Visit Date: June 2012

The Spirit of Freedom offers 3,4 and 7 day trips. We took the 3 day trip as that was the only one that fit our schedule. The trip started in Cairns around noon. By 3pm we were at Norman reef and had two introductory dives. Right after finishing the second one the boat started out towards the north and we spent the next two days near Ribbon reef 9 and 10, before docking at Lizard Island. On the 4th day we had a low altitude flight back to Cairns.

This was the second liveaboard trip for us, and while we enjoyed the first one as well, this was in a different category.

The boat is in very good condition and the service is excellent. There is a chef on board who makes quite amazing food for a dive boat, which was important as for three days we eat, dived, slept.

The dive operation is very well organized and safety conscientious. Their equipment is fairly new. In June we got 5mm wetsuits which for me were not quite enough so I used a 0.5mm skin underneath. That kept me warm even for the night dive.

You have the option to dive on your own or with a dive master. We chose the latter one and were happy with every dive master we had. We visited some amazing dive sites. The visibility was excellent, the corals, marine life amazing. The dive masters were very good at finding rare species.

The staff was overall young but professional. The head dive master was a bit more senior and definitely more experienced. He made the dive operation run smooth and safe.

The Spirit of Freedom is quite expensive, but the operation is excellent. If you can afford it, go with them.

Visit Date: August 2006

Great location, nice and comfortable boat, great chef, fantastic diving facilities with air and nitrox, lot of attention to safety, possibility to dive with instructor or alone (also appreciable), great dive sites. Liveaboard to recommend.