Finally diving without 20 other boats around the dive site. No cans and other junk on the bottom! Dives were at times spectacular other to compare with Egypt(hurgada...) Only minus point are the very long transfers (>300Km) which are via regular roads and not the faster toll roads.

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no comment given

Overall, the dive sites were very good and the underwater world was still intact. The visibility was great.
We didn't see another liveaboard the whole week, which was very pleasant.
We were 21 divers, but only 2 dive guides, which is simply not enough, even with good visibility. The problem was that there was a very good briefing in each case, where it was discussed that we should display 100 and 60 bar as usual, but the guide didn't look around for more than 5 minutes and we shouldn't dive in front of him. As we had 3 deco dives where we saw hammerhead sharks, this behavior is unacceptable!
Our dive guide did not accept any criticism after the dives.
The ship was already very worn out and urgently needed to be renovated.
The crew were very helpful and the food was very good.

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The boat's crew did an excellent job: the food was good and varied, there were more than enough snacks at all times, rooms and deck were cleaned several times a day,.... The dive guides did the bare minimum: underwater they did their regular round and otherwise there was little interaction, even in case of problems. On deck, the dive guides were aloof and busy on their cell phones outside the briefings. I found the dive sites less beautiful than Egypt: a lot of coral had died off and once I even found myself diving on a concrete plain. We did see the hammerhead sharks often, up close and in groups, as promised, so that was OK. The transfer to the boat was not easy/comfortable and much longer than indicated: 4h in going and 6h in returning. In the return, the driver even took a package on the way. The driver did not want to take toll roads, but was flashed several times: he said that a flash fine was cheaper than the toll.

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The wet room was barely dry in places, which is not surprising.

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The construction and design of the ship is very good, but unfortunately it has already seen its best years and has obviously not been adequately maintained. Comparably old, regularly loved ships in Egypt are better rated here.

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The boat is basically good, but urgently needs to go into dry dock. This is supposed to happen in summer 2025. Then it can be recommended again.

The reefs on Farsan bank (south) are very beautiful across the board. It's great that you're practically always alone on the reef. Lots of fish, including sharks.

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The Almonda was to be overhauled in the shipyard.
There was a mold infestation in the bow cabin, a loose ventilation grille in our cabin, a defective ceiling installation, shower and toilet should be overhauled, the fixing of the doors of the lockers in heavy seas is insufficient.
2 dive guides for 21 divers are too few for some of the challenging dives.
Very detailed breefings, the food was great, the overall organization very good.




(Automatically translated from German)

Stellungnahme von Peter
Hallo Frank!
Danke für Dein Feedback. Wir nehmen Dein/Euer Feedback sehr ernst und werden das Boot aufgrund der genannten Mängel für's Erste - solange es nicht wieder in einen akzeptablen Zustand gebracht wird - auch nicht weiterempfehlen.
Liebe Grüße,
Dein Tropical Seas - Team

no comment given

Beautiful, intact reefs with many soft and hard corals. Great variety of fish.
Dives tend to be geared towards sightings of hammerhead sharks, therefore mostly requiring decompression.
Crew and food 1A, very courteous.

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no comment given

We were anything but satisfied with the cabins.
The mattresses were moldy from underneath and our clothes smelled of "cabin" on the return flight. There was also some mold in the bathroom.
We had two days of heavy rain at the beginning of the safari, with water running through the gaps in the boat into the lower cabins and coming out of the ceiling lamps. For our safety, the electricity had to be switched off temporarily.

We were 100% satisfied with the crew - the guys went the extra mile and did everything they could.

We were 23 guests on board. The 16 French people were assigned to 2 x 8 dive guides - the German-speaking group would have been happy to have their own guide.

The safety briefing at the beginning of the tour was understandable, from our point of view the only thing to criticize was the positioning of the life rafts and their attachment. (They are attached with plastic packing tape and have to be cut loose with a knife, lifted over the side of the boat and thrown into the water).

We had the foothills of the storm over the Red Sea for two days and then two days of strong winds. As a result, we were unable to visit all the dive sites and had to switch to some of the more unpopular ones, which were either affected by coral bleaching or had been completely eaten away by crown-of-thorns. All in all, however, the dive sites were perfectly fine. Due to the storm and the warm water, the fish had retreated into the depths - there were only a few highlights to be found. We were just unlucky - that's part of it - it's nature and not a zoo.

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Cabin smelled strongly and the toilet even more so, but only in the cabin
No.10. Safety precautions were not shown or practiced, but only briefly mentioned.
Dive guides constantly swimming, no time to discover. Unrelaxed!


