Trip of a lifetime - Maldives Honeymoon
Feb 19, 2024, 3:13 pm
#16
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2023
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Programs: Emirates Skywards
Posts: 33
We were told when we boarded that the inbound flight had been delayed due to severe fog in Dubai, so was really hoping that had cleared before we were due to land! The pilot announced something along the lines of ‘we’ve loaded extra fuel to go faster and make time up!’ - fingers crossed.
We were in seats 76H & J - this A380 only has business and economy - business was out of the question, we’d spent more on the resort we wanted and could not justify the upgrade… I don’t regret this, not for this flight anyway. I have to sit in an aisle seat, otherwise my anxiety is worse, it also lets me stretch out a bit more, but to be fair the flight was so busy with crew constantly serving foods and drinks you can’t really relax a lot! In any event, I found the legroom fine and my 6ft husband wasn’t too bad either. The In-Flight entertainment system was superb, there is a main screen and a smaller handheld device, so you can watch a film/TV on the main screen and keep the flight information on the smaller device. I have always freaked out with turbulence, but being able to see all the flight information reassured me and I am pleased to say I am no longer frightened of turbulence!! I am cured of one thing haha.
I watched Barbie on the way to Dubai, hubby was able to watch some football match or other - live - which he was very happy about! The WiFi which is free, was very hit and miss, more miss, and you just learned to not bother! The flight was packed full, I could not see one empty seat and the crew work tirelessly with constant service. The Emirates experience definitely lived up to expectations. You can ask for drinks at any time, we had the main meal in the photos, later on there was a snack which I forget what that was and I was quite full anyway, then not long before landing we got a tub of ice cream.
Decent legroom, everyone gets a blanket, handy USB chargers in the seat back too!
Meal was very nice, beautiful butter chicken and the sticky toffee pudding was amazing.
We were in seats 76H & J - this A380 only has business and economy - business was out of the question, we’d spent more on the resort we wanted and could not justify the upgrade… I don’t regret this, not for this flight anyway. I have to sit in an aisle seat, otherwise my anxiety is worse, it also lets me stretch out a bit more, but to be fair the flight was so busy with crew constantly serving foods and drinks you can’t really relax a lot! In any event, I found the legroom fine and my 6ft husband wasn’t too bad either. The In-Flight entertainment system was superb, there is a main screen and a smaller handheld device, so you can watch a film/TV on the main screen and keep the flight information on the smaller device. I have always freaked out with turbulence, but being able to see all the flight information reassured me and I am pleased to say I am no longer frightened of turbulence!! I am cured of one thing haha.
I watched Barbie on the way to Dubai, hubby was able to watch some football match or other - live - which he was very happy about! The WiFi which is free, was very hit and miss, more miss, and you just learned to not bother! The flight was packed full, I could not see one empty seat and the crew work tirelessly with constant service. The Emirates experience definitely lived up to expectations. You can ask for drinks at any time, we had the main meal in the photos, later on there was a snack which I forget what that was and I was quite full anyway, then not long before landing we got a tub of ice cream.
Decent legroom, everyone gets a blanket, handy USB chargers in the seat back too!
Meal was very nice, beautiful butter chicken and the sticky toffee pudding was amazing.
Feb 19, 2024, 3:32 pm
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2023
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Programs: Emirates Skywards
Posts: 33
One tip and I am glad I did this, take a refillable water bottle - I was feeling quite dehydrated before I even boarded the flight and the crew had no problems refilling this whenever asked, it’s just so much easier than the flimsy plastic cups. As long as it’s empty at security you should be fine (although I did manage to get it through half full accidentally at Dubai coming back without being stopped!)
We landed just after our flight to Male should have departed, so we were convinced we would be put on a later flight, however, to our surprise there was an Emirates member of staff waiting at the gate with a sign for Male passengers. Once she’d got us all (11 in total) she rushed us through the terminal, security and onto the flight they’d held. Again this flight was packed and I suspect they did this because all flights were full that day and therefore holding the flight for 40 minutes was more desirable than us waiting more than a day! I am very grateful for this.
