlwind. - Id done a liveaboard in the Red Sea about 10 years ago, boy have things come on! What amazing luxury, hot power showers on-suite, we had a twin birth but the bed was plenty big enough for two. Beautiful cabins, dining area and lounge. And a nice big diving platform with not too many divers. The service was exceptional from the boat staff, always happy and as the week proceeded were always ready with a practical joke or two. The quality of the food was outstanding, I even went as far as to suggest the chef write one or two of his recipes down Id buy them. The two people in charge were Therese and Stefan who throughout the trip were fun engaging and consummate professionals. Always ready to offer advice and guide us when we needed.
Our bags had arrived back in Egypt the next day and the Tony Backhurst people did their best to try and get us our kit without changing the boat schedule to much, in the end it came via a day boat on the morning or the fourth day (oh the joy of your own fins!)
Id like to thank everybody at Tony Backhurst and all the team in Egypt for an outstanding weeks liveaboard. Oh, the diving fantastic! Special thanks to the Napoleon Wrasse that was bigger that me and the huge school of unicorn fish that let me swim up to and through them grins all round.
Sean Dixie
