My daughter and I had the opportunity to go on a liveaboard diving trip on the Emperor Elite in April 2026. We were met at Marsa Alam Airport and taken to Port Ghalib, where we were able to stow our luggage on the boat. Check-in wasn’t until 5:00 p.m. at the earliest, though. We easily passed the few hours with a visit to Port Ghalib and a delicious camel steak cooked on a hot stone.
Check-in was straightforward, as the essential details had already been submitted online in advance. We were then able to move into our room on the upper deck. Standard room with two separate beds, not large, but adequate. Private shower/toilet. After that, we set up our gear, had dinner, and went to bed early.
On the first morning, wake-up call wasn’t until 7:00 a.m., with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. During that time, the port authorities checked all the formalities and gave the go-ahead. During the trip to Abu Dhabi, there was a detailed briefing lasting several hours about the boat, safety, procedures, etc. Knowledge of English is a must!
The final briefing was about the dive. As usual, we started with a check dive to make sure the weights were right, everyone could shoot a surface marker buoy, etc.
The sea temperature was 23°C. A 5mm wetsuit would have worked, but for a bit more comfort, we ended up diving in 7mm semi-dry suits.
The reefs in the Red Sea are teeming with life. However, the high temperatures in recent years (apparently up to 32°C water temperature) have left visible traces. It’s still beautiful here, though.
Dive - Eat - Sleep - Repeat is the motto. And it’s true! Wake-up call at 6:00 a.m. Prepare the gear, and the briefing is at 6:30 a.m. The boat has room for 24 divers, so we almost always dive in three groups with a guide. One hour is standard. Often, just under half of that time is spent at 30 meters down. Depending on the dive site, we go straight from the boat, otherwise we use the Zodiac. The same goes for getting back in. Luckily, there were no judgment calls when getting out of the water and back into the Zodiac. There was no assistance getting out.
After the dive, breakfast and a nap.
The whole thing repeated around 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Unless we were in a protected area, we did it all again at 6:30 p.m. for a night dive.
At Daedalus, night dives weren’t allowed. Instead, we visited the lighthouse during sunset. Beautiful!
We spent a full two days, meaning 6 dives, at Daedalus. Always hoping to see hammerhead sharks or oceanic whitetips (Longimanus). Unfortunately, nothing at all. April isn’t really the right season for that, though. And honestly, I’d rather it be that way than have the sharks specially fed for tourists.
There’s a very relaxed atmosphere on the ship between the crew and guests. Sixteen staff members work for a maximum of 24 passengers. What the two chefs and the pastry chef conjure up from that tiny kitchen is incredible. The food is excellent—there’s nothing to complain about. The two housekeeping staff are ready with drinks when you get out of the water, serve meals, clean up, and tidy the rooms while you’re out on a dive. The four crew members operate the Zodiac and help with putting on and taking off the gear. You’re not even allowed to put on your own fins ;) Two technicians who also refill our tanks, the captain, the “Vampire” (that’s what they called the night watchman who crept through the entire ship every 15 minutes all night long), and of course the three dive guides.
You feel very welcome. Everyone does their best to give you an unforgettable experience. While we’re completely exhausted after this week, for them it starts all over again the very next day.
By the way, on the last day of diving, we only dive until noon; after that, we head back to port. Equipment dried, tidied up, extras settled. Anyone who wants to can walk over to Port Galib (5 min). Dinner is then served back on the ship. Checkout is by 10:00 a.m. the next morning.
We had already left the ship the night before, as our vacation continued in Marsa Alam. There, too, transportation was organized by the EmperorDivers shore crew.
It should be noted that I had ordered and paid for a T-shirt at sea, but it hadn’t yet been delivered by the shore crew by the time we checked out. I hadn’t even thought about it anymore. Later at the hotel, when I realized this, I messaged a fellow diver to ask if he would take it back to Switzerland for me and send it to me. However, a courier was already on the way to our hotel with the T-shirt. Now that’s what I call service!
Why did we choose the Emperor Elite? For one thing, it was one of the few trips that was confirmed to go ahead, even if there were only a few divers. With others, there was a risk that the liveaboard would be canceled at the last minute. Finding something suitable at short notice wouldn’t have been easy. Another reason is the safety precautions the company adheres to. For example, there are three independent smoke detectors in every room. One is netwo

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Too many divers in a group

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We couldn't travel south because of rough seas

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The boat is great and the food is brilliant.
We dived on very beautiful reefs. The underwater world in the Red Sea is still going strong.
Unfortunately, the briefings were exclusively in English.
With 3 guides and so many German-speaking guests, at least one should know a little German.
For the (baby boomer) generation who did not learn English at school, it is very difficult. The on-board briefing on the first day lasted a full 2 hours, even those who understood English stopped listening after a while.
There is still a lot of room for improvement.

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The cabin on the upper deck is smaller than the one on the lower deck. It is not worth paying more for it.

