Dive trip with Carlton - 7 nights

Boat

Carlton is a 33-metre Egyptian liveaboard built around the classic northern Red Sea circuit. She accommodates no more than 20 guests, a practical group size for itineraries that combine famous wrecks with current-fed reefs and the dramatic coastline of the Sinai Peninsula. Her current published schedule embarks from Travco Jetty in Sharm El Sheikh and focuses on Ras Mohammed National Park, the Straits of Tiran, the SS Thistlegorm, the Dunraven and selected Dahab sites.

The social spaces are spread across several levels. An indoor salon provides upholstered seating for briefings and surface intervals, while the adjoining dining area is arranged for communal meals. Outside, guests can choose a partially covered lounge, open deck seating and a large sun deck. These separate areas make it possible to find shade, sea air or a quieter corner without occupying the working dive deck.

The operator serves a varied buffet three times a day and says snacks and drinks are available around the clock. The normal catering period begins with dinner on embarkation day and ends with breakfast on disembarkation day. “Available” should not automatically be read as “all beverages included”: complimentary drinks, packaged soft drinks and alcohol should be identified on the dated quotation, and dietary requirements must be supplied in advance.

Two 6.5-metre tenders, each listed with a 45 hp outboard, support dives away from the mother ship and surface pickups where mooring directly over a site is not practical. The vessel page also lists GPS plotter and radar. Safety equipment includes smoke alarms, fire extinguishers in the cabins, emergency oxygen, a stocked first-aid kit, life jackets and two life rafts rated for 25 people each.

Public specification pages disagree about Carlton’s construction year, refit date, beam, engines and tank capacities. The operator itself currently confirms the 33-metre length, 20-guest capacity and core safety and diving inventory, but does not publish the disputed build and refit figures. Those uncertain numbers should not be used as guaranteed sales facts unless the operator supplies an updated technical sheet.

Cabin

Carlton has exactly 10 guest cabins for a maximum of 20 people. The distribution is clearly stated by the operator and is also reproduced by current specialist booking platforms:

• 6 Lower Deck Twin Cabins: each has two separate single beds and accommodates up to two guests. These are the largest cabin category by quantity and may be sold on a share basis.
• 2 Middle Deck Double Cabins: each has one double bed for up to two guests. Current sales descriptions place them on the middle deck and advertise sea views. They are intended for a couple or two guests comfortable sharing one bed and are not normally treated as shareable twin cabins.
• 2 Upper Deck Twin Cabins: each has two separate single beds and accommodates up to two guests. They provide an upper-level alternative to the six lower-deck twins.

Current PADI Travel and LiveAboard.com listings describe all ten cabins as air-conditioned with private ensuite bathrooms. Their bathroom description includes a washbasin, hot-and-cold shower and ceramic marine toilet. Towels, soap, hygiene products and bed linen are also advertised, while the operator’s own information page independently confirms that towels and bed linen are supplied and recommends bringing a personal bath towel.

The operator’s vessel page does not itself repeat the air-conditioning or ensuite specification, and another reseller incorrectly marks the cabins as having no air conditioning. For publication, the ten-cabin layout can be treated as verified; air-conditioning control, bathroom fixtures and sea-view wording should remain subject to the dated cabin confirmation.

No reliable cabin floor areas, mattress dimensions, storage measurements, window or porthole details, housekeeping frequency, hairdryers, safes, USB outlets or cabin-by-cabin electrical sockets are published. Bed configuration should not be assumed convertible: the six lower and two upper rooms are fixed twin categories, while the two middle-deck rooms are sold as doubles. Guests should have the deck, bed type, cabin number and single-share conditions written into their booking.

Multi-deck access appears to be by stairs, and no lift, wheelchair-adapted cabin or accessible bathroom is advertised. Anyone travelling with reduced mobility, medical equipment, CPAP requirements or a need for refrigeration should request a written suitability assessment before paying a deposit.

