Dive Review of Spirit of Freedom in
Australia/Coral Sea

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Spirit of Freedom: "Great staff, comfortable boat, nice diving", Aug, 2018, by Kelley Price, WA, US ( Reviewer 5 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 10711 has 3 Helpful votes.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I wish the website would do a better job of explaining bed size - we're used to a king sized bed at home, so when you put us in a double bed we're not very comfortable. Other than that, the bed itself was comfortable. Instead of shelves to put your things on, I'd suggest drawers, as when the sea is rough or during the ocean crossing, things get tossed everywhere (and I mean everywhere). The first night, making the crossing from the barrier reef to the Coral sea was pretty rough, even with taking a pill I didn't sleep well at all. The diving was nice, easy, and their "fin-derella" service was AWESOME. Once you do your check out dive the divemaster let's you go with your buddy at your own pace. The dive briefings are thorough so you have an excellent idea where to go to see things. The only bummer the week we were on board was that there was a large group of Chinese divers who were not interested in socializing with anyone else. They also tended to hog all the space on the dive deck so that everyone else had to wait until they were in the water to get to their gear. I'm sure it's a cultural thing, they were also really bad about things I were taught as dive basics - don't lurk under the ladder while someone is getting back on the boat, wait your turn when others are waiting to get back on the boat (every dive I'd be waiting clear of the ladder while my buddy climbed aboard, only to have one of their group swim right in front of me and start up the ladder - super rude!). They also were touching everything in sight, picking up shells (in the land of the Cone Snail!!) and rocks, the divemasters had a word with them several times, to no apparently avail. One gal also dropped to 150 feet, boinged up to 80, then back to 140, one our LAST DAY. She was flying less than 24 hours later... It ticks me off, because if the stupid ninny had gotten bent everyone's trip would have been over as we sought medical treatment for her. (so as far as that goes,at least it WAS our last day). In any event, that part was not pleasant and I will do my best to avoid large groups of Chinese divers in the future. The food was amazing, I have no idea how the cook turned out that kind of fantastic food in that tiny galley! The rest of the staff were super helpful, if there was anything they could do to help you out, they were all over it.
Websites	Spirit of Freedom
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Fiji, Hawaii, Caribbean, Cozumel, Bahamas, Belize
Closest Airport	Cairns	Getting There	It's an easy flight to Cairns from the US, usually via Sydney. Likely easy to get there from anywhere.
Dive Conditions
Weather	rainy	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	76-79°F / 24-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Recreational diving limit, return to boat with 500# of air.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	I gave this rating mostly because the visibility was not great, due to the clouds, so not much light at depth. Also, you're on your own to find critters as the divemasters are mostly having to shepherd the less capable divers.

Report currently has 3 Helpful votes

Subscriber's Comments

By Samuel R Gustafson in SC, US at Oct 05, 2019 13:35 EST

Thanks for being frank.

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Dive Review of Spirit of Freedom in Australia/Coral Sea

Spirit of Freedom: "Great staff, comfortable boat, nice diving", Aug, 2018,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Spirit of Freedom in
Australia/Coral Sea