The Princess Haleema is 36 metres long and one of the luxury liveaboards in the Maldives. Its sleek look and spacious decks made it winner of a most 'Photogenic Liveaboard' award in 2006. These cruises are dedicated to divers that enjoy comfort and a love of nature and aquatic sports.
The liveaboard operator has more than 30 years experience of running cruises in the Maldives and was one of the first dive companies to operate here, discovering many of the dive sites, and they still maintain the same passion for the sea. Unusually, there are 3 dive guides on each cruise, ensuring a more personal dive service than on other boats. There is a marine biologist onboard Princess Haleema who provides extra insights in to the marine life that you will see. There is a heavy emphasis on island hopping, which makes it a little unique. Every day, the Princess Haleema arranges snorkelling excursions and beach or sand bank visits to explore some of the most beautiful areas of the Maldives.
There are no less than 3 separate open air relaxation areas on the liveaboard, one of which features 2 Jacuzzis, and there is an indoor lounge with music, TV and movie library. Meals are often taken outside when the weather permits, otherwise guests dine in the indoor dining area. The cuisine is a celebration of Italian with local spices and fresh fish. Onboard the 2 chefs present a different menu every day based on seafood, pasta, pizza, rice dishes (Risotto or Asian fried rice), vegetables, tropical fruit and homemade desserts.
The Princess Haleema liveaboard was built in 2006 and renovated in 2018 so it is still a beautifully finished vessel, and the generous 11.5m beam means there is loads of space onboard. Its professional Italian staff and the warm hospitality of the crew, who have been working onboard for many years, ensure an extraordinary experience. There are 11 cabins on board, and the 3 cabins on the upper deck feature large sea view windows. All the cabins are ensuite and are tastefully and comfortably furnished.
Since the diving is all done from a 19 metre long separate boat, the spacious dive deck has been converted to an outdoor dining and relaxation area. The best features of the Princess Haleema are the roomy outdoor relaxation areas. Reading a book in the open air upper deck, or chilling out in the Jacuzzi with a refreshing drink as the sun sets over the scattered islands of the Maldives, you will be delighted you chose a liveaboard cruise on the Princess Haleema.
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, drift diving, very popular, wreck diving
Dive sites and activities: Rasdhoo, North Ari, South Ari, North Felidhoo, South Male atolls
Day 1
Your diving adventure begins in Male, the bustling capital of the Maldives. After arriving, a member of the liveaboard crew will greet you and assist with your transfer to the Princess Haleema. Once you are onboard and settled into your cabin, you'll be treated to a delicious welcome lunch. Afterward, the captain and crew will conduct a thorough boat and safety briefing. This is a great opportunity to get to know your fellow divers and prepare for the incredible week of diving ahead.
Core Days
Over the next several days, you’ll navigate a carefully planned route through the central atolls of the Maldives, each with its own unique characteristics and signature marine life.
Rasdhoo and North Ari Atoll are globally recognised for their deep ocean channels and strong currents, which act as a magnet for large, open-ocean species. Here, you'll have the opportunity to dive with hammerhead sharks, manta rays, and other powerful pelagics. These dives offer a truly exhilarating experience, putting you in the heart of the Maldives' dynamic big fish action.
As a protected marine area, South Ari Atoll is celebrated as the Maldives' premier whale shark destination. Divers here regularly have the incredible opportunity to swim alongside these gentle giants as they glide peacefully through the waters. The calm conditions and frequent sightings make this a truly special and memorable part of the trip.
The diving in Felidhoo Atoll is defined by dramatic underwater topography. You'll dive on spectacular walls and caverns adorned with vibrant soft corals and explore natural overhangs teeming with life. These channels are also excellent spots to find active reef sharks and other impressive big fish. A definite highlight of this region is the signature night dive, where you can witness dozens of huge nurse sharks and stingrays gathering for a truly unforgettable feeding spectacle. This unique experience provides a fascinating look into the nighttime behaviour of these marine animals.
As you explore South Male Atoll, you'll find a hub of marine activity known for its large schools of fish and a strong presence of pelagics. The atoll is also home to a very popular wreck site. Divers can expect to see impressive parades of reef sharks and a diverse ecosystem filled with a wide variety of marine life.
In addition to the day dives, every trip on this route includes at least 1 thrilling night dive to complete your comprehensive Maldives diving experience. These dives offer a unique perspective, revealing the different species that become active after sunset.
Day 8
On your final day, after a last breakfast on board, it will be time to say your goodbyes to the Princess Haleema crew and fellow divers. The crew will assist with your transfer back to Male airport for your departure, leaving you with lasting memories of an incredible underwater adventure.
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, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, wall diving
Dive sites and activities: Addu, Fuvahmulah, Huvahdoo
Day 1
A representative of the Princess Haleema will meet you at Gan Airport (Addu) and take you to the dhoni that will take you on board this super 36m 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!
Core Days
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.
Maldives Northern Atolls (8 Days / 7 Nights - 17 Dives)
Trip highlights: whale sharks, manta rays, turtles, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, wall diving
Dive sites and activities: North Male, Lhavyiani, Noonu, Baa (Hanifaru Bay) atolls
Day 1
Your scuba adventure kicks off at Male International Airport. Upon arrival, a member of the liveaboard crew will meet you and handle your transfer to the Princess Haleema. Once you're settled in your cabin, you'll be served a welcome lunch. Following the meal, the captain and crew will provide a comprehensive boat and safety briefing, which is the perfect time to meet your fellow divers and prepare for an incredible week underwater.
Core Days
For the next few days, you'll navigate a route through the Maldives Northern atolls, each segment featuring its own distinct underwater environment and signature marine inhabitants.
