Dive Review of Delphis/Royal Island in
Maldives/Baa Atoll

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Delphis/Royal Island, Dec, 2009, by Sherri Dullingham, Singapore, Singapore ( Reviewer 3 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 5318.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	It’s hard to be objective about our trip to Royal Island, because we paid absolute top dollar to go during the high season, and it rained 50% of the time, including 36 hours of torrential rain that commenced on Christmas Eve. The 4 sunny days out of our 8 day trip were incredibly windy, preventing our 6 year old from snorkeling most of the time. This weather is either pretty common for this time of year, or totally uncommon, depending on whom you ask. The resort was only 20% full, leading to a sort of ho-hum atmosphere. That being said, the villa was very nice, the food was good, and the beach was much nicer than Bandos, where we went last year. When I say the food was good, I don’t mean it was perfect—like most resorts in the Maldives, they serve buffet style, with some offerings being better than others. Probably obvious to most—the Western food is iffy, but the Indian/Maldivian dishes are pretty good. The dive operation took some getting used to. One thing Americans need to remember is that we are in the minority here. Most resorts are heavily occupied by citizens from one European country or another—so, do your research carefully prior to traveling here for the best chance of finding a congenial environment. As for the dive operation, their largely European clientele and influence means that they use steel tanks with DIN fittings. They accurately point out that steel tanks are not as buoyant as aluminum at the end of a dive, but they are heavy and take some getting used to. The other weird thing about this resort is that they do a ONE tank morning dive and a one tank afternoon dive, which we were not expecting. I went back and checked their website, and this news is buried on one the pages. It turned out OK, but it threw us off our game initially, since we planned to hire a babysitter, dive from about 8 a.m. to about noon, and spend the rest of the day with our 6 year old. So, if you want to get in two dives per day, you spend most of your day either preparing to dive, diving, or cleaning up from a dive. Also, you assemble your own gear each and every dive. I know some of you cowboys don’t like anyone to touch your rig, but for those of us who dive once or twice a year, a little more service is appreciated, especially on a resort that purports to be 5 star. I should add though, that the diving was really good, and most of the dive staff very knowledgeable and helpful, with Igino, Alessendre and Junko being the stand-out divemasters. I should also mention that the rental gear is really old and outdated. On the good side: we saw all manner of fish, large and small. Lots of sharks, lots of eagle rays, lots of turtles. Dozens of eels. Lobsters. Nudibranchs. Frog fish. All the beautiful tropical fish in glorious abundance. Mantas on the house reef several days in a row, which we snorkeled with once, but none on dives.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Cayman Islands, Florida Keys, Cozumel, Fiji, Hawaii
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy, rainy	Seas	choppy, currents
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	30-70 Ft/ 9-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	30M limit mandated by gov't.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments

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Dive Review of Delphis/Royal Island in Maldives/Baa Atoll

Delphis/Royal Island, Dec, 2009,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Delphis/Royal Island in
Maldives/Baa Atoll