Thoughts on Nimrod Explorer

[BethV114]

Hello all. We're considering making our first liveaboard trip next year to Australia since we'd love to dive the Great Barrier Reef. We're trying to keep costs down a bit since the airfare from New York (where we live) to Australia is quite expensive. Looking at the various vessels in Cairns, the Nimrod Explorer fits well within our price range and all of the cabins are ensuite (very important to my husband!). In addition, their U.S. bookings include all gear rental, so that really would help to keep the price down for us. Needless to say, we are now leaning towards this particular vessel. However, before we get our hopes up about actually being able to afford a trip like this, I wanted to get the thoughts of some who had actually sailed the Nimrod Explorer - the good, the bad, etc. We'd be particularly interested in how you found the vessel (i.e. is it in good repair, safe, clean, etc.) and how you found the dive staff to be. We'd be getting our advanced certification while on board and aren't entirely comfortable just diving on our own, so is it a problem if you sort of "hang out" with the divemaster while in the water?

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[georoc01]

I did a tour on the Nimrod Explorer the first week of December.

The boat is older, but in good shape. The only thing physically wrong was a broken ladder that had happened the week prior.

We were on a full boat (18 divers). Because of that, the ship had to rent additional gear that I was dissapointed with. Those that had EV's gear (Scubapro), looked great and was maintained by the dive crew. The other gear wasn't nearly as nice. But given the weight restriction on the low level flight to Cooktown, going with their gear is not a bad option.

They had two dive instructors on the boat, and one was in the water with us every dive, the other stayed onboard to assist divers in and out of the water. Diving with them was always an option and since they know where the cool stuff is on some of the ideas, it can be preferential as well.

 

[aMc10]

I went out with the Nimrod Explorer at the end of last year. There were only 12 divers when I went out, and that seemed "just nice" to me - I would think a full boat of 18 would be a bit crowded. As georoc said, it's a little "lived in", but I'd no issues with that - everything was clean, comfortable and in good repair.

All of the staff were extremely helpful and friendly, and really added to the experience. Food was plentiful and excellent.

There were also a couple of divers getting their AOW on my trip. They seemed quite happy with their instruction. I did the digital photography course myself, and was extremely pleased with how that went.

On my trip, we didn't always have one of the instructors in the water. Even when we did, he didn't necessarily act as a dive leader (the exception being drift dives) - generally, we were briefed on the dive site, given time and depth constraints, and then it was up to us in our buddy teams to plan our own dives. This wasn't something I was used to either, and I was a bit nervous abut it at first, but it was fine - being a relatively inexperienced diver myself, I found it good experience to have to think for myself a bit more.

This is the only liveaboard I've been on, so I have nothing to compare it to, but overall, I had a very positive experience, and would happily recommend it.