Spirit of Freedom Review
I'm going to keep this brief as picture says 1000 words and this is already a well-reviewed liveaboard so it doesn't need me to repeat all the superlatives others have given. This is their 4 day Thur - Mon Coral Sea trip which included 2 days at Osprey Reef. This was my first liveaboard and I am still a 'beginner diver' having logged ~34 going into the trip. Instead of reading it below just check out the photos...
I don't post much on this forum but read it a lot because I have more to learn than knowledge to provide.
Photos of entire Australia trip (scroll down to see the dive photos) https://plus.google.com/photos/1158...s/5914647671240523729?authkey=CPrW9M364srVgAE
Photos were taken by the SoF divemasters, another diver, and me.
Flew from NYC to SYD on Qantas through LA on Aug 9. Spent 3 days in Sydney. Activities included sightseeing, Taronga Zoo, Bondi Beach walk. Loved it. Australia is awesome.
Flew into Cairns the day before Spirit of Freedom was to set off on Wed Aug 14. Spent a day there, walking around, eating and drinking. It's a bit of a backpacker's area with lots of activities you can do (but you usually have to be there in the AM). We stayed at Tropical Heritage, a spartan, quiet, well-located hotel with nice front-desk.
The itinerary is on their website and subject to change but on Thursday we got picked up at our hotel, driven to an airport, and there were 2 planes to take 14 guests. We landed at posh Lizard island and saw a megayacht with helicopter near the Spirit of Freedom. Went out a bit, did a couple dives that day. Then steamed overnight to Osprey Reef for 2 days of excellent diving. The highlight was the shark dives at Osprey. Throughout the dives we saw beautiful walls, lots of coral life.
The dive we did at (near?) False Entrance also looked great (we went the wrong way and had to get picked up by tender because we are idiots). There was a ridge with thousands of big fish and sharks (we could not get a closer look because we realized we were getting separated from the boat). It was amazing for the brief minute we saw it as we were ascending.
After 2 days at Osprey, we steamed to the ribbon reefs for a few dives. Steve's Bommie was my favorite.
We did not get "lucky" - too late for minkes, no manta sightings (currents were wipping at Around the Bend), and no sea snake (which I wanted). However, I very much enjoyed the diving - great visibility, fun dives, healthy corals. Check out the photos and you can decide if you'd like it? I did all 15 dives, including my first night dive. The dive masters and crew were focused first on safety, which I appreciated.
The boat was half full, with us 2 Americans, 1 Israeli, 1 Japanese, 1 Australian, and 8 Kiwis from the same club. They were all easy to get along with. Being a half-full boat led to plenty of comfort getting ready for the dives. Everyone seemed to mesh well although all but 1 diver was male. Very chill.
The food was A+. I am a critical food snob and live in NYC and go to top restaurants. The food was comparable to what I'd expect at $50/entrée in NYC. It's rich and delicious. Packed on the pounds. Alex was the chef. The lamb was some of the best I've ever had.
No one got sea sick and I think most people were taking tablets as a preventative measure. The captain, first mate, and 2nd mate were friendly. The crew was amazing. They worked tirelessly. I have never seen people work so hard. So friendly. Just amazing. There are 2 separate crews. There's not enough I can say about how great they were.
On Monday morning we exited the ship, checked back into our hotel, and later in the afternoon got rounds with other divers and some of the crew. Tuesday early AM we began our 28+ hour venture back to NYC from Cairns via Brisbane and LA.
I will answer any questions people may have. Feel free to post in here or PM me.
I'm going to keep this brief as picture says 1000 words and this is already a well-reviewed liveaboard so it doesn't need me to repeat all the superlatives others have given. This is their 4 day Thur - Mon Coral Sea trip which included 2 days at Osprey Reef. This was my first liveaboard and I am still a 'beginner diver' having logged ~34 going into the trip. Instead of reading it below just check out the photos...
I don't post much on this forum but read it a lot because I have more to learn than knowledge to provide.
Photos of entire Australia trip (scroll down to see the dive photos) https://plus.google.com/photos/1158...s/5914647671240523729?authkey=CPrW9M364srVgAE
Photos were taken by the SoF divemasters, another diver, and me.
Flew from NYC to SYD on Qantas through LA on Aug 9. Spent 3 days in Sydney. Activities included sightseeing, Taronga Zoo, Bondi Beach walk. Loved it. Australia is awesome.
Flew into Cairns the day before Spirit of Freedom was to set off on Wed Aug 14. Spent a day there, walking around, eating and drinking. It's a bit of a backpacker's area with lots of activities you can do (but you usually have to be there in the AM). We stayed at Tropical Heritage, a spartan, quiet, well-located hotel with nice front-desk.
The itinerary is on their website and subject to change but on Thursday we got picked up at our hotel, driven to an airport, and there were 2 planes to take 14 guests. We landed at posh Lizard island and saw a megayacht with helicopter near the Spirit of Freedom. Went out a bit, did a couple dives that day. Then steamed overnight to Osprey Reef for 2 days of excellent diving. The highlight was the shark dives at Osprey. Throughout the dives we saw beautiful walls, lots of coral life.
The dive we did at (near?) False Entrance also looked great (we went the wrong way and had to get picked up by tender because we are idiots). There was a ridge with thousands of big fish and sharks (we could not get a closer look because we realized we were getting separated from the boat). It was amazing for the brief minute we saw it as we were ascending.
After 2 days at Osprey, we steamed to the ribbon reefs for a few dives. Steve's Bommie was my favorite.
We did not get "lucky" - too late for minkes, no manta sightings (currents were wipping at Around the Bend), and no sea snake (which I wanted). However, I very much enjoyed the diving - great visibility, fun dives, healthy corals. Check out the photos and you can decide if you'd like it? I did all 15 dives, including my first night dive. The dive masters and crew were focused first on safety, which I appreciated.
The boat was half full, with us 2 Americans, 1 Israeli, 1 Japanese, 1 Australian, and 8 Kiwis from the same club. They were all easy to get along with. Being a half-full boat led to plenty of comfort getting ready for the dives. Everyone seemed to mesh well although all but 1 diver was male. Very chill.
The food was A+. I am a critical food snob and live in NYC and go to top restaurants. The food was comparable to what I'd expect at $50/entrée in NYC. It's rich and delicious. Packed on the pounds. Alex was the chef. The lamb was some of the best I've ever had.
No one got sea sick and I think most people were taking tablets as a preventative measure. The captain, first mate, and 2nd mate were friendly. The crew was amazing. They worked tirelessly. I have never seen people work so hard. So friendly. Just amazing. There are 2 separate crews. There's not enough I can say about how great they were.
On Monday morning we exited the ship, checked back into our hotel, and later in the afternoon got rounds with other divers and some of the crew. Tuesday early AM we began our 28+ hour venture back to NYC from Cairns via Brisbane and LA.
I will answer any questions people may have. Feel free to post in here or PM me.
