OceanQuest

Leading Cairns liveaboard, OceanQuest, lives on the Great Barrier Reef from Wednesday to Sunday and is accessed via dayboat transfer from Cairns. Trips can range from 1-4 nights, with the diving concentrated on Saxon, Norman, Hastings and Michaelmas reefs. You can even have a private dive guide for you or your group.

OceanQuest is a 35 metre catamaran diving boat and is therefore both stable and spacious. There are 22 cabins spread over 3 decks, including double/twin berth cabins. All cabins are air-conditioned with 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 44 guests. OceanQuest 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.

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Dive experience: Scuba divers simply need to be certified Open Water. All divers in Queensland must submit a medical questionnaire and seek medical clearance where necessary.

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), reef and port authority fees, rental dive equipment (incl. stinger suits in season), torch for night dives, tanks (12 and 15 litre), weights, weightbelts, snorkelling gear, all taxes.

Cruise price per person excludes (mandatory, unless customer provides own): Dives (from 1 April 2024: 1 night: US$ 82, 2 nights: US$ 119, 3 nights: US$ 157), from 1 April 2025: 1 night: US$ 91, 2 nights: US$ 132, 3 nights: US$ 172, payable in advance). Minke Whale trips in June and July only: levies (Ribbon Reefs: US$ 50 per day), rental dive equipment. Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival.

Optional extras: Soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, dive insurance, nitrox fills for enriched air certified divers (USD 6), snacks, guided dives (US$ 13 per dive, up to 8 divers per dive guide) to be paid in advance. Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival. Note: prices of items purchased onboard are subject to change.

How to get there: You will be picked up from your Cairns hotel at approximately 7:30-8 am and check in at the dive centre at 319 Draper Street, before being transferred to the marina. OceanQuest departs to the Outer Great Barrier Reef every Wednesday and returns to port every Sunday. So if you plan to travel on either of these days, you will be transported on the ship itself, otherwise you will be transferred to the liveaboard by the day boat AquaQuest. For more information on getting to Cairns, including airlines, see our How to get there section.
The final dive will be at around 10:30 am on the last day of the trip. After lunch, you will depart the reef at around 3 pm, arriving back in Cairns at 5 pm. Please wait at least 18 hours before flying after diving.

Non-diver rate: Displayed prices are non-diver prices. Costs of diving are disclosed in the 'Prices exclude' section.

Single supplement (if you do not want to share accommodation): This is optional - single travelers may choose to share a cabin (no guarantee of same gender sharing) or pay a supplement for their own cabin. 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.

Cairns Barrier Reef (4 Days / 3 Nights - 14 Dives)

Trip highlights: turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Outer Barrier Reef: Saxon, Norman, Hastings reefs

Day 1
Your safari starts with a pick up from your hotel in Cairns at 7:30 am and transfer to the Marlin Jetty via the dive centre where you will hop on board the transfer vessel and travel for 90-120 minutes to the Outer Barrier Reef. After a safety briefing, it is time to gear up for your 1st dive of the trip. Lunch is then provided on board: a buffet with salads, cold meats and fruit available for everyone to enjoy. At 2:30 pm, after the 2nd dive of the day, you will be assigned your cabin onboard the OceanQuest liveaboard. After your 3rd dive, it’s time to relax and chill while getting to know the crew and your dive buddies, until dinner time at 6 pm. The 4th and night dive takes place before dessert is served at 8 pm.

Days 2-3
Breakfast is served at 7:30 am and is your choice of eggs cooked in different styles, beans, bacon, cereals and toast, hot tea or coffee. Then it’s in the water for the 1st and 2nd dives, before sitting down for more calories at lunch, usually in the form of a buffet freshly prepared each day by the chef. The afternoon brings more time to relax and then a 3rd dive on the Great Barrier Reef to see its colourful array of marine life including fish, corals, turtles. Dinner, meat or seafood main courses, is around 6 pm, before the Sharks After Dark experience - a real highlight among divers and spectators. You’ll be enthralled by these inquisitive and friendly creatures that can be can be spotted by torchlight beneath the surface.

Day 4
Enjoy another tasty breakfast then make the most out of the next 2 dives as it is almost time to say goodbye. But don't leave on an empty stomach! Buffet lunch is still included in your holiday, before being transferred at 3 pm back to Cairns. A quick visit to the OceanQuest office to pick up any luggage you might have left there and then to be transferred to your city hotel.

