M/V Tillis (Dive Pro Liveaboard)

[Asanoth]

Hello,
I finally picked up a boat to go on a liveaboard in Egypt, I even picked the route, date and found air tickets... And then I read the news.
The boat I picked was MV Tillis, operated by Dive Pro Liveaboards. Tillis has good reviews on all sites I found, even here they seem to be praised (considering they are a low cost operator).
However, they just had a fire on a another boat, killing one poor diveress, and I believe they had another one last year. It seems the fire started in the kitchen and everything after it broke out was very poorly managed by the company and officials both.
I do not know what to make of it, it would be simple to see Dive Pro Liveaboards as "avoid at all costs", but I do not understand the factors to make a proper judgement. Many people here praise Agressors - and RS Agressor also burnt down, if I am not mistaken. Dive Pro Liveaboards do maybe a 100 LBs in a year, so I would like not to rush to conclusion (since I found choice I liked) by, say, a (terrible, but still) kitchen accident which could just as well happen anywhere (think Malaysia Airlines...).

I know that well situated western Europeans and Americans will tell me to get a liveaboard for 200 USD/night, but I cannot do that. My options are go with Tillis, or bite the bullet and go with a Russian owned boat (not really keen on sending money to Russians nowadays), or not go to Egypt at all.
I also have a side alternative of going with a local tour from here, but that is in November, which I do not prefer, I would prefer international group, and the itinerary is Dedalus and Elphinstone only, also it might be a tad complicated with gear... so alltogether not so attractive to me...

I am starting a new topic in a hope to get more answers, as my other topics are fairly stale.
Could you please help me with my decision?

Side note: My wife has 40 dives and on the itinerary I picked, the expected minimum is 50. Upon questions, Dive Pro said she can come, no problem. What is the point of 50 limit, must I ask...

 

[rayaa3]

Hi, I took a blueO2 boat - I can't remember which - about 5 years ago. They price about $120 per night if I recall. Not the most expensive. I was happy.

To the specific issue of fire. I can't give any advice. It's the worst fear I have - fire on a liveaboard. Unfortunately we place a lot of trust in the operator, and we don't REALLY know if the trust is well placed until we find it wasn't.

Anyway - I liked BlueO2.

Good luck.

ray

 

[Etmutt]

Hello,
I finally picked up a boat to go on a liveaboard in Egypt, I even picked the route, date and found air tickets... And then I read the news.
The boat I picked was MV Tillis, operated by Dive Pro Liveaboards. Tillis has good reviews on all sites I found, even here they seem to be praised (considering they are a low cost operator).
However, they just had a fire on a another boat, killing one poor diveress, and I believe they had another one last year. It seems the fire started in the kitchen and everything after it broke out was very poorly managed by the company and officials both.
I do not know what to make of it, it would be simple to see Dive Pro Liveaboards as "avoid at all costs", but I do not understand the factors to make a proper judgement. Many people here praise Agressors - and RS Agressor also burnt down, if I am not mistaken. Dive Pro Liveaboards do maybe a 100 LBs in a year, so I would like not to rush to conclusion (since I found choice I liked) by, say, a (terrible, but still) kitchen accident which could just as well happen anywhere (think Malaysia Airlines...).

I know that well situated western Europeans and Americans will tell me to get a liveaboard for 200 USD/night, but I cannot do that. My options are go with Tillis, or bite the bullet and go with a Russian owned boat (not really keen on sending money to Russians nowadays), or not go to Egypt at all.
I also have a side alternative of going with a local tour from here, but that is in November, which I do not prefer, I would prefer international group, and the itinerary is Dedalus and Elphinstone only, also it might be a tad complicated with gear... so alltogether not so attractive to me...

I am starting a new topic in a hope to get more answers, as my other topics are fairly stale.
Could you please help me with my decision?

Side note: My wife has 40 dives and on the itinerary I picked, the expected minimum is 50. Upon questions, Dive Pro said she can come, no problem. What is the point of 50 limit, must I ask...

Take a room with direct access outdoor.

Ask them about the fire alarms before going and request guarantee; tell them you would rather cancel otherwise. They will of course tell you that everything is fine but ask for specifics (number of alarm, extinguishers, life jacket, life boat).

Once on board, make a point to check everything they told you; before the boat leaves. If something is not there; make noize, use print out of the specifics they gave you.

Truth is the elements above are anyway the best you will get; boat in the area are not really made of fire retardant material.

 

[scubajasonr]

I was on Sea Legend in October 2022. Incredibly sad what happened recently on the boat.

Reflecting on the week I spent on the boat, we did have a several small issues during the week, and several areas on the boat were very much style over substance. My main memory of the week was the general indifference of the crew, they really didn't seem interested in the guests and any problem was just met with a shrug of the shoulders, as an example we had issues with nitrox % everyday, and it was never resoveled during the week, every tank was just a random nitrox fill. We were on what was essentially a private charter of the boat so if they had run the week maybe things would have been different. It is was first time on a liveaboard that I didn't leave a tip for the crew, but the service levels had been very poor, it really wasn't justified. Compare that to my trip last August, and I was happy to tip about 20% of the trip cost - admittedly on that trip the boats was half full, and the crew gave incredible service.

Like you I would avoid a boat with predominantly Russian divers. I dived with a Russian on Royal Evolution a couple of years ago, he was great and had picked that boat as he knew there would be no Russians onboard as he also disliked diving with other Russians.

We were in an upstairs cabin on Sea Legend, so I am not sure what evacuation briefing they gave people staying downstairs. As an example other boats I have been on have demonstrated that emergency escape hatches are openable, and that escape routes are clear.

Having said all that we did have a good week on board, and I was surprised and shocked to hear what happened to the boat. Personally I don't think I would go on a Dive Pro liveaboard again as there are many other options available.

I think the 50 dive rule is an offical policy for the marine parks, but there does seem to be some flexibility. I am sure there will be an expectation that you dive with the guide, and skip any dives where the conditions aren't suitable. Also you will do 2 or 3 dives close to shore before heading to the marine parks, so your wife won't be far off 50 dives.

 

[keesmon]

Have you considered the Discovery boats? We took a week on the Discovery 2 in March and we liked it for a budget operation. Ironically, we are considering the Tillis for our next trip.We want that 50 diver minimum and the southern route. Great advice on the above deck cabin. We were below deck on the discovery 2, and though we were explained that there was an escape hatch, we were never actually shown for it to work. I think I'll make it a point to see that work on my next trip.