I took part in a seven-day diving trip and was very satisfied overall. The planning and organization in advance were clearly structured and all important information was communicated transparently.

The staff on board were friendly and helpful throughout. They were attentive to individual wishes, which made the stay particularly pleasant. The food was also very good: the dishes were varied and the vegetarian selection was pleasingly diverse and tasty.

The ship itself is somewhat older in terms of its furnishings, but is well maintained and extremely comfortable. The atmosphere on board was pleasant, making us feel comfortable throughout the entire trip.

Overall, I can recommend this diving trip. The organization, service and catering left a very positive overall impression.

(Automatically translated from German)

Unforgettable diving safari with lots of shark light and manta lights :-)

I can't really understand some of the previous negative reviews, but it seems that a lot had changed by the time I arrived. Of course the ship is no longer the newest and you can see it here and there but nothing where I say I have doubts about the basic condition. The cabins are spacious and practically designed with plenty of storage space.
Bathroom with separate shower cubicle and perfect water pressure. Air conditioning in our cabin gave up the ghost once, but after we said something, it took less than a quarter of an hour and it was working again. I can't really understand the comments about cleanliness either, the cabins were cleaned thoroughly every day and you always saw someone from the crew cleaning and wiping here and there.
The diving dinghy was also perfectly fine, not a luxury of course, but it is only the dinghy after all. To fill the tanks, the dhoni even moved away from us so that we guests didn't feel disturbed by the noise of the compressors.

The food was excellent, a big compliment to the chef and the crew :-)

As for the guides, I went with two different ones, but mainly with the cruise director Maahdu and I can only say that he did a great job. The groups were pleasantly large (there were six of us) and even if you got stuck somewhere for a while or wanted to look around the corner, this was possible without any problems without losing the guide if you didn't look at the guide for a minute. We were even briefed before the dives and shown how to set a reef hook for those who had never done this before. At no time did I feel unsafe, lost etc. .... The groups also jumped into the water at staggered intervals so that you didn't get in each other's way either when jumping in or during the dive itself.

On the subject of safety: each dive site was briefed in detail and also for several eventualities. AEDs are not on board, but this is not standard on every boat. As I have had bad experiences in diving centers before regarding the oxygen supply in the event of an emergency, I had the tanks and oxygen equipment shown to me, it was even turned on especially for me, so everything was in perfect order.

Regarding the additional costs that many have criticized here: my agency transparently communicated in advance what was included in the price and what was still to be paid on site and what taxes we would have to pay, so in my opinion there were no hidden costs but they were communicated transparently. Everything was also mentioned again in the boat briefing.

During this week, we saw hammerhead sharks, whale sharks, tiger sharks, nurse sharks, reef sharks, turtles and countless manta rays. But coral and macro fans like me didn't miss out either with snails, shrimps and the like :-) The pictures of the manta cyclone with 50-70 manta rays will stay with me forever. There was no dive of which I can say "it was boring"
Thank you for this fantastic week

(Automatically translated from German)

Stellungnahme von Action Sport
Liebe Vanessa,
vielen Dank für deinen Kommentar und das freundliche Telefonat, AED ist wie schon besprochen an Bord vorhanden.
Beste Grüße
Oliver

An unforgettable diving safari with countless whale sharks, a school of around 50 manta rays outside the cleaning station, nurse sharks en masse and many, many incredible encounters with marine fauna and flora.
Worth every euro of the trip.

(Automatically translated from German)

no comment given

no comment given

The ship is getting on in years and urgently needs to be modernized. The fact that the tip was declared as a "personal charge" and is therefore a compulsory charge is quite outrageous in my opinion and has never happened to me in 20 years of diving! The organization of the dives could also be better, all 21 divers were usually released into the water at the same time.

(Automatically translated from German)

Stellungnahme von Aqua Active Team
Lieber Herr Schliebener,

vielen Dank auch für Ihre zusätzliche Rückmeldung zum Schiff und zum Tauchbetrieb.

