Name: Spirit of Freedom
Brand: Spirit Of Freedom
Availability: OnlineOnly
Rating: 9.27 (185 reviews)

10 Exceptional
Kaitlin R
United States

Awesome experience!

The dives were amazing. So many fish and other creatures to see. The coral was bright and beautiful. An exhausting amount of diving, but the crew was there making every moment great. Highly recommend Spirit of Freedom!

Recommended for: Friendly/helpful crew, amazing dive sites, great food

9.2 Superb
Edward R
United States

Amazing Dive Trip

We were able to dive sites on the Coral Sea that are only experienced with perfect weather that we had. The crew couldn't have been more helpful assist divers of all levels. The food was excellent. Captain Tony and Trip Director Ellis were awesome as was all of their staffs.

Recommended for: Crew was the best I've experienced. The dive sites were remarkable

9.6 Exceptional
Michael B
United States

Unforgettable experience, and I would definitely do it again!

Watching the potato cod feeding and getting to swim around/with them after.

Recommended for: Diving assistance, crew friendliness, and food/beverages

10 Exceptional
Jessica S
United States

Trip of a Lifetime

The crew on Spirit of Freedom made for a once in a lifetime dive experience. I cannot recommend them highly enough!

Recommended for: Food, Crew, Weather

10 Exceptional
Alex T
United States

Fantastic time with great crew

seeing incredible diversity of life in the Coral Sea, eating like a king, hanging out with the crew between dives and having them point stuff out during dives. having freedom to explore with buddy during dives.

Recommended for: crew, dive sites, food

8.8 Fabulous
Peyton B
United States

Amazing experience

We saw about 10 dolphins before one of our dives! Also the experience of the dive masters was so great, I felt really comfortable diving

Recommended for: The crew, the food and the experience

8.4 Very good
Hayden D
United States

Best Dive Trip Ever

The Spirit of Freedom was the heart of our Australian adventure. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Recommended for: Crew treated you like family. Every dive was incredible!

10 Exceptional
Caity S
United States

Amazing Experience

This was a great trip - We did the 5 day Coral Sea & Ribbon Reefs Adventure and had a wonderful experience. The crew was amazing, the dive sites were out of this world, and the boat was great (food, bunk etc).

Recommended for: Crew, dives & food!

9.6 Exceptional
Rachel C
United States

Amazing

The dive guides were great and showed us all sorts of wonderful underwater highlights. We especially enjoyed seeing a cuttlefish, moray eel, stingray, pigmy seahorse, and shark!

Recommended for: Diving, food, staff

9.2 Superb
Jayne S
United States

Very enjoyable

The night dive was spectacular-I'll remember it forever! From the beginning to the end of the trip everything went smoothly. Even when the air conditioning went out and we were forced to come back early the crew handled it smoothly and very well.

Recommended for: The diving, the customers, the crew.

10 Exceptional
Brittany G
United States

Best Part of Our Trip

We loved everything about this trip - the crew was amazing (Michelle the Director was hilarious), the food was great and there was tons of variety (we probably gained 5 lbs), we loved all the other passengers on the boat, our room was very comfortable (we were in a 4 bed shared) and the dive sites were gorgeous.

Recommended for: Diving, Crew & Bonding with the other passengers

8.4 Very good
Joseph C
United States

very good experience, diving at osprey reef was fantastic

Osprey Reef

Recommended for: osprey reef, food, dive guides

9.2 Superb
Robin K
United States

Would do again

This was my first liveaboard and I had a wonderful time. The Spirit of Freedom set a high bar for future experiences.

Recommended for: Unique dive sites, great crew, and quality food.

9.6 Exceptional
Jillian L
United States

Amazing

Saw a whale shark! The crew were really nice which set a nice community feel on the boat. The dive sites were incredible. I've never seen so much coral on reefs in my life.

Recommended for: Whale shark, remote dive sites, dive crew

9.6 Exceptional
Kendra R
United States

Excellent, friendly, professional service

The Coral was superb on the GBR, but the crew really made the trip with their professionalism, hard work, fun and all around accommodating services. 4 or 5 long dives all but the first day on board, so 26 beautiful dives over 7 days. While we had a few days of poor visibility, the crew made up for it and we’d come again for the friendly crew. Food was fresh all 7 days- fresh fruit and salads every lunch and good variety of meats and vegetarian meals. Highly recommend Spirit of Freedom for a great trip on the GBR and Coral Sea!