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Cairns Barrier Reef (5 Days / 4 Nights - 18 Dives)

Trip highlights: turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Outer Barrier Reef: Saxon, Norman, Hastings reefs

Day 1
Your safari starts with a pick up from your hotel in Cairns at 7:30 am and transfer to the Marlin Jetty via the dive centre where you will hop on board the transfer vessel and travel for 90-120 minutes to the Outer Barrier Reef. After a safety briefing, it is time to gear up for your 1st dive of the trip. Lunch is then provided on board: a buffet with salads, cold meats and fruit available for everyone to enjoy. At 2:30 pm, after the 2nd dive of the day, you will be assigned your cabin onboard the OceanQuest liveaboard. After your 3rd dive, it’s time to relax and chill while getting to know the crew and your dive buddies, until dinner time at 6 pm. The 4th and night dive takes place before dessert is served at 8 pm.

Days 2-4
Breakfast is served at 7:30 am and is your choice of eggs cooked in different styles, beans, bacon, cereals and toast, hot tea or coffee. Then it’s in the water for the 1st and 2nd dives, before sitting down for more calories at lunch, usually in the form of a buffet freshly prepared each day by the chef. The afternoon brings more time to relax and then a 3rd dive on the Great Barrier Reef to see its colourful array of marine life including fish, corals, turtles. Dinner, meat or seafood main courses, is around 6 pm, before the Sharks After Dark experience - a real highlight among divers and spectators. You’ll be enthralled by these inquisitive and friendly creatures that can be can be spotted by torchlight beneath the surface.

Day 5
Enjoy another tasty breakfast then make the most out of the next 2 dives as it is almost time to say goodbye. But don't leave on an empty stomach! Buffet lunch is still included in your holiday, before being transferred at 3 pm back to Cairns. A quick visit to the OceanQuest office to pick up any luggage you might have left there and then to be transferred to your city hotel.

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Cairns Barrier Reef (3 Days / 2 Nights - 10 Dives)

Trip highlights: turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Outer Barrier Reef: Saxon, Norman, Hastings reefs

Day 1
Your safari starts with a pick up from your hotel in Cairns at 7:30 am and transfer to the Marlin Jetty via the dive centre where you will hop on board the transfer vessel and travel for 90-120 minutes to the Outer Barrier Reef. After a safety briefing, it is time to gear up for your 1st dive of the trip. Lunch is then provided on board: a buffet with salads, cold meats and fruit available for everyone to enjoy. At 2:30 pm, after the 2nd dive of the day, you will be assigned your cabin onboard the OceanQuest liveaboard. After your 3rd dive, it’s time to relax and chill while getting to know the crew and your dive buddies, until dinner time at 6 pm. The 4th and night dive takes place before dessert is served at 8 pm.

Day 2
Breakfast is served at 7:30 am and is your choice of eggs cooked in different styles, beans, bacon, cereals and toast, hot tea or coffee. Then it’s in the water for the 1st and 2nd dives, before sitting down for more calories at lunch, usually in the form of a buffet freshly prepared each day by the chef. The afternoon brings more time to relax and then a 3rd dive on the Great Barrier Reef to see its colourful array of marine life including fish, corals, turtles. Dinner, meat or seafood main courses, is around 6 pm, before the Sharks After Dark experience - a real highlight among divers and spectators. You’ll be enthralled by these inquisitive and friendly creatures that can be can be spotted by torchlight beneath the surface.

Day 3
Enjoy another tasty breakfast then make the most out of the next 2 dives as it is almost time to say goodbye. But don't leave on an empty stomach! Buffet lunch is still included in your holiday, before being transferred at 3 pm back to Cairns. A quick visit to the OceanQuest office to pick up any luggage you might have left there and then to be transferred to your city hotel.

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Cod Hole, Ribbon Reefs & Minke Whales (5 Days / 4 Nights - 18 Dives)

Trip highlights: whales, turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity, schooling fish & big pelagics, onboard experts on minke whales

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Cod Hole, Ribbon Reefs (including Pixie Pinnacle, Steve's Bommie and Lighthouse Bommie), Norman Reef, This trip features snorkelling opportunities with minke whales.

