We are planning to be in the Cairns area mid to late March 2007 - we're looking at various liveaboards for a 3 or 4 night dive cruise but two things prevent us from booking now:

1) they're quite expensive!! (especially the Spirit of Freedom which of course is the boat we want) - also looking at the Whitsundays
2) our time in Cairns will be the last 2 weeks of 12 weeks away - and it's hard for us to plan that far in advance at this point - my husband's back can act up which could preclude diving.

Are there last minute deals if you're in Cairns? Or are there specific web sites that offer last minute specials?

Also - what about the weather at that time in the GBR area? Some people think we're crazy to consider going there at that time of year between the heat, humidity, rain and jelly fish?

Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Well that's the million $ question, who on earth can predict what climate will do these days? If the weather in March is awful, there'll be some last minute specialling on liveaboards because of cancellations, sometimes even on Spirit of Freedom, but don't expect cabin choice. Am not aware of any group website, you'd probably have to check each operator. But no guarantees, you could just as easily find yourself in Cairns with all liveaboards booked out and there's not too many to choose from. Usually, Spirit of Freedom is booked at least 12 months in advance and with good reason.

Box jelly fish are the last of your concerns on reef, they don't go out that far as they breed in coastal mangroves. If there's cyclonic weather in Cairns, you can be assured that Whitsundays will also be affected in a few days, and vice versa.

There's a good choice of day trips to reef if committing yourself to a liveaboard is a problem for you.

Greetings Elizbeth S

Pat is right on the mark with her comments.

If you don't make a booking you will be taking your chances. SOF is expensive, but it's worth the money. We have been out on her for 2 7 day trips so far and are heading back for our 3rd trip next Oct.

A few years back you could walk the streets of Cairns and find last minute deals at all of the dive shops - even on SOF. But the secret is out, everyone wants to dive there and many groups book charters or take up a good portion of the slots on the liveaboards.

We actually picked out 2007 holiday dates down under based on availability on SOF. Didn't get the time slot we wanted, but we are still very happy to get back out on her again!

We used to think we did well taking 5 and 6 week holidays down under - wow 12 weeks. Should be a great time.

We have also taken day trips to the inner reefs, we have never seen a box jelly fish off shore at all. Nothing to worry about there.

There are basically 2 types of live aboard dive boats in the world, luxury and economy. If you compare SOF to the other luxury style live-aboards around the world you will find their pricing is very similar. Check out the pricing of the agressor fleet.

Cheers

Steve and Andrea

Thanks Pat and Steve

Well......I think what I will do is bite the bullet on the Spirit of Freedom (right now all dates in March are available except March 5th) and hope Richard's back holds out - it should be fine and we can cancel up to 21 days beforehand if it's a really big problem (can't get cancellation insurance as its considered a pre existing condition).

Steve - couple of questions for you - we're certified divers but don't dive all that often (say.....4 dives every other year). This past February we were in Galapagos and didn't dive at the recommendation of a respected dive master as he felt the conditions there weren't appropriate for occasional divers. (we're confident swimmers and not nervous divers, but we don't take the act of diving lightly!).

Could you comment about the level of skill/experience needed for the SOF? I've exchanged emails with Paula on this subject and she advised we can dive with the Safety Instructors if we feel more comfortable doing so.

Also - we're in Australia for 4 of the 12 weeks - also spending 4 weeks in New Zealand and I just found your comments about the overnight cruise in Doubtful Sound - we're considering that as well. Do you have trips reports posted on Fodors?

The first 4 weeks are in SE Asia.

Thanks for your help!

Hi, just wanted to jump in here and say that we are now booked on the SOF for October 22-25 for the three day Cod Hole trip. Yipee!!! We are snorkelers and that is the one recommended for us non-divers. The other dates in October were all booked out by dive shops already they said. I did a spreadsheet comparison of the dive boats for our needs and they all seemed to be the same price for the level of comfort that we wanted (private bathroom). And the SOF seems to have much better public spaces and is a larger boat. Not to mention the personal recommendation of Fodorite Steve W.!!! BTW, the price quoted us in the email was higher than the one the agent quoted and we also got a $100AUD/pp discount for not being divers. There is a reef tax and fuel surcharge in addition to the stated rate (of around $50AUD/pp) in case that is a deal breaker. We asked for cabin #9 because it is slightly larger than the other cabins in that price range and is below so more stable in higher seas and is the farthest away from the engine noise. Good luck in your decision and with your fabulous itinerary.
Sally in Seattle, back to rain after the cold and snow

Greetings again Elizabeth.

