Emperor Divers News

We have Feefo - but what is it?

2012-05-08T13:43:43Z

What's Feefo? You may have come across it if you were buying clothes or the like. Feefo has expanded their service to the travel industry so, as we welcome your opinion on how you think we are doing, we signed up so you can tell us.

Feefo is entirely independent and monitors our guests' feedback on the service they have received from us and then shows them online for all to see - whatever the feedback.

A big thank you to all who have used Feefo so far, it helps us to continually improve our service.

EURO 2012 FOOTBALL in the RED SEA

2012-05-02T07:59:59Z

Heads up on our EURO 2012 FOOTBALL in the RED SEA deals. June 8 to July 1.

Join us in any of our Red Sea resorts to watch your favourite match. No need to travel to Poland...travel to the Red Sea and celebrate with some fabulous dives (we can do commiserations too).

On the other hand, you might want to escape the football fever and we can do that too. Pure diving and pure relaxation. Emperor has a deal that offers value, quality and fun.

Day Diving                         5 day's diving from only €150
Dive Courses                   POW Course from only €234
Hotel/Diving Packages 7 nts twin BB + 5 day's diving + transfers from €275 pp
Liveaboard                        1 week, inc transfers, twin share, from €750

Note: Prices shown represent 'prices from' and may not be available in all resorts.

Email reservations@emperordivers.com today for a great result!

Nudibranchs in Sharm - Rob writes for easyJet

2012-04-30T12:26:16Z

Rob Atherton recently went diving with Emperor Sharm and wrote this great blog for easyJet, which we’d like to share with you here...

When I left for a week’s diving in Sharm el Sheikh with Emperor Divers, I wasn't really sure what to write about so I decided to let Egypt surprise and inspire me. I've dived in Sharm many times over the last eight years and I'd always felt that for anyone in search of smaller 'macro' subjects to photograph, the resorts of Taba and Nuweiba further up the Sinai were a better option. However, this was a week that the dive sites of Sharm really delivered for me and my trusty underwater camera.

I could write about the Manta Rays we saw at the local dive sites of Tower and Middle Garden or perhaps the encounter with the beautiful white Rissos dolphins. I even found the elusive Longnose Hawkfish, which hides in the Gorgonian Fans, not once but twice. This shy little fish is normally skittish and hard to photograph but the one I saw on Thomas Reef in the Straits of Tiran was virtually posing for photos.

While these experiences were all part of a wonderful week with Emperor Divers, the most amazing thing for me was the variety of nudibranchs, flatworms and the like I discovered.

The most common of these colourful little slugs I've found in the past is the Pyjama Slug (or Chromodoris Quadcolour). It is a colourful creature with yellow, white, black and blue stripes and can be found on all the dive sites in Sharm. If my memory serves me correctly, I've only ever seen two or possibly three different varieties of nudibranchs but in just five day’s diving, I found 14 different varieties.

As a diver who takes a lot of photos, I think Nudis are great. They are colourful, so look great in pictures, they are , making them much easier to take pictures of than fish and a lot of divers don't always see them making my pictures look a bit more impressive. Last October, I had my first diving trip out to the Far East where Nudis are plentiful so on this trip to Sharm, I was determined to seek out more.

Over the course of the week, the dive boats took me to the Straits of Tiran, Ras Mohammed National Park and the local dive sites close to Na'ama Bay. Many people ignore the local sites but I've always found them to be excellent places to see marine life. My first day was in Tiran and although I had a good couple of dives, I didn't find any nudibranchs. The next day in Ras Mohammed, the Nudis were out in force.

The first nudi I saw was a Chromodoris Africana. It looks similar to a Pyjama Slug but after looking at photos that evening, I realised it was in fact a different species. I've probably made the same mistake a number of times in the past but never noticed. From this point on, I was seeing nudibranchs on most dives, many of which I'd never seen before.

