Princess Rani

The MV Princess Rani is a sleek and substantial Maldives diving safari yacht that takes in the best of the atolls departing direct from Male. At 35 metres in length and 11 metres wide, she is more than capable of accommodating the maximum of 22 divers in space and comfort.

The operator is one of the most experienced in the Maldives and have a strong passion for the underwater world which they would love to share with you. There are daily guided snorkelling tours and Island visits to explore beaches and sand banks, as well as scuba diving in some of the most beautiful regions of the Maldives.

You can choose between double bed, twin or triple bed cabins, all of which are very well appointed with minibar, en-suite bathroom facilities and air-conditioning. Princess Rani is a great liveaboard boat for couples, given the number of double cabins and you can expect English, Italian, French and Spanish all to be spoken so there is no problem being understood. There are both indoor and outdoor dining areas, and the cuisine is a celebration of Italian food with local spices and fresh fish. There is also a great selection of liquors and wines.

Facilities are high quality and include the full range of entertainment in the saloon, including TV, DVD, music system, as well as movies, games, books and magazines. You'll never be bored on these great value-for-money Maldives diving safaris! If lounging is more your thing, there are 3 sundecks with plenty of shaded sections, as well as bean bags, sun chairs and mattresses for your comfort.

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Notes: TBC ~ To be confirmed. Central atolls cruises depart and return from Male. Deep South cruises use the ports of Addu and Huvadhoo. Please see the detailed itinerary description for confirmation of ports.

Dive experience: Since Princess Rani has 3 instructor/guides onboard certified divers of any experience level are welcome to join these safaris. However, for the Deep South trips you must be Advanced Open Water certified.

Cruise price per person includes: Cabin accommodation with air-conditioning, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, hot drinks, drinking water, return transfers from Male Airport to the boat, dives (as detailed in the trips above), 3 European PADI diving instructors and a snorkelling guide, 2 guided snorkelling tours per day, tanks (12 or 15 litre), weights and weight belt, introductory dive for non-divers, fishing island excursions, Green Tax, GST on cruise price.

Cruise price per person excludes (mandatory, unless customer provides own): Scuba equipment rental (per week - regs/BCD/wetsiut: US$ 181, dive computer: US$ 36, mask and fins: US$ 26 - all +GST and S/C). diving insurance, Green Tax surcharge (US$ 6 per night (paid in advance), service charge (i.e. tips US$ 93 per week), Fuvahmulah port fee (where applicable: US$ 25 per night). Unless otherwise stated, all listed items need to be paid on arrival (cash only - EUR or USD).

Optional extras: Alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, 28% nitrox fills for enriched air certified divers (US$ 72 per week), extra dives (US$ 36, max. 3 per week), torch (US$ 13 per dive), Island entry fees. All price will be subject to +16% GST and +10% S/C. Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival. Note: prices of items purchased onboard are subject to change.

How to get there: The Princess Rani liveaboard departs from Male. For more details, including airlines, see our How to Get to the Maldives section. A boat representative will meet and greet you at the airport, wearing a Macana Shirt. You will then be transferred to the yacht by dhoni. Boarding is at 11 am - 1 pm; late arrivals will require a private transfer (US$ 52).
If you arrive early and do not want to wait, you can drop your luggage at the airport and visit Male City or Hulhumale and get back to the airport around 11 am. If you stay in a hotel in the Maldives the night before the cruise, we recommend asking your hotel to drop you to the airport by 10:30 am near Burger King where one of the boat staff will meet you. Please let us know which hotel are you staying at so that we can also contact the hotel to ensure your transfer is on time.
The last dive of the trip is 7 am on the second last day of the trip. Please wait at least 18 hours before flying after diving. Disembarkation is at 7 am.
For cruises in the Deep South, a local port in Addu Atoll and on Huvadhoo are used. Koodhhoo Aiport (GKK) in Huvadhoo and Gan International Airport (GAN) in Addu can be reached by domestic flight from Male (Maldivian Airlines) or by international flight from Colombo (Sri Lankan Airlines). We can provide domestic flights for US$ 186 each way, or you can book directly online at www.maldivian.aero.

Non-diver rate: None.

Single supplement (if you do not want to share accommodation): This is optional - single travellers may choose to share a cabin or pay a supplement for their own cabin. The supplement varies depending on time of year but varies between 50-60%. Please ask us for details.

Dive clubs and group discounts: Rates for a third person sharing a cabin available for adults and children.
Pay for 8 guests and 1 additional person can join the cruise free of charge,

Whole boat charter rate (per night): Pay for 19 guests and 3 additional persons can join the cruise free of charge (total 22 guests).

Maldives Central Atolls (8 Days / 7 Nights - 17 Dives)

Trip highlights: whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, shark action, manta rays, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Rasdhoo, North Ari, South Ari, North Felidhoo, South Male atolls

Day 1
A representative of the Princess Rani will meet you at Male International Airport and take you to the dhoni that will take you on board this super 35m motor yacht. Lunch and dinner will be served during the day. You will be able to get to know the crew and the boat better during the introductory briefing that the tour leader will give once all the guests are on board. You are about to have a great week of diving, fun, and adventure!

