Malé, Maldives and Bridge Tour

Hello Everyone!

Today is Sunday the 15th of March 2026. We're at sea on our way to The Seychelles, and I'm catching up! 

We visited Malé, the capital of Maldives, on Thursday the 12th, followed by a sea day on the 13th. During the sea day, I got a tour of the bridge. Here are updates on both!

Malé, Maldives

The Maldives is a low-lying archipelago scatted across the equator some 620 miles southwest of India and Sri Lanka. There are 26 atolls in the group, and the highest land elevation is only about 8' above sea level. It is Asia's smallest country.

The Maldives is a paradise of white-sand beaches, swaying palms, and tranquil lagoons teeming with birdlife. Colorful reef fish, turtles, and other marine life mingle  among coral gardens just offshore, making the Maldives a top destination for snorkelers and divers.

Politically and religiously, the Maldives is strongly Muslim. Sharia law is written into the constitution. Alcohol and pork are banned on the island of Malé, as is sunbathing. All that would seem to fly in the face of the development of myriad beaches and high-end resorts in the rest of the archipelago. The government got around that by declaring the other islands "uninhabited". As such, pork, gambling, and alcohol are just fine. 😉

My Excursion

Almost all of the excursions today involved going to a resort island and sitting on one of those pristine beaches soaking up the rays. As a guy who's had far too many actinic keratoses (AKs) frozen off my scalp and skin, I'm not really much into beach time. 

Additionally, independent wandering around the city held little interest for me. First of all, there wasn't much except hi-rises in the vicinity of the port. But the real issue is that it's currently Ramadan. Because of that, shops and restaurants are all closed during most of the day, and the strict Sharia law here prohibits anyone (even tourists) from eating and drinking during daylight hours on Malé. We weren't even allowed to consume our bottled water away from the immediate vicinity of the port. Of course, none of that applies on the "uninhabited" (uninhibited?) islands, so the resorts can function normally.

So, I opted for a submarine ride that would allow me so see some of the underwater world. It was an interesting experience, but a bit underwhelming. I'll explain why.

The sub was moored at a floating platform just offshore, and they took us there on a small water taxi. 

Our Sub, Moored at a Floating Platform Offshore

The sub was bigger than I pictured and could seat about 40-45 people. As we were waiting to board, I noticed a diver going around the outside of the vessel. My initial thought was that he was inspecting the sub just before we left, kind of like a pilot pre-flighting an airplane. I found out later he was tying pieces of chum (bait fish) to hangers just below each window to attract sea life once we were underway.

Diver Placing Chum on Outside of Sub

Here's a view from my seat looking forward to where the captain sits. There were large portholes running the length of the ship, and there were seats for two in front of each window. The portholes were big enough that it was easy to share the view and photo opportunities.

View Looking Forward in Sub

Looking Aft Toward Boarding Hatch & Ladder

Floatation Device Demo

I was underwhelmed by the fish and the coral. I had hoped to see some brightly colored coral and many more colorful fish. The coral we saw looked more like a pile of gray concrete as compared to the vividly tinted ones in the brochure. We did get to see some butterfly fish and banner fish which were beautiful, graceful, and nicely colored. But by far we saw more snapper and grouper than anything.

There was one small shark that swam by from time to time, and the folks on the opposite side from me spotted a large moray eel. The water was too murky for me to get a useable picture of the shark, and I wasn't in position to photograph the eel, although I did catch a glimpse of it.

Butterfly Fish

Grouper (top)
Surgeonfish (bottom)

Longfin Banner Fish

Red Snapper

Overall the sub tour was okay, but not the "wow" experience I was hoping for. While we had plenty of time at depth (45 minutes and 150' or so), no one was giving any description or narration of what we were looking at. I had to do image searches with Google to identify the fish in my pictures.

Also, the water was murkier and cloudier than I expected it to be. Unless the fish were very close to the porthole in the sub it was difficult to make out details.

After the sub ride we returned to the pier where our tender boat was waiting to take us back to the ship. Our tenders pulled up to the Presidential Pier, where there was a nice pavilion to shield us from the sun. It's pictured below.

Presidential Pier

Viking Sky Visible Beyond the Pier

Once back on the boat, I took these pictures from my balcony showing the surprising (to me anyway) amount of development on the main island of Malé.

This picture shows a bridge under construction that is part of a long network that will turn several separate islands around Malé into one connected urban area. It’s a 6.7-km (about 4-mile) link that will connect Malé to three nearby islands using a series of bridges, causeways, and elevated roads. The project is called the Thilamalé Bridge.