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The tour itself was nice.
But we have a few things to criticize:
As you can see below, they charged us 6 euros for the transfer to the airport (which is included). At first they wanted to charge Guido 48 euros for the transfer and me 18 euros. Then we complained and they realized that something was wrong with the calculation formula. But they insisted on the 6 euros.
Wahel's briefing was also difficult to understand (for everyone) and a bit chaotic.
During the briefing on Elphinstone, he didn't mention a single syllable about what not to do when a Longimanus appears (which I find somewhat negligent).
Guido did the Advanced, but he didn't really learn much from Wahel...

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The crew was very attentive and took all wishes into account. If something was not good in the cabin, it was sorted out after the dive. That's how you feel comfortable. The guides were very experienced, relaxed, a well-rehearsed team and the dive planning was always informative, funny and the route flexible, depending on the current and the divers' interests.

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The dive boat is of a high standard, but not luxurious. The number of divers is too large (26) and the infrastructure is correspondingly overloaded. The diving platform is cramped and the infrastructure is far below the standard of modern liveaboards, especially for photographers. There are no work tables with electricity, no photo room and the many batteries have to be charged somewhere in the saloon. Our room (Executive Suite) was very nice and spacious on the upper deck. Unfortunately, odor emissions from the toilet spoiled the pleasure somewhat. But compared to other LiveAboards, the rooms are quite good. Driving noises are barely audible on the upper deck. The crew and dive guides are first class. Lucy, the course director, is great and knows what she is doing. The guest service is first class and very professional. The price/performance level is right. However, I would personally prefer to have only 20 divers on the boat instead of 26, but with more space for everyone and, above all, a separate photo room with work tables and loading facilities. I would be prepared to pay extra for this. The reefs and corals are great, but the sea is clearly too warm for big fish at the end of July (31-32 degrees C).

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Initially, we had the impression that we had strayed onto a "Club Med" ship. Fortunately, over the course of the week it turned into a diving ship.

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We had bad luck with the dive guide of our group, who made very questionable, partly risky decisions under water and could hardly have helped in case of an extraordinary situation. The guides of the other groups made a very professional impression. "Our guide" was summoned to talks with the chief instructor after reporting to the management and was put under supervision - bravo!

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2 weeks stayed on the Elite. First the Brothers, Deadalus, Elphinstone and the 2nd week Deep South, St.Johns, Rockys, Zabargad, Fury Shoal, Elphinstone, Abu Dabab.
Very well taken care of trips. Super friendly and helpful staff. Great food. Made many beautiful dives.
Also visited the lighthouse on Deadalus and snorkeled with dolphins at Sataya.

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Everything very well organized to perfection
Food .... this cook and kitchen staff deserve 5 stars on their sleeve ... top what they prepare there every day.
Captain and crew was top and very attentive
Guides and briefing very good
What I do miss on the boat is a sink for the breathers , there are 2 sinks for cameras/computers/lamps , I find the breathers just a little more important than the camera.
But otherwise very good how much I enjoyed this trip with Emperor, we will definitely come back.

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We enjoyed the safari trip. the boat, cabins, food, staff and guides met our expectations.
Our only downside was the last day. instead of going to a hotel the night before departure, we stayed on board and were picked up at 9:30 in the morning and taken to a cafe in the town of Hurgarda all where we had to entertain /wait for 3 hours before being picked up again and taken to the airport. This we all felt was not a good arrangement.
Have to say that we were offered to go to a hotel the morning of departure for € 25,00. But we found this to be very short thought.
So tip, better is already the evening before departure to a hotel, this we were also used to.

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South and St Johns. Good boat with very friendly and diligent crew. Great guides, wide range of dives (21 in six days). Nice dives although the last day with three dives in the same bay (with moderate visibility) was a bit boring for me.

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My reaction tav the reviews is a bit monotonous.
All of them 5 stars. It was just perfect!!!

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We already did Deep-South once in 2007 (Royal Evolution), but now the number of boats/divers was disappointing. On Elphinstone I counted 73 divers at one time and when I was around another group of 15 arrived. This was different in 2007.

There were only 2 dive guides to 26 divers. Far too few because the groups were far too large.

The underwater life is still beautiful although due to the water temperature (31) in September it was to be expected that there would be few big fish.

Nitrox: this was way too low and very fluctuating between 25 and 28%. At the airport we spoke to Elite divers that they were completely out of Nitrox due to a broken compressor. The crew had to get tanks every time with zodiacs from other boats....

The cabinds were good, but there was a leak in the lounge so water had run into my "dry-back" and my logbook with 45 years of diving experience was damaged and texts and stamps no longer readable. The boat definitely needs maintenance!

A dive guide had no problem making fun of me (as an experienced diver) in front of the group during a briefing. 2 questions about safety were waved away.

The crew was very friendly and helpful: 5 stars!

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great experience again

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Well-oiled crew and competent dive guides suitable for any level of diving experience. I really appreciated that me and my buddy had the trust of the people in charge and could therefore dive more freely and at times alone - even if this required an extra trip with the dinghy.
Will gladly book the boat and the provider again

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The boat was really great. Also most of the dive sites on the tour Wreck's & Reefs were great. Only 4 dives at thistlegorm were too much. (My opinion)
The food was really great!!
Between the dives you always had time to rest. The whole crew was always more than obliging. I would book the tour again!

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