We are; of course; very envious of your pending holiday.

Diving on the SOF is for the most part very easy diving. They have a christmas tree style ladder - one where you do not remove your fins. You climb up this ladder with your fins on the the crew will remove them and hand them to you as you climb up to the main deck.

There is some wall diving, that is you could descend very deep and not realize it. But if you are aware of your surroundings and pay attention to other divers and your depth gauge you should be fine. Very little current on most dives.

There is one dive in the coral sea down to around 125fsw where there is a manta ray cleaning station. Its a bit of a swim after you reach your depth, thats a dive to monitor your gas closely.

They will watch you make your first couple of dives, depending on your skills they may assign you to a DM or an instructor as a guide. That decision is for your safety and one that is not made lightly.

I would recommend that you visit www.scubaboard.com and read the various threads on diving. You will find me there under the nickname gilless.

There isn't any comparison to the diving in the Coral Sea/GBR and diving in the Galapagos. The DM in the Galapagos made an excellent decision in my opinion - I am also a working dive master. The water is cold, the currents swift and the critters on the large side. Any one of those can prove challenging for novice or infrequent divers, when you put all 3 together it could be a disaster in the making.

Before you make your trip, I recommend that you take a scuba tune up class from an instructor or dive master that you know and trust. You could likely get that same training onboard SOF. Its just a skills refresher, if you feel more comfortable in your skills, you will have a more pleasant dive experience.

The crew of SOF are top notch, they will make sure you are safe and have a wonderful experience.

One last tip, if you and Richard think you will dive a lot (and if you are certified) get the Nitrox package(if your not certified take the class on board - its a simple class). It will extend your NDL times towards the end of the week, when air divers will have to cut their dive times to stay within a NDL dive profile.

We have been very bad and have never posted a trip report, although we try to spend as much time as possible answering questions.

The cruise on the Doubtful Sound was fantastic. If you want to post some of the cities you will be visiting in Oz and NZ we would be happy to recommend activities, restaurants, and places to stay.

Sally we will be looking forward to hear how much fun you had on your snorkeling trip

Cheers

Steve and Andrea

Hi Steve - thanks for the great information.

I was going to do a dive refresher and now I'll try to twin that with the Enriched Air course before we leave......we're NAUI certified not PADI - I assume that won't be a problem but have emailed Paula about that.

Deciding now between the 3 day Cod Hole and 4 Day Coral Sea itineraries - I'm leaning towards the Coral Sea - do you have any preferences?

I thoroughly agree about the Galapagos - we did a lot of snorkeling and the currents and water temps were challenging. We absolutely loved being in the water with the sea lions and penguins!

Re other locations - here's our tentative NZ and OZ itinerary - suggestions are appreciated.

First two weeks of February - rented a seaside bach outside of Napier - after 4 weeks running around SE Asia we want to relax!

We're considering flying to Norfolk Island from Auckland for 4 days - if we do we'll likely drive up to the Bay of Islands area and north before we fly to Norfolk.

Then I think we'll fly to the SI (we're traveling on a Star Alliance airpass and can use it within NZ) - we're still debating how long and how much geography we'll do.........but I expect Milford Sound and/or Doubtful Sound are certainties so any info about your cruise would be great. I'm also very interested in Kaikoura and swimming with the dolphins (after our experience in Galapagos with sea lions).

Then we fly to Melbourne and rent a car to drive to Adelaide via the GOR.....then to Tasmania (fly or ferry - don't know yet) and then fly to Cairns and then Sydney. We're also considering stopping in Hawaii on the way back (the airass is bringing out the travel monster in me!) and going to the big island to see the volcano.

Better get back to work - have to pay for this somehow!

Greetings Elizabeth

Naui is recognized world wide so your certification should not be an issue.

We prefer the coral sea trip. You can see things there that you wont see anywhere else. Not many get to the Coral Sea. There are also things on the Cod Hole trip that you won't see in the Coral Sea (large clams etc).

We will whip up a post in the next few days with ideas for your trip and Hawaii as well.

I am glad to hear you will take the refresher class and I'm sure you will enjoy the enriched air as well. Its really a rather easy class and offers benefits when diving on consecutive days etc.

Cheers

Steve

OK - our course is booked and I think we'll go with the Coral Sea assuming it's still available - waiting to hear from Paula.

Thanks for any other suggestions you may have.

Liz