we joined the 3 days cod hole expedition and we enjoyed every second The flight over the great barrier reef was amazing ,the crew was profesional very helpful and very nice to all of us The ship was comfortable clean excellent cabins and suitable for diving The diving sites were beautiful and the guides knew were to take us The food was great, a lot of variety, every day a new menu The last night when we had the BBQ which was fabulous , drinks great food great music and even a multi talent captain that sings and play on the guitar Thank you all we had a great time Galit Israel
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Absolutely Sensational! This was my 3rd and longest trip on Spoilsport and it doesn't get any better. From the skipper(Pete), dive coordinator(Kerrin), instructors( John, Chantal & Kristy), chef(Katy), host(Kira) and everyone that made it run smooth. A big thank you. What a great week with friendly staff and an opportunity to dive the remote reefs that are very rarely visited by divers. Every dive was thoroughly briefed with a lot of safety in mind to experience each dive to the full whether guided or not. Apart from the diving the food was plentiful and delicious. I would highly recommend Mike Ball Dive Expeditions to anyone wishing to experience diving in the the Coral Sea and the Barrier Reef
We did the 3-day liveaboard to find the Minke whales--and we did!! They swam so close to us, around 5-6 whales at a time. What an amazing experience to hear them communicating under water. This was a great scuba adventure as well. Breathtaking coral reefs and lots of marine life, from turtles, sea snakes, stingrays and reef sharks to the colorful nudibranch. The boat is well maintained, food was excellent, and the staff was friendly and accommodating. Safety was number one at all times. It made the whole trip much more relaxing knowing that the staff members have your back!
Great boat, great crew, great food. Very well organized and professional. New and experienced divers are equally welcome. The trip photos and video are a real treat.
I have been several times on Spoilsport with Mike Ball Dive Expeditions and can give them my highest recommendations. 5 stars truly isn t enough. The whole experience from booking to transportation to everyone and everything on the boat itself was top notch.
The cruise to dive on the reefs of the great barrier and with Minkey whales is spectacular, ends at Lizard Island and you return by plane. Wonderful, they are first class professionals. Highly recommended.
An absolutely incredible experience (3 night cod hole).
Check-in at 7 at the office was simple; we dropped off our scuba gear and clothing bags, waited for everyone else to arrive and then headed to the airport.
At the airport, we were weighed with our carry on luggage (don't need any, it goes in the plane wing) and given a map of the route and dive sites. We were given a general dive/safety briefing and headed to the 2 planes. Trip to lizard island was ~1hour. It was loud, but bearable. It is a low level reef flight so you see many reefs (great pictures!).
When we arrived, we were transported on 2 small dinghy boats to the Spoilsport. Once on board, we met the the crew and the 7-night members. We were given a briefing about the boat and what the trip would be like.
Diving: Spectacular. Favourite spot was Steve's Bommie. At various the dive sites, you will likely see all sorts of creatures and coral, including clown fish, reef sharks, octopi, turtles, sea snakes, lion fish, etc. Although the coral was damaged and dead in some areas, this is not the fault of MBDE (and to be expected... go watch Chasing Coral).
The dive briefs were great, no doubt due to our wonderful trip director Kerrin. He explained (and drew out) the site and all crucial information, common locations animals, and currents. Kerrin also made sure everyone had a buddy, and if they didn't he helped find them one. He also stated when he and the other instructors would be diving and ask if anyone wanted to join a guided dive. Jelle, Olly, and Callum were all wonderful dive instructors and very entertaining. They were fun in and out of the water. They made the trip awesome and memorable!
We brought our own gear, so cannot comment on the rented gear. I did buy dive socks for $20 onboard which made a HUGE difference in foot warmth, and ease of putting on my wetsuit and boots. Isobel, the host, was great in this regard, as she helped me try multiple pairs on, gave her recommendations and advice. She also did the same when my boyfriend and another passenger wanted to buy a pair for themselves.
Food: The food was absolutely outstanding. You can see the menu on the website, but it does not do the food justice. There are delicious baked goods for afternoon snacks and the desserts (especially rose ice cream) were to die for. The chefs Thomas and Celia did an absolutely outstanding job, and I am a picky eater! If you don't like certain things, there will always be many options so you won't go hungry. Also, the coffee/cappuccino machine has over 10 hot drink options available at any time - it was great! Although the dinners were sometimes late (around 8pm), this is to accommodate the night divers which I understand.