A big advantage of taking pictures of the nudibranchs is that the colours are much more striking than seeing them at 20m on a dive site. Of the 14 varieties I found, my favourite was the Big Horn Nembrotha, which was the most beautifully coloured of them all that I've seen in Egypt and elsewhere. Even though, I've dived in Sharm many times over the years, it has once again turned up plenty of new discoveries and surprises. I'm already looking forward to my next trip.

Rob Atherton

PS And a big thank you to Emperor Divers’ Facebook friends who helped me ID this nudi that had me flummoxed! Yvette Tucker spotted the Hallaxa indecora. Not easy from this pic!

Steve Prior goes Platinum...again!

2012-04-21T09:33:03Z

Wonderful news for Emperor Divers in Sharm! Our Instructor Trainer, Steve Prior, has just been awarded the level of "Platinum Course Director for 2012".

This year only 57 Course Directors in the whole world have reached this level. Steve has been awarded the "Platinum" award every year since it started in 2006.

Great news for Emperor, but what does this mean for you? It means that if you are thinking about becoming a PADI instructor with Emperor Divers, you will be trained by a Course Director who is "Match Fit" and you'll know that you will be getting the very best training that can be found anywhere in the world. Steve is very popular, and you don't need to look far to find excellent, successful instructors who have been taught by him.

Steve is pictured here with Janet his IDC Staff Instructor wife, together they make "Prior Knowledge".

You can ask Steve any questions on idc@emperordivers.com

Watch this! Dive Marsa Alam video

2012-04-19T13:32:34Z

Join the team as they head out from Marsa Alam to dive on the wreck of Hamada as well as dive sites Marsa Mubarak, Ras el Torfa and Shouni Kebir. Great diving in the Red Sea...

Emperor supports HEPCA Earth Day

2012-04-17T08:28:43Z

In support of HEPCA Earth Day and Beach Clean up on Sunday 22 April, each of our dive centres will be organising its own clean up for guests who want to take part.

Details of how you can get involved will be provided by your dive centre locally - so do ask and help to make a difference.

Diving - good fun AND you lose weight!

2012-04-10T16:00:04Z

By Mat Cotton, Manager, Emperor El Gouna

It comes to that time of the year after Christmas, New Year and Easter eggs, following an over-indulgence of too much booze and rich food, that I’ve noticed that I may have gained a pound or two. The only reason I actually noticed this was because my drysuit no longer fits me. We all know that drysuits will shrink after being left for an extended period without use (don’t they?) but mine has ‘shrunk’ to an extent that I can’t even get it on, never mind zip it up!

So, rather than spend loads of hard-earned (!) cash on a new one, I’ve decided that I need to lose some weight. As I used to have the body of a diamond-cut Adonis (my wife is laughing over my shoulder as I write this, it must have been before we met!), I’ve finally realised that it’s time I got back down to a size 32 waist. I headed down to my local gym to see what they can offer but it turns out the best thing I could do to lose weight at the gym was to lighten my pockets by a few hundred quid. Being from up t’north, and therefore rather ‘careful’ with money, this was immediately kyboshed in favour of me exercising at home – which is free.

After a bit of research on the web, and some distractions of rather fitter bodies than mine, it turns out that one of the best ways to burn calories is to do something that we all love – diving! Great, that’ll save me money on having to buy some new trainers as well then.

According to glamour.com – which I was looking at as research, honest – diving is one of the best sports to keep fit whilst having fun at the same time. Looking back on it, I can’t see why this has never occurred to me before. I have always put on a bit of weight over Christmas (my ‘winter stores’ as I call it) when I am not in the water as much, then always lost this over summer when I diving daily, with no change in diet, or importantly, drinking habits. It turns out that during an average hour-long dive, you can burn up to 650 calories! 650 calories! That’s the same as using a cycling machine in the gym for an hour!