The flight from Dubai to Male is a 777-300ER - bit of a come down after being on the A380, we struggled to get the seats we wanted on this flight and were in seats 42B & C - which meant I was in the middle and not the aisle…. The seats immediately felt extremely cramped. The row in front had all fully reclined and made it really difficult for us to get in. They were asked to pull them up for take-off and meals but all the remainder of the flight, they fully reclined. I also had a child behind me kicking/playing with the seat the entire flight - deep joy! Given we’d landed at 4am Dubai time, we were pretty exhausted but it was impossible to sleep. There was also a fair bit of turbulence and as we were sat near the engines it was noisy too. Thankfully this flight was only 3hr 30m compared to the 7hr flight to Dubai.
As we came into Male for landing, the pilot warned us that it was quite stormy and he would ‘give it a go’ but it would all depend on ATC and whether he had to hold for a gap in the weather….it was a very bumpy landing and as we hit the runway an incredible amount of spray and I thought we were going sideways (which we weren’t just my overactive imagination lol)
I ordered the gluten free breakfast and annoyingly, everyone was ‘free’ in the meal, which resulted in a very bland egg white omelette, an inedible piece of dry chicken… the potatoes were the best part! The other snacks were okay, but it annoys me that they think gluten free means devoid of flavour and anything else, although I do understand they are catering for the massed.
Sunrise over the Indian Ocean
We landed just after our flight to Male should have departed, so we were convinced we would be put on a later flight, however, to our surprise there was an Emirates member of staff waiting at the gate with a sign for Male passengers. Once she’d got us all (11 in total) she rushed us through the terminal, security and onto the flight they’d held. Again this flight was packed and I suspect they did this because all flights were full that day and therefore holding the flight for 40 minutes was more desirable than us waiting more than a day! I am very grateful for this.
The flight from Dubai to Male is a 777-300ER - bit of a come down after being on the A380, we struggled to get the seats we wanted on this flight and were in seats 42B & C - which meant I was in the middle and not the aisle…. The seats immediately felt extremely cramped. The row in front had all fully reclined and made it really difficult for us to get in. They were asked to pull them up for take-off and meals but all the remainder of the flight, they fully reclined. I also had a child behind me kicking/playing with the seat the entire flight - deep joy! Given we’d landed at 4am Dubai time, we were pretty exhausted but it was impossible to sleep. There was also a fair bit of turbulence and as we were sat near the engines it was noisy too. Thankfully this flight was only 3hr 30m compared to the 7hr flight to Dubai.
As we came into Male for landing, the pilot warned us that it was quite stormy and he would ‘give it a go’ but it would all depend on ATC and whether he had to hold for a gap in the weather….it was a very bumpy landing and as we hit the runway an incredible amount of spray and I thought we were going sideways (which we weren’t just my overactive imagination lol)
I ordered the gluten free breakfast and annoyingly, everyone was ‘free’ in the meal, which resulted in a very bland egg white omelette, an inedible piece of dry chicken… the potatoes were the best part! The other snacks were okay, but it annoys me that they think gluten free means devoid of flavour and anything else, although I do understand they are catering for the massed.
Sunrise over the Indian Ocean
Feb 20, 2024, 1:22 pm
#19
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Join Date: Dec 2023
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Programs: Emirates Skywards
Posts: 33
So, after the dramatic Male landing, we taxied all the way past the terminal, to what must be the furthest part of the airport. There are no air bridges at Male, all planes are bussed. As you can imagine, it takes some time to bus passengers off a 777 - it took around 40 minutes in total and we were fairly near the back. Immigration wasn’t too bad, around 15-20 minutes queue and as long as you have pre-done your Imuga online beforehand, you are good to go. The online system matches it up to your passport, so even if you don’t have a copy of your Imuga on you, you should be okay. I know this because hubby never got confirmation or the ability to print his out, but it had gone through and we went through immigration no problem.