Wir bedauern sehr, dass das Schiff nicht Ihren Erwartungen entsprochen hat. Das von Ihnen angesprochene Modernisierungspotenzial haben wir an das Safariunternehmen weitergeleitet – ebenso Ihre Anmerkungen zur Organisation der Tauchgänge. Ihre Hinweise sind für uns wie auch für unsere Partner vor Ort sehr wertvoll, da sie zur kontinuierlichen Verbesserung des Angebots beitragen.

Die „Personal Charge“ ist eine vom Betreiber verpflichtend erhobene Gebühr, die – wie bereits erwähnt – nicht als freiwilliges Trinkgeld, sondern als festgelegter Kostenpunkt zu verstehen ist. Auch wenn diese Praxis in anderen Regionen unüblich sein mag, handelt es sich in diesem Fall um eine landes- und schiffsspezifische Regelung. Dass dies bei Ihnen für Unmut gesorgt hat, können wir gut nachvollziehen und nehmen Ihr Feedback zum Anlass, unsere Reiseunterlagen künftig noch transparenter zu gestalten.

Wir danken Ihnen nochmals für Ihre Offenheit und würden uns freuen, wenn wir Sie trotz dieser Erfahrung in Zukunft wieder bei der Planung einer Reise unterstützen dürften.

Liebe Grüße, Christina Hubrich

Don't touch this ship, although the general information above is correct, the ship is in need of renovation. In my opinion it is run as a cash cow. You have to pay for all the extras. Nitrox, drinks. On top of all prices there is a service charge and then VAT. Together about 26%! Nobody says that at the start, but it is written somewhere... The absolute hammer is that you have to pay a fixed tip of 150 USD per week! Every participant is listed in this regard. If you refuse, there is real stress, up to the threat of not being let off the boat on departure. Let them include this in the price of the trip, then everyone can decide for themselves whether they want to go!

(Automatically translated from German)

Stellungnahme von Aqua Active Team
Lieber Herr Schulz,

vielen Dank für Ihre offene Rückmeldung zu Ihrer Safari. Wir bedauern sehr, dass Ihre Erwartungen in mehreren Punkten nicht erfüllt wurden, und möchten uns für die entstandenen Unannehmlichkeiten entschuldigen.

Ihre Anmerkungen zur Modernisierung des Schiffes sowie zur generellen Preisgestaltung nehmen wir sehr ernst und haben Ihr Feedback bereits an das zuständige Safariunternehmen weitergeleitet. Auch dort zeigt man sich sehr betroffen über Ihre Bewertung.

Bezüglich der von Ihnen erwähnten „Service Charge“ möchten wir betonen, dass es sich hierbei nicht um ein freiwilliges Trinkgeld im klassischen Sinne handelt, sondern um eine von den lokalen Behörden vorgeschriebene Gebühr, die unter dem Begriff „Service Charge“ ausgewiesen wird. Auch die zusätzlich erhobene Mehrwertsteuer basiert auf behördlichen Vorgaben und liegt außerhalb unseres Einflussbereichs.

Dass diese Gebührenkombination zu Beginn nicht ausreichend deutlich kommuniziert wurde, bedauern wir sehr. Wir nehmen Ihre Kritik zum Anlass, die Darstellung in unseren Reiseunterlagen transparenter zu gestalten.

Was die Organisation des Trinkgelds an Bord betrifft: Die Erfassung der Teilnehmer in einer Liste dient der Übersichtlichkeit und soll die Abwicklung für Gäste und Crew erleichtern. Sollte dabei der Eindruck entstanden sein, es würde Druck auf einzelne Gäste ausgeübt, bedauern wir das ausdrücklich – ein solches Vorgehen entspricht nicht unserem Anspruch an respektvollen und professionellen Umgang. Ihre Schilderung nehmen wir sehr ernst und haben auch diesen Punkt an die Reederei weitergegeben.

Ihr Hinweis, solche Gebühren künftig direkt in den Reisepreis zu integrieren, ist nachvollziehbar und wurde ebenfalls intern aufgenommen.

Wir hoffen sehr, dass Sie trotz dieser Erfahrungen schöne Tauchgänge und Begegnungen an Bord hatten – und danken Ihnen nochmals für Ihre ehrliche Rückmeldung, die uns hilft, unseren Service weiter zu verbessern.