North Male atoll was one of the first to be discovered for its scuba diving delights and comprises some of the oldest and most popular dive regions in the Maldives including Gaathugiri, also known as Banana Reef. You can expect breathtaking topography with magnificent rock faces, numerous caves, steep drop offs and precipitous overhangs. The marine life is just as awesome with sharks, manta rays, trevally, black snappers, grouper, schooling bannerfish, large morays, squirrelfish, soldierfish and Maldivian grubfish.
Lhaviyani Atoll, a highly accessible and diverse diving region in the Northern Maldives, is characterised by its dramatic underwater topography, which features deep channels (kandus) and numerous submerged pinnacles (thilas), along with intriguing wreck sites such as The Shipyard. These channels, including famous spots like Kuredu Express and Hurawalhi Kandu, experience strong currents that funnel nutrient-rich water and attract significant pelagic action, allowing divers to anticipate thrilling encounters with grey reef sharks, eagle rays, and large tuna. Lhaviyani is also renowned for its manta ray cleaning stations, offering frequent sightings of these majestic creatures, particularly from November to March, while other abundant marine life includes resident green sea turtles resting in spectacular reef overhangs and caves, alongside large schools of jackfish, barracuda, snappers, and various reef fish like butterflyfish and Napoleon wrasse.
Noonu Atoll provides a less-crowded diving experience with pristine reefs and diverse species, featuring a varied topography of thilas, steep walls, and numerous overhangs and caves. The atoll's highlight is Orimas Thila, a renowned shark diving site and cleaning station where divers frequently see large groups of grey reef sharks, while another famous pinnacle, Christmas Tree Rock, offers sightings of resting whitetip reef sharks and stingrays. Although its channels generally have less concentrated currents than in the central atolls, Noonu is rich in marine life, including leopard sharks, eagle rays, and schools of pelagic fish like barracuda and jackfish, all thriving among healthy soft corals, providing thrilling drift dives for advanced divers alongside calmer house reefs for the less-experienced.
As a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Baa Atoll is a world-class dive destination most famous for Hanifaru Bay, a protected snorkelling-only area where huge numbers of manta rays and whale sharks gather to feed during the southwest monsoon (May to November). The atoll's varied dive sites, including thilas, slopes, channels, and feature many manta cleaning stations such as Nelivaru Haa, impressive coral-draped walls with overhangs and caves, and an extremely high fish biomass. Divers can explore this rich ecosystem to consistently find turtles, grey reef sharks, eagle rays, and massive schools of reef fish among vibrant hard and soft corals.
Day 8
Your final morning includes a last breakfast on board before it's time to say goodbye to the Princess Haleema team and your diving companions. The crew will help with your transfer to Male airport for your departure, leaving you with cherished memories of your amazing liveaboard diving cruise in the northern Maldives.
Maldives Southern 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, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, wall diving
Dive sites and activities: South Male, Felidhoo, Meemu, Thaa, Laamu, Huvadhoo atolls
Day 1
A representative of the Princess Haleema will meet you at Suvadiva Airport, Huvadhoo, and take you to the dhoni that will take you on board this super 36m 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!
Core Days
Cruises include 3 dives on most diving days among an impressive variety of marine life. You are about to dive the Southern Atolls, some of the most untouched and uninhabited part of the Maldives, where you could meet up to 10 different species of sharks here. You will explore the best channel dives in Huvadhoo, with hammerhead sharks and big schools of reef sharks. Felidhoo Atoll will challenge you with its deep channels and strong currents that attract different types of sharks, schools of trevallies and tuna in search of small prey, and an amazing nurse shark dive. Meemu Atoll is where you will have the best chance to see whale sharks feeding on plankton, while Thaa Atoll is all about drift dives in the company of whitetip reef sharks and eagle rays. The abundance of marine life, almost untouched by humans, will leave you speechless.
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 International Airport.
Note: this safari sometimes runs in reverse. Please check the exact port details above.
[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].
A typical day on the Princess Haleema liveaboard is a seamless blend of world-class diving and onboard comfort. The schedule is designed to maximize your time underwater while also providing ample opportunities for relaxation and enjoying the stunning Maldivian scenery.
Your day starts early with a light breakfast at 6 am, followed by the first dive of the day. By 7:30 am, you'll return to the boat for a full, satisfying breakfast to refuel. The rest of the morning offers time to relax on the sundeck, go snorkeling, or take a shore excursion before the 2nd dive begins around 10 am.
Lunch is served at 12 pm, which may occasionally be a special island picnic, offering a chance to enjoy a meal on a secluded beach. The 3rd dive of the day is scheduled for 2:30 pm, followed by tea time at 5:30 pm, featuring freshly baked cakes and biscuits. As the sun sets around 6:30 pm, you can try your hand at sunset fishing before dinner is served at 7:30 pm. To round out your comprehensive diving experience, at least 1 thrilling night dive is included in every trip.
The culinary experience on the Princess Haleema is a highlight of the trip, with onboard chefs specializing in a fusion of unique Italian-style dishes and fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Meals are served at the table in either the open-air upper deck (weather permitting) or the air-conditioned dining room.
* For breakfast, you can expect a mix of European and continental options, including fresh fruits, muesli, and various kinds of bread. You can also request eggs made to order and freshly baked cakes..
* Lunch and dinner menus typically include a delicious Italian pasta dish, a rice dish, and your choice of fresh fish, chicken, or meat, served alongside fresh salads and cooked vegetables.
* Freshly baked bread and homemade cakes are prepared daily for all guests to enjoy.
* Drinking water, tea, and coffee are available all day. Soft drinks, beer, wine, and spirits can be purchased as additional extras.
The crew of the Princess Haleema also aims to host at least 1 special BBQ party per trip on a secluded beach, providing a memorable social event under the stars.