You have to pass through scanners again to exit, not sure what they are looking for but Maldives is a ‘dry’ country and there were signs up advising you can’t import alcohol, not sure how strict they are on this. Then onto collect our baggage, where we got the dreaded announcement to go speak to the baggage desk. We were told only one of our bags had made it at Dubai…. They would send the other one onto our resort, we just had to confirm the details etc, they hoped later that day, then the wait to see which bag it was…. Not going to lie, I was so glad it was MY bag haha - we had done some cross packing, so at least Hubby had clothes!
Then exit into the utter chaos of Male airport. Unbeknown to us, as we were looking for our resort name, there was a woman holding up an Emirates Holidays sign as we came out of arrivals, but we’d walked straight past her. There are around 50-60 desks around the terminal for all the various resorts, but stupidly the signs are all at below waist level and not higher up, so with crowds and queues of people, it’s impossible to see the resort names on the desk! So much room for improvement. Thankfully there was an information desk, I asked there and they told me which desk number it was, we joined a queue of around 6 people at a resort desk with no-one there!
Sorry for the lack of photos at this point, but exhaustion had kicked in. After a few minutes, a lady arrived and she labelled our bags with our resort names. We were staying at You & Me Maldives, which is owned by the Cocoon Collection who have 2 other resorts. She then got us past all the mayhem and queues to check our bags in with TMA for the seaplane, and get our boarding passes. Next we were put on a bus to the seaplane terminal - this surprised me, it took a good 10-15 minutes to get there, I think this will change when Male finish their new terminal, there is a LOT of construction going on and you basically are driven around the entire permitted of the airport and new construction.
The seaplane terminal is brand new, can only be a year old and very grand. The Cocoon Collection have their own private lounge as do quite a few of the other resorts. For those that don’t have a dedicated lounge, there is a shared lounge with a restaurant and bar. I was very grateful for having the private lounge, it was spacious, beautifully air conditioned and had a viewing terrace.
View from the lounge terrace - gave me time to get used to the sea plane noise!
Cocoon Collection Lounge - lots of soft drinks, tea/coffee, snacks and fruit. Free WiFi and air conditioning.
You have to pass through scanners again to exit, not sure what they are looking for but Maldives is a ‘dry’ country and there were signs up advising you can’t import alcohol, not sure how strict they are on this. Then onto collect our baggage, where we got the dreaded announcement to go speak to the baggage desk. We were told only one of our bags had made it at Dubai…. They would send the other one onto our resort, we just had to confirm the details etc, they hoped later that day, then the wait to see which bag it was…. Not going to lie, I was so glad it was MY bag haha - we had done some cross packing, so at least Hubby had clothes!
Then exit into the utter chaos of Male airport. Unbeknown to us, as we were looking for our resort name, there was a woman holding up an Emirates Holidays sign as we came out of arrivals, but we’d walked straight past her. There are around 50-60 desks around the terminal for all the various resorts, but stupidly the signs are all at below waist level and not higher up, so with crowds and queues of people, it’s impossible to see the resort names on the desk! So much room for improvement. Thankfully there was an information desk, I asked there and they told me which desk number it was, we joined a queue of around 6 people at a resort desk with no-one there!
Sorry for the lack of photos at this point, but exhaustion had kicked in. After a few minutes, a lady arrived and she labelled our bags with our resort names. We were staying at You & Me Maldives, which is owned by the Cocoon Collection who have 2 other resorts. She then got us past all the mayhem and queues to check our bags in with TMA for the seaplane, and get our boarding passes. Next we were put on a bus to the seaplane terminal - this surprised me, it took a good 10-15 minutes to get there, I think this will change when Male finish their new terminal, there is a LOT of construction going on and you basically are driven around the entire permitted of the airport and new construction.
