UnderwaterBumbleBee
Contributor
Finally got around to posting my pictures from our June/July 2011 Maldives trip aboard Explorer Ventures Carpe Vita Liveaboard! Here's a link to my photos: BumbleBee Images : Travel | SmugMug
Air
We started out from Denver to Houston on United and then onto Qatar Airways to Doha, Qatar. Qatar Air supposedly has one less seat than Emirates so it's supposed to be a little roomier for a 15 hour flight! They are constantly coming through the cabin offering you something and they have over 300 movies (many of which aren't on DVD or OnDemand yet) so I watched about 4-5 movies coming and going which breaks it up.
We arrived at night in Doha and had about 6 hours or so to kill so we checked into Qatar Airways Oryx Lounge which is well worth the $40 per person for up to 6 hours. They don't have beds or recliners but they do have lots of seating with couches and chairs and you can kind of claim an area. The $40 includes all the food and drink you want (middle eastern items but pretty good stuff) and the restrooms are nice and each has a private shower you can take advantage of with towels and some soap.
On to Male from Doha it was a little over 4 hours I want to say. Customs wasn't too bad, you can purchase your visa at the Customs counter with Credit Card ONLY. I think it was approx $80 for both of us. When we first walked outside we didn't see anyone from the Carpe Vita so we hung out in some chairs for a few minutes and then we found Haambe waiting for us. We were the first guests to arrive (around 8 or 9am) and Haambe suggested we hang out at a Cafe at the airport(turn right after you come outside from the airport and past the hotel booths, right across from where the Dhoni picks you up too). We sat outside on the patio with huge fans and had some drinks and snacks, a lot cheaper than heading to the hotel nearby which we heard wasn't really worth the money. The last guest actually got in about 2 hours before the 3pm pick up so they took us all over to load the Dhoni early and it's a short ride to the boat.
Boat
The Carpe Vita is a wooden hull boat and has only been in service since Feb 2011. It's still got the new car smell! It's a beautiful boat, very comfortable and large enough that you never feel crowded. We had room #4 which is on the main deck and I liked the location which was central to everything. The room is spacious compared to the other liveaboards we've been on, they have end tables and a little desk, built in wardrobe for your clothes and good storage for your bags under the bed. The bathroom is nice, good size shower (we had great water pressure and hot water) and includes built in soap, shampoo/conditioner dispensers, toilet is set off to the side out of the way and there's a nice large sink. We had one incident mid-way through where one of the cabinet doors under the sink slid open in heavier seas and wouldn't close and the door would not open to the Bathroom. They got it open with some slight damage to the doors. We also checked out one of VIP Suites and it is HUGE, with a bean bag to lounge in and tons of floor space. Their bathroom features a huge Jacuzzi tub next to the windows and even larger bath area. Each room also has a flat screen TV and you can watch movies they have downloaded on their server.
From our room on the Main Deck you can walk right outside to where the camera table is which is on the way to accessing the Dhoni when it pulls up to the boat. Back inside the Main Deck they have a nice fully Air Conditioned Salon with two seating areas, Flat Screen TV's, Stereo, Movies, Books, Games, Snack and Drink area... This is where they give the dive briefings and it's a comfortable place to read a book or take a nap. Just outside at the Bow is another built in seating section in addition to plastic table/chairs and this was a nice place to sit and read or listen to music.
Also just outside our room was stairs leading to the lower deck where the rest of the staterooms are located and crew quarters as well. There seemed to be a lot of crew on the boat but again never felt crowded.
On the Upper Deck is the outdoor dining area, more built in seating areas and the VIP Suites. Stairs lead to the Sun Deck which is partially covered and has two back to to back built in seating rows with cushions, several lounge chairs and hot tub.
Food
The food is probably the only thing I would say could use some adjustments. I know they are in the middle of nowhere and it's probably expensive and difficult to get a lot of items but the food became a little monotonous. A lot of the food was really good but it's a lot of Indian type dishes, curries, sauces and tons of fish. After 10 days we were craving a sandwich, bread, burgers and no fish for a long time. The crew was fishing a lot, towards the end of the trip we were all joking about what kind of fish we were going to have and we literally had it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even snacks. A few times they had chicken and maybe Lamb once or twice. I will say one day he made fresh Sashimi which I wouldn't normally eat but it was so fresh it was pretty good. Breakfast consisted of some type of egg (omelet with cheese, scrambled or hard boiled), two types of bread for toast, cereal, beef bacon, sausages (AKA hot dogs), fresh fruit, sometimes oatmeal which was good and occasionally pancakes.
