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Dive Review of Ark Royal in
Maldives

Ark Royal, Feb, 2011,

by Frances Lewis, MI, US (Sr. Reviewer Sr. Reviewer 10 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 5957 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 1 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments I had been 2 yrs previous in the Maldives and returned based on the diving that previous trip. On this trip the diving was disappointing compared with the previous. Quite a few dives had strong currents which made some of the divers in our group very uncomfortable. We did see huge schools of sharks & some large pelagics, but the variety and quantity of marine life was way less. We saw no mantas, very few eels, not many big fish other than the sharks and few huge schools of fish. The coral looked very healthy, but there was very little soft coral. The dives were missing the "wow" factor of the previous trip. We were in a different area; much further south than the previous trip. While we did see many interesting things, I couldn't recommend diving the southern islands due to the trip cost and length of travel to get there.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Caribbean, UK, Calif., Grt. Lakes, Australia, Fiji, Palau, Solomons, Hawaii, Truk, Yap, Vanuatu, Baja.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas currents
Water Temp 82-83°F / 28-28°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 70-110 Ft/ 21-34 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Depth limit given during each dive briefing, but not strictly enforced; no decompression diving & no exceeding sport diving limits.
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 2 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Area for camera set up not large enough to accomodate all the photographers; camera rinse tank also rather small; crew very accomodating and careful with camera handling.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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