The seaplane terminal is brand new, can only be a year old and very grand. The Cocoon Collection have their own private lounge as do quite a few of the other resorts. For those that don’t have a dedicated lounge, there is a shared lounge with a restaurant and bar. I was very grateful for having the private lounge, it was spacious, beautifully air conditioned and had a viewing terrace.
View from the lounge terrace - gave me time to get used to the sea plane noise!
Cocoon Collection Lounge - lots of soft drinks, tea/coffee, snacks and fruit. Free WiFi and air conditioning.
Feb 20, 2024, 1:35 pm
#20
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Join Date: Dec 2023
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Programs: Emirates Skywards
Posts: 33
On arriving at the lounge we were told that due to the stormy weather (could only happen to me, the nervous of all fliers!) the sea planes were delayed by 2-3 hours and were playing catch up, so we just had to wait and see when we would get our slot. It gave me plenty of time to watch the take offs and landings of the sea planes and try and ‘be ok’ with it. I think we had to wait just under 2 hours in total, before we were taken down to a waiting room (much like a doctor’s waiting room) whilst we waited to be taken to the plane. At this point, I realised this was not going to be a direct flight and we were island hopping, thankfully only one hop and we were told our resort was 5 minutes from that one and the flight in total was around 40 minutes - great (not).
Onto the plane, it wasn’t quite full, a few spare seats and off we went after bobbing in the sea waiting for a take off for around 10 minutes. When we were boarding, one of the passengers asked if it was going to be rough, given the weather, the pilot made a gesture to suggest it was not going to be smooth. I actually missed this and hubby told me later. Needless to say, it was rough, 90% of it was just flying through thick grey cloud and the most severe turbulence I hope I will ever experience. People were literally holding onto anything they could to stay in their seats and lots of gasps all round! We did get a few glimpses of islands every now and then, but it was nothing like the videos hubby had been showing me to try and prepare me LOL
Onto the plane, it wasn’t quite full, a few spare seats and off we went after bobbing in the sea waiting for a take off for around 10 minutes. When we were boarding, one of the passengers asked if it was going to be rough, given the weather, the pilot made a gesture to suggest it was not going to be smooth. I actually missed this and hubby told me later. Needless to say, it was rough, 90% of it was just flying through thick grey cloud and the most severe turbulence I hope I will ever experience. People were literally holding onto anything they could to stay in their seats and lots of gasps all round! We did get a few glimpses of islands every now and then, but it was nothing like the videos hubby had been showing me to try and prepare me LOL
Feb 20, 2024, 1:43 pm
#21
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Join Date: Dec 2023
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Programs: Emirates Skywards
Posts: 33
Our first stop was to drop off a family of 4, the resort had no jetty, just a pontoon in the middle of the ocean, that the sea plane has to tether to - it was incredulous to watch the crew perform this manoeuvre in such windy and choppy conditions. The pontoon was moving all over the place, this poor family looked like they were being stranded in the middle of the ocean, but then the boat from the resort came into view!
Then we were up in the air again, a much quicker take off and they were right about it only being 5 minutes… unfortunately, by this time, with all the turbulence and choppy seas, hubby had come over all nauseous, so now I had to be brave and look after him!! We were circling around the resort whilst the pilot was clearly trying to find the right spot/direction to land as the weather had suddenly got a LOT worse, the sky was black and it had now started raining heavy on top of very strong wind. It really felt at this point like we were crash landing into the sea! Hubby had his head between his legs and I was just delirious lol
The pilot then had a huge struggle to get to the jetty, it felt like we were battling it out in the ocean forever, I don’t know how he did it, but he did and eventually we were on our resort - I have never been more glad to be on solid ground haha
It was not quite the arrival we’d expected, it was raining hard and we were ushered quickly into a covered area where we were given a cold drink and a cold towel to freshen up! We just hoped and prayed the rest of the holiday would not be so stormy!
Picture taken another day - it was too rainy when we arrived, but this is the jetty!
