Ocean Quest

Leading Cairns liveaboard, Ocean Quest, lives on the Great Barrier Reef and is accessed via speedboat transfer from Cairns. Trips can range from 2 nights to as long as you wish, with the diving concentrated on Saxon, Norman, Hastings and Michaelmas reefs. You can even have a private dive guide for you or your group.

Ocean Quest is a 36 metre catamaran diving boat and is therefore both stable and spacious. There are 23 cabins spread over 3 decks, ranging from double/twin berth to quad cabins. All cabins are air-conditioned with TVs and en-suite bathrooms. Guests tend to socialise most in the lounge and enjoy the bar, library, games and full entertainment facilities.

There is a dedicated air-conditioned dining area which can accommodate even the maximum of 48 guests. Ocean Quest caters for snorkellers, certified and introductory divers. It is more spacious than many of Cairns' other Great Barrier Reef cruise boats and this, together with the en-suite facilities and range of cabins, makes it a popular choice.

Dive experience: Scuba dvers simply need to be certified Open Water.

Cruise price per person includes: Cabin accommodation with air-conditioning, breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinking water, hot drinks, Cairns city transfers to boat (excluding from northern beaches), dives (as detailed in the trips above), rental dive equipment (incl. stinger suits in season), tanks, weights, weightbelts.

Cruise price per person excludes (mandatory, unless customer provides own): Dive insurance, reef and port authority fee US$ 14 per day (Cairns Barrier Reef trips only), levies US$ 56 per day (Ribbon Reefs trips only), rental dive equipment for Minke Whale trips in June and July. Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival.

Optional extras: Soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, nitrox fills for enriched air certified divers (USD 7), towels (bring your own), snacks, torches, private dive guide (per person to be paid in advance): 2 nights - USD 126, 3 nights - USD 178, 4 nights - USD 230. Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival.

How to get there: You will be picked up from your Cairns hotel at approximately 07:45 hrs. Departures from Cairns are daily, with speedboat transfers to the OceanQuest on the Outer Great Barrier Reef. You will select your equipment and do 2 dives before transferring to the liveaboard. For more information on getting to Cairns see our How to get there section. The last dive of the tour will be at around 15:00 on the last day of the trip. Please wait at least 18 hours before flying after diving.

Non-diver rate: Between 15% and 25% off the published price, depending on duration of trip.

Single supplement (if you do not want to share accommodation): Various supplements apply. Please check with us.

Dive clubs and group discounts: Please contact us to enquire about group discounts.

Whole boat charter rate (per night): There is none available for this boat. Please contact us to enquire for a full charter.

The Cairns liveaboard, Ocean Quest, has a total of 23 en-suite cabins, each with its own TV. There are 18 twin bed cabins - 14 on the main deck, 1 on the upper deck and 3 on the lower deck; 4 Queen-sized double bed cabins - 1 on the upper deck and 3 on the lower deck; and 1 quad (4 berth) cabin on the lower deck.

All the cabins have: No. of bathrooms / showers - 27 / 27 - hot water

The crew comprises 16 staff: 65m² Dive deck and platform with toilets and fresh hot water showers - 2 Motorised dive dinghies - Separate rinse tank for cameras - 190m² Air-conditioned saloon with TV, DVD and sound system - 100m² Dedicated air-conditioned restaurant area - 50m² External shaded area - 50m² Sun deck with sun chairs and matresses - Movie library, games and magazines - Fish ID and diving books - Water dispenser - Well-stocked bar

Food is taken seriously on Cairns' Ocean Quest, with both breakfast and lunch being served buffet style. Breakfast consists of bacon, sausages, eggs, breads and cereals. Dinner is served, with second servings available, buffet style. Lunch and dinner normally consist of a meat or seafood main course with side dishes of vegetables. Lasagne is a particular specialty.

Desserts include chef's favourites such as sticky date pudding and apple pie with ice cream, often served after night dives. Chef's check on arrival if guests have any dietary requirements such as vegetarians, vegans, gluten free, and can cater to such needs.

• Meals of an international flavour are served buffet style in the dedicated air-conditioned restaurant on the main deck.
• Main meals comprise breakfast, lunch & dinner.
• Tea, coffee and drinking water are available free of charge throughout the day.
• Chocolate bars, biscuits, ice creams, soft drinks, beer, wine and spirits are available at extra charge.
• Vegetarians and most other special diets are catered for.
• Catering begins with lunch on check-in day for your cruise of the Great Barrier Reef.

Customer reviews:

"The service on the boat was awesome, good facilities, fantastic dive sites, especially after we'd hit the outer reef. The rooms are a little tired, but still clean, nonetheless. Food served on the boat was good." - Tara Tan, Malaysia, 30 June 2017 ...