Emperor Superior — a seasoned diver’s boat for long days in the Red Sea

Emperor Superior suits divers who want the Red Sea to take up most of the week, not a polished floating resort that happens to carry tanks. The boat is built around the diving itself: a proper platform, two Zodiacs, camera support, free Nitrox and routes that move between coral gardens, walls, current sites and wreck country. Its strongest points are the diving, food and the people running the boat. The hull has more history than a newer liveaboard, but that is part of the calculation: the boat gives up some freshness and returns a generous working space, a relaxed atmosphere and a crew that stays involved when divers are gearing up, surfacing or simply trying to make the day run smoothly.

From the dock, Emperor Superior presents as a large, working Red Sea liveaboard rather than a boutique yacht. The 2015 renovation matters: the boat has had a serious second life, while the underlying vessel still carries the practical character of a boat designed to spend its time moving divers between sites. Once aboard, the useful spaces are easy to understand. Cabins are arranged across the lower, main and upper levels, while the main areas give the group room to eat, brief and get out of the way of the dive operation. The saloon and dining room are air-conditioned, and the upper outdoor area provides a change of air between dives. It is a boat with enough room to absorb 25 divers without making every movement part of someone else’s routine.

The atmosphere is formed less by decoration than by how often the crew is present in the working parts of the day. Divers are met warmly, helped when a kit needs sorting and supported without making a production of it. That becomes important on a week of repeated entries, exits, rinsing, refilling and moving equipment between the boat and the Zodiacs. The crew’s role is practical: make the next dive easier, notice when something is not running smoothly and keep the operation calm. With 25 people aboard, the group is large enough to contain different diving habits but small enough for faces and routines to become familiar quickly. In the evening, the air-conditioned saloon, dining room and upper deck give the group several ways to settle after dinner, with wine included at the table.

The recorded 8-day/7-night Hurghada routes include Reefs and Wrecks, North & Easy, Famous Five Cruise and Emperor Legends: Red Sea. The sites around Hurghada and Soma Bay range from shallow coral to serious walls. Fanadir North drops to -30m along a vegetated wall where stonefish, scorpionfish, lionfish and morays hide. Gotha Abu Nugar North stays shallow at -9m, with a bright coral garden. Shaab Ruhr Umm Gamar reaches -40m: an oval reef leads to a plateau with pinnacles and the remains of at least three wrecks, where grey reef sharks, giant groupers, tuna and turtles may pass. El Fanadir also reaches -40m and combines a wall with a cleaning station on a shallow pinnacle. Shaab Sabina is a labyrinthine garden to -14m; El Fanous West and East reach -15m and -18m, with lagoons, ergs and possible dolphins. Carless Reef reaches -40m, with drop-offs and giant morays in the blue. Umm Gamar reaches -30m and has a cave at 28m with remnants of Hans Hass’s shark cage. Bluff Point reaches -35m in strong currents and carries gorgonians and pelagic fish. Shaab Abu Nuhas reaches -30m along a drop-off, while Siyul Kebir reaches -30m, El Gilwa -20m and Shaab El Erg adds another classic Red Sea reef stop.

Fanadir North →

Max. depth · 30 m

Gotha Abu Nugar North →

Max. depth · 9 m

Coral Garden →

Max. depth · 20 m

Shaab Ruhr Umm Gamar →

Max. depth · 40 m

El Fanadir →

Max. depth · 40 m

Shaab Sabina →

Max. depth · 14 m

El Fanous →

Max. depth · 27 m

Carless Reef →

Max. depth · 40 m

Bluff Point →

Max. depth · 35 m

Shaab Abu Nuhas →

Max. depth · 30 m

Siyul Kebir →

Max. depth · 30 m

El Gilwa →

Max. depth · 20 m

Shaab El Erg →

The regular cast is broad: sea turtles, morays and scorpionfish appear across much of the route, joined by dolphins, reef sharks, tuna, trevally, anthias, butterflyfish, parrotfish and lionfish. The sites reward slow searching as much as wide-angle scanning: a stonefish lies in the reef texture, a moray peers from a cavity and nudibranchs occupy the smaller scale. Some encounters give a site its particular reason to exist. Shaab Ruhr Umm Gamar is the place for grey reef sharks, groupers and giant groupers. Carless Reef is the route’s specialist shark site, with white-tip reef sharks and possible oceanic whitetips and hammerheads, as well as giant morays and gorgonians. Siyul Kebir is where leopard sharks may turn up beside resident turtles. Shaab Sabina holds the route’s recorded hard and soft coral concentration, with damselfish in the garden. At Shaab Abu Nuhas, fusiliers school along the drop-off. Shaab El Erg, El Fanous West and El Fanous East are the sites where dolphins may make the dive about something larger than the reef.