The Boat: The boat was lovely and huge. We went with the club room to have our own bathroom, which was a good idea. If I were to do the trip again, I would upgrade to the room without bunkbeds but that's a personal preference. Although we did not see Russel (Captain), Brendon (Trainee) or Richard (Engineer) too much, they were all friendly and approachable and helped when an outlet wasn't working.
Extras: Trent (1st mate) and Tom & Alek (volunteers) were all great. Tom was especially helpful when I felt sea sick the first day (he brought me water, crackers, and was friendly/supportive). They also all added humour to the trip.
Gary, the cameraman, was also great. I think he should explain at the start of the trip how the picture/video pricing works ($80 for all the pictures on a USB) because we would have dove near him more to be in more than 1 picture. We still bought the pics/video because they were outstanding and a great souvenir. He was also very friendly and his reef talk was very informative/interesting!
Kerrin's wake up call and dive brief songs were AWESOME. He was seriously one of the best/my favourite parts of the whole trip. So so so fun and friendly and wonderful!!
ALL IN ALL AN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING EXPERIENCE. I'd do it again if I wasn't 15,000 km away!!!
Did a coral sea liveaboard trip over the easter break and it was a trip to be remembered. Due to the recent cyclone activities, there was a change in our itinerary. Instead of heading along the ribbon reefs, we headed to Holmes reef and Bougainville reef, which were on the outer reef. The diving was fantastic and the crew very professional. The highlights will have to be the shark feed dive (where you get up close with countless sharks) and the low altitude flight back were we got to see from up above where we had been diving. This dive trip will be one of your most memorable trip. - It is for me!
The trip in overall was really good, is just frustrating when you have a dream about diving in the Great Barrier Reef, save your money to finally take your liveaboard dreams, but in the end they actually don't take you to the Great Barrier Reef. I'm aware that weather conditions can change the route and the dive spots that we've been outside of the Great Barrier were very good and I wouldn't be impressed if they are better than the GBR itself, but to say the liveaboard takes you there and them not to even try, I dont think its ethic. Another thing I wasn't expecting was the way the sharks are treated. Teasing sharks with tuna heads locked in cages or into chains is not nice. The sharks seemed stressed, fighting against each other, getting hurt (I saw and recorded a shark getting completely tangled and unable to move with the chain they put the tuna head in, sharks loose their teeth for biting the chains and cages, which can be taken and used as souvenirs like the crew suggests ). I also don't think treating and using the sharks for human entertainment like this is ethic. By the way the sharks are treated I wouldn't expect an accident evolving a human and a shark to happen. They already make you sign a document before going to the water removing any responsibilities form their part if an accident happens. If you don't sign you won't be allowed to this specific dive.
Had a great four-day trip with them on the Great Barrier Reef in June 2016, watching whales. The staff are extremely friendly and professional, the food is brilliant, and the boat is very well set up for diving. Also, we saw six whales.
Pay a group of scuba diving experts and a massive yacht crew to take you on week long tour of the most amazing coral reefs in the world and see if that'll change you perspective on life. I never knew this existed until talking to scuba junkies on a trip before this. Live on a yacht for a week and dive all day as they cruise around the Coral Sea in the the Great Barrier Reef. Everything from night dives, drift dives, deep dives, wreck dives, shark feeding dives, and wall diving, all in one day sometimes. You can dive up to 5 times a day or not dive at all if you want to just live aboard and enjoy wine and food cooked for you as you float thru the most amazing waters of the Great Barrier Reef.
The yacht is fully equipped to accommodate about 20 guests (not including crew) to dive, sleep, drink, and eat for a week. Meet the most amazing and interesting people from all over the world on this boat. Make sure to bring your wallet, it'll cost you about a cool $2k for a 4 night trip on this baby.
Shark Week For Reals.
The best dive was the shark feed. Enter an underwater natural amphitheater where divers can sit along rock side formations just like tiered seating in a stadium. Set in the middle is even a rock formation of a stage. A large trash can filled with frozen fish heads opens up for hundreds of sharks in the area to come feed. Watch your heads, it's about to go down.
Make sure you take that Dramamine if you get motion sickness.
Highly recommended if u want to do a proper GBR liveaboard, well organized safe diving, very friendly and reputable services. Most important of all they listened and acted according to our concerns.