Thilamalé Bridge Project

The goal is to ease crowding in Malé by making it easy to live, work, and move between several nearby islands. It will also provide road access to new housing areas, a commercial port, and industrial facilities. Construction started in 2021, and when it’s finished (expected around 2026) it will be the largest infrastructure project ever built in the Maldives.

I spent part of the afternoon doing laundry, and had no trouble getting a washing machine - most people were off the ship on excursions! Timing is everything.

We had a nice grilled dinner (bone-in ribeye and grilled prawns) by the pool on deck 7 this evening, and then headed to the lounge for drinks after that. Another great day!

Bridge Tour

On Friday the 13th of March, I got to go on a tour of the bridge. It's on the 6th deck and spans the width of the ship. It's actually wider than the ship because there are two "wings", one port and one starboard, where the captain and helmsman can monitor and control the ship during operations dockside. 

Port Wing Control Station

The wings each have duplicates of all the ship's controls and displays, and they offer commanding views of the sides of the ship. 

Information Display at Control Station

There's even a window looking down to the sea so that crew can accurately judge distance from the pier.

Floor Window

There's a set of gauges and readouts above the control station that show things like engine RPM, power output, rudder angle, rate of turn, speed, and depth below the keel.

Overhead Gauges

The center portion of the main bridge looks like the Starship Enterprise - nice, big captain's chairs occupied by the first and second mate, lots of computer screens, control panels, and radios.

Main Bridge Control Station

It was eerily quiet on the bridge - no noise from the engine or the sea - just a graceful and serene glide over the waves.

Just behind the bridge is the safety center. I'd liken it to a military command post or situation room from which they can monitor and respond to any unusual situations on board. It's modern and well-equipped. The Captain showed us how they can call up info on a large screen showing any area of the ship. They can drill in for detail, look at CCTV cameras throughout the ship, monitor fire sensors and alarms, etc. It's a small room, and only a few essential personnel man it during crises. 

The ship holds emergency drills every Tuesday morning at 10:00 that involve the whole crew. They practice for all sorts of abnormal and emergency situations such as fire, flooding, man overboard, medical emergencies and so forth. They keep disruptions to passengers at a minimum, but sometimes fire doors are closed temporarily, limiting movement around the ship for a short period.

Safety Center

Although any ship's drawings can be called up on the displays, there are myriad binders on the shelves lining the room containing all the drawings and technical details in case the technology fails.

Big Screen Display in Safety Center

Ventilation and Fire Suppression Controls

I picked up all sorts of trivia during the tour:

• The ship's draft (how far down it extends below the waterline) is nominally 8.7 meters (28.5 feet). It varies slightly with fuel load, ballast, etc.
• The minimum depth the Captain said he'd tolerate below the keel is just one meter (three feet). He'd only tolerate that while in port and moving a 1 kt. or less.
• There are six large lifeboats on board, each of which can 235 people. It would be very crowded, but that's what they're rated for. When we use them as tender boats, they rarely carry more than 100, and even that feels crowded!
• Five of the six lifeboats are for passengers. One is for the crew, but that's still not enough capacity for everyone on the crew, so there are life rafts stored in sealed containers on each side of the ship for those remaining.
• They have plenty of extra life preservers and other safety equipment spread throughout the ship. For example, there are 2,500 life preservers on board, even though with passengers and crew combined there'd be fewer than 1,500 people on board.
• The ship is divided into five fire zones. These can be physically sealed off from each other and are capable of isolating a fire within a particular zone for up to one hour.
• There are 15 isolated, watertight compartments below the waterline and the doors between them are normally closed at all times. The Captain can continue normal operations with all personnel on board with up to two of those 15 compartments flooded.

I'm really glad I got to go on the tour. The Captain was a gracious host and patiently answered all of our questions. I left feeling like we were in good hands.

What's Next?

On Saturday, 14 Mar 2026, we had another sea day as we continue toward Victoria on the island of Mahé in the Seychelles. I did something I've never tried before - I treated myself to an 80-minute, full-body massage in the spa. It was amazing. I think I'm going to come home very spoiled...

And as I said at the outset, today the 15th is another sea day. I worked on this blog, went to a choir practice, played team trivia with some friends, attended a talk on the history of the Seychelles, and had a fancy dinner with a solo friend at Manfredi's, the Italian restaurant on board. We drank a nice bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon I picked up in New Zealand.

Until Next Time,
Jim