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Dive Review of Blue O Two "Blue Adventurer"/Bel Air Azur Resort in
Red Sea/Northern Wrecks & Reefs

Blue O Two "Blue Adventurer"/Bel Air Azur Resort: "Very good budget liveaboard", Apr, 2022,

by Harvey Cohen, NJ, US (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 25 reports with 18 Helpful votes). Report 11932 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude N/A Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments Photos and vids at [flic.kr link]
Cabins are all 2-person en suite with good shower and aircon. I booked my cabin for solo occupancy. At USD $1492.66 for everything, including Nitrox and a 15L tank and airport transfers, it was an excellent value.
The dive deck is cramped, and indoor lounge space is limited and not especially comfortable. The dive platform has one handheld sprayer but no showers. All diving is from the dive platform rather than dinghy, so we had to navigate back. There was one guide in the water for up to 20 divers. Most of the sites we dived are very popular, and there were often several other liveaboards moored next to us, so it was easy to come back to the wrong boat by mistake. The profusion of divers meant that we were sometimes finning through wrecks like the wonderful Thistlegorm in line with many other people, which did not help the water clarity. I did a similar Red Sea liveaboard itinerary a few years ago in January. Although the water was colder then, there were fewer divers and conditions were more congenial. Also on the previous trip I was able to get a private guide for a very reasonable price, which allowed me to keep more distance from crowds of divers. I requested a private guide on my current trip, but there was not one available.
It's a long trip from New York to Hurghada, so I arranged to stay at a hotel for two nights and one full day before the Blue Adventurer sailed. The Bel Air Azur Resort is an all-inclusive and a wonderful bargain.
I did my dive booking through Diveplanit.com and recommend them. Particularly since COVID, dive travel can be tricky, and it’s good to have someone watching over you.

Websites Blue O Two "Blue Adventurer"   Bel Air Azur Resort

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Gulf of Eilat, Bali, Komodo, Raja Ampat, Banda Sea, Red Sea, Fiji, Palau, Coral Sea, Galapagos, many Caribbean locations, New Jersey, Florida, National Aquarium, Dutch Springs, Silfra (Iceland), Panama (Pacific)
Closest Airport Hurghada Getting There Hurghada is served by many European and UK airports and by Istanbul. I flew from Newark USA via Frankfurt and return via Zurich. Zurich is a relatively compact and efficient airport. Frankfurt is huge; my phone logged 6700 paces on my transfer from one plane to the other.

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, rainy, dry Seas calm
Water Temp 71-71°F / 22-22°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 30-70 Ft/ 9-21 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 60 minute limit on night dives.
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins 1 or 2 Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 4 stars
Large Pelagics 4 stars

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 2 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments The dive deck has adequate charging shelves and a 1 meter square camera table with no compressed air. There are no tables where a diver can sit and work on their laptop. The camera rinse tank is very small, so divers are encouraged to remove their camera after a short immersion.
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Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

Subscriber's Comments

By report author: Harvey Cohen in NJ, US at Jun 05, 2022 16:30 EST  
I should add that the staff and crew were very competent and helpful.
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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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