Lunch and dinner were kind of similar. Usually rice, pasta, sauce for pasta, fish, grilled peppers in sauce (delicious), curried beats, other veggies, fruit, cold salads, soup at dinner and desserts like whipped mousse's, ice cream. Snacks were served in the Salon in the afternoon and were usually fried fish balls and other fried items, muffin type items. Towards the end of the trip they took us to a little island for a BBQ where they had chicken, fish, shrimp, baked potatoes, salads, etc.. and they carved a whale shark into the sand and lit it up with candles. If you need to ask for something else to eat they are accommodating so just ask. You also get two beers or wine per person at dinner and you can "share" if you choose not to drink yours.
They also offered a walking tour of Male on the last full day on the boat. I wasn't feeling well so I had to skip it but it looked interesting.
Diving
After settling in the first day on the boat and getting your gear on the Dhoni, we did a checkout dive that afternoon on the Rurumba House Reef. Our morning dive briefings were usually around 6:30am and pretty much all the dives were 60 minutes or so, usually able to do 4 dives a day. We only did one true night dive and one other day we did a just before sunset dive. We had about 15 guests and they split us into groups of 3 usually, a couple times we all went together depending on the site.
The Dhoni was pretty comfortable for 15 guests. You can exit off each side and the stern. At the stern they have a warm water shower on the dive platform and up the stairs by the rinse tank. They have two camera tanks, no real camera table though but I put mine on the engine cover which was close enough. After dives they gave us fresh cut coconut which was different and good plus our Arizona friends brought the starburst! Nitrox was $200 per person, you can charge it to your room at the end of the trip. It was usually about 32% consistently. There is usually four crew on the boat plus 3 divemasters.
Our guide was Haambe and he could point out things so small that you could barely even see them. There are tons of eels on almost all the dive sites we visited, the Maldives guidebook listed some of them as aggressive and it did seem like they were a little more inclined to inch out of the coral towards you. There are tons of flatworms, nudi's, anemone fish, mantis shrimp, cleaner shrimp and crabs, macro photography in abundance.
One of my favorite sites was Soney Thila at Baa Atoll. Towards the end of the dive we were hanging out at about 20 feet near a cleaning station when a huge manta glided around us for about 10 minutes. It did two back flips before heading off. Exactly what we were hoping for in the Maldives!
Next day we saw another Manta at Dhanfan Thila at Baa Atoll but it didn't hang out as long. Yellow wall was pretty, full of soft corals hanging off ledges in yellow and other colors.
The other favorite dive site of probably everyone on the trip was Rasdhoo Kandu which was at Rasdhoo Atoll. There were tons of fish all over the reef, a huge Napoleon Wrasse, White Tip Sharks, Eagle Rays. We even saw huge tuna down below us on the edge of the wall. This was exactly what we were hoping to see in the Maldives, tons of life everywhere. We got up even earlier the next morning to try to spot Hammerheads at the same site but we saw none, headed back over to the reef and again saw white tips and tons of other fish.
We also spotted quite a few octopus during the day, some sleeping and others out and about. Lots of Turtles. One day there were dolphin somewhat near the boat and we could hear them in the water but didn't see them. We saw them several times while moving from one atoll to the next. After the first 3 days or so we had about 3 days of what seemed like the same dive site over and over. There just wasn't as much life, the reefs weren't great and we didn't see anything big and it was a little disappointing. I would say these sites were still around Baa Atoll. We attempted to see the Mantas in Hanifaru Bay but there were only a couple in the bay and not worth getting in, I think they said August was a better time to see them when the plankton blooms. So after several days of kind of disappointing dives they decided to take us towards Ari Atoll with promises of seeing bigger things such as a whale shark.
During safety stops they trolled around a day or two for whale sharks and once they spotted one but it took off before any of us could get in the water. The day of our beach BBQ we went to a divesite near the island where the BBQ is and it was really trashed and lots of dead coral. It was more of a dumping ground for the locals and I have no idea why they would take us to that spot. I had to sit out a few dives at the end of the trip when we headed back towards Male but apparently a couple of them were pretty good with more Manta and Eagle Ray encounters.
Overall we saw some cool things but we had hoped for more big animal encounters than we had, though it probably wasn't the right time of year. There were too many days of repeated diving on somewhat dead reefs which just got boring. I could have hung out at Rasdhoo Kandu all day over some of those other sites and when you travel that far we were hoping to be blown away. We got a great deal on the boat so that's why we went when we did but I would definitely book at a time of the year when more of the big animals are going to be around. The boat is great and all of the crew were great and we had a good group of guests on board! One group of 3 were supposed to be on The Aggressor that week and got a phone call two weeks prior that the boat was not going out and they did not give a reason why so at the last minute they were able to get on the Carpe Vita. Makes me think twice about booking with someone that won't give you a explanation as to why your trip was canceled. As usual Explorer Ventures was great from start to finish!