Then we were up in the air again, a much quicker take off and they were right about it only being 5 minutes… unfortunately, by this time, with all the turbulence and choppy seas, hubby had come over all nauseous, so now I had to be brave and look after him!! We were circling around the resort whilst the pilot was clearly trying to find the right spot/direction to land as the weather had suddenly got a LOT worse, the sky was black and it had now started raining heavy on top of very strong wind. It really felt at this point like we were crash landing into the sea! Hubby had his head between his legs and I was just delirious lol
The pilot then had a huge struggle to get to the jetty, it felt like we were battling it out in the ocean forever, I don’t know how he did it, but he did and eventually we were on our resort - I have never been more glad to be on solid ground haha
It was not quite the arrival we’d expected, it was raining hard and we were ushered quickly into a covered area where we were given a cold drink and a cold towel to freshen up! We just hoped and prayed the rest of the holiday would not be so stormy!
Picture taken another day - it was too rainy when we arrived, but this is the jetty!
Feb 20, 2024, 2:40 pm
#22
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Join Date: Dec 2023
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Programs: Emirates Skywards
Posts: 33
We had landed in Male around 09:40 and with all the transfers and waiting around, we arrived at our resort at 14:00 Maldives time, only to find out the island itself has put itself an hour ahead of the rest of the Maldives to make the most of the sun and so it was 15:00. We were soon shown to our villa, the resort is very small and it was only a few minutes walk from the reception and jetty to our beach villa. It was larger than expected and definitely larger than the water villas, we really wanted to be able to just step out onto the beach and was so glad we’d chosen the beach villa.
Our resort host settled us in, asked what our preferences were in terms of food and trips and what we’d already pre-booked, and she said she would send us an itinerary that evening for the week.
I hadn’t eaten since the dodgy omelette affair on the 777 and was ready for food!! Thankfully as part of the All Inclusive they do afternoon tea/bar snacks, so we went off to explore and find the Cheers Bar for a very welcome beer and snacks! Thankfully it had stopped raining at this point.
Spacious bathroom with shower - open to the elements, so when it did rain, it truly was a rain shower - also meant we got lots of lizard visitors! But they were no bother.
Our view from our loungers on the beach - the villa on the left is one of the spa massage rooms.
They still had all the Christmas Decorations up, which was a nice touch.
The little secluded pathway from our villa to the beach,
Our resort host settled us in, asked what our preferences were in terms of food and trips and what we’d already pre-booked, and she said she would send us an itinerary that evening for the week.
I hadn’t eaten since the dodgy omelette affair on the 777 and was ready for food!! Thankfully as part of the All Inclusive they do afternoon tea/bar snacks, so we went off to explore and find the Cheers Bar for a very welcome beer and snacks! Thankfully it had stopped raining at this point.
Spacious bathroom with shower - open to the elements, so when it did rain, it truly was a rain shower - also meant we got lots of lizard visitors! But they were no bother.
Our view from our loungers on the beach - the villa on the left is one of the spa massage rooms.
They still had all the Christmas Decorations up, which was a nice touch.
The little secluded pathway from our villa to the beach,
Feb 20, 2024, 3:06 pm
#24
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Join Date: Dec 2023
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Programs: Emirates Skywards
Posts: 33
The villa was definitely luxurious, all toiletries were provided and unlike most hotel shampoos and conditioners, theirs were high end and good quality. As part of the Honeymoon package (you don’t pay extra but are supposed to show your marriage certificate to get the upgrade) you get the bed decoration one night - a bottle of wine, chocolates and one inclusive candle lit dinner on the beach.
The bag arrived the following lunchtime, so no real hardship and we were just relieved to have not been bumped onto a later flight, so it was all good. The staff at the resort were so helpful and caring about it all.
The resort itself is small, with only 100 villas and adult only, there are never more than 200 guests on the island. It has four restaurants, the main restaurant which serves a mix of buffet and a-la-carte dependent on the night, called Sands, an Italian restaurant, a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant and finally the H2O underwater Michelin Star restaurant (which obviously is NOT part of the AI). The Italian and Japanese have to be pre-booked as they were much smaller restaurants, but you could go as often as you liked and H20 needs to be pre-booked before you arrive ideally, we struggled to get the dates we wanted and we booked months in advance!