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-Not a very detailed safety briefing. Emergency exits not shown, only mentioned. Emergency raft and life jackets also not shown.

- Two dive guides are definitely not enough for 24 guests. There should have been at least 3. The guides agreed to this, but it is up to the boat operator to decide!

- No alternative planning in case of bad conditions. If the current at the planned dive site was unfavorable, we dived 3-4 times at an easier dive site instead. No equivalent dive sites with less current were considered.

-Leaks in the boat! After rain it dripped from the ceiling in many places. Cloths and buckets had to be used in the saloon and even in the bunks. According to the boat crew, the operator has known about this for some time. Nothing is done - probably for cost reasons.

In any case, the price/performance ratio of the Almonda is not right. 1800 for a week is too much for what is on offer.

The guides and crew, including the captain, were good overall and deserved their pay.


(Automatically translated from German)

Stellungnahme von Dive & Travel
Lieber Kevin

Vielen Dank für dein ausführliches Feedback.

Wir haben bereits Kontakt mit der Rederei aufgenommen und die verschiedenen von dir angesprochenen Probleme mit ihnen besprochen. Die Rederei hat uns klar mitgeteilt, dass sie diese Probleme angehen werden.
Sobald sie das nächste Mal im Trockendock sind, werden sie verschiedene Renovationsarbeiten auf dem Schiff vornehmen und das beinhaltet auch der Ausbau von mehr Crew Kabinen damit sie die Anzahl von Tauchguides auf dem Schiff erhöhen können.

Liebe Grüsse
Dive&Travel

Only 2 dive guides for 24 divers is not enough. There should be at least 3-4 guides.
On the subject of tips: I am happy to give tips. But if you put down envelopes with names and cabin numbers, I think that's outrageous. It should be anonymous.

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The Almonda is a nice, spacious boat. There is some wear and tear, but it is being maintained well and is clean overall. The cabins are large enough, and the A/C works well. However, the mattrasses are very hard, and in our cabin there was water leaking into the bathroom. This was cleaned up every morning, but still. The food was on par with expectations on Egyptian dive boats, abundant and varied, but not exceptional. Sadly, the dive spots were in very bad shape after a massive bleaching event. Almost all the coral was dead or dying, and there wasn't much fish life left.

no comment given

no comment given

There was advertising that Enos was on board, but it wasn't there.
There was also no introduction to the crew.
The cook and therefore the food was good.
The guide was lazy! once in the water.
The assistant guide (a crew member) lost 6 out of 8 divers.
The reefs above 20 m were 99% destroyed.
Big fish not present.
All in all the worst safari of my approx. 250
Safari not recommendable.

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The boat was good and the crew was very helpful, especially Sahid was great
Unfortunately too large a group for diving, 11 divers plus a guide.
Dived several times (3-4x) at one and the same dive site.
The way tips are "demanded" at the end is questionable. Actually, it should be left to everyone and not be done under control.

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The Almonda is an older ship. All in all - excellent! Price and performance, together with the promotion, were perfect for me.

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no comment given

Perfect diving vacation. Beautiful boat, exceptionally good food, and staff on board without exception extremely friendly. Only downside: the dive guides who are obsessed with making decks dives 3 times a day, hanging around in the "empty deep blue" hoping to see another hammerhead shark, instead of letting us enjoy the beautiful reefs in a quiet and relaxed manner. But overall, I am a very satisfied customer! Also the administrative support by Diving World is excellent and certainly a motivation to book again through your organization.


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Cabin no. 5 is in urgent need of renovation. The silicone joints in the shower in particular are totally clogged. Cupboards are difficult to close. The air conditioning only works to a limited extent.
The ship only has one ladder. Therefore long waiting times in the water.
With 17 guests, 2 dive guides are definitely not enough. Even with full occupancy there should only be 2 guides!
The transfer time to Yanbu was almost 5 hours. No drinks were offered on the bus.

I WILL NOT RECOMMEND THIS TRIP TO OTHERS!


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no comment given

First of all I would like to thank you very much for the good organization of our diving vacations. Having worked in Saudi Arabia for 4 years 40 years ago, it was great to be able to visit the country. I would have liked to stay two more days before I left on the same day to explore Jeddah, even though it would have cost more. As far as tourists are concerned, the country is still very young and visiting the city center with its souks/markets would be daunting for a European.

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With a full occupancy of 24 divers, 2 dive guides are unfortunately not enough. The group size of 12 divers is far too large. It would be advisable to do this with 3 dive guides. The announced safety system ENOS was not provided. The whole crew was very friendly and also very helpful.