Liebe Grüße, Christina Hubrich

The Horizon 3 is a spacious boat and very well designed. The cabins - we were in number 11 - were quite spacious and the bed was very comfortable. However, the bathroom is a bit outdated and could be renovated. Unfortunately, I cut myself quite deeply on the door of the cabin, or rather the counterpart of the lock. This counterpart is not in the door frame but protrudes beyond it. I tried to lean on the frame in the waves and injured myself on the sharp edge. Fortunately I was able to dive, there was no inflammation and all that remains now is a small scar as a reminder of the Horizon 3. However, it is advisable to defuse this edge a little.


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The vessel is already over the horizon and needs some fundamental maintenance. Dangerous installations may cause injuries, as happened on this tour...

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This was my first liveaboard but definitely not my last thanks to this trip. Booking was easy and the liveaboard itself was an unforgettable experience!

(Automatically translated from Dutch)

The cabin was rather uncomfortable. The forward cabin offered little comfortable free space, you couldn't feel at ease. There was no water pressure in the shower, we showered off with the toilet hose, there was pressure.

The food was great, there was always something for everyone. Praise to the kitchen at this point.

The dive guides were rather disappointing, again and again divers got lost without the guide having any idea about it, because he had almost only oriented himself to the front, the groups under water were perhaps simply too large (7 divers + guide). Before the last dive, a diving tank was replaced by the nitrox group, the tank was filled with too little pressure, the diver was given an unused tank by the air group, as it turned out, this air tank was filled with a 32 nitrox mixture, which then raised the question of what WE, the air group, actually had in our tanks the whole time and what could have happened.

Out of 17 promised dives, 15 were carried out, even several times in the same region or even at the same dive site as the day before, the reason given was the bad weather on our onward route, which seemed to us to be a bit of an excuse.

After the week on the safari boat, which we will always remember as a disappointment, we would not book this boat again or recommend it to others.

(Automatically translated from German)

The ship was spacious and there was also enough room for the divers on the dhoni. As water was dripping from the ceiling of the boat on the second day, the trip could not be carried out as we had to wait for a pump to be repaired. It turned out to be a stroke of luck for the divers, as a great dive site (Shark Tank) was reached and we were able to do 2 dives there.
The staff were very friendly and helpful and the food was varied.


(Automatically translated from German)

The ship is "end of life" and is no longer maintained with the same care as in previous years. The service on board has also deteriorated. No longer recommended.

(Automatically translated from German)

All the dive guides, except the Russian, were excellent.

(Automatically translated from German)

The safari ship and the cabins are well equipped and functional. However, it is noticeable that there is a need for repair and renovation in many places. This also applies to the diving dhoni. The cleanliness in the cabins and in the bathroom as well as in the toilet on the dhoni is sufficient to inadequate.

The food is very good and varied. The crew goes to great lengths and is very friendly.

During our more than 500 dives we have never experienced such bad guides. The dive organization and briefings are incomplete and inadequate. The guides do not work as a team. They are all lone warriors who even settle their disputes in front of the guests. The execution of the dives is correspondingly inadequate. The currents are regularly misjudged. As a result, we experienced some dives where we fought against the current for 40 minutes and didn't even see anything beautiful. Our dive guide also usually dived ahead like a torpedo without paying attention to us guests. He was usually outside the distance that would have allowed him to intervene in case of problems. On one night dive, on which I was the only guest in our group, he actually lost me after 1 minute in the water because he simply swam away. I did the dive with the group that jumped into the water at the end. The diver with the fewest dives in our group (80 at the beginning of the safari) skipped many dives, especially in the second week, because he didn't feel safe. His buddy had a camera with him and was often focused on taking photos. And the dive guide practically never paid attention to the guests. His communication above and below the water was poor to non-existent. He was also practically never able to show us anything underwater because he was preoccupied with himself. A typical picture was him with his nose in a coral. He did this for minutes without paying attention to the guests.

There was an oxygen cylinder on the diving dhoni during the heart attack. Unfortunately, the necessary connections and masks were missing, so that no oxygen was available for the initial treatment. Oxygen was only available on the safari boat. There was no defibrillator on either the dhoni or the safari boat, which we believe is the minimum standard on a safari like this. In addition, it became clear to you in the first few minutes after the heart attack that the dive guides were not sufficiently trained to provide appropriate first aid as quickly as possible. During the safety briefing, we guests were not informed about the presence (or absence) of oxygen and a defibrillator. It was not clear where the first aid equipment was located on the boats.

