Taka Dive in Liveaboard Australia

[Inalara]

I went aboard the Taka and Spirit of freedom (I wanted over 7 days diving and neither had a full spot).

I got the discounted booking rate on Taka and paid full price on the Spirit of Freedom, if I had paid full price on Taka after diving on Spirit of Freedom I would have been pretty annoyed.

The Spirit of Freedom is a slightly better boat on the luxury front, but that aside, my experience with both boat crews couldn't be more different.

On the Spirit of Freedom we had a maximum of 5 dives a day, limit was 50 bar in the tank, not time based and on any (4 day dives, 1 night dive) the crew were always there to help, friendly and worked hard for the time they were on the boat, they joked with us, but there was always 100% effort by them to make the trip go well. Needless to say, they got a huge tip.

On Taka, we had a maximum of 4 dives a day, limited to 50 mins (or the threat that you will be forced to dive with an instructor) for days and 40 mins/16 meters for nights - "we have alot to do you know, can't have you taking all day in the water "haha" " and yet they were sat around alot. Assuming that comment was said in fun, the crew were at times downright rude; for example the one time we were offered a chance to dive longer than 50 mins the phrase used was " does anyone want to do a dive longer than 50 mins, although I'm not sure we have anyone capable of doing more than 50 mins...." the tone was condescending and frankly, not needed as there were plenty of experienced divers there. No tip for these guys at the end of the trip.

The attitude of the 2 crews couldn't have been more different, maybe the Taka crew were having a bad week, but finally and a nail in the coffin as far as I was concerned, I have a food intolerance, Taka had more time to prepare (7 days) yet the chef hadn't been warned and had nothing specific on board the boat, this wouldn't have been a problem as I travel with food, but after being told that certain food was ok for me to eat before the meal, the chef came to me afterwards to make sure I hadn't eaten it as he thought he "may" have included food I couldn't eat in it.

Luckily for me, I hadn't felt like eating soup otherwise I would have faced some unpleasant times the next day and no diving, but the vegetarian that had also been told it was ok to eat wasn't too impressed about the "may" on the inclusion of an animal product (they had eaten it).

As a comparison, with only 2 days notice Spirit of Freedom had special bread on board for me and made sure all the food I had was ok (separate dishes prepared when needed).

As I said, the Taka crew may have been on a bad week but having just come off the Spirit of Freedom it was a very stark contrast on the quality of service.

If you book as a last minute booking with Taka (about 50% of the cost) and need to save money, then go with them as a budget option. However, for me, if I went back, it would be the Spirit of Freedom because I couldn't fault them on any aspect of their service.

 

[Damselfish]

I would definitely not want to pay full price for Taka, even though a less expensive option than some (Mike Ball, SOF) it's still not worth it. I'm not sure any of them are worth what they charge, but that seems to be Australia.

I finally dug up the review I wrote when I was on Taka last May and never got around to posting, here.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

hmm... we have some Canadian friends out on the Taka now. I sure hope they have a more enjoyable trip than this post hints at.

I always hope people will have a great experience in OZ. It is sad to see comments about high price and questions about if it is worth it or not. Australia has such great diving, safety proceedures, diving emergency medical facilities and wonderful people. It is awful when people spend their hard earned money and vacation time and don't get the quality of service or experience they were looking for.

Everyone wants to go tropical. I understand that after all our last trip was to Lady Elliot and we can't wait to go back. There are cheaper options than tropical and Liveaboards that allow brilliant diving. Fishrock is in a class of it's own and quite affordable. The Solitaries offer heaps of tropicals and can be done as double boat dives. Nelson's Bay offers diving with grey nurses like many of these other sites. Sydney has Weedy Seadragons, Grey Nurses and heaps of other stuff many of the sites easily done as shore dives. When I was still living in Canada and traveling on holidays Sydney seemed positively tropical to me! This is just the tip of the iceburge, places I can personally speak of. I guess if someone asked me for suggestions for diving in OZ I would say

1. Try to arrange as long a trip as possible (it's a large country expensive to get to and a far way to go)
2. Do some research (not just tropical)
3. Spread out your diving. If you want to go tropical (most expensive) balance that with other cheaper options so you can get more bang for your buck.

 

[Inalara]

I always hope people will have a great experience in OZ.

Well from a "pom" that is coming to the end of her diving and time here, let me say how difficult it will be to go back to the UK having had some fantastic diving (and time) here.

I know I have only really scratched the surface of diving round Oz, but I've dived around Perth, Nigaloo, Outer barrier reef, Sydney and will in a few days (4 more dives to do in Sydney) head to Adelaide and try for leafy sea dragons. (Hoping to do 10 dives there).

