Golden Dolphin IV

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Liveaboard

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Egypt

Total Rating

  5.6 out of 6
total of 32 Ratings
6 Stars
66%

5 Stars
25%

4 Stars
9%

3 Stars
0%

2 Stars
0%

1 Stars
0%

Rating by questions

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Dive Spots

Detailed Ratings

Adrian und Ruth

Travelled in: December 2023, Rated on 21.01.2024, Booked with Dive & Travel
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Tour from 22.12.2023-04.01.2024. Practically no other dive boats at the top spots; Brothers even alone! So if you don't want to dive with dozens of other liveaboards, you'll be well served over Christmas/New Year. Great boat. Lots of space. Top crew.

(Automatically translated from German)

Georg Lindbüchl

Travelled in: December 2023, Rated on 17.12.2023, Booked with Aqua Active Agency
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The berth of the GD4 in Port Galib was very noisy at night.
Engine noise during the night trips was quieter.
Cabin 7.

(Automatically translated from German)

Andreas Werner Schönecker

Travelled in: October 2023, Rated on 06.11.2023, Booked with Aqua Active Agency
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no comment given

Nina

Travelled in: October 2023, Rated on 30.10.2023, Booked with Dive & Travel
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no comment given

Markus Friedrich Georg Würzburger

Travelled in: September 2023, Rated on 09.10.2023, Booked with Aqua Active Agency
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no comment given
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Christian Thomas Güttler

Travelled in: September 2023, Rated on 09.10.2023, Booked with Aqua Active Agency
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no comment given

Erik Hesse

Travelled in: August 2023, Rated on 24.08.2023, Booked with Aqua Active Agency
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no comment given

Strohmaier F.

Travelled in: August 2023, Rated on 24.08.2023, Booked with Tropical Seas
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no comment given

Ines Maria Müller

Travelled in: June 2023, Rated on 26.06.2023, Booked with Aqua Active Agency
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no comment given

Marcus Oliver Steinhoff

Travelled in: March 2023, Rated on 11.04.2023, Booked with Aqua Active Agency
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no comment given

Ralf Stefan Ulmer

Travelled in: September 2022, Rated on 19.01.2023, Booked with Aqua Active Agency
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no comment given

Christian

Travelled in: December 2022, Rated on 07.01.2023, Booked with tourmare
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no comment given

Franz

Travelled in: December 2022, Rated on 06.01.2023, Booked with tourmare
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no comment given

Gerhard Weinschenk

Travelled in: November 2022, Rated on 05.12.2022, Booked with Aqua Active Agency
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no comment given

Markus Friedrich Georg Würzburger

Travelled in: September 2022, Rated on 24.10.2022, Booked with Aqua Active Agency
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Cabins actually very good only the air conditioning
Is too loud and not optimally adjustable

(Automatically translated from German)

Christian Thomas Güttler

Travelled in: September 2022, Rated on 24.10.2022, Booked with Aqua Active Agency
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The toilet drain and the air conditioner "need to be worked on again" ;)

(Automatically translated from German)

Dorit Grab

Travelled in: August 2022, Rated on 14.09.2022, Booked with Aqua Active Agency
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A very nice, new dive boat with a lot of space, an extremely helpful crew and experienced dive guides. A really successful dive trip, which I gladly recommend.

(Automatically translated from German)

Klaus Stocker

Travelled in: August 2022, Rated on 05.09.2022, Booked with Aqua Active Agency
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As always, super liveaboard
Super ship and also everything else very good
thanks also for the good entertainment from Marion and Achim

(Automatically translated from German)

Dr. Christian Schäfer

Travelled in: August 2022, Rated on 05.09.2022, Booked with Aqua Active Agency
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Perfect safari; great and outstanding helpful crew, fabulous maneuvers of the captain at the dive sites, highly professional guides and first class supply and service on board. The order of the dive sites was very well chosen, as mostly only one or two boats were present at the same time. The offer of Shisha and Arabic coffee on the upper deck as well as charcoal grill and the lamb for the "Captains Diner" were further highlights.
With this crew gladly again on a dance on board or under water. The steel boat lies pleasantly calm in the water even with waves! Only suggestion for improvement: To sweeten the experience for the ambitious photographer with the large equipment, an air-conditioned camera room and an air gun would be a useful addition.

