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Possible routings to MLE and costs:

JFK-AUH-MLE (EY) -- 45/67.5/90 AA
JFK-DOH-MLE (QR) -- 45/67.5/90 AA
JFK-FRA-SIN-MLE (SQ) -- East Coast: (Including 15% off booking online) 46,750/91,375/116,875; West Coast: 89,250/144,500/229,500
JFK-DXB-MLE (EK) -- 42.5/82.5/150 AS
JFK-IST-MLE (TK) -- 42.5/70/90 UA (United routing allows a stopover in TLV)
JFK-VIE-MLE (OS) -- 42.5/80 UA
JFK-LGW-MLE (BA) -- 45/90/135 BA
JFK-ICN-CMB-MLE (KE) -- 60/107.5/137.5 KE
JFK-HKG-MLE (CX) -- 57.5/85/112.5 AA
JFK-HKG-MLE (CX) -- 50/70 AS
TLV-IST-MLE (TK)-- 20/35 UA
Quote
It's pretty simple, y'all. No pork, no porn, and no alcohol. Those are the rules. -AJK
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Blah blah blah. -AJK
Quote
Park Hyatt MLE + Diamond Suite Upgrade gets you nothing as all are considered suites. -AJK



Conrad Upgrades:

Upgrade from King Beach Villa to King Water Villa US$ 200 + 10% service charge + 12% T GST per night.
Upgrade from King Beach Villa to King Deluxe Beach Villa US$ 210+ 10% service charge + 12% T GST per night.
Upgrade from King Beach Villa to King Superior Water  Villa US$ 250 + 10% service charge + 12% T GST per night.
Upgrade from King Beach Villa to King Retreat Water Villa US$ 400 + 10% service charge + 12% T GST per night.
Upgrade from King Beach Villa to King Deluxe Water Villa US$ 480 + 10% service charge + 12% T GST per night.
Upgrade from King Beach Villa to Family Water Villa US$ 720 + 10% service charge + 12% T GST per night. ( 2 bedrooms)

Airport transfer fee: $560 including tax

PH Upgrades:

Upgrade from Park Villa to Park Pool Villa $USD 252.56++ per villa per night
Upgrade from Park Villa to Park Water Villa $USD 405++ per villa per night ( Villa Number 38-44)
Upgrade from Park Villa to Park Water Sunset Villa $USD 610++ per villa per night ( Villa number 45-51)

Airport transfer fee: $520 RT per person

SR:
Airport transfer fee: $745 RT per person

Author Topic: Maldives Master Thread  (Read 1326991 times)

Offline moish

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1700 on: January 27, 2015, 07:54:03 AM »
Uhh, yes, I do understand that.
"Both" was referring to speedboat distance and flying distance.
i understand, but by trying both to make a judgement means to have stayed in many hotels

Offline Drago

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1701 on: January 27, 2015, 08:29:57 AM »
i understand, but by trying both to make a judgement means to have stayed in many hotels
Great, so we're on the same page.
I also agree that it's silly for ppl to say, open and shut, that resorts closer to the airport have worse reefs, unless they've tested them out, and compared them to resorts further away.

I can only comment on my one experience (speedboat ride), but b/c I'm not a reef expert, I can't objectively judge whether the reef was good.

Offline EMCC

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1702 on: January 28, 2015, 06:17:57 AM »
"Disclaimer: I don't believe everything I write."  - ChaimMoskowitz

Offline ranhan429

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1703 on: January 29, 2015, 07:23:42 AM »
sweet, anyone an experienced diver here? We are going to Maldives in may and trying to get our certs beforehand. We are gonna go down to eilat , (with deep siam -- unless someone else knows something better) -- and get open water and get the advanced in the next weekend... im hoping us each having open + advanced (2 stars they call it in israel) will give us enough flexibility to see amazing stuff in maldives 
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Offline chuchem

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1704 on: January 29, 2015, 07:57:28 AM »
The Maldives have such amazing corals on top, that even without the fancy dive cert you will be blown away

Offline ranhan429

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1705 on: January 29, 2015, 08:04:23 AM »
The Maldives have such amazing corals on top, that even without the fancy dive cert you will be blown away

Awesome! Just wanna make sure we have enough certs so that we won't have to pay tons of money for a professional teacher to go with us. Probably we'll want to have someone show us the site and then if we feel comfortable go on our own.
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Offline Emkay

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1706 on: January 29, 2015, 08:27:39 AM »
Awesome! Just wanna make sure we have enough certs so that we won't have to pay tons of money for a professional teacher to go with us. Probably we'll want to have someone show us the site and then if we feel comfortable go on our own.
You will pay that money getting the certs here

Offline ranhan429

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1707 on: January 29, 2015, 08:55:51 AM »
You will pay that money getting the certs here

Fair - but it's a cost we've wanted to pay for a while, specifically in Eilat.
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Offline AJK

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1708 on: January 29, 2015, 09:16:05 AM »
What's your question?
2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline ranhan429

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1709 on: January 29, 2015, 09:22:24 AM »
What's your question?

