Liveaboard Cairns: Are the prices different in internet than in Cairns?

Hi,

I am going to Cairns in May and like to go to liveaboard for 3 days. I have been going through internet finding different trips and now I am wondeing if the proces told in the internet are much different than the prices when I walk in to dive center in Cairns?

Can anyone tell me the current privces in Cairns? I think I have to choose one of the cheaper ones and those prices starts from 450AUD in the internet.

Thank in advance,

.saq

ps. If you have been in one of those cheaper liveaboards (Reef encounter, kangaroo explorer or seaquest tell me how was your trip and what you paid for it!

You will find that the prices are cheaper when you arrive in Cairns; however, you do run the risk of the spaces being sold out. We went to Cairns last October without a reserved space and were able to get space on the liveaboard we wanted at their walkup rate, but we also had a list of additional liveaboards to call incase we could not get on the first one on our list. Contacting the liveaboards themselves and staying away from the dive centers and resellers will give you substantial savings.

If you use the tour booking desks in Cairns (of which there are dozens) you can get cheaper deals than if you book directly with the dive operators.

The tour desks all guarantee to beat any price and they will cut into their commissions if necessary just to win the sale.

Never pay brochure price for anything in Cairns! But, waiting until you get there may mean that some of the boats are full.

If you are on a budget and don't have to dive on a specific day you can get great deals as the boats try to fill their cabins. The "standby" price on most boats is about half of the internet price. However, you may not get the day or the company you want. If you are limited to a specific date you may be out of luck. However, there is lots of competition so you should be able to find something.

I am actually glad I didn't book in advance. Arrived in Cairns with a head cold - if I had booked the trip I would have had to pass on diving or tried to manage using drugs. I suspect the charter company might have moved a reservation, but I wouldn't want to depend on it.

I booked Friday for a Monday trip and paid about 70% of the internet price. I was not willing to wait to see if the spot was still available on Sunday, if I had waited I am sure the price would have gone down even more.

Good luck. The diving is great.

Some good advice already posted here. I found that great prices were available after I arrived in Cairns. I booked there rather than on the Internet. However the caution that you risk having sold out boats is a wise one.

Next time I visit there, I plan to spend at least 3-4 weeks so I can take advantage of some of those great deals (I only had time for one last trip).

We were just in Cairns, 18 Nov through 2 Dec. We were out on the Spirit of Freedom 24 Nov through 1 Dec. This year we did not see many walk up rates (they are usually out on the sidwalk on chalk boards) as we walked around town. The 3 previous years we saw them everywhere. We think that at least in the warmer months, they are busier than they have been. We know that Spirit already has a very high booking rate for 2006.

You might consider sending enquiries for availability on the dates you want, see how busy they are and then decide.

Like everyone else has said, if you don't need a specific day or specific outfit, you can probably get a deal. One thing I have not seen mentioned is cabin type, if you are on a live-aboard and want a nicer cabin you should probably book in advance.

Cheers

So these posts were in 2005... are they still as true as today?? I'm trying to dive in Cairns from sept27- october 3rd.
Help?? I'm certified and prefer cheaper as i am a broke scuba lovin' student. cheers!