Dive Review of Explorer Ventures/M/V Carpe Vita in
Maldives/Male, Maldives

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Explorer Ventures/M/V Carpe Vita: "Manta Ray Diving", Apr, 2018, by Gerald Canning, FL, US ( Sr. Reviewer 7 reports with 10 Helpful votes). Report 10216 has 6 Helpful votes.
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	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was the southern itinerary and the primary focus was large animals. It did not disappoint. We spent at least 2 hours underwater with many Manta Rays that were consistently coming close enough to touch. We also saw lots of Gray Reef Sharks & White Tip Reef Sharks with smaller amounts ow Tawny Nurse Sharks and Black Tip Reef sharks. We only saw one Whale Shark. At a particular site near the southmost part of our travel, the dive boat set up a very bright light on the swim platform of the boat. The light attracted krill and ultimately a whale shark that spent a considerable amount of time close to the back of the boat. We did not dive with the shark, but you could snorkel with it. The boat was awesome - the largest cabins I have ever seen of a dive boat. All diving was done from a Dhoni - a 50' boat that accompanied us on the entire trip. The Doha carried all the tanks and diving equipment, was equipped with air and nitro compressors, and gave each diver their own space that was at least three feet wide. I would love to dive on a similar boat as a day boat - it was far more comfortable than any day boat I've seen.
Websites	Explorer Ventures
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Florida, Caribbean, Indonesia, Philippines, Fiji, Mexico and California
Closest Airport	Male, Maldives	Getting There	Miami to Doha, Doha to Male
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy	Seas	calm
Water Temp	85-86°F / 29-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	A maximum depth and maximum time were specified. However, the maximum time of 60 minutes was more than adequate for dives that were in the 80-90 foot range for 20 minutes.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	1 or 2
Turtles	1 or 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		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	There was a camera area and table on the back deck of the boat. There was also a charging area inside the boat near the camera table. The staff very carefully transferred our cameras back and forth between the boat and the Doha.

Report currently has 6 Helpful votes

Subscriber's Comments

By gailmorris in , at Aug 26, 2018 04:12 EST

Planning a trip on board next April. How bad was the food? Did the dive masters handle the currents by drift diving or did you have to swim into it on a number of dives?

By report author: Gerald Canning in FL, US at Aug 26, 2018 13:55 EST

Food was good - a mix of American and local. Dive masters always dropped us upstream- to the point of a dive master entering the water to verify direction. We dropped upstream and then drifted to where we hooked in to watch the animal life pass by. We did the 10 day schedule and had cabin 2. We had no noise problems. The dive compressor and tanks are all on the tender so we didn’t have that noise.

By gailmorris in , at Aug 26, 2018 14:55 EST

Thanks for the info Gerald.

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Dive Review of Explorer Ventures/M/V Carpe Vita in Maldives/Male, Maldives

Explorer Ventures/M/V Carpe Vita: "Manta Ray Diving", Apr, 2018,

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):

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Explorer Ventures/M/V Carpe Vita in
Maldives/Male, Maldives