How much cert. do you need to experience great diving in the maldives? Is it possible to go on your own - safely if you have just open water and / or open water + advanced? Do you recommend going on excursions or diving around the hotel (we are staying at hyatt - but I saw some other excursions/ not sure if it's worth looking into..)

TIA!!!
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Offline AJK

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1710 on: January 29, 2015, 09:26:53 AM »
How much cert. do you need to experience great diving in the maldives? Is it possible to go on your own - safely if you have just open water and / or open water + advanced? Do you recommend going on excursions or diving around the hotel (we are staying at hyatt - but I saw some other excursions/ not sure if it's worth looking into..)

TIA!!!

Personally, I wouldn't go by myself in a new locale. Moreover, PADI themselves do not recommend it.

Even so, you'll be able to do wonderful diving there even as a standard open water diver. Mrs. AJK and I are advanced open water, can go down to 30 meters, but that's not necessary in MLE.

You'll be pushing the fish out of your way, as you can see more fish in ten mins of diving there than you could see in ten years in other places.
2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline ranhan429

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1711 on: January 29, 2015, 09:31:39 AM »
Personally, I wouldn't go by myself in a new locale. Moreover, PADI themselves do not recommend it.

Even so, you'll be able to do wonderful diving there even as a standard open water diver. Mrs. AJK and I are advanced open water, can go down to 30 meters, but that's not necessary in MLE.

You'll be pushing the fish out of your way, as you can see more fish in ten mins of diving there than you could see in ten years in other places.

So you went with a Guide? Did you dive near the hotel? Did you do any excursions? We'll be there 4 nights, as I understand it, if a guide shows you your site and explains all the information then it is safe to go with a certified buddy. I imagine, we will go with a guide several times, and then will feel comfortable enough to go on our own where the guide took us.

FYI - From the PADI website

What do I earn at the end [of an open water cert]?

"You will receive your permanent PADI Open Water Diver certification card, granting you the freedom to explore the aquatic realm worldwide.  You are certified to a maximum depth of 18 meters/60 feet and can conduct dives independently with a certified buddy or under the supervision of a PADI professional." source <http://www.coconuttreedivers.com/courses/open-water-diver.html>

also you say MLE, but we will not be in MLE, we'll be in the islands...
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Offline AJK

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1712 on: January 29, 2015, 11:41:35 AM »
Went with a guide, yes. Did a number of dives, some near my hotel and some not.

Correct, once you go WITH a guide for a dive or two, then PADI says it's OK to go on your own. You didn't say that.
2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline an613

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1713 on: January 29, 2015, 10:19:26 PM »

The Maldives have such amazing corals on top, that even without the fancy dive cert you will be blown away

+1. Visibility by the Hyatt was incredible and you could easily see >40 ft away. Here are some pics taken while snorkeling (these were taken elsewhere but visibility and coral were similar)




Offline ranhan429

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1714 on: January 30, 2015, 05:53:20 AM »
Went with a guide, yes. Did a number of dives, some near my hotel and some not.

Correct, once you go WITH a guide for a dive or two, then PADI says it's OK to go on your own. You didn't say that.
I thought it was implied that going on our own was of course after we were familiar with the site.
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Offline ranhan429

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1715 on: January 30, 2015, 05:54:38 AM »
+1. Visibility by the Hyatt was incredible and you could easily see >40 ft away. Here are some pics taken while snorkeling (these were taken elsewhere but visibility and coral were similar)




Looks like you could use a red filter!! I got one for my last dive in thailand and it made all the difference.

Where were these taken then? Did u go out diving in other places as well? Excursion type things?
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Offline ranhan429

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1716 on: January 30, 2015, 06:00:03 AM »
I know were going off top here , but look at the colors from my last dive when I used a red filter (this just a screenshot of a video on my phone).

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Offline an613

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1717 on: January 30, 2015, 06:02:09 AM »

Looks like you could use a red filter!! I got one for my last dive in thailand and it made all the difference.

Where were these taken then? Did u go out diving in other places as well? Excursion type things?

Lol yeah. Wasn't really expecting a whole lot out of my phone underwater.

Yeah these were taken on the reef exploration trip. The house reef was just as good I just don't have any good pics

Offline ranhan429

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1718 on: January 30, 2015, 06:34:37 AM »
Lol yeah. Wasn't really expecting a whole lot out of my phone underwater.

Yeah these were taken on the reef exploration trip. The house reef was just as good I just don't have any good pics

so was the reef exploration trip worth it?
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Offline moish

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Re: Maldives Master Thread
« Reply #1719 on: January 30, 2015, 08:15:51 AM »
Lol yeah. Wasn't really expecting a whole lot out of my phone underwater.

Yeah these were taken on the reef exploration trip. The house reef was just as good I just don't have any good pics
were there turtles at the house reef?