Day 1
After check in at Ocean Quest Dive Centre, your diving safari starts with a transfer to the transfer boat, Sea Quest. They will take you out the 90 minutes to the Outer Barrier Reef so you can enjoy 2 dives on Norman Reef, before transferring to Ocean Quest at around 2:30 pm. Cabins will be assigned and then Ocean Quest will cruise out to the Ribbon Reefs. Relax while getting to know the crew and your dive buddies. You will enjoy a full catering service on this day including a buffet lunch with salads, cold meat and fruit available for everyone to enjoy.

Days 2-4
Your day starts with a continental breakfast, then a 1st dive, followed by a cooked breakfast. with a 2nd dive just before lunch. The 3rd is done in the afternoon, giving you more chances to discover the wonders of the underwater world that the Ribbon Reefs of the Great Barrier Reef are famous for. The 4th dive will be a night dive after dinner.
You will be amazed by the healthy corals, anemones, schools of pelagic fish, and unusual creatures such as wobbegongs. Minke whales are part of the highlights of the dives you will do during the day. They grow up to 8 metres (26 ft) and a closeup encounter with these majestic 6 tonne creatures is an experience you will never forget! With access to the best locations, the success rate of whale interactions is over 90% and the whales will remain engaged for around 2 hours on average.

Day 5
After cruising all night, Ocean Quest arrives in Cairns at around 6:30 am. Before saying your goodbyes, enjoy a light breakfast and the chance of a final picture with the other guests and the crew of this amazing diving safari. Then they will take you back to your Cairns city hotel.

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Cairns Barrier Reef (2 Days / 1 Nights - 6 Dives)

Trip highlights: turtles, great macro life/ marine diversity

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Outer Barrier Reef: Saxon, Norman, Hastings reefs

Day 1
Your safari starts with a pick up from your hotel in Cairns at 7:30 am and transfer to the Marlin Jetty via the dive centre where you will hop on board the transfer vessel and travel for 90-120 minutes to the Outer Barrier Reef. After a safety briefing, it is time to gear up for your 1st dive of the trip. Lunch is then provided on board: a buffet with salads, cold meats and fruit available for everyone to enjoy. At 2:30 pm, after the 2nd dive of the day, you will be assigned your cabin onboard the OceanQuest liveaboard. After your 3rd dive, it’s time to relax and chill while getting to know the crew and your dive buddies, until dinner time at 6 pm. The 4th and night dive takes place before dessert is served at 8 pm.

Day 2
Enjoy another tasty breakfast then make the most out of the next 2 dives as it is almost time to say goodbye. But don't leave on an empty stomach! Buffet lunch is still included in your holiday, before being transferred at 3 pm back to Cairns. A quick visit to the OceanQuest office to pick up any luggage you might have left there and then to be transferred to your city hotel.

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ZZDUMP (6 Days / 5 Nights - Dives)

Trip highlights: non diving activities

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: zz

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[Information is best estimate in ideal circumstances and subject to changes beyond our control. The itinerary is a guide only and may be adapted to best suit the weather, tides, currents, availability and other prevailing events. Price is for the cruise, not for an exact number of dives].

The Cairns liveaboard, OceanQuest, has a total of 22 en-suite cabins, each with its own private bathroom. 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. All cabins are roughly the same size and are allocated on a run-of-the-house basis.

All the cabins have: No. of bathrooms / showers - 26 / 26 - 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' OceanQuest, 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 staff were excellent throughout, nothing was too much trouble, and extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Boats were clean and well run with excellent food time after time. Trip was great start to finish." - Steven Hicks, United Kingdom, 31 October 2024 ...

"Good dives at the standard reefs. A bit of a military operation with strict timelines which felt a bit rushed. We left the boat 1 day early because one of us was sick.
Dive The World provided clear instructions and explanations, friendly advice and info via the chat." - Martine van der Mast, Netherlands, 14 August 2024 ...

"Great boat. Friendly helpful staff. Felt very safe on our guided dives and snorkelling. Good reef sites. Well organised. Good food. " - Phillip Edge, UK, 29 May 2024 ...

"The diving experience was very professional and organized. We were checked out and in for each dive, registering air, depth, time, etc. and the logs were available at end of day. However there was a breakdown in communication between Dive The World and the boat and we needed a medical certificate." - H Husmann, United States, 16 May 2024 ...

"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 ...