Conclusion: This provider must be removed from the program. Completely inadequate and insufficient in terms of safety. Please check with Dive & Travel exactly how the safety equipment and safety arrangements are organized.

We will be very careful when booking in the future and strongly advise everyone against a stay on the Horizon III. You must remove this provider from your portfolio!

(Automatically translated from German)

no comment given

I spent a nice week, the crew was very committed. It was also an advantage that there were only 8 guests on board. On the weather, of course, the crew and the ship have no influence!

(Automatically translated from German)

no comment given

The dive guide leader didn't seem very motivated. Our cabin was adjacent to the engine room and bothered by fuel vapor but I actually slept outside all nights because I like that.

(Automatically translated from Dutch)

Positive : Very good crew incl. guides, super food.
Negative : Cancellation of the safari due to technical problems with Dhoni. Already before technical problems and therefore change of route. Water ingress in cabin. Maintenance of ship and dhoni obviously insufficient.

(Automatically translated from German)

Was my worst trip to the Maldives so far. Day 1 was fully okay, pickup, cabin occupancy, dive equipment on the dive dhoni prepare (space-wise, however, as in a sardine can) and check dive.
Day 2 : in the morning 2 more dives in the North Maleatoll, visibility quite limited. The planned crossing to Ari Atoll was cancelled due to oil leakage from the dive boat motor and a leak from the dive dhoni, return to Male. Afternoon dive therefore cancelled. Day 3 therefore change of plan and off to the South Male and Vaavu Atoll. This time 3 dives. Day 4 in the morning 2 more dives in Vaavu Atoll, then the attempt to cross over to Ari Atoll: Total engine failure on the diving dhoni, which is left behind in Vaavu Atoll after all our diving stuff had been transferred to the Horizon III. Were then accommodated on Dhigurah( native island in Ari atoll) in 2 different hotels. In the afternoon 2 dives. Day 5 as planned four dives, against expectations no complications. Day 6 (Saturday brings again a surprise: instead of two dives at 6:30 speedboat to Male (there is only one a day and that just at 6:30, too close for our flight on Sunday morning. All in all, a lot of money for a vacation that we had imagined a little differently.

(Automatically translated from German)

Unfortunately, the boat is in poor condition. The advertised whirlpool is dirty and the fittings are defective - but since there was no hot water on the whole trip, the pool was useless anyway. The bathroom fixtures fall apart when used, the bed sheets are holey and have brown stains (hopefully it was rust).
The cleanliness in general is not that great. The crew unfortunately did not take care of used ashtrays or empty bottles and glasses. There is - also in the public toilet no soap, shower gel, towels.
The cabins are sprayed daily with insect repellent as a precaution.
The boat was moving very slow with max 7 knots all the time. Other boats on the same tour always overtook us - during the trips there was hardly any consideration for the guests (e.g. during meals etc) and crosswise to the wind.
Our dive guide had only been in the Maldives for 11 days and was with us for the 2nd week as a dive guide. The briefings were so lala, because not all guides have participated then was often dived underwater completely different. Also the estimation of the currents has almost always gone wrong - accordingly were the drop-off points. The other guides besides our newbie were booked externally and were not part of the crew.
The rental equipment that our fellow divers had was consistently in poor condition (e.g. jacket at the inflator connection leaking, everything old and used up). There is only one Nitrox Anlyzer for guests and filling logistics.
After one filling we had a lot of water in the cylinder valve - possibly from washing without a protective cap.
The safety briefing was minimal (despite request - we were then shown the emergency exits from the lower deck). There are no evacuation plans and the location of the life rafts was not explained to us. The Horizon III has no visible life rafts.
There are no fire alarms in the cabins, the emergency lighting did not work, so when the generator failed (the very first evening) the boat was completely dark.
In the lower deck, the air-conditioning system failed completely several times, even for half a day.
On the "Doni" the alpha flag was already torn at departure and only a white flag of surrender remained.
During repair work on the first evening the boat crew simply threw defective parts overboard. The diving doni leaked oil.
On the last day the "drinking" water was completely empty - we had to wait for hours for the bunker ship (Not so nice without flushing toilets) . The desalination plant could probably not be used.
The paid Internet (20US$) has often not worked according to complaints of fellow travelers (we were offline).

