VIP -White Island & Ras Mohamed Snorkel Excursion

We booked the Ras Mohammed and White island trip including 2 diving sessions for 4 people at Pyramids Diving centre at Jas Mirabel - I would book with someone else if we did it again. At £400 the price was much higher than other companies were advertising (online they were £200). Pyramids advised us that the reason they were more expensive were:1) They had a maximum of 25 people on the boat rather than 40. 2) They had insurance and good safety being Govt approved. 3) The dives would be 15 minutes or absolutely minimum 14. 4) The drinks would be individual bottles of Fanta and Coke rather than cups. 5) They had good ratios of divers to dive leaders. 6) others charged for mask and snorkel hire (which was quickly disproved).  The trip started with no problems but the other claims made during the booking were evidently not true. There were a convoy of boats all following each other so the stops were crowded (especially the White island) and by observing the other boats we could see they all had similar passenger numbers. The dives were great although only lasted 10-11 minutes rather than 15 and the drinks were from paper cups rather than individual bottles (which is fine). On the return journey we came across a sinking boat with all of the passengers being rescued by other boats that had already arrived. Our crew decided they wanted to rescue the boat itself regardless of the danger that put their passengers in. Rather than allow an empty boat to carry out the recovery or move us to the safety of another vessel they hitched the sinking boat to ours and attempted to tow it. What followed was apparently general panic of the captain, crew and then, when they realised they'd forgotten to give a safety brief at the beginning and announced that there were lifejackets onboard that we could use if we capsized or sank, the passengers. There was shouting, crying and passengers passing out in fear as the captain ran up and down the boat trying to keep us upright. Upon realising the mistake they'd made they tried to get another vessel alongside to disembark the passengers but due to the sea conditions and our towing we collided and the attempt had to be abandoned. When we raised our safety concerns on our return to the hotel we were told, by Pyramid, that the captain and crew were being investigated and disciplined by the authorities as if it were nothing to do with Pyramid.  Our experience is likely different to most other trips as generally little will go wrong but having booked with a more expensive reputable company thinking we'd be safer in an emergency I feel we'd have been safer on any one of the other boats that were surrounding us. We had 2 young children diving with us who have both now said they don't want to go on a boat again after such a traumatic experience. As an aside I checked our travel insurance and we are covered automatically for dives down to 18m (more if we'd been qualified divers). At least some of the team on the boat were contractors so I suspect the quality of the teams on all the boats will be equally as high as on ours - they were great.  With hindsight we should have booked with one of the many other companies offering the same trip for a much lower price. 

Me and my Girlfriend booked this trip via our hotel the Rixos and on the day we went which was the 7th of June was my 29th birthday. We transferred from the hotel early and set off very excited. This was our first time to Egypt and it was a trip we were really keen to do as we have heard great things about the snorkelling in Egypt. The set off was pleasant and the views were fantastic, the staff on the trip were really welcoming and made everyone feel at home and very safe on the boat. We had paid for a dive and my girlfriend and me were both very anxious as we had never done it before. I personally was worried about my ears as i had experienced pain before due to pressure when i go underwater. The safety talk was a little overwhelming and we had both decided after that maybe this wasn't for us. The staff on the boat assured us that we would be fine and it would be a great experience and persuaded us to gear up and go for it. We had a amazing time, they gave us advice and helped us consistently throughout making us feel very safe in their hands they guided us and gave us a unforgettable experience. We were both so glad we did it! Lunch was lovely and every member of the team were amazing in every way. We had 3 stops at fantastic locations and it really was our most favourite day of the holiday. We would highly recommend this trip and all the very friendly team at pyramids diving its a must do if you go to Sharm and enjoy the water! Thanks for a great birthday!

Very good, staff were fun. The ocean was very clear and beautiful. The company provides great customer service. Khalil was my guide and has great charisma.

Cool excursion with Riha. Much places discoverd. Would do it again! Pyramids diving center is good!!

That’s the perfect swimming and snorkelling experience I have ever had before.thanks to Risha for this day