Hi Vondo,
finally I get back to you: the trip on the Sea Friend was good !
It is indeed a good boat and the service was excellent. The Golden Dolphin, who owes/runs the boat looks like a serious company.
The cleaning was spotless. We were actually on the upper cabins (if you can, try to get one of them, you can book them in advance and it does not cost more), they were nice and fairly large. I actually saw also the ones downstairs and they were good and well kept as well.
The airco was always working (something that rarely happened in my previous liveaboards)!
The food was excellent, with lots of choice, fish, meat, veggies....I am (sort of) veggie and I could very much enjoy the meals. The' and coffee always available, as well as little snacks.
The diving deck is large, we were lucky, as we were only 12 guests. With the full boat (21 I guess) it might get a bit packed.
We were always diving Nitrox and they made the mix we wanted: they usually offer around 28%, but we asked for 32% and they did not make a problem with it.
Our guides were a Spanish couple, very nice and friendly, beside very competent. We were free to follow them or to dive by ourselves (in buddy pair of course!). The briefing were always well prepared and full of details.
The crew was always super helpful with video/photo equipment, not only entering and exiting the boat, but also in protecting it and putting it out of the sun, if forgotten around.
The only remark is on the zodiacs, which are a bit old, one had some issues, but the guys always managed to get them going and these issues never got in the way of our diving.
So, overall, a good boat. This is my 5th live-aboard and it is one of the best boat I have been on.
If you want to have a grasp of the boat, you can have a look at the video I made:
Manusealion - Underwater videos: Liveaboard on the Red Sea - South Route
There are some images of the boat at the beginning (full boat, diving deck) and in the middle (upper deck, dining room).
Enjoy your holiday