Recommended for: The crew was incredibly kind, professional and fun. Really accommodating and fun. Food was fresh and equipment was new and well taken care if

10 Exceptional
Catherine C
United States

The BEST diving experience; my whole family loved it!

The crew was truly spectacular. They were all very friendly and helpful. The dive sites and the organization of the program was thoughtfully planned out and my family and I always felt very safe which is of upmost importance to us. Truly an unforgettable experience!

Recommended for: The staff were so friendly and helpful. The food was exquisite and the diving was unforgettable!

10 Exceptional
Zoë S
United States

I loved it!

seeing a whale shark

Recommended for: food, crew, dives

9.6 Exceptional
Floyd B
United States

fantastic experience, look forward to the next one

The Whale shark

Recommended for: food , staff , food

9.6 Exceptional
Ken N
United States

Great,safe diving in a friendly environment with off the chart food

Ocean side dive Snake pit Food

Recommended for: Dive variety. Staff cohesiveness. Food.

10 Exceptional
Brian K
United States

The crew was amazing, the food spectacular and amazing dives

Finding a cuttle fish, and seeing the crew generally happy for me. Meeting amazing people Food OMG the food

Recommended for: The crew , food, dives

9.2 Superb
George C
United States

Great Barrier Reef Trip

The food and crew was exceptional. On the last day of diving, the dive guide found two turtles for me.

Recommended for: Fantastic food, excellent crew, good diving

10 Exceptional
Paul J
United States

Fabulous diving with a wonderful crew that exceeded my expectations

swim-throughs in coral reefs, shark feed arranged by dive staff, night dives (and did I mention the exceptional meals?)

Recommended for: Variety of dive sites, extremely friendly and safety-conscious crew, outstanding and plentiful food (better than I experienced ashore!)

9.6 Exceptional
Philip C
United States

Not sure I would be satisfied with anything else.

Cod feeding, getting to 100’ for the first time

Recommended for: Guides, dives & food

9.6 Exceptional
Sabrina H
United States

An amazing 4 days!

Animals (sharks, fish, cuttlefish, turtles, manta ray...) People - the crew was great (very organized), the dive guests were international, easy going and fun to vacation with!!

Recommended for: Crew, guests, organization

10 Exceptional
Laura F
United States

Amazing

Night dive

Recommended for: The diving, the crew, the food!

8.0 Very good
Georgia K
United States

Spirit of Freedom

The weather was not the best and we had to cancel some of the most wanted dive sites. But everyone on board was so amazing especially all the dive masters.

Recommended for: Awesome crew. Good safety measures. Great food.

10 Exceptional
Diana M
United States

Education, support, excellent food, superb crew, expert trip management

The crew were very supportive of my skill level. They monitored the weather, water, and tide conditions and made decisions to take best advantage of those conditions. I was astounded by the requirements of the crew - they did everything - cleaning, diving, dishes, tank refills, gear management, and administrative duties - super impressive! The Great Barrier Reef is a lifetime dream and the crew made sure that it was everything I could have dreamed of! They provided education that added to the appreciation of one of the great wonders of our planet and encouraged an attitude of responsibility with love. Amazing experience!!!

Recommended for: Super hardworking crew, amazing food, well chosen dives

10 Exceptional
Sarah S
United States

An amazing trip on the great barrier reef!

Spirit of Freedom is an amazing great barrier reef diving experience!! Diving was amazing, gear was all super well maintained, the crew was phenomenal, and the food was all so good. It was such a cool experience to be diving with so many amazing divers. The crew allows every buddy team to dive alone and self navigate which gives everyone the opportunity to make it their own experience! The chef was amazing and provided spreads at every meal so there's always something for everybody. Highly highly highly recommend this trip if you're looking for a northern great barrier reef live aboard!

Recommended for: Diving, gear and food!

10 Exceptional
Jenny L
United States

Excellent experience and wonderful staff

We really enjoyed the beautiful reefs and the wonderful staff who helped provided us with a lovely experience.