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no comment given

Unfortunately, no transfer to the hotel was possible despite Ocean Breeze requesting it. The return transfer took place in a rather short bus. The ship is ok so far, although old. Unfortunately we constantly had water from the toilet flush in the bathroom as it was leaking (master cabin!). Shower mats would be great. Crew was great. Guides were mostly responsive to special needs. However, I would have liked to be able to catch up on the checkdive. We were on the same reef all day. So I had to do the "obligatory" checkdive in a nauseous state and after vomiting due to swell. The second TG was no different in terms of the conditions. I don't know it like this! Unfortunately, the reefs show clear signs of global warming with lots of dead coral, especially in the shallow water area. A sad and frightening sight, as the reefs are also rarely dived. There were big fish, so that took the edge off.

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The mattresses are unfortunately rock hard, so that after two days, like many others, I got back pain. The Zodiacs are the worst I've ever seen and totally broken. One Zodiac has been running for weeks on the right rear side with a flat tire and no air, there are no handholds on either boat and the air chambers on both sides have come loose from the hardtop of the boat. Even as a gift, the Zodiacs are still far too expensive. The Enos system on offer does not exist either!!!

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Inflatable boats partly in desolate condition

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Eno's system was non-existent, both Zodiacs were in a wretched state and actually ready for the scrap heap. Our cabin smelled musty and moldy and the air conditioning was extremely loud. Overall, the ship was pretty run down and poorly maintained. However, the crew were very helpful and friendly and the chef was great.
Unfortunately, the water temperature of 31 to 32 degrees was too high for the sharks, so that none could be seen. But the reefs were beautifully overgrown.
Conclusion: repeat in spring on a better ship.

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The ship is in relatively poor condition for its age (see attached photos). On the Zodiac, the air chambers separated from the hull. Guides: one was very good, the other didn't seem very motivated to show us anything. The food was good to very good, the crew extremely friendly and helpful. The boat sailed from Jedda and then back again. As a result, we only had very good dives on 3 out of 6 six days, the other 3 days were actually pretty bad. One of the two screws on the boat also broke, which in turn meant that the route had to be adjusted. All in all, we cannot recommend the Almonda, i.e. I would advise fellow divers against the boat.

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The boat has clearly seen better days and would need an urgent overhaul. The guides and crew have been great. The dive sites are nice even though many sites are similar.

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Ship would need an overhaul (e.g. only one of two rudders).
Air conditioning in the cabin can not be regulated with which one has the choice between icebox or no oxygen.
Service, guides and dive sites top!

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The ship makes a good impression visually, but would need to be overhauled again. Air conditioning, fittings, emergency exits are in need of optimization. Enos is announced and would also be useful, but is not available.
The dive spots are nice, you are always alone on the reef. The underwater world is intact, however, quite few larger fish are to be seen.
The food is excellent as well as the service on board, the crew is very eager. Diving is always with a guide, but in groups of up to 10 divers.

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Nice, clean boat. Very friendly, helpful crew. Dive guide Talaat top class (we already knew from Egypt).The other two guides Renata and Ahmed were unfortunately in poor health and could not dive.
Places very beautiful and rich in fish. Gladly again!
But definitely no arrival with EgyptAir during Ramadan!

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One week Farasan Banks - the expectations and anticipation of diving in Saudi Arabia were huge. For some of us it was the third attempt within the last 10 years. These were then clearly achieved with 4-5 of the total of 16 dives. Great reefs with a lot of fish. Have never seen so many barracudas (hundreds) at once in a few hundred TG. A crazy moment.

However, we have also never seen so many "insects" on a boat.

One of the dive guides simply an A with asterisks, the rest of the crew rather average effort. The captain tried to save what could be saved, after the engine of a zodiac had left us and thus trips to spots by zodiac practically failed. Again, praise for the captain.

We left the boat with mixed feelings. With a little more joy, fun and professionalism this can be a unique experience - please dear crew, take our also personally left comments to heart and "turn the ship around". Very good I felt the open-mindedness for the feedback.

I hope this honest review will encourage many guests to continue to support the crew to work on improvements and implement important measures accordingly. Good Luck!

We will follow this, because the second offered northern tour to the Seven Sisters is already on our wish list.

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There were cockroaches without end on the ship.
The logistics leave a lot to be desired.
The dive guide (Talaat), who stepped in at short notice was a bright spot for the whole safari.

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Organization is still expandable. We had a master cabin. The bathroom had a very strong "bad" smell from the drains most of the time. A zodiac motor broke and there was no replacement on board. The dive sites are nice and pristine but not as spectacular as described.

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