Diving

Carlton’s northern Red Sea programme is designed for qualified divers rather than introductory try-dives. The operator requires at least an Open Water Diver certification or equivalent and 30 logged dives to join a safari. Participation in more demanding dives—particularly wreck penetration, deep sections or strong-current sites—still depends on certification, recent experience and the dive team’s assessment.

A normal full day can include about three daytime dives plus an optional night dive where regulations, route timing and conditions allow. The check dive is mandatory. Decompression diving is prohibited, the published maximum depth is 40 metres with the correct qualification, buddy teams are required and every dive ends with a three-minute safety stop at five metres. The captain and dive guide make the final operational decision, and missed dives caused by weather, technical limitations, permits or safety restrictions are not refundable.

The operator lists 37 × 12-litre cylinders and 5 × 15-litre cylinders. Fifteen-litre cylinders must be requested no later than ten days before departure and may carry an additional charge. The technical page prints the compressor entry ambiguously as “350 l/min air compressor2”; it confirms 350-litre-per-minute air-compression capacity but does not present the number of compressors clearly enough to guarantee without clarification.

Enriched air is available on at least some programmes. The current 2026 Sinai Classic, Dahab and Thistlegorm mini-safari listings explicitly include 12-litre EAN cylinders, while general reseller pages variously mark Nitrox as paid or free. Nitrox should therefore be described as included only when it appears on the selected departure’s invoice. Certification is required, and the requested Nitrox service must be reported to the operator at least ten days before the trip.

Every diver must carry a dive computer, surface marker buoy and dive torch on every dive, not only at night. Guests should also bring their certification, logbook, appropriate exposure protection and personal spares. The operator normally does not keep a full rental stock permanently onboard; equipment must be ordered several days in advance, is priced on request and should be confirmed by item and size.

Dives are usually made from Carlton or one of her two 6.5-metre, 45 hp tenders. Currents, negative entries and open-water pickups can occur at Tiran, Ras Mohammed and exposed wreck sites. Night diving and snorkelling are prohibited inside Ras Mohammed National Park under the operator’s published rules, although a night dive may be scheduled later at a permitted anchorage outside the restricted zone.

Required guest information must reach the operator no later than ten days before departure: a passport copy valid for at least six months on entry, certification copy, number of logged dives, flight details when transfer is included, requests for Nitrox, 15-litre cylinders or rentals, dive-insurance details and an emergency contact. Every diver completes a medical questionnaire and liability waiver onboard; a doctor’s certificate does not replace the operator’s form.

Other Information

Carlton’s package changes by date and sales channel. The selected departure’s written confirmation is the controlling document, especially for Nitrox, marine-park fees and transfers.

Normally included or expressly confirmed by the operator:

• Accommodation in the booked cabin for the stated cruise duration
• Catering from dinner on the first day through breakfast on the last day, normally with three buffet meals daily on full operating days
• Snacks and drinks being available around the clock; the exact complimentary beverage list must still be confirmed
• Towels and bed linen; the operator nevertheless recommends bringing a personal bath towel
• Scheduled diving, briefings and the check dive, subject to certification, conditions and route approval
• Standard 12-litre air cylinders and weights as part of normal diving operations
• Use of the two dive tenders when the dive plan requires them
• On current specifically labelled 2026 departures, 12-litre EAN and the marine-park fee; this is not a blanket promise for every future cruise

Not included, optional or payable unless the invoice says otherwise:

• International or domestic flights, hotels and personal travel arrangements
• Egyptian entry visa and any related arrival fee
• Individual airport or hotel transfers; the operator states that complimentary group transfers apply to full charters only and that individual transfers can be arranged for a per-person, per-way surcharge
• Government reef tax or marine-park fee when it is not expressly included on the departure
• Nitrox when the dated programme does not list 12-litre EAN as included
• Fifteen-litre cylinders, full rental equipment, courses, private services and other special dive requests
• Alcohol, premium or packaged drinks, onboard purchases and personal expenses unless specifically listed
• Travel, baggage, accident, medical and dive insurance
• Crew gratuity; the operator recommends EUR 90 per guest for a one-week safari