Recommended for: Food, staff and dive sites.

8.0 Very good
ALEXANDRA N
United States

A great option for a short trip to dive the reef

4-5 dives each day. Food was great and there was plenty of it. Overall trip was well organized and ran smoothly. Staff were friendly and helpful.

Recommended for: Diving spots, staff, food

9.2 Superb
Steven E
United States

Best way to experience the GBR/coral sea

I did the 5 day/4 night coral sea trip and had an absolute blast. The crew were incredibly friendly and professional. Those that weren’t visibly working up a sweat on the dive deck were behind the scenes ensuring a successful trip. While SOF didn’t specifically offer guided dives, there were at least 2 divemasters in the water pointing out interesting marine life or diving with anyone who needed a buddy. The diving itself was amazing as expected and the food was fantastic.

Recommended for: The crew, dives and the food

9.2 Superb
Joe H
United States

Great dive trip

The diving and shops crew were incredible. 4-5 per day, great briefings, and crew to help find the interesting things. If you want to dive the Great Barrier Reef, this is the ship you want to be on.

Recommended for: Diving, food, crew

10 Exceptional
Angela M
United States

Can't ask for a better diving experience

The crew was so incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. They make sure to give everyone the best diving experience possible. The food was amazing throughout the entire trip. I was sad on the last day of the trip but also so happy that I had booked my 4-day Great Barrier Reef diving trip with them.

Recommended for: Crew, dive sites, cabin comfort

9.6 Exceptional
Nicholas W
United States

Amazing diving on a comfortable boat with a great crew!

The dives were even better than I expected and the boat was nice. Efficient dive process, great crew who were friendly and fun. Thanks!

Recommended for: 1) Dive sites chosen 2) Crew was great/friendly 3) Food was delicious

9.6 Exceptional
Kevin L
United States

Phenomenal!

14 dives in 3 days! The weather was fantastic, we totally lucked out. Visibility was excellent. We were able to dive the trifecta! We never saw another dive boat the entire time! It was like the entire sea was ours. Can’t say enough good things about this trip! I’d do it again tomorrow!

Recommended for: The crew and dive guides were fabulous! Helpful, fun and experienced. The dive sites were amazing. We saw plenty of variety. Food, excellent and plentiful. Our kids were able to complete their advanced open water course on the trip!

8.0 Very good
Mr. Joel S
United States

Some great dives, awesome food, a few things missing for us

Seeing two leopard sharks - had never seen them before. Coral was colorful and beautiful. Enjoyed the stop on Lizard Island and getting to see it. Appreciated the effort by the Captain and crew to get us to dive sites we could experience despite unfavorable weather conditions. Educational presentations about the different sites and marine life were excellent. Food was amazing, best we've ever had on a dive liveaboard. What we felt could be improved - no towels provided other than bath towels in the cabin, very little hanging space to dry things in the cabins, crew did not mingle socially with passengers at all. Other liveaboards we've been on offered more guided dives as an option where dive masters would show us more of the wildlife we wouldn't see on our own. This was done occasionally, just not as often as we prefer.

Recommended for: 1. Condition of Osprey Reef, Bougainville Reef and Holmes Reef were fantastic/pristine 2. Food on the boat was excellent and plentiful. 3. Crew was very focused on safety.

9.6 Exceptional
Alexis Y
United States

Wonderful!

The potato cod feeding was a hit, and totally worth it! All around better than had been anticipated. Cabins for 3 can be a bit cozy but certainly ok for 2 people. So glad to have done this, we felt so pampered!

Recommended for: Great, caring crew, fantastic food, and wonderful dive sites. Everything was very smooth and well run.

9.6 Exceptional
Andrew J
United States

Best dives I’ve ever done.

6 year old coral garden that looked 100 years old. Shark feeding frenzy. Pufferfish! Spiraling up the coral pinnacle.

Recommended for: Coral, fish, sharks.

10 Exceptional
Zachary J
United States

Fantastic trip that truly maximized our time on the GBR

Diving at the Cod Hole- not only to see the friendly potato Cod but for the incredible corals! The night dive was also the best I’ve done. The whole trip was a highlight, we wished we could stay for more days.

Recommended for: The Cod Hole dive site, the excellent service and assistance from the crew, and the food!

