Help on Liveaboards out of Cairns, Au.
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HeavenLeigh
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kempster1
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Mike Ball
Spirt of Fredom
Taka
I did Mike Ball in late Feb, great trip..
Spirt of Fredom
Taka
I did Mike Ball in late Feb, great trip..
i'll be DMing on mike ball on the trips starting the 12 and 19th april hope to see some ppl there
altaskier
Contributor
There are two classes of liveaboards out of Cairns: the ones that hang out on the reefs near Cairns, and the ones that travel out of Cairns but go farther north.
On the ones that hang out near Cairns (such as the OceanQuest), you have the advantage that you can do any number of nights, starting on any day. What happens is that you go out on a day boat but make a transfer to the OceanQuest midday; reverse that for going back to Cairns. The diving is good but when you go with the day boat crowd there will be a horde of snorkelers around the boat.
The boats that go farther out (like Mike Ball) are just for divers only, and bring you to a richer variety of more pristine sites. The downside is that they leave just on certain days and there's no flexibility on how many days you stay.
I've done both the older boat used as the OceanQuest, and Mike Ball. I loved both. I'd pick Mike Ball or one of the other northern reef boats if it fits within your budget and schedule.
I used Dive Cairns (www.divecairns.com.au) for my second trip and they were helpful in listening to what my interests, and schedule and budget thoughts were, and then suggesting the best fits among the various Cairns dive options.
On the ones that hang out near Cairns (such as the OceanQuest), you have the advantage that you can do any number of nights, starting on any day. What happens is that you go out on a day boat but make a transfer to the OceanQuest midday; reverse that for going back to Cairns. The diving is good but when you go with the day boat crowd there will be a horde of snorkelers around the boat.
The boats that go farther out (like Mike Ball) are just for divers only, and bring you to a richer variety of more pristine sites. The downside is that they leave just on certain days and there's no flexibility on how many days you stay.
I've done both the older boat used as the OceanQuest, and Mike Ball. I loved both. I'd pick Mike Ball or one of the other northern reef boats if it fits within your budget and schedule.
I used Dive Cairns (www.divecairns.com.au) for my second trip and they were helpful in listening to what my interests, and schedule and budget thoughts were, and then suggesting the best fits among the various Cairns dive options.
rahuck
Contributor
I met Mike Ball a couple of weeks ago and talked about his live aboard for about 2 hours. He was quite a character and struck me as someone I would love to go diving with. His trips go North of Cairns which tend to be less visited. A DM at my LDS is going in mid May...I can give you his opinion when he gets back if it fits your timetable.
I've done trips with both mike ball, and kangaroo explorer (cairns dive centre). Totally different trips!
Mike ball was about three times the price, but substantially better dive sites, and better food.
Kangaroo explorer was a much younger croud, mainly young backpackers. I actually preferred kangaroo explorer, because I was 22 when I did that.
Horses for courses though - do you want a bit more luxury, with more focus on teh diving itself with a demographic of mainly US, japanese and euro 35-60 year olds, or do you want more of a party type atmosphere, with the 20-25 year bracket backpackers?
Horses for courses, both are good at what they do, but totally different trips.
Mike ball was about three times the price, but substantially better dive sites, and better food.
Kangaroo explorer was a much younger croud, mainly young backpackers. I actually preferred kangaroo explorer, because I was 22 when I did that.
Horses for courses though - do you want a bit more luxury, with more focus on teh diving itself with a demographic of mainly US, japanese and euro 35-60 year olds, or do you want more of a party type atmosphere, with the 20-25 year bracket backpackers?
Horses for courses, both are good at what they do, but totally different trips.
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