Cairns live-aboards, book locally or in advance?

[Jochen Bink]

Hello folks,

some of you seem to know your way around Cairns, Australia pretty well so I hope
you could help me plan my diving trip.

I am considering spending some days Mike Ball's Supersport and Taka Dive's Taka
II, recommended to me by a friend who has been on both. He did recommend the
catamaran over the monohull because there is less risk of seasickness. Then
there's the magnificent flight. OTOH, it does not go out to Osprey and does not
pack as many dives.

My wife (PADI OWD) and I (CMAS *) plan to arrive by plane on a Thursday
afternoon at around 17h. That's OK since Supersport does not leave until 20h.
Taka II even leaves the next day, on Friday, so all is well ... or isn't it? We
would need to book a tour on one of these vessels in advance.

But while Mike Ball charges 1717 AUD for the premium bunk on SuperSport my
friend readily got this same bunk from one of the tour operators for 950 AUD by
booking in Cairns only! I assume this must have been some Last Minute thing. He
did recommend I do NOT book anything but fly in and shop around on the Esplanade
(?) road which seems to be much like Khao San Road in that there are dozens of
shops and also operators.

Both Mike Ball and Taka Dive charge quite hefty prices for their trips and I
would gladly economize where I can if I knew how. And all web offers I found
repeat the same prices. So now what do I do? Flying in at 5pm does not seem to
leave me a lot of time to look for bargains, at least on Supersport. Taka II
could be more feasible.

What do you experienced folks suggest, is there a chance of getting a
last-minute bargain?

What prospects of savings are there anyway considering the summer season is
coming up?

Thanks for any advice,
Jochen
Jochen Bink
E-mail: jbinkATfoniD0Tnet

[Jason]

Post by Jochen Bink
What do you experienced folks suggest, is there a chance of getting a
last-minute bargain?

Yes, there is a chance. I did it once with Rum Runner. I ended up paying
about 2/3 of the normal price. However, I had plenty of time and there
weren't many other trips with spaces on them.

To see the best of the diving, you really want to get out to either the
Coral Sea, the Ribbon reefs or both. The reefs nearer Cairns aren't really
that good. There are more than just Mike Ball and Taka going further out
though.

At the end of the day it's a risk. You might get there and there be
nothing decent leaving and you sound like you've got a fairly tight
schedule.

Jason

[Jochen Bink]

Thanks, Jason, for your reply!

Post by Jason
Yes, there is a chance. I did it once with Rum Runner. I ended up paying
about 2/3 of the normal price. However, I had plenty of time and there
weren't many other trips with spaces on them.

Any idea how crowded tours will be in about a month's time?

Post by Jason
To see the best of the diving, you really want to get out to either the
Coral Sea, the Ribbon reefs or both. The reefs nearer Cairns aren't really
that good. There are more than just Mike Ball and Taka going further out
though.

All of them at comparable prices. But then there is also the law "you get what
you pay for". Is there a pointer to operators one should AVOID?

Post by Jason
At the end of the day it's a risk. You might get there and there be
nothing decent leaving and you sound like you've got a fairly tight
schedule.

Yes, that's the problem.

Thanks for your assessment!
Jochen Bink
E-mail: jbinkATfoniD0Tnet

[unknown]

Hi,

There are other operators who are also very good and as a local who has
tried a number of them over the years I would highly recommend these
people http://www.tusadive.com/spirit.htm. Their rates are here
http://www.tusadive.com/spirit_rates_and_conditions.htm

The places they go to are listed here
http://www.divingcairns.com.au/vessel40.html

Your friend is right about getting a last minute good deal booking in
Cairns, but it is also up to you whether you want to risk not getting on
the vessel of choice on the date you want either. All operators on the
Esplanade are open till 11:00p.m. so you should have time to find a good
deal.

Hope this helps.

T.

[Jochen Bink]

Hi T:!

Post by unknown
There are other operators who are also very good and as a local who has
tried a number of them over the years I would highly recommend these
people http://www.tusadive.com/spirit.htm. Their rates are here
http://www.tusadive.com/spirit_rates_and_conditions.htm
The places they go to are listed here
http://www.divingcairns.com.au/vessel40.html

Thanks, this was one I had not considered yet, it seems comparable to Taka in
vessel and price and has rooms with sea view on top of it.

Post by unknown
Your friend is right about getting a last minute good deal booking in
Cairns, but it is also up to you whether you want to risk not getting on
the vessel of choice on the date you want either. All operators on the
Esplanade are open till 11:00p.m. so you should have time to find a good
deal.
Hope this helps.

It does, thanks. In addition, I would wish for an assessment on how
uncrowded/crowded tours will be in around November/December.

Cheers
Jochen
Jochen Bink
E-mail: jbinkATfoniD0Tnet

[unknown]

Hi Jochen,

Post by Jochen Bink
Thanks, this was one I had not considered yet, it seems comparable to Taka in
vessel and price and has rooms with sea view on top of it.

It's a great vessel and the office and crew are very friendly and
efficient.
The woman who runs the office (Jo) is Mike Ball's former PA but moved to
Tusa
Dive when Mike Ball was taken over by a Japanese company.

Post by Jochen Bink
It does, thanks. In addition, I would wish for an assessment on how
uncrowded/crowded tours will be in around November/December.

Tours around that time should be uncrowded as it is in low season. High
season is generally from April to October.

Regards,

T.
***@bigpond.com

[Greg Mossman]

Post by Jochen Bink
But while Mike Ball charges 1717 AUD for the premium bunk on SuperSport my
friend readily got this same bunk from one of the tour operators for 950 AUD by
booking in Cairns only! I assume this must have been some Last Minute thing. He
did recommend I do NOT book anything but fly in and shop around on the Esplanade
(?) road which seems to be much like Khao San Road in that there are dozens of
shops and also operators.

Mike Ball charges Americans more than locals and I believe he extends that
friendly policy to Japanese and selected Europeans. While I doubt you're an
American (or if you were, you would have been endlessly teased as a child
with that name), you may be one of the lucky few that Ball stiffs.

[unknown]

Post by Greg Mossman
Mike Ball charges Americans more than locals and I believe he extends that
friendly policy to Japanese and selected Europeans. While I doubt you're an
American (or if you were, you would have been endlessly teased as a child
with that name), you may be one of the lucky few that Ball stiffs.

Hey Greg, I left that bit out as I knew somebody would jump in and tell
him. That's why he'd be better of going with Spirit of Freedom!

Glad to hear you and your family are okay, hope those fires settle down
soon.

T. :-)

[Dan Bracuk]

Jochen Bink <***@foni.net> pounded away at his keyboard
resulting in:
:What do you experienced folks suggest, is there a chance of getting a
:last-minute bargain?

Yes there is. There is also a chance that all the spots will gone by
the time you get there.

Dan Bracuk
If at first you don't succeed, you run the risk of failure.
The Best of rec.scuba http://www.pathcom.com/~bracuk/RecScuba/


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[Tim Hochgrebe]

Post by Dan Bracuk
:What do you experienced folks suggest, is there a chance of getting a
:last-minute bargain?
Yes there is. There is also a chance that all the spots will gone by
the time you get there.
Dan Bracuk

In low season it's well worth the risk - or if you have loads of time.
Wait and get a stand-by rate.

Another way is to check out http://www.underwater.com.au - loads of
operators offer significant discounts and you can even WIN a free 6
day 6 night liveaboard trip from Port Douglas.

It's THE Scuba diving portal for Australia. Comprehensive information
on dive shops, liveaboards, charter and day boats, accommodation, gear
and more - community meeting place for divers and marine enthusiasts.

See you underwater .....

Tim