8.0 Very good
william B
Australia

Unforgettable Four Day Coral Sea Liveaboard

We just returned to Cairns after an incredible four day/four night excursion to the Coral Sea and Osprey Reef with Spirit of Freedom. These four days were the highlight of our entire month in Australia. We completed 15 dives over the course of four days and saw a variety of sea life ranging from hoards of sharks down to the tiniest nudibranchs and everything in between. Visibility was easily over 30meters in most spots. The captain and crew of the Spirit of Freedom were the best! They made everyone feel right at home and delivered top notch service throughout the trip. All of the rental dive gear was in tip top shape and the accommodations were very comfortable, to say the least. Last but not least, the food! The food and beverage throughout the trip were amazing! You will certainly not go hungry on this trip! Highly recommend and can't wait to get back to visit again!

Recommended for: The Amazing Diving! The Outstanding Crew! The Delicious Food!

10 Exceptional
Maria Melina F
Italy

Great Experience

Diving

Recommended for: Crew, diving, food

8.0 Very good
Sune Levy T
Denmark

Great diving and relaxed atmosphere

The night dive, Osprey reef dives and the relaxed atmosphere

Recommended for: The night dive, Osprey reef dives and the relaxed atmosphere

8.0 Very good
bo H
China

Good service

they provide Good service from boarding the boat. the cabin is clean, food is delicious. underwater is amazing. beautiful coral world and different lanforms.

Recommended for: Good screw, sharks, canyon underwater

10 Exceptional
Asli S
Turkey

Wonderful!!!

The humpback whale, sharks, amazing marine life, the crew’s warm and friendly approach, Ben’s delicious meals and the great diving group!

Recommended for: The Crew, The Diving Sites, Spirit of Freedom comfort

9.2 Superb
Shawn L
South Korea

Overall, great satisfaction both on diving and on the life aboard.

Awesome diving experiences around Ribbon Reef 9-10 with lots of healthy corals and diverse marine life, including sea snakes and potato cod fish.

Recommended for: 1) Freedom while diving, yet professional crews to take care of safety, 2) Good maintenance status of the boat and the rental equipments, 3) Great food quality served throughout the trip.

9.6 Exceptional
Auguste H
France

A wonderful trip

The diving spots at the Osprey reef and the Bougainville reef were particularly awesome. Underwater landscape were magic with a beautiful fauna, huge walls, colorful corals, tunnels in the reefs to explore and the deep blue of the ocean with a long range visibility that I never experienced before.

Recommended for: Diving spots, the crew and the food

9.2 Superb
Gerardo L
Spain

Friendly crew and awesome dive spots

Tight schedule but extremely well organized

Recommended for: Food, crew and installations

8.8 Fabulous
Jacir P
Brazil

Serviço exemplar

Excelentes mergulhos

Recommended for: Novas amizades, boms mergulhos e ótimo atendimento da equipe

9.2 Superb
Bradley D
Australia

Fantastic experience.

Night diving, Great marine life , warm water, good viz.

Recommended for: Diving, Food & Great knowledgable Friendly Staff

10 Exceptional
Kerri H
United Kingdom

A childhood dream realised.

Impressively well run ship with enthusiastic, switched on crew. Little things like warm towels, kit taken care of, delicious food, made it a fantastic liveaboard. Highly highly recommend. Don't miss out on the night dive!

Recommended for: Fantastic diving, comfortable ship, proficient crew.

8.8 Fabulous
Marie-France G
Australia

Fun, safe and adventurous

shark feed, dedication of the cruise director and the whole crew especially Captain Cook

Recommended for: food, crew, dove location

9.2 Superb
James H
United Kingdom

Phenomenal trip to an incredibly remote area - amazing to be the first to dive such amazing sites.

Fabulous crew - incredibly hard working and clearly enjoying themselves. Spectacular diving in a very very remote area - we didn’t see land or another boat for a week. Incredible privilege to be the first to dive some great sites. Very varied diving - beautiful pristine hard coral, big turtles, lots of sharks, adrenaline fuelled drift dives, with the undoubted highlight being an underwater visit from a curious pod of bottlenose dolphins.

Recommended for: The crew, the food, diving with dolphins!

