Visit Date: July 2012

Mistral operated by Tornado Marine Fleet is a jaded boat with limited facilities and resources. The equipment that my husband rented from them, broke down from day 1 until the middle of the trip – piece by piece – where the dive masters failed to replace them even after repeated attempts to get their attention to it. This resulted in us missing some of the dives we really wanted to take. The cabins are spacious but in need of refurbishment especially the toilets. For the 5 star facilities that the boat boasts of in advertisements, it was a letdown to see what we got. The stairs in the stern of the boat (for coming up and wading down to the water) were slippery and the design of the boat is such that when there are strong waves on the surface, then the waves almost break on the rear of the boat. I fell down really bad on my way up to the boat as a result of this design. Another diver also met the same fate the same day. Overall experience was good because of the lovely waters, corals, wrecks, reefs and the dives, but this can be enjoyed also on a better liveaboard. The only saving grace is the crew on board – very hard working, sweet and helpful people. The two dive masters were incompetent in various ways. I would choose another liveaboard with similar itinerary.