Lionfish →

Pterois volitans

Nudibranch →

Nudibranchia

The crew speaks English, German, French, Spanish, Russian and Italian, which makes briefings workable for a broad international group. The programme supports a check dive before normal diving, and divers can take Advanced Open Water, Nitrox, Adventure Dives and other specialties during the trip. Advanced or Deep Diver training is sensible for sites with recommended depths beyond 18 metres; the maximum diving depth with an equally qualified buddy is 40 metres. Reefs and Wrecks and North & Easy are not presented as beginner-only routes, and current or depth can still make individual dives unsuitable. Experienced divers may dive in buddy pairs unguided when the operation allows it. Oxygen, first-aid equipment and an AED are available, while the crew is trained in first aid. The boat can restrict a dive when a diver’s skills or condition do not match the site.

The dive deck is the reason Emperor Superior works for divers who bring cameras or simply dislike cramped operations. A dedicated platform, multiple rinse tanks and charging stations support the repeated cycle of gearing up, entering, surfacing and getting equipment ready again. Two Zodiacs take divers to and from the sites, reducing the need to make every entry directly from the main hull. DIN adapters are available, and Nitrox is included, so the boat suits divers who want to use enriched air across a full week rather than treat it as an occasional extra. Rental equipment can be arranged separately. Technical and rebreather diving facilities are listed, with the operating rules for Egyptian itineraries still applying: decompression, solo and technical diving are not permitted. Oxygen and first-aid equipment are carried for the diving operation.

Between dives, divers can move from the air-conditioned saloon to the dining area, the upper outdoor lounge or the sun deck. The important detail is the separation: wet gear and active dive traffic stay below, while the indoor spaces give cameras, notebooks and tired legs a quieter place to recover. The boat has charging stations and camera facilities, so photographers can work through the surface interval instead of improvising around a cabin socket. Wi-Fi is available, and the saloon includes audio and video entertainment and a library, but the useful habit is simpler: eat, rinse the salt away, check the next site and sleep until the next briefing. When the boat is underway, the upper deck gives the Red Sea back to the trip.

The day starts with the boat and dive operation preparing before the first briefing, then the divers move through the first entry, surface interval and meal in sequence. A second dive follows, with the gaps used for eating, rinsing equipment, checking cameras or sleeping in the shade. Later dives return the group to the water as conditions and the route allow, and the boat may be underway between sites rather than sitting idle all day. The 21-plus-dive format associated with Emperor Superior makes the rhythm substantial: the trip is built around repeated dives, not one headline drop followed by a long cruise. After the final dive, wet gear is secured, dinner arrives and the saloon or upper deck becomes the evening meeting point. Then the boat quiets, and the next briefing starts the cycle again.

Food is one of Emperor Superior’s strongest cards. Meals are served buffet-style, with both Western and local cooking, full-board service and snacks available throughout the day. That matters after a deep wall dive or a current run: food is close at hand rather than treated as a formal interruption to the diving. Non-alcoholic drinks, water, tea and coffee are included, as is wine with dinner; beer and other alcoholic drinks are available separately. The table does its job well on a four-dive day: breakfast follows the first dive, further meals mark the surface intervals and dinner closes the working part of the day. The high food rating is not difficult to understand. The galley keeps divers fed without asking them to make an event of every meal.

The cabin choice is broader than on many diver-first boats: lower-deck twin and bunk cabins, an upper-deck twin, and twin or double cabins on the main and upper decks. Every cabin is air-conditioned, has a private bathroom with hot shower and a standard window, so the decision is mainly about deck position and bed layout. The lower deck is the practical choice for anyone who treats the cabin as a place to sleep, while a main- or upper-deck cabin gives easier access to the living spaces. The boat’s history is more visible in its overall character than in any one cabin detail. These are functional nights between dives, not oversized hotel rooms. That is the honest trade: enough privacy to recover, with the real luxury being the space and equipment waiting outside the door.

Emperor Superior departs from and returns to Hurghada for the recorded Egyptian cruises. Airport and hotel transfers are included, connecting with the embarkation and return arrangements. The transfer details are provided with the booking information. Arriving in Hurghada the night before is the sensible choice, leaving room for flight delays without putting the first day at risk.