Emperor Explorer, Maldives
- from $ 266 / day
- 9.2 Superb
- 48 Verified Reviews 48 Verified Reviews
- Internet Free Nitrox Flexible Booking


























Highlights
The luxury Emperor Explorer yacht schedules year-round dive safaris in the Maldives. Designed to meet divers' needs, Emperor Explorer comfortably accommodates 26 guests in 13 cabins. Each stateroom features a private en-suite bathroom, individually controlled AC and fan, storage space, and charging ports. There is the choice of twin or double-bed cabins and the option to upgrade to main or upper-deck rooms, which also feature stunning sea views.
Emperor Explorer Maldives has numerous social and relaxation areas around the boat. The upper deck has an open-air terrace and on the top deck is a large sundeck with loungers. The main deck is home to the air-conditioned salon with sofas and TV, and home-cooked meals with a complimentary glass of wine at dinner are served at the al-fresco dining area located at the stern.
Emperor Explorer offers a variety of itineraries around the world-class dive sites the Maldives is known for. Choose from the 'Best of the Maldives' to truly experience the magic of the Maldive Atolls and delivers 7 days of fantastic diving at the iconic sites of the North and South Male Atolls and Ari Atoll, or the ‘Hanifaru & North’ itinerary, which gives guests a chance to get up close and snorkel with giant mantas in the bay. Diving takes place from the accompanying dhoni, which has plenty of space for gear storage and kitting up and makes getting to and from the dive sites hassle-free. Complimentary nitrox is available for certified divers.
Book your MV Emperor Maldives liveaboard easily online today.
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Included: VAT, Environment Tax, Fuel Surcharge, National Park Fees, Port Fees, Airport Transfer, Drinking Water, Tea & Coffee, Wine with Dinner, Beach BBQ, Full-Board Meal Plan (All meals), Snacks, Diving Package, Nitrox, Cabin Towels, Complimentary Toiletries, Deck Towels.
Required Extras: Dive Insurance (6 EUR per day).
Optional Extras: Gratuities, Hotel Transfer, Alcoholic Beverages, Soft drinks, Nitrox Course (225-275 EUR), Private Dive Guide, Rental Gear, Scuba Diving Courses (75-378 EUR), WiFi internet (30 USD).
Book now, pay later: You can easily place your booking online. We will then hold the spaces for you and you can confirm with a payment later.
* Extra fees are shown per person.
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Boat features
Food & Drinks
If you have any specific dietary requirements whilst on-board your cruise, you can add this to your special requests on step 2 of the booking form. We advise limiting these requests to religious beliefs or food allergies.
Diving
The crew speaks English, French, and Spanish.
Gear Rental
There is diving gear available on this boat. Please provide your rental needs on the booking form. See below for further details on inclusions and pricing. Show prices.
Drawings & Vessel Layouts

Accommodation
Boat Specifications
- Year built 2019
- Length 42 meters
- Beam 13.2 meters
- Engines 700 Hp Doosan Daewoo
- Max guests 26
- Number of cabins 13
- Number of bathrooms 13
- Tenders 1
Boat Navigation and Safety
Emperor Explorer Reviews
- 9.2 Superb
- 48 Verified Reviews
- Vessel 9.5
- Crew 8.8
- Food 9.6
- Diving 9.3
- Value 8.9
Epic Trip!
Every dive delivered amazing experiences and encounters thanks to Gabriel, Maria, Ali and Rich. The boat crew was friendly, entertaining and enjoyable to socialize with. Manta Ray night dive was a dream alongside encounters with variety of sharks and rays. Dive guides were most professional, safe and led a phenomenal adventure. Would dive with this boat and crew again!!
- Recommended for
- 4 dives/day, crew hospitality and care, vast area covered at sea
Si spectacular;I had to stay another week
As single female ; I had my concerns doing a liveaboard in Maldives , coming from USA . I simply have no words to compliment enough the crew , the dive instructors , the hospitality , diving , food , safety , accommodation , friendliness , professionalism . I Came as a guest , and I will leave as a friend . Thank you from the bottom of my heart .