Very well done guys!
Best Red Sea Safari in Egypt ever!

(Automatically translated from German)

Volker Goetz

Travelled in: June 2022, Rated on 23.06.2022, Booked with Aqua Active Agency
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The service and the boat are TOP and probably the best you can expect in Egypt at the moment.

(Automatically translated from German)

Mario

Travelled in: May 2022, Rated on 21.05.2022, Booked with Tropical Seas
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Great boat, very spacious, very nice and friendly crew, cleanliness 1A and great dive guides.


(Automatically translated from German)
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Smrz Gregor

Travelled in: April 2022, Rated on 16.05.2022, Booked with Tropical Seas
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unfortunately multiple dives at the same spot although there was no weighty reason for it. Discussion whether we want to go to the Salem Express at all, although it was on the plan.

(Automatically translated from German)

Ringel Andrea

Travelled in: April 2022, Rated on 14.05.2022, Booked with Tropical Seas
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We had a warm welcome. With the paper work, we would have liked that this had already taken place on the day of arrival. The cabins, especially the bathroom, were cleaned several times a day. Seven thanks. Guides, especially Muhammad (the older one, sorry about the last name) was a great guide. Always had everything in view, but took everyone's time and dived at the rhythm of his group. Food was always something for everyone and always very tasty. We would take the tour, except for the one participant of the two Austrian groups (always very loud and taking the whole ship) at any time again.

(Automatically translated from German)

Bauer Markus

Travelled in: April 2022, Rated on 12.05.2022, Booked with Tropical Seas
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no comment given

Muster Martina

Travelled in: April 2022, Rated on 12.05.2022, Booked with Tropical Seas
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no comment given

Decker Christian

Travelled in: April 2022, Rated on 12.05.2022, Booked with Tropical Seas
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The GD IV joins the excellent boats of the Golden Dolphin fleet seamlessly.
You can tell that the boat was newly built with a lot of experience - the dive deck is perfectly laid out, lots of space and good storage options, the lower platform is virtually on the water surface, which massively facilitates boarding from the sea with the equipment. 2 large zodiacs with boarding ladders are also very practical. Dining room is below deck, despite occupancy of 25 divers no waiting time because the buffet is laid out round, which is perfect. The rest is also super laid out. Crew and cook are one of the main reasons to choose Golden Dolphin - they are friendly from captain to boat boy, helpful without being annoying and fun to work with.

(Automatically translated from German)
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Maximilian

Travelled in: April 2022, Rated on 12.05.2022, Booked with Tropical Seas
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In advance, in sum it was a very fine diving vacation. The only criticism: The route of the ship was changed against our wishes. Our group had booked the ship first and the route BDE + Salem Express was already fixed. After that, other groups booked (in total there were 3 groups on board). After about the first third of the trip, the other two groups were displeased about the upcoming dives at the Salem Express and were urged not to go there. At first the guides gave in to the pressure of the others and one did not want to approach the wreck. But our group insisted - after all, the tour had been advertised and booked that way. It then became a "compromise" solution, instead of one day and several TG at the Salem Express it was on the last day "on the way" and only one dive, a bit stressful. For me, this was so not okay, because we did not get what we had booked - at least not in the appropriate form. I can understand everyone who does not want to dive the Salem Express, but I do not understand that you book a tour on which this wreck is explicitly advertised, then on board loudly and underhandedly demands the omission of this destination and thereby spoil the mood of the others.

My point deduction for the dive spots is due to the changed route. I deducted points from the guides because they acted wrongly from my point of view. If only one person on board wants to do the originally advertised route, it must not be changed in my opinion.

But again: In sum, a very nice vacation, a wonderful crew and a great ship.

(Automatically translated from German)

Heinrich Ulrike

Travelled in: April 2022, Rated on 12.05.2022, Booked with Tropical Seas
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Everything was really great, organization, food, cleanliness.
Highly recommended, we were well looked after

(Automatically translated from German)

Sören Wollesen

Travelled in: March 2022, Rated on 12.04.2022, Booked with Aqua Active Agency
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The Golden Dolphin 4 has exceeded my expectations in all respects. The weather was quite bad on the trip and the whole has even made the best out of it.