There is the main Cheers Bar, which serves snacks in the afternoon, a Beach Bar, a games room/Shisha lounge, outdoor pool, Spa, diving centre, water sports centre, photo studio, volley ball court and a very small shop at reception.
All food was included, except H20 and the drinks were limited to Lion Beer/Carlsberg or Wine with meals in the restaurants and then mocktails/cocktails/spriits/prosecco at the bars. I knew this in advance and some people complain, but given how the resort is setup, I can see why they do it and it’s not a huge resort. Occasionally they would have coconut cocktails on special in the restaurant, but these would be extra, and of course they were constantly plugging bottles of champagne, especially as we were there for New Year!
Otherwise, I was impressed with what was on offer, the cocktails were amazing, very strong and the wines all palatable. The food was all top notch, I particularly enjoyed the Indian and Maldivian Buffets (I love spicy food) and could not get enough of their curries, you could try the local foods or stick with what you know, and every night they also had an alternative, such as a pasta station, for those who don’t do that cuisine. Most nights, you could also order off the a-la-carte if you so wished.
breakfast was outstanding, it made me set my alarm every morning, I did not want to miss it, the most perfect poached eggs made to order, gluten free pancakes freshly made, amazing tropical fruits, I could have stayed all day lol. Speaking of gluten free, every time I asked for something, they had it, I had one of the best gluten free pizzas ever in the Italian!
The Japanese - Rising Sun - was an experience, the food was okay, but it was more about the experience than anything else, it was fun.
I honestly haven’t done enough photos, I rarely had my phone with me as it was definitely a switch off holiday! But here are some of the resort, next post will be on H20.
Coconut cocktails!
Beach dinner
The bag arrived the following lunchtime, so no real hardship and we were just relieved to have not been bumped onto a later flight, so it was all good. The staff at the resort were so helpful and caring about it all.
The resort itself is small, with only 100 villas and adult only, there are never more than 200 guests on the island. It has four restaurants, the main restaurant which serves a mix of buffet and a-la-carte dependent on the night, called Sands, an Italian restaurant, a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant and finally the H2O underwater Michelin Star restaurant (which obviously is NOT part of the AI). The Italian and Japanese have to be pre-booked as they were much smaller restaurants, but you could go as often as you liked and H20 needs to be pre-booked before you arrive ideally, we struggled to get the dates we wanted and we booked months in advance!
There is the main Cheers Bar, which serves snacks in the afternoon, a Beach Bar, a games room/Shisha lounge, outdoor pool, Spa, diving centre, water sports centre, photo studio, volley ball court and a very small shop at reception.
All food was included, except H20 and the drinks were limited to Lion Beer/Carlsberg or Wine with meals in the restaurants and then mocktails/cocktails/spriits/prosecco at the bars. I knew this in advance and some people complain, but given how the resort is setup, I can see why they do it and it’s not a huge resort. Occasionally they would have coconut cocktails on special in the restaurant, but these would be extra, and of course they were constantly plugging bottles of champagne, especially as we were there for New Year!
Otherwise, I was impressed with what was on offer, the cocktails were amazing, very strong and the wines all palatable. The food was all top notch, I particularly enjoyed the Indian and Maldivian Buffets (I love spicy food) and could not get enough of their curries, you could try the local foods or stick with what you know, and every night they also had an alternative, such as a pasta station, for those who don’t do that cuisine. Most nights, you could also order off the a-la-carte if you so wished.
breakfast was outstanding, it made me set my alarm every morning, I did not want to miss it, the most perfect poached eggs made to order, gluten free pancakes freshly made, amazing tropical fruits, I could have stayed all day lol. Speaking of gluten free, every time I asked for something, they had it, I had one of the best gluten free pizzas ever in the Italian!