- Recommended for
- Crew, diving , hospitality
Amazing value
Swimming with whale sharks
- Recommended for
- Hospitality, dhoni diving , food
Amazing crew…took care of everything while smiling!!!
Mantas, whalesharks, amazing food, the bbq on the beach.
- Recommended for
- Dive sites, food, crew members
Make sure you have experience with a reef hook as the currents can be STRONG
Manta dive with about 10 in a school
- Recommended for
- Staff, staff, staff
Incredible trip well worth the money!
Unbelievable diving with an incredible crew and well run ship. 10/10 will book with emperor again!
- Recommended for
- The people, the diving, and the boat
Perfect diving experience
Great diving
- Recommended for
- Very well organized diving, nice and new boat, great rooms
Amazing trip with Explorer
The diving trip went perfect. Food was great, people were very nice, crew and diving guides were awesome. The boat is new and in very good condition
- Recommended for
- food, atmosphere, diving
Amazing diving week in Maldives
It was amazing diving trip. Nothing that you might consider to be different. Starting with the pick up from the airport and bringing us back there, everything was excellently organised. Boat is very comfortable with big dinning room, comfortable rooms and dedicated bathroom. Dhoni team was super helpful and facilitated nicely our diving. Gabriel and Maria did fantastic job orchestrating the trip and visiting beautiful places above and below the ocean surface. Entire crew was friendly and made our stay awesome. We saw everything we were dreaming for like: mantas, wale shark, reef sharks and much, much more… BBQ on th island was a cherry on the pie:-) Thank you Gabriel, Maria, Rich, Fish and entire crew for fantastic trip. It is life time memory.
- Recommended for
- 1. Very comfortable boat. 2. Friendly and professional crew. 3. Fantastic dive sites
Lots of opportunities to dive in fantastic locations.
Dives with manta rays and whale sharks.
- Recommended for
- Well organised, frequent dives (four per day most days), great accommodation.
What a trip! Perfect organized due the COVID Situation and some unforgettable Dives!
Shark action at Alimatha Jetty, Manta Nightdive, The Crew and Diveguides of the Emperor Leo.
- Recommended for
- Operator, Dives and the People
Great Diving, not so great covid measure
The diving on the boat was great!! The crew is very knowledgeable and always happy to help and explain things. We saw Whalesharks (3!), Manta Rays and so many sharks it was incredible! The diving conditions can be very overwhelming for a less experienced diver and even though the trip is advertised as OW with no minimum dives required, it is expected that you know how to deal with strong currents, know how to use a reef hook and deploy an SMB. None of these were the case for us so it was a steep learning curve. Our fellow divers were incredibly supportive though and we learned in no time :) The covid measures on the boat are almost nonexistent, nobody was wearing masks and even though there is hand sanitiser on the tables, we haven't seen a soul using them. I've also rarely seen the surfaces in the common rooms being cleaned with anti disinfectant. Furthermore, rooms were being shared between single travellers and when we had a positive covid case on board, there was little anyone could do to isolate the case and the rest is history.
- Recommended for
- Whalesharks, Manta Rays and amazing people
Great week of exciting diving on a spanking new, sparkling clean and luxurious boat
I've been on many liveaboard boats and - when it comes to quality of service and the class of the boat this one was the best. The route covered all the highlights including manta cleaning stations, snorkeling with whale sharks, diving in channels filled with sharks and rays, beautiful coral gardens (the biggest surprise, as I had the presumption that the coral is all dead in the Maldives). Great selection of food, additional attractions like visits to uninhabited islands and fantastic atmosphere made me decide to stay with Emperor for another, unplanned week!
- Recommended for
- Great marine life sightings, very comfortable boat, good and various food.
Great experience, definitely i would recommend it
night dive with mantas six types of sharks in one day beautiful thillas
- Recommended for
- the room and the bathroom were really spacious, the dive guides were flexible on our demands, the food was varied and tasty
My experience in one word:awesome!