(Automatically translated from German)

Petra

Travelled in: December 2021, Rated on 04.04.2022, Booked with Diving World
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We made the 2-week Christmas & New Year's trip on the new addition to the Golden Dolphin fleet. We had made a trip on the GD3 2x before and we liked it.

The communication with the Golden Dolphin prior to the trip went great.

That there was no one at the airport to pick us up, well, that can happen. We waited so long that other tour operators started to worry about us and called the GD to tell us where the transfer was. Small mistake in the planning.

The boat is beautiful and very large. We had a huge room. The dive deck is comparatively small and with 28 divers and 3 guides you really do get in each other's way, even if you change in 3 shifts. 2 showers for 28 guests and 3 guides is totally inadequate. OK. In the summer you may have less need for a hot shower, but in December/January a hot shower is very welcome.
The jacuzzi was indeed cold and not clean, but celebrating New Year's Eve in the jacuzzi with Little Brother playing in the background was great.

We did not click with the guides this trip. When 'our' guide left the ship earlier due to private circumstances, our group was split up and divided over the other 2 guides. This created quite 2 large groups. Independent diving, so without a guide, was often promoted.

The crew of the boat was downright fantastic as was the food. We also had a great captain. Unfortunately he died at the end of the trip. That's when it became clear how poorly safety was. There was no defibrillator on board and there were no oxygen masks. There was no communication from the organization while we were used to 3 to 4 briefings a day. From the other boat, the GD,3 we finally heard the confirmation of the death and the time of the funeral. No word from the organization, no aftercare.

We waited on the boat until the van drove us back to the airport. In our case we were also dropped at the wrong airport after which we had to arrange ourselves to get to the right airport (on time).

P.S. Another small point regarding safety: if you are looking for the life jackets, look under the beds.


(Automatically translated from Dutch)

Stefanie

Travelled in: November 2021, Rated on 25.11.2021, Booked with Tropical Seas
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The liveaboard we were allowed to do before the hotel visit was well organized.
Pick up at the hotel was announced to us through WhatsApp. Unfortunately we had to wait 5 hours in the hotel (without room).
On the return trip back to the hotel, many guests were relatively unrelaxed, as most flew back the same day. At the airport we arrived only one hour before departure.
The vehicle with 13 people and all the luggage on the roof was also completely overloaded. We drove sooooo slowly that even huge LKw's overtook us.
There and return journey have lasted including mini break in each case nearly 5 hours (Hrg-Port Ghalib-Hrg).!!!!
Actually, I had been told that it now only takes max. 3 hours thanks to the new road!
The safari itself was great, the food was perfect, varied and it was special requests, if feasible, taken.
3 birthdays in the time, 2 birthday cakes (mine was forgotten, but I am now used to that ;))
One had the impression that the guides and crew / captain represent a well-rehearsed team.
The captain himself helps out... I have never experienced that before!!!!
Zodiac's with access ladders->top!

We expected more from the boat, which has only been in use for 6 weeks.
Now there were already various deficiencies
-Air conditioning and toilet flushing not working in some cabins,
-O2 station was not operational, but was fixed on the way.
-Yakuzi temperature went badly or not at all to regulate , already very worn out
-only one towel per guest in the cabin ( for body and face) and that still dirty
-wet cupboards in the cabin and giant puddles in the hallway (by air conditioning)
-silicone joints were already very worn out
-all drinks in cans!!!! I never expected that...
Can't we all do something for the environment?!?!
All dive sites that were planned, were also approached. In consultation with the captain (who always had an eye on the weather), guides and guests, alternatives for the free time were agreed together dive spots.
With a number of 27 guests, all guests agreed that 3 guides are too few.
The groups were simply too large.


(Automatically translated from German)
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Andy Adams

Travelled in: November 2021, Rated on 25.11.2021, Booked with Aqua Active Agency
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Great crew and guides.
the ship is mega and has so much space.


(Automatically translated from German)