Air
We started out from Denver to Houston on United and then onto Qatar Airways to Doha, Qatar. Qatar Air supposedly has one less seat than Emirates so it's supposed to be a little roomier for a 15 hour flight! They are constantly coming through the cabin offering you something and they have over 300 movies (many of which aren't on DVD or OnDemand yet) so I watched about 4-5 movies coming and going which breaks it up.
We arrived at night in Doha and had about 6 hours or so to kill so we checked into Qatar Airways Oryx Lounge which is well worth the $40 per person for up to 6 hours. They don't have beds or recliners but they do have lots of seating with couches and chairs and you can kind of claim an area. The $40 includes all the food and drink you want (middle eastern items but pretty good stuff) and the restrooms are nice and each has a private shower you can take advantage of with towels and some soap.
On to Male from Doha it was a little over 4 hours I want to say. Customs wasn't too bad, you can purchase your visa at the Customs counter with Credit Card ONLY. I think it was approx $80 for both of us. When we first walked outside we didn't see anyone from the Carpe Vita so we hung out in some chairs for a few minutes and then we found Haambe waiting for us. We were the first guests to arrive (around 8 or 9am) and Haambe suggested we hang out at a Cafe at the airport(turn right after you come outside from the airport and past the hotel booths, right across from where the Dhoni picks you up too). We sat outside on the patio with huge fans and had some drinks and snacks, a lot cheaper than heading to the hotel nearby which we heard wasn't really worth the money. The last guest actually got in about 2 hours before the 3pm pick up so they took us all over to load the Dhoni early and it's a short ride to the boat.
Boat
The Carpe Vita is a wooden hull boat and has only been in service since Feb 2011. It's still got the new car smell! It's a beautiful boat, very comfortable and large enough that you never feel crowded. We had room #4 which is on the main deck and I liked the location which was central to everything. The room is spacious compared to the other liveaboards we've been on, they have end tables and a little desk, built in wardrobe for your clothes and good storage for your bags under the bed. The bathroom is nice, good size shower (we had great water pressure and hot water) and includes built in soap, shampoo/conditioner dispensers, toilet is set off to the side out of the way and there's a nice large sink. We had one incident mid-way through where one of the cabinet doors under the sink slid open in heavier seas and wouldn't close and the door would not open to the Bathroom. They got it open with some slight damage to the doors. We also checked out one of VIP Suites and it is HUGE, with a bean bag to lounge in and tons of floor space. Their bathroom features a huge Jacuzzi tub next to the windows and even larger bath area. Each room also has a flat screen TV and you can watch movies they have downloaded on their server.
From our room on the Main Deck you can walk right outside to where the camera table is which is on the way to accessing the Dhoni when it pulls up to the boat. Back inside the Main Deck they have a nice fully Air Conditioned Salon with two seating areas, Flat Screen TV's, Stereo, Movies, Books, Games, Snack and Drink area... This is where they give the dive briefings and it's a comfortable place to read a book or take a nap. Just outside at the Bow is another built in seating section in addition to plastic table/chairs and this was a nice place to sit and read or listen to music.
Also just outside our room was stairs leading to the lower deck where the rest of the staterooms are located and crew quarters as well. There seemed to be a lot of crew on the boat but again never felt crowded.
On the Upper Deck is the outdoor dining area, more built in seating areas and the VIP Suites. Stairs lead to the Sun Deck which is partially covered and has two back to to back built in seating rows with cushions, several lounge chairs and hot tub.
Food
The food is probably the only thing I would say could use some adjustments. I know they are in the middle of nowhere and it's probably expensive and difficult to get a lot of items but the food became a little monotonous. A lot of the food was really good but it's a lot of Indian type dishes, curries, sauces and tons of fish. After 10 days we were craving a sandwich, bread, burgers and no fish for a long time. The crew was fishing a lot, towards the end of the trip we were all joking about what kind of fish we were going to have and we literally had it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even snacks. A few times they had chicken and maybe Lamb once or twice. I will say one day he made fresh Sashimi which I wouldn't normally eat but it was so fresh it was pretty good. Breakfast consisted of some type of egg (omelet with cheese, scrambled or hard boiled), two types of bread for toast, cereal, beef bacon, sausages (AKA hot dogs), fresh fruit, sometimes oatmeal which was good and occasionally pancakes.