Days 2-7
The ‘Classic’ route includes a beautiful mix of Maldives highlights - sharks, rays, Napoleon wrasse, mantas, corals, whale sharks, deserted islands, sand banks, fishermen islands, a Male visit … you will love it. South Male features large schools of fish, big pelagics, plenty of soft corals and caves, as well as one very good wreck. Miyaru Faru is aptly named since ‘miyaru’ means shark in Dhivehi and not surprisingly this is where you can encounter the ‘big boys’. An overhang protects you from the current and provides an excellent viewing spot for the impressive parade of pelagics and patrolling grey reef sharks, or even the occasional hammerhead. The channel at Felidhoo Atoll is also a great place to find reef sharks and has a spectacular wall showcasing caverns, swim-throughs and overhangs festooned with colourful soft corals and bushes of black corals. There is also a spectacular night dive with dozens of huge nurse sharks, sting rays and giant trevallies. Ari Atoll is famous for its mighty whale sharks which can be regularly seen in its marine protected areas. Hammerhead sharks, manta rays and other pelagic fish are also commonly encountered here. Highlights here include tuna, jacks, reef sharks, mantas and eagle rays.
A day on board the yacht runs like this - wake up at 6.30 am, tea, coffee, light breakfast, and the first dive at 7 am. Return to the boat at 8.30 am for a full breakfast. After breakfast there is some time to relax or snorkeling, and a beach or shore excursion, and then around 11 am the second dive takes place. Lunch or an island picnic is served at 1 pm, followed by a third dive at 3:30 pm. Tea time with home-made biscuits and cakes is at 5:30 pm. You can partake in sunset fishing around 6:30 pm, and happy hour starts at 7:30 pm. Dinner is served at 8:30 pm. There is one night dive per cruise.
Meals are served at the table in the upper deck open air if weather permits, otherwise in the air-con dining room. The 2 chefs will prepare unique Italian style dishes mixed with local spices and fresh fish. Fresh bread is baked daily, and homemade cakes and biscuits are available at tea time. Breakfast is European and continental with a choice of eggs or cheese, fresh fruits fresh bread and cakes, jam, butter, juice, tea, coffee. Lunch and dinner are often an Italian style pasta, a rice dish, fish, chicken or meat, fresh salad and cooked vegetables, bread, tropical fruit, and freshly prepared dessert such as cheesecake or fruit tart. Drinking water, tea and coffee are available all day long.

Day 8
Wake up to the smell of the last cooked breakfast of the tour in the morning. Say your farewells and take your last group pictures before heading to Male airport.

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Maldives Deep South Atolls (8 Days / 7 Nights - 17 Dives)

Trip highlights: whale sharks, shark action, manta rays, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Addu, Fuvahmulah, Huvahdoo

Day 1
A representative of the Princess Rani will meet you at Gan Airport (Addu) and take you to the dhoni that will take you on board this super 35m motor yacht. Lunch and dinner will be served during the day. You will be able to get to know the crew and the boat better during the introductory briefing that the tour leader will give once all the guests are on board. You are about to have a great week of diving, fun, and adventure!

Days 2-7
The cruise includes some extraordinary oceanic and atoll dives at Huvadhoo and Addu atolls, as well as at Fuvahmulah. Huvadhoo is made up of vibrant reefs, untouched lagoons, walls and deep channels. Stingrays, turtles and a variety of sharks including blacktip and whitetip reef sharks, nurse sharks, spinner dolphins, manta rays, and thresher sharks are frequent visitors here. Occasionally you will also find hammerheads too. But for many, the highlights of a visit to the Deep South are the apex predators at Fuvahmulah Island. Be prepared for awesome encounters with thresher sharks, oceanic whitetips and tiger sharks. Here you’ll dive with a variety of large predators as they hunt the abundant smaller fish. Whitetip reef and grey reef sharks, mola mola, sailfish, and schools of tuna are frequently seen.
A day on board the yacht runs like this - wake up at 6.30 am, tea, coffee, light breakfast, and the first dive at 7 am. Return to the boat at 8.30 am for a full breakfast. After breakfast there is some time to relax or snorkeling, and a beach or shore excursion, and then around 11 am the second dive takes place. Lunch or an island picnic is served at 1 pm, followed by a third dive at 3:30 pm. Tea time with home-made biscuits and cakes is at 5:30 pm. You can partake in sunset fishing around 6:30 pm, and happy hour starts at 7:30 pm. Dinner is served at 8:30 pm. There is one night dive per cruise.
Meals are served at the table in the upper deck open air if weather permits, otherwise in the air-con dining room. The 2 chefs will prepare unique Italian style dishes mixed with local spices and fresh fish. Fresh bread is baked daily, and homemade cakes and biscuits are available at tea time. Breakfast is European and continental with a choice of eggs or cheese, fresh fruits fresh bread and cakes, jam, butter, juice, tea, coffee. Lunch and dinner are often an Italian style pasta, a rice dish, fish, chicken or meat, fresh salad and cooked vegetables, bread, tropical fruit, and freshly prepared dessert such as cheesecake or fruit tart. Drinking water, tea and coffee are available all day long.