The food is simple and sometimes a little lovelessly arranged, but was always good and many local dishes . Drinks are rather expensive.

The dive spots were partly terrific, but partly uninspired and without experiences or corals - and poorly guided to boot. (how can you do that if you have no experience as a guide and in the region).

After the company's feedback on our shortcomings, it is clear to me that this is not something they want to see and improve.
I would not book a safari with blue horizin again

(Automatically translated from German)

Dinah and his crew are extremely professional and friendly. We felt like we were in good hands. Unfortunately, everything on the ship was no longer quite as it should be and it would be necessary a makeover. But most of the time we spent under water anyway :-)

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Stellungnahme von WeDive
Vielen Dank für die gute Bewertung und Ihre Zeit für einen persönlichen Kommentar.
Wir schätzen Ihr Feedback sehr.

no comment given

This review is concerning a two weeks trip (two consecutive 7-days trips) in April on the Horizon 3. First week was Huvadhoo – Lamu; second week Lamu - Male. To set the context and give the reader the assurance, that we have a certain level of experience with liveaboards: We’re a couple, both instructor level, 800+ dives each, 30+ liveaboard trips out of which half in the Maldives.

First of all: Many guests had quite a few complains and most were able to discuss the points with Amir (hope I captured his name rightly) from the Marketing office, who joined the vessel on the last day. I absolutely appreciate Amir’s effort and courage to face the crowd of flared tempers and listen to their complaints; conversations which should happen earlier with the Cruise Director Zinah, but didn’t happen. Zinah is an absolute incredible dive guide, but I couldn’t see him stepping up and solving the lack of leadership this vessel has. It shouldn’t be unmentioned, after a 1:1 conversation I had with Amir, in which we discussed our own main concerns/disappointments, he offered to waive our bar bill (which was quite an amount of money considering 2 people and a 14-days trip) and a discount on a potential next trip with the Horizon 3 (not sure if we will give it another try, but I appreciate the offer though). Apparently, the Horizon 3 will undergo a major maintenance in June 2022, but until then, some of the issue I’ll describe below will probably remain.

Pluses:
Diving: the dive spots in the South we’re more exciting than in the second week (way more sharks down South) , overall though, we had nice 30+ dives. With 20+ guests onboard it was comfortable to have four dive guides and respectively four different groups. The groups rarely met under water or at least didn’t get in each other’s way, and were well chosen based on experience level. It was a high accuracy when it comes to dropping at the right spot. We dove the two weeks with Zinah as a guide, and his qualities as a guide are undoubted. He chose the depth at the beginning of the dive well (considering we were all on air), to make sure we have enough bottom time when we wanted to hook, we always had 60+ minutes dive time, we either jumped as first but mainly as last group, he had a nice and relaxed speed and was also fine when we occasionally left the group and stayed on our own. Our tanks were always 200+ and the Dhoni was the most spacious Dhonis I have seen so far.
Cabins: We had one of the three upper deck cabins. Those are spacious and have a lot of storage room. The four sunchairs on this deck are exclusively dedicated for these three cabins, which is a nice add on. Rooms were clean (not considering the wear and tear which can’t be solved with cleaning) and were cleaned twice a day. Towels and bed sheets were changed in a reasonable cadence and on the deck were a sufficient number of clothespins (though I always have my own, since we were often on liveaboards were clothespins were a scarce commodity.
Crew: The Dhoni but also the vessel crew were super polite and helpful. It is necessary though to highlight Ranga and Sujesh, who are the stars in the saloon and are operating on a completely different level. Their personality and understanding of serving customers is outstanding.
Vessel: The vessel itself is one of the bigger boats we’ve been on. There is enough room for all 20+ guests. You have roofed seating areas at the stern on the main deck and upper deck, a spacious sun deck and an unroofed seating area at the bow. The main deck has lounge area with racks, so every cabin has a shelf for storage with a socket (not all sockets worked though). Food is provided as a buffet in the salon, but you can eat inside or outside. The food itself was ok, variety dropped at the end of each week. The chef was quite accommodative of all the different requests (spicy/not spicy, vegan/vegetarians and certain allergies).

