Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
 

Dive Review of Emperor Virgo in
Maldives

Emperor Virgo: "Emperor Virgo - A great experience!", Feb, 2017,

by James Oates, CA, US (Reviewer Reviewer 4 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 9555 has 2 Helpful votes.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments I had heard a lot of stories about liveaboards in the Maldives and with some trepidation exited the airport to be greeted by the divemaster of the Emperor Virgo. We boarded the tender and set off for the Emperor Virgo. At first site she seemed to be a good boat, maybe not the prettiest in the harbor, but good. I was shown to my cabin which was enormous! I had twin double beds, a large closet, a newly furnished bathroom with a great hot shower, and four huge windows to view the passing atolls. I stowed all my dive gear in my designated crate on the tender and set up my tank/BC. Everything was conveniently located. The Nitrox machine looked brand new and the compressors well maintained. We took off for a checkout dive to test our ability to deploy our surface markers. The moment I hit the water I knew this was going to be a great week. Visibility was 100 feet, water 82 degrees, and critters everywhere. Every clump of coral had three to six BIG moray eels of at least three types. Schools of powder tangs, banner fish, trigger fish, and more seemed oblivious to our presence. Two huge spotted eagle rays swam by close enough to touch and a squadron of scribbled filefish (30 inches long) provided amazing photo opportunities. Back on the tender everyone was chattering about the great experiences they had had. Lunch was the first meal back on the Emperor Virgo lunch. What a great lunch with many items to choose from. It was the start on many great meals to follow. In the following six days 17 dives were offered and no one out of 16 missed a single one of them. Every dive was different and unique with many critters to see- large and small. All equipment on the tender worked perfectly with nitrox provided at 28 to 30% and full air fills. The crew and cooks performed amazingly until the very end of the trip. Divemasters Issey, and Jackie are highly recommended.
Websites Emperor Virgo   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Channel Islands, Truk, Philippines, Australia, Hawaii, Florida, Turks Caicos, Dominican Republic, and Sri Lanka
Closest Airport Mali Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm, currents
Water Temp 82-82°F / 28-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 20-100 Ft/ 6-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Diving was limited by law to 99 feet. I dove with the divemaster to insure I stayed at the proper depth and we may have exceed that limit in some circumstances.
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas Squadrons
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

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

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments
A fresh water tank was provided for cameras only. A large LCD was available for viewing photos and videos, but it was not used by many divers. We were too busy getting ready for the next dive, eating, drinking, or sleeping.
Was this report helpful to you?
Report currently has 2 Helpful votes
Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here
 

Subscribe Now
Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 206 dive reviews of Maldives and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

 
Featured Links from Our Sponsors
Interested in becoming a sponsor?
Reef & Rainforest, Let our experience be your guide -- Reef and Rainforest
Reef & Rainforest
is an agency for travelers that like to scuba dive. Looking for an island getaway? We specialize in planning scuba diving adventures to the Maldives.

Want to assemble your own collection of Maldives reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

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.

Undercurrent Home


Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email.
And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent

Free Undercurrent Issue
Get a free
monthly email and
a sample issue!


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2024 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

Page computed and displayed in 0.1 seconds