Of course, in order to lose weight, it means I also have to cut out the post-pub Burger King on a Saturday evening but after some quick calculations, I can lose weight by eating a little more healthily and just diving! Whilst this remains to be seen, it is a fact that diving is a great workout for your body. It won’t help you build body mass, but to tone and trim, diving is ideal. Diving helps you tone the muscles in your thighs and calves (as anyone who has had to swim against anything other than a mild current will attest to) as well as your gluteus maximus (that’s your bottom). Diving is also a great cardiovascular workout and studies have shown that divers in general have a larger lung volume and vital capacity than non-divers.

And it’s not just me. It’s a new fitness trend that our celebrity friends are doing too. Jessica Alba, Katie Holmes, Sandra Bullock, that woman from ‘The Vampire Diaries’, Martin Clunes; they’re all doing it. "Scuba diving provides a full body workout that combines cardio and strength training to burn calories, tone muscles and even improve breathing," says Theresa Kaplan, director of communications for The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI). "Although your body is buoyant underwater and you feel virtually weightless while scuba diving, manoeuvring through water requires constant motion by your entire body, thus toning and strengthening muscles in your thighs, shoulders and your core.

" Just remember though, like any sport, it’s important to warm up, stretch and stay hydrated, especially if you come out to dive with Emperor in the Egyptian heat. "Although you may not feel it underwater, you are actually sweating and exerting energy while scuba diving, so it’s important to stay hydrated during your diving excursion," Kaplan says. "Getting plenty of rest and stretching beforehand will also help prevent any cramping underwater and will allow you to swim through the waters with ease."

So, next time you’re out diving in the Red Sea and you see some idiot swimming against the current during your drift dive, don’t worry, that’s probably just me burning off those extra Sakaras. All I have to do now is convince Jessica Alba to join me.

Of course, if you would care to join me then please do so. There's more about diving El Gouna right here...

Come and work with Emperor Hurghada

2012-03-28T14:19:40Z

An exciting opportunity has arisen for two enthusiastic MSDT Instructors to join our Dive Centre, based as the Hilton Plaza in Hurghada. Plus, for approximately 12 weeks of the year, you will also work on our liveaboards.

As instructors and experienced divers, you will be confident in both teaching and guiding guests of all certification levels. Get in touch with us if you have excellent interpersonal skills, great team spirit and an enthusiasm for diving that will bring our guests back for more.

Both couples and single diving instructors are welcome to apply. It's essential that you can speak fluent Spanish, Russian and English. Additional European languages are an advantage.

The successful candidates will be offered a 1 year contact and will receive salary and commission.

Please send your CV, including languages spoken and recent photograph, to human.resources@emperordivers.com and quote reference ED103.

Thanks. We look forward to hearing from you.

Emperor Superior goes Super

2012-03-21T16:04:24Z

Here's the latest on the fabulous makeover of Emperor Superior. She's out of dry dock and sporting lots of new features. Follow her progress here...

Every year our day diving boats and liveaboards go into dry dock for a total overhaul. We thought you would be interested to see what happens while the boat is 'out of the water' and follow Superior as she went through her recent major refit.

You can see more - and the photos - here.

From Nuweiba to Marsa Alam

2012-02-27T13:04:33Z

By Tarkan Sever and Kathrin Heussner

It has been well over a year since we started working for Emperor Divers Nuweiba. It was December 2010, fresh out of the IDC with Steve Prior in Sharm el Sheikh, when we got the job offer to work for Emperor Divers Nuweiba as Instructor and Staff Instructor.

As the idea of working in Egypt had not even crossed our minds, we could only imagine back then how fortunate we were to join Chris Le Plongeon’s team. Very quickly we realized how special the Nuweiba dive sites are.

First of all, it‘s all easy shore diving and you usually have the whole dive site to yourselves! All at a relaxed Nuweiba pace. But the main reason we fell in love with this place is the diversity of marine life found condensed on these reefs. It‘s not unusual to find a grey moray eel with its tail twisted around an undulated moray eel, resting on a porcupine puffer next to a stone fish, which is just being cleaned by various types of shrimps.