Deltas:
Nitrox: There was no Nitrox on board. Something broke and the compressor was not able to fill the tanks with Nitrox (timely). The most disappointing thing is that this did happen already two weeks prior us starting the safari and we didn’t get any information upfront (which would have allowed us to rebook to another boat). Our attempt to move at least for the second week to another boat, was foiled by the fact, that Blue Horizon didn’t allow us to cancel the second week without massive penalties. After having the chance talking to Amir at the end of the trip, we got to know that even he only got to know about the broken compressor via complain emails our agency sent them. It is hard to believe that the management wasn’t informed by the boat for two weeks about this issue, but if that’s the case, it just underlines the lack of leadership on the Horizon III. For the sake of completeness, though it is not even worth to mention, on the second day of the safari, the divers were faced with the choice either having two dives/day with Nitrox or thr

(Automatically translated from German)

A good ship and I would basically come again. However, one has the impression that one is not dependent on regular guests or good feedback here and wants to improve. There are many minuses in the details (vermin in the cabins, unrepaired wear and tear damage, poorly equipped first aid kit, lack of anti-slip coating on all stairs, loveless and sometimes poor briefings).
None of this was to a degree that would be a "no-go" for me.... but you notice a difference to the very high standard on the (partly cheaper) ships we have been on so far.

(Automatically translated from German)

The Maldives and the route of the Horizon III exceeded our expectations. Besides many sharks we also saw manta rays, deep sea sharks, and whale sharks!

(Automatically translated from German)

We were already guests on the Horizon 2 years ago and were now allowed to join the tour from Addu (Gan) to Huvadhoo in early February 2022. We were thrilled in every respect. The tour guide Zinah makes unchanged the super job as 2 years ago.
This also applies to the extremely courteous staff. The guides have changed in the meantime, but here too, everything is done in a great way, well-founded and sympathetic, and the sheep kept together.
The channel dives around Huvadhoo have always thrilled with several dozen gray reef sharks. Unforgettable is also the nightly visit of two whale sharks, attracted by the boat lights.
And of course we also visited the tiger zoo. - There - strongly impressed - one dive was enough for us :).
Conclusion:
We can only praise, have experienced great and felt very comfortable.


(Automatically translated from German)

Unfortunately, the dive guides were not motivated and wanted to resurface after 45 minutes( you wanted to smoke a cigarette) !
We know this from other ships differently.
Food was also not special. Once even whole hands were left in the warming container, with the hint, you can share them yourself! Super in Corona times....

(Automatically translated from German)

Stellungnahme von Heike Pühler
Danke für diese Rückmeldung, wir werden uns mit der Horizon III in Verbindung setzen und den Fall klären.

Everything top. At the tiger zoo you had to pay 30 dollars extra, but it was not in the documents.

(Automatically translated from German)

no comment given

We have experienced great days on a beautiful ship with a great, helpful crew and met very nice people. The dive sites visited during the safari were very nice. Unfortunately we had partly very bad visibility.


(Automatically translated from German)

The team was unfortunately not motivated! No own snorkeling program! The ship is not in good condition!

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no comment given

Super support by Wirodive in the difficult Corona time, many thanks for it

(Automatically translated from German)

No luxury boat, an older lady, spacious, well maintained, with 22 guests a little tight eg in the dining room, where the AirCon is not enough. Dive operation despite 3 guides mostly in entire troop, thus little chance of big fish. Too much consideration for divers who are overwhelmed with the conditions in the south. A tour leader would be desirable, because the local guide was obviously overtaxed (diving operation, lack of behaviour of a few guests concerning Corona, partly borderline dangerous situation at the Tiger Shark Dive, therefore the safety rating).
Positive: Plenty of storage space in the cabins and in the dhoni, kitchen, staff.
Negative: Guide wants to please everyone (therefore partly bland dive spots), exaggerated drink prices (wine), water dispenser overburdened, island evening in the second week on a "garbage dump

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