Emperor Superior Liveaboard

We did our first live aboard trip on the Emperor Superior in April. The boat and crew were first class. We had an upper deck berth that was spacious and had a large window. All cabins have their own en suit and are air conditioned. The boat is very clean and tidy and all rooms are cleaned daily by the crew.The crew are extremely attentive providing first class assistance whether dining, kitting up for a dive or returning after a dive. They get to know you so well that by the second day they knew how we liked our tea made and how we liked our breakfast eggs cooked. All meals are first class and served buffet style either on deck or in the dining saloon. Dinner comprised three courses with a soup of the day followed by seafood, beef and or chicken and vegetables. The deserts are plentiful and varied - there is little chance of losing weight even when doing 4 dives a day.The boat is designed for diving and as such the dive deck never felt cluttered or cramped even with 20 divers kitting up. The dive guides are very knowledgeable about the dive sites and the pre-dive briefings held in the lounge are informative and safety driven. Both Nitrox and air are available to divers and we actually completed the Nitrox PADI course on the boat. In most instances the live aboard anchors above the dive site so access to the sites is extremely easy. When this is not possible - especially on the reefs - groups are taken to the dive sites on a short zodiak ride.We did the Wrecks and Reefs itinerary and were not disappointed. We dived on 7 wrecks including the famous Thistlegorm which is every bit as magnificent a dive as we had read about. Visibility was good - as it tends to be in the Red Sea and the reefs we dove on had plenty to see including large fan corals, eels, octopus, lion, large Napoleon and stone fish. Dive sites are very popular and as such there can be multiple boats including day trippers at many of the sites making them crowded.In April the water is still cold - although this is a relative term. We dove in 5mm wetsuits but when we go back again we will definitely be wearing a 7mm semi dry at least. All of the other divers either wore these or dry suits. The wind at this time blows strong and cold so warm clothing to wear at the end of the diving day is a must.Emperor diving have something for everyone. We particularly wanted to dive on the Thislegorm and as stated earlier we were not disappointed. If you are contemplating a live aboard trip read the itineraries carefully to see if they suit what you want to see. One diver on our trip had not done this simple homework and had less than a good time as she hated diving on the wrecks.

I have tried a few different liveaboard operators in the Redsea, since 2007. But I always come back to Emperor.The boats are fantastic. Been on the Superior and Elite. Spacious rooms with A/C. Good beds. Never had any problems with the bathrooms. Everywhere you go on the boat, you'll be satisfied, because it's all clean.There's also free wifi internet, as long as the boat is in reach of signals. Big screen tv to watch movies of todays diving, or just relax with a Hollywood flic.The guides are great. They soon find out who's experienced enough to manage themself, and who needs more looking after. Their english is exellent, and they usually speaks a few other languages. (This can often be a problem with some other companies, which use local guides with poor language skills.)Food is exellent! There is a big variety in what goes on the table. There is always something for everyone. I have never had something I've refused to eat. And you get to chose how you want your eggs in the morning. Scrambled, poached, boiled, omelet in lots of varieties... You name it. On the Elite there is also free wine to dinner. Three meals, and all the snack or beverages you need, every day. Exept alcohol, which must be bought, at a nice price. You can also bring your own alcohol. There is no problem with that. BUT, the guides can tell you to NOT dive the first dive in the morning, if their opinion is that you've had to much in the evening.Diving is fantastic! Depending on which itinerary you chose, you get just what you want. There's a trip for those who just want rust. For the ones who just want fish and corals. Those who wants the big stuff. Sharks, mantas, dolphins. There's something for everyone.And the best part is that there is almost unlimited visibility. The Redsea have no big rivers driving dirt into it. So the waters is crystal clear.Pictures from Deep south, with Emperor Elite in 2012:http://www.flickr.com/photos/stigsarre/sets/72157632242582043/Pictures from Northern Reefs and Wrecks, with Emperor Superior in 2009:http://www.flickr.com/photos/stigsarre/sets/72157624587316399/Pictures from Northern Reefs and Wrecks, with Emperor Superior in 2010:http://www.flickr.com/photos/stigsarre/sets/72157625316055275/