Seen Port Jackson sharks, wobbegong (sp), Whale Sharks and Weedy Sea dragons as *new* things, and plenty of old friends as well, enjoyed pretty much every dive, even had an introduction to colder water diving (keep being told the temps on the Sydney dives are unseasonably cold 13-15 degrees on all but 1 so far) so although I posted negative comments on the service on board Taka, its the only thing that I would say wasn't up to scratch, the rest... well I've had a ball.

The people, the weather and the diving, going to be hard to go back to December in the UK, although I now know thanks to Sydney diving in 14 degree's that I will be using a dry suit and not 7mm semi dry for diving if I'm there over the summer (will make a change I guess).

I only posted about Taka as I saw the recent post, so don't think its soured my experience here, because if I posted about Spirit of Freedom (for example) it would be to tell you how brilliant the staff/service/trip was and how they will be the measure I use for all other liveaboards.

I guess I should be thanking the Aussies for providing me with so many memorable experiences....

So thanks to everyone that has made my time here so good, for the Aussies being.. well Aussies and here's to my last 4 dives here in Sydney and 10 (hopefully) in Adelaide.

It's been a blast!

p.s. Sorry its off topic

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Hey I guess mine was off topic too I am so pleased you had a good experience here overall. Your post supports what I was trying to say in mine! Its a great and safe diving destination that is too widely varied to do justice on a short trip.

:blinking: Hope you get some more great dives in, have a safe trip and come back

 

[franksong]

hey guys,
I just want to ask that the wine offered on the spirit of freedom.is it good in quality and is the amount limited one drinks?
thanks

 

[bygolly]

Greetings all,

My wife (Acanthurus) and I are the Canucks that bowlofpetunias refers to earlier and we have indeed just returned to Canada from a wonderful dive trip in Oz. Acanthurus has posted in the "Spirit of Freedom OR TAKA?" thread about our experience as well.

IMO the Taka was good value for the money and I could find no real faults with the trip. We dove the 5 day Nov 17 Coral Sea/Osprey trip and I would recommend this vessel for those who want a trip that is more about the diving rather than the luxury. Don't expect chocolates on the pillow at night or a crew begging to meet your every whim. This trip is like visiting at a friends home with the service adequate enough to ensure trouble-free diving. Food is home-style, delicious and adequate. Our cabin was quite nice with a usable bathroom (cleaned daily). Vessel is clean and well kept (obviously near new) and well designed for diving. Plentiful showers and toilets on the dive deck. Refills are done with a clever whip sytem so tanks remain on your BC at your gear station for top-up. (unsure if this is the system on all liveaboards these days) Most importantly, the diving is good with interesting sites and interesting events. I thought the diving got better as the trip progressed.

Our only issue was to do with smoking. The smoking pit is located on the shaded deck above the dive deck and unfortunately right next to the entrance to our cabin. We were greeted with the unpleasant odor of tobacco upon every exit from our quarters. They would do well to move the smokers to the less confined sundeck allowing those who want to relax in the shade more comfort.

The crew always waited until the guests had filled their first plate of food before they moved in on the buffet. This was certainly a respectful gesture but IMHO this sort of procedure tends to delineate the crew/guest separation. I have experienced the way of the heli-ski lodge where guests and staff eat together at the same table and at the same time to share in the experiences of the day. Rather a nice touch I think. May be difficult to implement given the space challenges in a marine environment but it would be helpful to the experience to find a work-around here.

Overall, I would not hesitate to recommend this vessel to the budget conscious diver. You will enjoy yourself. Go to other vessels for the 5 star treatment.

 

[hallboy]

How is the sea ( Waves? water temperature? visibility ) at the end of March?

 

[RIVIDIVER]

AVOID TAKA at all costs !!!

I still have my feedback form, I regret I didn't handle it at the TAKA office that day...


Others also said: "Taka's boat lends itself to a VERY rough ride, the boat had a budget feel to it, the constant pitch to buy the DVD (with mostly stock footage) gets annoying, and the food isn't good."



I've done Taka live-aboard and did regret purely 'cause the staff members !
Too young and foolish or too old, grumpy and bully! - Both with lack of customer service experience, I'll explain...

There was a big, big group of Asians who got preferential treatment the whole trip. - From going to dinner earlier, choosing the dive sites and diving first in the morning etc. etc. to trashing completely the coral several times on EVERY single dive (witnessed by many other divers) and when I got their dive guide's attention, she told me "don't worry, it's not your problem, go and dive with your group".

Another occasion I also was forbidden to wash my own gear (I did explain the crew that I have a Mistral twin hose that needs a quick rinse before disconnecting the tank). After my second attempt to rinse my first stage, the girl diver guide told the older staff member to take the hose from me and have hidden the fresh water hose so I could not use it, and unlock it again out of the cupboard when they wanted to wash theirs !

Their approach to customers/divers was also very unprofessional, rude and aggressive in many other occasions, either by a particular (very immature) young New Zealand staff member (who was actually the team leader) or by the oldest Australian staff member who had no manners, was bully and rude...