The Japanese - Rising Sun - was an experience, the food was okay, but it was more about the experience than anything else, it was fun.
I honestly haven’t done enough photos, I rarely had my phone with me as it was definitely a switch off holiday! But here are some of the resort, next post will be on H20.
Coconut cocktails!
Beach dinner
Feb 20, 2024, 3:18 pm
#25
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2023
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Programs: Emirates Skywards
Posts: 33
Our 2nd night on the resort was our H20 Dinner - as far as I am aware, this is the only Michelin Star Restaurant under the sea. The chef is Andrea Breton and he was actually at the resort doing live cooking demonstrations when we there, obviously these cost extra! The restaurant is a short boat ride from the island - again the choppiest sea ever, but I realised not only am I okay with turbulence (on a standard jet plane lol), apparently choppy boat rides are okay too. It’s only a few minutes thankfully. The food was outstanding, the champagne we splashed out on as a special treat and someone even got proposed to when we were there. The restaurant is very intimate, only 12-14 seats and the staff were amazing too.
It was a stupidly expensive meal but worth every penny for the experience! They even had pairing music - a first for me, a different set of songs for each course.
We were lucky to be visited by the lethal lion fish! Thankfully behind glass.
Reef sharks were regular visitors throughout the meal!
It was a stupidly expensive meal but worth every penny for the experience! They even had pairing music - a first for me, a different set of songs for each course.
We were lucky to be visited by the lethal lion fish! Thankfully behind glass.
Reef sharks were regular visitors throughout the meal!
Feb 20, 2024, 3:19 pm
#26
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2023
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Programs: Emirates Skywards
Posts: 33
Feb 20, 2024, 3:30 pm
#27
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2023
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Programs: Emirates Skywards
Posts: 33
The next night was New Year’s Eve - now I have brought in the New Year in many different countries before…. France, Germany, Czech Republic, Germany - but not in a country where you can sit on the beach in a summer dress and watch the fireworks!
The resort had put on a New Year Gala Dinner, the H20 chefs were present, making caviar canapés and the champagne was free flowing, as was the lobster - this was part of the AI and was absolutely incredible. There were some dishes served at the table, and some from the extensive buffet. The dessert station, well that blew my mind - and then…. I was told there was another dessert room - wow - I don’t have a sweet tooth, but I crammed in as much as I could before exploding LOL. There was entertainment, then fireworks, it was a very well organised and lovely night, for those who wanted to party, they put on a disco, or you could just sit on the beach with your cocktails - it was heaven!
Pirate theme for the NYE Gala!
The dessert room, in addition to a dessert station
As much as you could eat lobster
Lobsters before the grill!
The resort had put on a New Year Gala Dinner, the H20 chefs were present, making caviar canapés and the champagne was free flowing, as was the lobster - this was part of the AI and was absolutely incredible. There were some dishes served at the table, and some from the extensive buffet. The dessert station, well that blew my mind - and then…. I was told there was another dessert room - wow - I don’t have a sweet tooth, but I crammed in as much as I could before exploding LOL. There was entertainment, then fireworks, it was a very well organised and lovely night, for those who wanted to party, they put on a disco, or you could just sit on the beach with your cocktails - it was heaven!
Pirate theme for the NYE Gala!
The dessert room, in addition to a dessert station
As much as you could eat lobster
Lobsters before the grill!
Feb 21, 2024, 1:34 am
#29
Join Date: Nov 2023
Programs: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Posts: 193
Feb 21, 2024, 2:05 am
#30
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2023
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Programs: Emirates Skywards
Posts: 33
Do not let the seaplane journey put you off going to the Maldives, it is absolutely worth it and the journey back was bliss in comparison the one we had outgoing, we were just unlucky. There are also many resorts closer to Male that do speedboat transfers too and indeed, one of the Cocoon Collection is via speedboat, but I would do it all again to go back to this resort.