Cairns liveaboard

[Czechchick]

Hi,

I made my open water course with Cairns Dive Center, which is actually the cheapest possibility.
I liked that much, the team consist of young people and therefore there was a lot of fun. Of course on the other hand you cann`t expect any extra luxury for that lowest prise. The diving sites there are very beautiful.

 

[rudybier]

Guys, Damselfish said it all really, but just to try and clarify the terms…Outer Barrier Reef is used to describe all the Reefs that lie on the edge of the continental shelf. The border between the Coral Sea. As opposed to “fringing reef “(that is Reef that surrounds Island like Green Island or Lizard Island) and also “patch reef” that are isolate reefs that lie within the sheltered area of the Outer Reefs and the mainland.

Outer Reef areas usually get a lot of sea life form deeper waters (sharks, sometime whales, deeper water pelagic etc) that come visit. They also have a lot of marine life that is local top that reef.

The Ribbon Reefs are used to describe the long stretches of Reef that actually make up the length of the Great Barrier Reef and go from just north of Cairns to almost New Guinea. These are the reefs you visit when you go on trips like Taka, Mike Ball, Spirit of Freedom etc. They include the Cod Hole.

The Ribbon Reefs are generally considered the best but take a long time to travel to. So the next best things are the Outer Reef areas visited by boats like Scubapro and Ocean Quest.

Damselfish mentioned the best choices and also great advice to check out the sites visited.

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Discount dive travel to the Barrier Reef and Coral Sea - live aboard and day trips.

[_diving_trips.html]Cairns Discount Dive Trips - Main page[/url]

Hi,
You seem to mention Ocean quest quite a lot!

I'm an OWSI coming over with my girlfriend who is doing her rescue diver we are going to Sydney for new years eve and was thinking of coming up to Cairns on the 7th Jan for some diving! Never been to Australia!

We can't afford the Mike Ball, Taka and spirit of freedom trips but really want to do 3 day 2 night trip.

Seems to me that Ocean Quest is a massive boat ie 48 passengers, is the scubapro option not a better one?

I have no real idea but is the scubapro boat not a better option?

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[fredaroony]

Hi,
You seem to mention Ocean quest quite a lot!

Thats because his business uses them...

 

[rudybier]

Thats because his business uses them...

Yes but he also uses the other companies.

Is Ocean Quest better or does he just get a higher commission off them?

I'd like to get an unbiased view as to what is the best, affordable, liveaboard to use.

 

[fredaroony]

Yes but he also uses the other companies.

Is Ocean Quest better or does he just get a higher commission off them?

I'd like to get an unbiased view as to what is the best, affordable, liveaboard to use.

Not sure but I have booked a 3 day trip with Ocean Quest at Christmas after the reviews I read. I didnt want to spend the money on the northern reef trips.

 

[sucnip]

Another factor to consider is the number of students on board each boat. Most of the day boats cater to DSD (try dives) and put a lot of pressure on passengers to try diving. The mid-level boats which offer 2-3 day trips often have a significant number (more than half) of students on one course or another. While this is not bad, it means the dives are timed, at fixed sites and the pleasure divers fit in with what the students are doing.

I've been on two day boats (Quicksilver, QuickSmart?), ProDive's boat (ScubaPro), Undersea Explorer (not running anymore) and SpoilSport (Mike Ball) 3x times.

You get what you pay for. I highly recommend Taka, Spirit of Freedom or Mike Ball. If I had a limited time or budget I wouldn't hesitate choosing a $500 option. For what its worth I have heard (from a DM who worked aboard) the Kangaroo Explorer has a nickname... The Floating Brothel.

Kind regards,
David

 

[rudybier]

So is that a good thing if I'm going with my girlfriend?

Has anyone been on Scubapro and seaquest and can tell me which is the better option?

 

[MA]

Have heard great reports on Scubapro from a friend who has pretty high standards if that helps

 

[clofty]

So is that a good thing if I'm going with my girlfriend?

Has anyone been on Scubapro and seaquest and can tell me which is the better option?

My husband and I went on Scuapro last August and we had a great time. We did do the AOW and there was a class on board doing their OW. There were also people just diving and snorkeling, Europeans, Australians, Americans. Very diverse group. We loved it and would do it again. If we could afford it, we would do the others but we can't afford it in this decade, maybe the next one!

I would highly recommend Scubapro II and staff, awesome.

 

[Aquapro Dive Services]

Just to reply to a few of the comments made about my recommendations. I feel Ocean Quest is better for a number of reasons. First it stays on the Reef and has daily transfer vessel come out to it. Less travel time and more dive and relax time. Newer and larger boat with excellent facilities.

I also like Scubapro and it is also a highly professional boat. It departs every day except Tuesday with a customers and returns with same load. No transfers.

Look on the sites for pics of the boats and make a call.

Note to Rudybier and Fredarooney here - I try to give unbiased opinions. Sure we get commission, but we give half of it back to the customer. Who else does that? Also for your info we would get MORE commission for pushing Scubapro. I am a working Course Director here in Cairns that is very familiar with all the boats. The web site is a hobby that makes a bit of beer money now and then! Have you seen what dive instructors earn? Ha ha.

Anyway, for what you were inquiring about personally I would use either Scubapro or Oceanqest. You can’t go wrong with either.
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Discount dive travel to the Barrier Reef and Coral Sea - live aboard and day trips.

http://www.aquaprodive.com