Shark and manta encounters
- Recommended for
- It's been a pleased experience,meeting with the scubas guides,the wonderful sites were we dived and in general,the special places I've been visiting
Hanifaru bay was great! Excellent guides.
Mantas in hanifaru bay
- Recommended for
- Mantas, guides, crew
Amazing liveaboard! Best crew and dive staff
Mantas, school of mobulas, whale shark, eagle rays and many grey sharks
- Recommended for
- Sea life, people and food
everything was great, diving, crew, cabin, food. absolutely worth the money that was paid
I saw everything I wanted to see during this liveaboard diving trip: mantas, mobulas, whale shark. Amazing trip! Highly recommended for everyone.
- Recommended for
- dive, crew, food
Perfect diving trip
The Manta Rays
- Recommended for
- The divesites, the weather and the crew were the best.
A luxurious boat, great diving
Whale sharks off the back of the boat. New Years eve cabin decorations and effort for the dinner 11+ mantas on one dive
- Recommended for
- Lots of space so never felt cramped; Great diving - whale sharks and mantas; Excellent service from the crew
Couldn’t have asked for more
Seeing the whale-shark and mantas. Overall, it was a magical honeymoon experience
- Recommended for
- People, people, people, the ship, room
Great week on a lovely boat with fantastic guests , good diving and good crew
The whale shark encounters and speaking with the best group of guests I have had on a liveboard. Cabin was huge and boat was very comfortable
- Recommended for
- Best boat I have stated, on spacious cabin. Crew good and diving great
Great fun but sadly let down by the food and drink
The whale shark, mantas at the back of the boat, lots of big marine life. The crew and my fellow divers
- Recommended for
- The crew, the guides and the diving
Excellent all round
Unparalled warm water diving with all comforts provided for - definitely the choice for divers.
- Recommended for
- Focus on diving (4x a day most days), diverse sites & fab crew.
Best of the maldives
One of the many highlights of this trip was the nightdive with the mantarays and the snorkeling with the waleshark. absolutely stunning! the trip was well organized, the crew was very experienced and the food delicious. 5 stars
- Recommended for
- Mantaray diving, food, guides
Underwhelmed
Night dive with feeding mantas
- Recommended for
- Size of boat & relaxation areas
My dream travel
Dive with the sharks, whale sharrks, big rays and the divers with us... lovely all
- Recommended for
- Dives, crew (including all) and the boat.
Best trip ever
Too many to mention but the giant manta rays were amazing
- Recommended for
- The diving, the boat, the people
Truely amazing experience and best value for the money
Manta rays, Sharks, Turtles
- Recommended for
- Diving comfort, cabin comfort, spatious vessel
A good time
The highlight for me was getting to see reef mantas for the very first time. They're a lot bigger live than I expected, and it was really cool to get to experience that.
- Recommended for
- The three best things were, in order, the food, the dive sites, and the atmosphere the guides cultivated.
Sharktastic !!!!
Every dive is different, shark TV do to speak, Mantas, Mola Mola, sharks all sizes, whale shark, Dolphin’s by night at the back of the boat, very effusively trip, super well organised, confortable as possible ! The Mola mola was an unexpected chance :)
- Recommended for
- Professionnalism, confort, astonishing
Great boat, could provide a better diving experience
Amazing boat, with very friendly staff. Our group had problems with our dive guide, who didn't seem to know the sites - we asked to change to a new guide and the boat manager promptly agreed (the guide was a contractor so wasn't a regular Emperor guide, which was weird). Half of dives were below average, but half were really good - particularly the manta cleaning stations. Despite the trip being called 'Sharktastic' there wasn't nearly as much action as we would expect - I'd suggest the boat to either rethink the trip name (VERY misleading) or revise the itinerary. All in all, a good trip on an excellent boat.
- Recommended for
- Spacious and luxurious boat, friendly staff and manta dives