Dive ops out of Port Douglas and Hobart

[button]

My girlfriend and I are doing a trip to Australia in November and are planning to dive out of Port Douglas and Hobart/Southern Tasmania.

I was hoping to get some input on some operations we are considering:

Port Douglas - Poseidon (Snorkelling Diving Great Barrier Reef Port Douglas Cairns Australia Poseidon Cruises PADI Diving)

Hobart area - Eaglehawk (Eaglehawk Dive Centre: The best diving in tasmania)

I'm open to other suggestions, but these caught my attention and I wanted to reach out to folks here and see what you may have to say.

Hi Hertrich,

My husband and I were on the Poseidon in May and did Discover Scuba there. The boat and crew were great. Unfortunately the day that we went out, there were a ton of seasick people. Vomit ended up in the cash drawer. It was an interesting time. So if you go, take your seasickness meds before you leave, and avoid anyone looking a little green around the gills!

If I had it all to do over again - especially now that I'm certified, I would do a liveaboard. If you do a 3 tank dive, you're going to spend close to $300 anyway. You'll also be molested by people like me, the Discover Scuba folks. If I had been a certified diver at the time, I probably would have been annoyed with all the noobs with no clue what they were doing. As it was, I was annoyed with the people we were paired with who breathed all their air in five minutes.

I also have to recommend doing a liveaboard in the Whitsunday Islands. There are some liveaboards that visit the Great Barrier Reef and depart from Airlie Beach. We just did snorkeling on ours and had an amazing time. This is the one that we took, btw: Whitsunday Island cruises on Whitsunday Getaways - OFFICIAL SITE Hill Inlet and Whitehaven Beach are not to be missed, IMHO.

Just 2 cents from a newly certified diver!

 

[Hertrich]

Hi Button,

Thanks for the info on the liveaboard option and the input on Poseidon. Unfortunately our plans are laid out such that that is not an option anymore, but good to keep in mind for future diving trips . Hopefully we can avoid the volume of seasick people that you guys ran in to....seasickness meds will be on our list of things for the trip for sure

Also, congratulations on being newly certified and good luck with your diving adventures!

 

[mattoau]

There is a chance of small group diving on Poseidon and Calypso, but it is just as likely to be a group of eight. To guarantee small groups I would recommend going with a company called Blue Dive. Slightly more expensive but well worth it imo. They actually use the Poseidon and Calypso boats.

Another good option would be to do three dives with them on Poseidon and three dives on Calypso. The reason for this is that although the boats guarantee three different sites in one day, you are highly likely to visit one site twice over two days, and quite likely to visit two sites twice over two days. Using both boasts means you'll see six different sites.

 

[Hertrich]

Mattoau, that is a good point. We will look at doing our two days with two places. Would you know anything about Tech Dive Academy? It looks like they offer something like Blue Dive as well.

There is a chance of small group diving on Poseidon and Calypso, but it is just as likely to be a group of eight. To guarantee small groups I would recommend going with a company called Blue Dive. Slightly more expensive but well worth it imo. They actually use the Poseidon and Calypso boats.

Another good option would be to do three dives with them on Poseidon and three dives on Calypso. The reason for this is that although the boats guarantee three different sites in one day, you are highly likely to visit one site twice over two days, and quite likely to visit two sites twice over two days. Using both boasts means you'll see six different sites.

---------- Post added October 13th, 2013 at 11:24 AM ----------

Mattoau, that is a good point. We will look at doing our two days with two places. Would you know anything about Tech Dive Academy? It looks like they offer something like Blue Dive as well.

There is a chance of small group diving on Poseidon and Calypso, but it is just as likely to be a group of eight. To guarantee small groups I would recommend going with a company called Blue Dive. Slightly more expensive but well worth it imo. They actually use the Poseidon and Calypso boats.

Another good option would be to do three dives with them on Poseidon and three dives on Calypso. The reason for this is that although the boats guarantee three different sites in one day, you are highly likely to visit one site twice over two days, and quite likely to visit two sites twice over two days. Using both boasts means you'll see six different sites.

 

[mattoau]

Blue Dive and Tech Dive Academy are all doing the same sort of thing so there wouldn't be much difference between them.

One thing which would be worth pointing out is that they will also act as booking agents for the boats. I've met a few soon to be disappointed passengers who were expecting to be private guided with these guys, but who ended up in large groups with the big boats. As long as you ask them all the questions there shouldn't be any surprises.

 

[Hertrich]

Ok, thanks for the tip.

 

[genericitis]

I dove with Eaglehawk in August, the coldest time of the year, was an amazing dive in the kelp forests. I would dive with Eaglehawk again no problems, great crew, serious and informative.

Playing with bubbles in the Giant Kelp Forests of South East Tasmania - YouTube

 

[ThunderMamma]

You might also want to check out diving in Lake Eacham. Blue Dive offers a dive trip there.

 

[Zeke XA3]

Hi Hertrich,

The boat and crew were great. Unfortunately the day that we went out, there were a ton of seasick people. Vomit ended up in the cash drawer.

OMG just saw this checking in after a while, there is a good chance that was the day i was supervisor, suffice to say i was a little unimpressed by said person ignoring advice to leave the area!

 

[Wobbegong wannabe]

Just lovely .
Being a self confessed puker I always make it clear to boat operators when boarding that I have a limited useful time frame to set-up gear, attend briefings and participate in group activities. After the boat hits the open water I'm best left quietly lying out the back in the fresh air with a ready supply of paper bags until we reach our destination. :tmi2:

However, I find that some boat operators are a bit forceful about attending briefings et al in the cabin en-route. I realise there are legal requirements wrt this (particularly in Queensland) but it's not always the best idea for those us with delicate stomachs. We don't like being sick; it's very embarassing. However, for those of us who love getting underwater (rather than getting there overwater) it's a necessary evil.

Personally I'd much rather be able to set up my gear in port (and I get there early to do so), receive the basic safety briefing in calm water prior to the journey and then keep it short and sweet at the destination so I can get in the water and stop feeling crook. If you demand my extended attendance in the cabin for fish ID and a precis of the entire PADI OW syllabus I'll do my best, but it may get messy.

Just a punter's $0.02.