During the different seasons our favourite dive sites change according to the special appearances found on each of them. But the house reef Abou Lou Lou is always number one. Having dived it hundreds of times it still brings new surprises. We have been lucky to see various types of frogfish and ghost pipefish as well as shrimps, nudibranchs, sea horses, turtles, mimic octopus just to name a few. During a fish ID dive we easily spot 50-80 different species of fish. What a paradise! A heaven for photographers, repeat guests and beginners alike. The diving in Nuweiba is definitely unique and we have memories of countless special moments!

Now a new opportunity awaits us as we head further south where we will be working for Emperor Divers Marsa Alam, joining Luke Atkinson’s team. We are so enjoying exploring the dive sites and marine life in this region, especially with the opening of the new dive centre where the possibilities seem endless.

We would like to take the opportunity to say, Thank You! to all of you who dived with us in Nuweiba. It was a great pleasure to meet you.

And now we look forward to meeting you on your diving holiday in Marsa Alam. Don’t wait too long!

Kathrin and Tarkan

You 'two' can work in Marsa Alam

2012-02-13T13:18:21Z

STOP PRESS! Thanks for looking at this page. We've now filled these jobs but do still send your details to Human Resources as we always like to hear from good people.

human.resources@emperordivers.com

Do you and your partner long to work in the sun? Then grab this opportunity for a couple to help set up and look after an exciting new project at Emperor Divers in Marsa Alam, Red Sea, Egypt. We've recently opened a new Dive Centre and Boutique Sales Point at two neighbouring hotels (4 star Resta Reef and 5 star Resta Grand) and we're looking for a couple who can take responsibility for providing first class customer service while generating sales of diving trips, snorkelling excursions, boat trips and shop merchandise while living in the sun!

Duties also include planning and scheduling boat trips, liaising with sales people, liaising with nearby Emperor Centres, inventory management, cash handling and some basic housekeeping.

You’ll have a professional appearance, demonstrate punctuality and initiative and have the ability to work under pressure. Most importantly you must have excellent customer service skills – a background in face to face customer service, bar and restaurant service and hotel/reception work (especially supervisory levels) and planning and organisational roles will give you a definite advantage. If you are great team players, flexible and able to work in a remote location, then you may be just what we're looking for.

Both of you must be Open Water Divers (that’s diver – not instructor!) as a minimum and have a love for the sea. For the right candidates this could become an intern position, where we will train you to PADI Divemaster and Assistant Instructor level and at the end of your first year you will have the opportunity to take an OWSI/IDC with Emperor. Once a Divemaster, there may also be some opportunities to work in the water. It should be noted that it is advertised as a ‘dry’ job, though you are more than welcome to dive with Emperor for free on all days off and holidays! The job can also be offered without an internship - to those who don’t want to go down the professional route as yet - at a higher salary.

You must both be fluent in English, speaking and writing, and one must be able to speak, read and write in German. Other languages are advantageous, especially Italian. You also need a minimum certification level of PADI Open Water (or equivalent) and we will also consider PADI Divemasters. Instructors need not apply unless there is an additional reason why you should stay dry. You must be well presented with no imposing tattoos or excessive piercings.

We are offering a 12 month contract starting as soon as possible, monthly salary, commission plus accommodation at the Resta Reef and full board.

If you meet our criteria, please send your CVs showing all relevant diving and non-diving experience along with clear and recent photographs to human.resources@emperordivers.com quoting reference ED102.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Emperor Superior wins 'Tourism Recognition'

2012-01-31T13:54:57Z

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism has awarded Emperor Divers' liveaboard, the Emperor Superior, a tourism "Certificate of Appreciation " in recognition for its 'outstanding role in enriching the tourism industry in Egypt in 2011'.

Superior and her crew gained the award for being one of the best boats that helped 'with its excellence' to revive tourism in Egypt.

Mike Braun, General Manager, said, "This was unexpected but well deserved by the entire crew and guides of Superior who work hard on all our liveaboards. Our thanks to the Ministry of Tourism and we continue to invite tourists to Egypt knowing they will enjoy a first rate service in a beautiful country."