This March I will be on my 5th trip with Emperor within the last 5 years. It started with 2 people on Asmaa and this we are going to be 8 people on Superior.Looking and that the Emperor Fleet cannot be bad as I alsways bring the same people plus some more. I never had anyone coming back from a trip being dissapointed.Diving:Really spacious dive deck with a lot of storage aread. Great for photographers since the offer nice camera tables with rubber tops and air blow guns next to it.With their partner Tecstreme the offer everything you need for technical and rebreather diving. The guides on board are always very friendly and helpfule. And also very professional and with a high knowledge. All the needed safety equipment is available and also the local boat crew is very helpful und professionalAccomondation:Nice spacious cabins for two people with ensuite bath. Some boats offer single cabins as well as master suites with queen size bed. Very very clean, new towels and bedsheets after half the trip. Cabins are cleaned every day. The boats all offer enough room for everyone even if the boat is fully booked. Jacuzy on the sundeck.Almost like a 5 Star HotelFood:best food I ever got on a boat. Cooked to order breakfast plus buffet style. Lunch and dinner was always perfect. On the last night on the sea they do a captains dinner with fresh full turkey. Softdrinks, water , tea and coffee are free. Beer and wine at extra cost (except Elite which offers wine for dinner)Dive sites:What can I say: the Red Sea! Best water I ever got my head in and I'm diving a lot since 1991. Beatiful coral reefs, chance for big stuff like Manta Ray, Sharks, Dolphins. Some of the best wrecks of the world and some of the most amazing drop offs.Timing:It is hard to tell when it is the best time for a Red Sea dive trip. Generally it is all year diving, but you will see different thing on different times. November until March is meant to be winter time which means that it is a bit more cold, or lets say less hot. Day temperatures are around 25 C / 77 F. Water is a bit colder at around 20 C / 68 F. Does not sound to bad, but with the typical Red Sea wind you might get cold getting out your wetsuit. In Summertime water gets up to 25 to 28 C / 77 F to83 F while the air get really hot during daytime. 40 C / 102 F is easily possible.Wintertime is somewhat like low season, so less crowded, but due to the political situation in Cairo it is quite slow in Egypt all year round now. By the way, the situation in Cairo does not really affect the diving in the Red Sea.The warmer the water the more beatiful coral life will be, but vis also goes down a bit. The colder the water the better the chance for big stuff. Best season for sharks is in March and April, but you never know. Red Sea is always good for suprises. The only whale shark of my life came by at Brother Islands in June which is very unusal.Routing:Emperor Divers do offer different routes from different ports in Egypt. I did not travel on all routes yet, but my most favourite is "simply the best" as it combines wrecks in northern Red Sea and the world famous Brother Island with their amazing drop off walls and good chances for sharks. But you will travel a lot with the boat, so if you prefer more dives and tend to get seasick you should stay north or south. "Deep South" route offer beatiful coral gardens, some caverns and beatiful marine life.For wreck lovers "get wrecked" or "reef and wrecks" is the better option. There are a lot of nice wrecks in the northern part of Red Sea. So if you are for rust go there.Emperor Divers also offer desginated tech trips with special dive sites with depths below 70m / 230 feet. These trips are only for certified tech and rebreather divers.General:Great dive operator with great boats, very professional staff and perfect reaction times on emails. Always had been happy going diving with them and I will return for sure.Red Sea is for sure divers paradise and for all european people an amazing option to go with an 4 hour flight. But it is also worth taking a long flight from the US to get down there.

I booked Emperor Superior with high expectations as it is billed as one of the higher-end boats in the Red Sea. I would say my 7 nights on board were fine, but I certainly wasn’t wowed, and didn’t enjoy this trip nearly as much as some of the other Red Sea liveaboards I’ve spent time on.The Good Bits:AccommodationWe had an Upper Deck Double Cabin (the only one on board) and it was spacious and well appointed with a good amount of storage, although no hanging space. The en suite was large and the shower was also really big for a boat, but there were no shelves or storage facilities of any kind in the ensuite so our toiletries had to stay in a bag on the floor. The rest of the boat was in good condition, clean and well looked after. There was plenty of space in the saloon, although with 26 divers on board some people did have to stand or sit on the floor during briefings. There was also enough space for all guests to eat at the same time in the dining area.Food and StaffThe food was tasty and plentiful - there were some really nice healthy options, soup each day, plenty of salads, and not too much seafood. The Desserts were also delicious. The catering staff and stewards were always helpful and courteous. The dive deck hands were very good - helpful and attentive at all times.The Bad Bits:OrganizationThere were quite a few changes to the schedule due to weather, and this was discussed with the guests each evening. However, there were times when things seemed very disorganized with little communication to the guests. This was especially the case at the end of the trip when we were delayed back into port.DivingThe best sites on this itinerary are Tiran and Ras Mohammed. We spent 1 full day (4 dives) in Tiran but then only did 1 dive in Ras Mohammed. This was a big disappointment as some of the most exciting reef and wall dives are in this area and the marine life is excellent.There were 26 divers onboard and 2 dive guides. This is what Emperor advertised, so no surprises, however, on many other Red Sea liveaboards there are fewer divers and 3 guides (1 cruise director and 2 guides). In addition to this, on almost all dives on this trip there was only 1 guide in the water. This meant that all but the least experienced divers were diving unguided the majority of the time.Of all the boats I’ve been on, it is the staff that make or break a trip, and unfortunately, most of the staff on this trip were lacking any kind of personal touch. It really felt like we were just the next group on a conveyor belt of trips.In Summary:This wasn’t a terrible trip by any means, however, I have been on some great Red Sea liveaboards and this didn’t match up to previous experiences. I will definitely steer clear of such large boats in the future, as I feel the number of guests had a big impact on most of the negative issues we experienced. This maybe isn’t the best option for new divers or those looking for a highly personal experience.