liveaboard.com Can I trust them?

[pilotaydin]

The internet is full of shams and issues, I came across live aboard.com and wanted to ask if it is legit? I am looking to do my first one in november and want to book with them but don't want to get off the plane and realize they don't exist So any feedback would be great!

 

[Shasta_man]

no idea about them but I usually deal directly with the boat. The boat is your main concern. The vibe you get from them will tell you if they appear capable of giving you the trip you paid for.

 

[Damselfish]

This thread is mostly about another site called Diviac, but the last post mentions someone using liveaboard.com. (Like any kind of travel, there can be pros and cons to booking directly vs. using an intermediary site.)

 

[nudisusie]

liveaboard.com is a legitimate business. They are registered in the netherlands but have people working online across the world, one of their main sales consultants is based in Bali and she is very lovely and knows the liveaboard business very well.

I did some marketing work for them some time ago. They paid me so all above board ;-)
I have also now met several people that have booked through them. With varying degrees of experience. Some loved the help others were not as impressed. With that end they are much like any other travel agency. Contact them and if you think they can help you book a trip, great.

Their search engine is very useful for looking up a variety of liveaboards in one place even if you decide not to complete your reservation with them.

Diviac is another company entirely, I've not had any experience with them nor met anyone who has booked through them.

 

[DavidFL]

There can be some "latency" between the actual availability on a liveaboard and the availability/inventory being offerred through the resellers. My dive buddy and I had a situation last summer where we wasted about a week trying to book a week on a particular liveaboard that wasn't actually available for individual booking. They "showed" availability online, but you had to charter at least half the boat to actually get the trip initiated. In the time it took us to figure out that week wasn't going to become available with back and forth communications through the reseller as intermediary, the only alternate week we could schedule also filled up and we ended up having to find and go somewhere else altogether. The resellers are a great information resource for consolidated general information, but if you have hard constraints on specific dates and destinations, you are well advised to double check / book directly with the operator if you can.

 

[drbill]

I reserved a two week trip on a Maldives liveaboard but had a medical emergency and couldn't make the trip. They treated my situation professionally.

 

[drrich2]

Undercurrent has a free-access article, Those Internet-Based Dive Travel Websites, which has an interesting look at the scene. Liveaboard.com is mentioned. From that article:

"For one, Alex Bryant, the owner of a large fleet of liveaboards in the Maldives, is getting plenty of new business. He told Undercurrent that he now has serious volume and imagines liveaboard.com to be one of the biggest booking agents for liveaboards in the world."

Richard.

 

[Dogbowl]

Undercurrent has a free-access article, Those Internet-Based Dive Travel Websites, which has an interesting look at the scene. Liveaboard.com is mentioned. From that article:

"For one, Alex Bryant, the owner of a large fleet of liveaboards in the Maldives, is getting plenty of new business. He told Undercurrent that he now has serious volume and imagines liveaboard.com to be one of the biggest booking agents for liveaboards in the world."

Richard.

Very interesting article. Much food for thought.

 

[diversteve]

liveaboard.com is the real deal - so is Diviac. Caradonna.com also books on our side of the world, they've been around since at least the 80's. For the most part they book the Aggressor/Explorer boats worldwide which you can do yourself also.

The only thing a booking agent can sometimes help with is flights or room reservations if you need one b4/after. - their prices are almost always the same price as the ship websites list - their commission comes from the ship and not you.

Like others I prefer to book direct. Depending on where you're going it might be worth your while to call the boat's booking office directly - with Explorer Ventures or the Aggressor Fleet - you own the spaces once booked if deposited or paid at the time.

 

[Dan]

You can trust them. I have used liveaboard.com for my trip to Galápagos, GBR, Socorro & Cocos.

I also booked directly through Aggressor.com for Palau & Maldives. Their quoted prices would be the same as what you would get from liveaboard.com.