Day 8
Wake up to the smell of the last cooked breakfast of the tour in the morning. Say your farewells and take your last group pictures before heading back to Gan Airport and your flight back to Male.
Note: this itinerary sometimes uses the port at Suvadiva so please check exact port details above.

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Maldives Central Atolls (12 Days / 11 Nights - 29 Dives)

Trip highlights: whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, shark action, manta rays, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Rasdhoo, North Ari, South Ari, Felidhoo, South Male atolls

Day 1
A representative of the Princess Rani will meet you at Male International Airport and take you to the dhoni that will take you on board this super 35m motor yacht. Lunch and dinner will be served during the day. You will be able to get to know the crew and the boat better during the introductory briefing that the tour leader will give once all the guests are on board. You are about to have a great week of diving, fun, and adventure!

Days 2-11
The ‘Classic’ route includes a beautiful mix of Maldives highlights - sharks, rays, Napoleon wrasse, mantas, corals, whale sharks, deserted islands, sand banks, fishermen islands, a Male visit … you will love it. South Male features large schools of fish, big pelagics, plenty of soft corals and caves, as well as one very good wreck. Miyaru Faru is aptly named since ‘miyaru’ means shark in Dhivehi and not surprisingly this is where you can encounter the ‘big boys’. An overhang protects you from the current and provides an excellent viewing spot for the impressive parade of pelagics and patrolling grey reef sharks, or even the occasional hammerhead. The channel at Felidhoo Atoll is also a great place to find reef sharks and has a spectacular wall showcasing caverns, swim-throughs and overhangs festooned with colourful soft corals and bushes of black corals. There is also a spectacular night dive with dozens of huge nurse sharks, sting rays and giant trevallies. Ari Atoll is famous for its mighty whale sharks which can be regularly seen in its marine protected areas. Hammerhead sharks, manta rays and other pelagic fish are also commonly encountered here. Highlights here include tuna, jacks, reef sharks, mantas and eagle rays.
A day on board the yacht runs like this - wake up at 6.30 am, tea, coffee, light breakfast, and the first dive at 7 am. Return to the boat at 8.30 am for a full breakfast. After breakfast there is some time to relax or snorkeling, and a beach or shore excursion, and then around 11 am the second dive takes place. Lunch or an island picnic is served at 1 pm, followed by a third dive at 3:30 pm. Tea time with home-made biscuits and cakes is at 5:30 pm. You can partake in sunset fishing around 6:30 pm, and happy hour starts at 7:30 pm. Dinner is served at 8:30 pm. There is one night dive per cruise.
Meals are served at the table in the upper deck open air if weather permits, otherwise in the air-con dining room. The 2 chefs will prepare unique Italian style dishes mixed with local spices and fresh fish. Fresh bread is baked daily, and homemade cakes and biscuits are available at tea time. Breakfast is European and continental with a choice of eggs or cheese, fresh fruits fresh bread and cakes, jam, butter, juice, tea, coffee. Lunch and dinner are often an Italian style pasta, a rice dish, fish, chicken or meat, fresh salad and cooked vegetables, bread, tropical fruit, and freshly prepared dessert such as cheesecake or fruit tart. Drinking water, tea and coffee are available all day long.

Day 12
Wake up to the smell of the last cooked breakfast of the tour in the morning. Say your farewells and take your last group pictures before heading to Male airport.

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[Information is best estimate in ideal circumstances and subject to changes beyond our control. The itinerary is a guide only and may be adapted to best suit the weather, tides, currents, availability and other prevailing events. Price is for the cruise, not for an exact number of dives].

Princess Rani can accommodate up to 22 divers in 11 cabins with private bathrooms. There are 4 double bed cabins on the upper deck, and on the lower deck there are 5 cabins with both a double and a single bed, and 2 twin bed cabins. All the double beds are 4-poster style.

All the cabins have: No. of bathrooms / showers - 11 / 11 - hot water

The liveaboard crew comprises: Dive deck and platform - Dhoni dive tender - Separate rinse tank for cameras - Air-conditioned saloon with TV, DVD, sound system & computer with internet access - Movie and book library, games and magazines - Fish ID and diving books - Well stocked bar - Water dispenser - Open-air dining area - 3 sun decks with sun chairs and mats - Jacuzzi - Spa treatments

Customer reviews:

"Everything was just perfect: excellent and very nice dive guides, very good guide-divers ratio, optimal choice of the dive sites, VERY comfortable and functional diving dhoni with skilled and smiley crew, very spacious and comfortable safari boat (even if not one of the newest), great staff and, last but not least, fantastic food (not so easy to find on the Maldivian liveaboards). Hope to come back as soon as possible! [Dive The World] prices are competitive, the communication before the departure was smooth, prompt and simple, and the loyalty programme is certainly a plus." - Alessandra Terzaghi, Italy, 12 November 2022 ...

"Diving top, food top. Maximum confort. I appreciated the rapidity of answer, lower cost, and the possibility to pay by means of credit card." - Riccardo Zalla, Italy, 15 November 2022 ...