For more information, visit www.emperordivers.com or email info.safaris@emperordivers.com

New transfers to Marsa Alam

2012-01-27T07:41:14Z

Lots of airlines fly into Hurghada and Luxor but until now it's been that bit more tricky to arrange transfers to Marsa Alam. Not anymore!

With the improvement in roads and a reduction in transfer times we now offer return transfers from both airports with our Meet and Greet service.

For example, online prices start from only £40/48 euro pp for two travelling together from Hurghada. Singles and triples can also be booked online at the Resort Packages section. For small groups - please email for a quote.

Book your next diving holiday today and give yourself something to look forward to.
Email info.reservations@emperordivers.com

Super snorkelling trips - tell your friends

2012-01-24T14:49:27Z

In the last year or so our resort teams have seen a big increase in family and friends of divers booking snorkelling trips with our sister company, Oceans Red Sea.

We know there are lots of boat trips for non divers available but believe our expertise and love of everything Red Sea sets our trips apart. Our aim is to make these fun but also educational; what's more, the same great guides you dive with help non-divers master the art of snorkelling as well as teaching them about the amazing marine life.

Maybe you have family and friends who are thinking of taking a holiday in the Red Sea and, if so, we hope you might recommend Oceans Red Sea. Do tell them that, if they book their place using the website, they get a 10% discount.

All they have to do is visit www.oceansredsea.com to book a trip that many of our past guests say was the "highlight of their holiday".

Thanks for passing this information on. We feel sure your family and friends will enjoy a quality boat excursion whilst on their Red Sea holiday .

If you would like more information, please email reservations@oceansredsea.com

Here's what Abi Cleaver had to say about her recent Oceans trip...

"First experience snorkelling/scuba diving made extremely enjoyable and relaxing. I felt very safe and the day overall was really good. I would use this centre to learn the full techniques of diving."

Fantastic job opportunity with Emperor Marsa Alam

2012-01-20T07:55:37Z

We have the most excellent opportunity for a couple to join Emperor Divers and help to set up and look after an exciting new project at Emperor Divers in Marsa Alam.

We've recently opened a new Dive Centre and Boutique Sales shop at two neighbouring hotels (4 star Resta Reef and 5 star Resta Grand). Now we need a couple who can take responsibility for providing first class customer service and generate sales of diving trips, snorkelling excursions, boat trips and shop merchandise - all while living in the sun!

Duties will also include planning and scheduling boat trips, liaising with sales people, liaising with nearby Emperor Centres, inventory management, cash handling and some basic housekeeping.

You must have a professional business-like appearance, be punctual and have the initiative and ability to work under pressure. Most importantly you must have excellent customer service skills - a background in face to face customer service, bar and restaurant service and hotel/reception work (especially supervisory levels) and planning and organisational roles will give you a definite advantage. If you're a great team players, flexible and are able to work in a remote location, then do get in touch.

Both of you must be Open Water Divers (that's diver - not instructor!) as a minimum and have a love for the sea. For the right candidates this could become an intern position, where we will train you to PADI Divemaster and Assistant Instructor level and at the end of your first year you will have the opportunity to take an OWSI/IDC with Emperor. Once a Divemaster, there may also be some opportunities to work in the water.

It should be noted that this is advertised as a 'dry' job, though you are more than welcome to dive with Emperor for free on all days off and holidays! The job can also be offered without an internship to those that don't want to progress down the professional route as yet - at a higher salary.

Between you, you must be able to speak, read and write in German and Italian and be fluent in English. Other languages are an advantage, especially Russian. A minimum of a PADI certification level of Open Water or equivalent is a must and we will also consider PADI Divemasters. Instructors need not apply unless there is an additional reason why you should stay dry.

We will be offering the successful candidates a 12 month contract starting as soon as possible, monthly salary, commission plus accommodation at the Resta Reef and full board.

Tick all the boxes? Then please send your CVs showing all relevant diving and non-diving experience, along with clear and recent photographs, to human.resources@emperordivers.com quoting reference ED102.

We look forward to hearing from you.