Lunch and dinner were kind of similar. Usually rice, pasta, sauce for pasta, fish, grilled peppers in sauce (delicious), curried beats, other veggies, fruit, cold salads, soup at dinner and desserts like whipped mousse's, ice cream. Snacks were served in the Salon in the afternoon and were usually fried fish balls and other fried items, muffin type items. Towards the end of the trip they took us to a little island for a BBQ where they had chicken, fish, shrimp, baked potatoes, salads, etc.. and they carved a whale shark into the sand and lit it up with candles. If you need to ask for something else to eat they are accommodating so just ask. You also get two beers or wine per person at dinner and you can "share" if you choose not to drink yours.
They also offered a walking tour of Male on the last full day on the boat. I wasn't feeling well so I had to skip it but it looked interesting.
Diving
After settling in the first day on the boat and getting your gear on the Dhoni, we did a checkout dive that afternoon on the Rurumba House Reef. Our morning dive briefings were usually around 6:30am and pretty much all the dives were 60 minutes or so, usually able to do 4 dives a day. We only did one true night dive and one other day we did a just before sunset dive. We had about 15 guests and they split us into groups of 3 usually, a couple times we all went together depending on the site.
The Dhoni was pretty comfortable for 15 guests. You can exit off each side and the stern. At the stern they have a warm water shower on the dive platform and up the stairs by the rinse tank. They have two camera tanks, no real camera table though but I put mine on the engine cover which was close enough. After dives they gave us fresh cut coconut which was different and good plus our Arizona friends brought the starburst! Nitrox was $200 per person, you can charge it to your room at the end of the trip. It was usually about 32% consistently. There is usually four crew on the boat plus 3 divemasters.
Our guide was Haambe and he could point out things so small that you could barely even see them. There are tons of eels on almost all the dive sites we visited, the Maldives guidebook listed some of them as aggressive and it did seem like they were a little more inclined to inch out of the coral towards you. There are tons of flatworms, nudi's, anemone fish, mantis shrimp, cleaner shrimp and crabs, macro photography in abundance.
One of my favorite sites was Soney Thila at Baa Atoll. Towards the end of the dive we were hanging out at about 20 feet near a cleaning station when a huge manta glided around us for about 10 minutes. It did two back flips before heading off. Exactly what we were hoping for in the Maldives!
Next day we saw another Manta at Dhanfan Thila at Baa Atoll but it didn't hang out as long. Yellow wall was pretty, full of soft corals hanging off ledges in yellow and other colors.
The other favorite dive site of probably everyone on the trip was Rasdhoo Kandu which was at Rasdhoo Atoll. There were tons of fish all over the reef, a huge Napoleon Wrasse, White Tip Sharks, Eagle Rays. We even saw huge tuna down below us on the edge of the wall. This was exactly what we were hoping to see in the Maldives, tons of life everywhere. We got up even earlier the next morning to try to spot Hammerheads at the same site but we saw none, headed back over to the reef and again saw white tips and tons of other fish.
We also spotted quite a few octopus during the day, some sleeping and others out and about. Lots of Turtles. One day there were dolphin somewhat near the boat and we could hear them in the water but didn't see them. We saw them several times while moving from one atoll to the next. After the first 3 days or so we had about 3 days of what seemed like the same dive site over and over. There just wasn't as much life, the reefs weren't great and we didn't see anything big and it was a little disappointing. I would say these sites were still around Baa Atoll. We attempted to see the Mantas in Hanifaru Bay but there were only a couple in the bay and not worth getting in, I think they said August was a better time to see them when the plankton blooms. So after several days of kind of disappointing dives they decided to take us towards Ari Atoll with promises of seeing bigger things such as a whale shark.
During safety stops they trolled around a day or two for whale sharks and once they spotted one but it took off before any of us could get in the water. The day of our beach BBQ we went to a divesite near the island where the BBQ is and it was really trashed and lots of dead coral. It was more of a dumping ground for the locals and I have no idea why they would take us to that spot. I had to sit out a few dives at the end of the trip when we headed back towards Male but apparently a couple of them were pretty good with more Manta and Eagle Ray encounters.
Overall we saw some cool things but we had hoped for more big animal encounters than we had, though it probably wasn't the right time of year. There were too many days of repeated diving on somewhat dead reefs which just got boring. I could have hung out at Rasdhoo Kandu all day over some of those other sites and when you travel that far we were hoping to be blown away. We got a great deal on the boat so that's why we went when we did but I would definitely book at a time of the year when more of the big animals are going to be around. The boat is great and all of the crew were great and we had a good group of guests on board! One group of 3 were supposed to be on The Aggressor that week and got a phone call two weeks prior that the boat was not going out and they did not give a reason why so at the last minute they were able to get on the Carpe Vita. Makes me think twice about booking with someone that won't give you a explanation as to why your trip was canceled. As usual Explorer Ventures was great from start to finish!