I have worked with Apple Macs for 15 years, so when I was told by their sales person, at the booking the trip time, time and time again over the few phone conversations (in a very pushy way) the use of the internet and CD/DVD burning etc. aboard, I was thrilled, (that way I didn't have to take my latest and very expensive MacBook Pro aboard TAKA in case it got damaged or something could happen) so when I got aboard TAKA and notice 2-3 (very old) colourful iMacs from circa 2000, I didn't resist to check the specs, out of curiosity... well, no need to say I was yelled and growled at so loud, that I felt like a 5yo after breaking something, which I did not !
TAKA advertised so much the use of internet aboard and then I was screamed at, as "...NO ONE is allowed to touch the computers except the digital photographer!"
- The day before the TAKA trip, I met the young photographer at ScubaPix he had no idea about my camera gear..., and frankly, I didn't think much of his computer skills, but that's another story...

Even at the last day, at the sales approach from the TAKA team leader, who was suppose to try and sell some merchandise on behalf of TAKA, he said: "I don't give a ****** if you don't buy any of these stuff, it doesn't bother me at all..."

...In the end we were told to submit an anonymous feed back, while filling out the forms, we've all noticed a field asking for our contact/info. - Well, that's not anonymous at all !!

Briefly the only nice staff member there, was actually the volunteer in the kitchen, she always smiled to everyone all day/night long ! - the others were either too young and didn't listen to you, or too old and grumpy and boss you round. - AND NEVER A SMILE !!

I (with others) over heard a conversation at the dinning table while watching TV late at night, just the night before we got back. - The staff members were reading out loud the comments/feedback at the table next to ours, and the older member kept saying "who da ****** said this, if I know who did it I'll punch him on the face. - I'm going to find out..."

The next morning everyone who heard about these comments from TAKA staff members, simply didn't handle their feedback form to avoid confrontation, and these last one's were being read in front of every one who just handled them that morning!

Many of us had exactly the same impression about the TAKA crew (I personally read a few other feedback forms that were shown to me and was surprised with the similarities) and some of them did in fact handle the comments regarding the 'young staff' - we still heard at the farewell "what do they know" from the staff, so I didn't handle mine after that last comment.

I still have my feedback form, I regret I didn't handle it at the TAKA office that day, but all the crew went to the office in front of me and it would be too clear.

I've always experience around the world the best camaraderie and friendship amongst fellow divers... so I was very disappointed with TAKA's crew lack of touch and skills.

Good luck and choose carefully.

RV

 

[RIVIDIVER]

...I've also forgot to add following:

It's quite interesting TAKA advertises their state of the art vessel, fully equipped with the latest technology for the use of all divers etc. but then the reality is pretty opposite...

While aboard, TAKA was 'pushing' so much for new courses, I thought I would enrol for Nitrox while aboard. Good idea but not practical as it turned out...
- as I mentioned on the form I've had asthma some 20 years ago, I was asked for a doctor clearance/certificate. I told the team leader I had one but left at home and my wife (not present, diving with us) could fax it to the main TAKA office and the vessel if necessary.
It's like I've asked for the boat to turn around back to Cairns (which, of course I didn't) - they came up with so many excuses about not being possible to receive faxes aboard and not being able to use the telephone while aboard (even when I offered to pay for the whole costs etc.) - in the end the excuses escalated to the fact the Nitrox refills were so, so expensive that it would not be worth the dive trip and they didn't have enough for me and the dive guides.
- I got the message, since they didn't want to do the course after all, I went else where and finished my Nitrox course the same week we got back from TAKA.

Another 2 comments I forgot to mention, was regarding the feeding at Cod Hole, which didn't do much for me and also the Shark Feed.

As I mentioned before the big Asian group who were getting the briefs just before jumping in the water (ahead of us) - they obviously did ignore everything it was said on the briefs and their dive guide did care much about it either. We were told to seat at the bottom in a circle and wait for the cod to be fed, but when we got to the bottom, the Asian group already reached the bottom some 10 mins before, ignored all this and were all trying to touch and feed the cod, all over the diver/crew who was trying to feed the cod. The result was disastrous as the rest of us, (2 separate groups) got to the bottom, the chaos was already taking over - the dive leader feeding the cod, decided the cod feed was cancelled even before it started, so no one had a chance to see much because the cod had run away just before the whole group got to the bottom!

The other feed, the Shark Feed, was pretty much the same! By the time we got to the bottom, the Asian group was already down at the bottom and once again did not listen to the brief, they were kicking and swimming round, scattered trying to touch the sharks!! Once again these caused a chaos and the remain divers did not see anything else but elbows and fins on their faces, the sharks disappeared really quick too, what a mess!

Although it's appalling the behaviour and 'over enthusiasm' of some less experienced divers, in the end, it's up to their dive leader to supervise the behaviour of careless divers, to, avoid e.g. the destruction of the coral reefs as we witnessed several times.

RV