I went on the 4 night Minke Whale trip & it was an incredible experience! The crew of the Spoil Sport were phenomenal, hilarious, welcoming, genuine & went above & beyond to meet every need & expectation. Their enthusiasm & love of the reef was infectious & i am so grateful to them for an experience that i will never forget! The Pool Is Open! Lets Make SCUBA yaah!
It's disturbing that this owner so strongly adheres to his profit structures. I took a 3 day dive in late September. Due to my error I had to alter an initial 4 day dive booking. Apparently within the guidelines, I was administered a 30% cancellation penalty (of the initial booking fee). My total extra costs, for a lesser dive, was aprox. $800.00 Cdn. On appeal that I did not 'cancel' but had a booking adjustment and continued as a client and that a lesser 'service charge' would be more appropriate, I was strongly denied. An odd way to welcome the international tourist.
If we could give 10 stars, we would. This dive operation is a gem. Look no further.
Dive sites: 4 dives a day (one is a night dive)...very cool, many sharks and cuttlefish. Some of the best in the world -- they take your ability into consideration and give you due freedom upon proving your own experience and ability. We went on the Minke Whale Project on the GBR and we had incredible sightings and interactions with these gorgeous, enormous, friendly whales. The dive sites are varied and they take experience and currents into consideration when determining the sites. Varied life, all incredibly beautiful.
Staff: THE most professional, friendly, helpful and safety-conscious staff I've ever seen and worked with. Your day begins with a 6am good morning call, "Diiiiiiiiive briefing...," which allowed us to know what to look for at the dive sites (what wildlife, coral, currents, etc.) to expect. From taking off your fins, filling your tanks, double, triple checking your gear, to having a lookout to keep track of divers and snorkelers and sending out rafts to fetch those who strayed far.. they are safety first but it doesn't get in the way of your good time.
Each staff member is genuinely enthusiastic about their job, they are there to help you out, and were so eager to get in the water with us to show us the best of the best of the sites. Finishing your night dive off with a crew who likes to joke around and family style dining. It's adult camp for those who are life enthusiasts, and the staff are just that -- life enthusiasts. It's contagious and makes for great energy the whole way through.
Food & Accommodations: Breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, tea and snack, and family style dinner. IT'S ALL DELICIOUS!!!
We were known as "The Honeymooners" as it was our honeymoon and we decided to go to Australia. They did everything in their power to make it such a uniquely joyful experience from champagne in our cabin to underwater photography professionally done to Capt. Pete singing us a few songs dedicated to love and our happy future.
We want to go back for our 10 year anniversary, our 25 year anniversary, and then some in between, because even 7 months later, we're still dreaming of the whales, the night dives, the jokes on board, the delicious dinners with Australian wine and joyful memories on the Great Barrier Reef.
This long winded review is long over due. After reviewing several companies (online) offering Great Barrier Reef Diving experiences I took a chance with Mike Ball's 'Fly Dive Coral Sea' expedition. Sometimes a guy just gets really lucky. Starting with the folks in the office who showed extraordinary patience, with this yank. Answering phone call, after phone call, email, after email. What's the weather like? What should I bring? Where should I stay? ad infinitum. Their suggestion of the Pullman Cairns Int. 5 doors from the office was BRILLIANT by the way. We boarded the the Spoilsport around 6 pm on December the 6th. She's a beauty. Captain Trevor, and his crew are BLOODY AMAZING. Unbeknownst to us we were catching the tail of Cyclone Owen. Because of 12' to 14. seas and 40 knot winds on the far side of the reef, we couldn't visit many of the spots that they would normally hit. So each day on top of their regular duties, they would scour charts, and weather reports, to 1st keep us safe, and also to make sure that we still got in AMAZING dives. They know the reef so well. I am an enthusiastic though somewhat novice diver. My hand was held when needed, I was supported, and encouraged not just by the crew, but my fellow travelers. Please don't think this sounds too easy. They went out their for me. I heard fellow travelers, whose experience ranged from close to mine, to rescue & wreckage divers who all raved about the sites. Claire, and the magicians in the galley, provided wonderful food. Making sure individual needs were met, and that we were always full (big ol smile). Captain, Trevor, and his guitar were such a lovely unexpected treat on the last night on the boat for those of us that flew back from Lizard island. The low level flight back was breath taking, and gave a great appreciation for how vast the reef is..Mind Blown. Needless to say I can not recommend Mike Ball'S Diving Expeditions enough. If you want an Amazing time, go with Mike. Jump in the water is FINE. Peace/Love/Tommy G
mikeball.com