9.2 Superb
Daniel N
Sweden

Extraordinary Dive Expedition to the Far North

I had the pleasure to join on of the few expeditions to the Far North that Spirit of Freedom does each year and it was just extraordinary! The state of the reef and the marine life, the dive sites and the dive guides were all fantastic. Special shout-outs to Nick, Lucy, Michelle and Alice for making diving fun, safe and easy. Between dives Chef prepared fantastic, restaurant quality meals with impressive variety and attention to detail. Along with meeting the great people who signed up for this trip, this was a very memorable liveaboard indeed. I cannot wait to return to explore other itineraries with the Spirit of Freedom crew.

Recommended for: 1. Diving 2. Dining 3. People

9.6 Exceptional
Claudio K
Switzerland

Highly recommend - absolutely perfect experience

Exceptional Wildlife, Best Night Dive ever, Super Attendive Crew, Amazing Chef who does Magic in the Galley!

Recommended for: Night Dives, Wildlife and the Crew

10 Exceptional
Gun L
Sweden

The best liveaboard ever great quality all the trip!

Osprey reef with the closeup with hammerhead, the Shark feeding, great coral gardens and drop offs. AMAZING TRIP!!!

Recommended for: The great crew team, the boat and food!

9.2 Superb
Craig A
United Kingdom

Fabulous dive trip!

Although many of the dive sites were tremendous dives, Cod hole and the night dive stood out as ones that will be remembered for a long time. What a cod! And diving with all the predators at night - amazing. Everyone had a permenant big smile on their face after the dive. Very professional crew and well managed and controlled dives. Couldn’t ask for easier diving the way the kit was looked after and set up for you. Well laid out boat. There were three in our bunk room so had some extra space to use. With all four in it would be cosy but as expected. I’m a tall guy so was pleasantly surprised to be able to stretch out fully on the bunk as often my feet hit the end. Great company, great crew, and great diving - best diving trip I have done!

Recommended for: Great crew, excellent food, great dives

9.2 Superb
Peter M
Australia

Brilliant all round experience, and I have experienced 10 different boats.

Working backwards - The real highlight of the trip were the 4 dives on the last diving day at Bougainville reef with clear water, amazing drift dives, and big schools of palegics and reef sharks. Osprey reef with the shark feed at North Horn and soft coral dives came in second followed closely with the 2 night dives where the small fish fed on plankton and the giant trevally, reef sharks etc feasted on the small fish. Amazing action. We were very lucky to have calm seas for the 8 days and a brilliant crew.

Recommended for: Food, all diving services, outstanding crew

10 Exceptional
JORGE S
Chile

i was 1 week and everything was very good: security, Foods, Guides, crew service

Nothing was missing, they think about all, even small stuffs

Recommended for: Crew service, security and general comfort

10 Exceptional
Barry P
Canada

Outstanding experience during rough seas, dive team showed 1st class leadership, we will book again!!

The dive team showed us the best experiences possible and the atmosphere and on board food was 1st class / amazing We had rough seas but the best of dive experiences.... looking forward to next time.

Recommended for: Despite very challenging conditions every dive was wonderful

9.2 Superb
Paul A
Australia

Great

Diving

Recommended for: Diving, food, friends

10 Exceptional
Susan S
United Kingdom

Great trip to the Barrier Reef with a fantastic crew

The crew were fantastic, well informed; safety was paramount, but done so nicely. The diving was great, with plenty of sharks and well as lots of little fish and corals.

Recommended for: Diving; Food; Company

10 Exceptional
Michelle K
Netherlands

An amazing dive experience

See the minky whale, seeing sharks, the different dive spots

Recommended for: The dive spots, the friendly crew, the knowledge of the dive master

9.6 Exceptional
Corinne D
Switzerland

Amazing on the water world

Tauchen mit Haien, viele verschiedene Leute kennenlernen.

Recommended for: Great Barrier Reef , Vielfalt der Fische und Korallen, die vielen Tauchgänge

9.2 Superb
Wole T
Nigeria

Nice Trip on a Very Nice Boat

Lots of Dives and lots of great food.

Recommended for: The Food, The Crew, The Boat

10 Exceptional
Christopher O
Australia

A stunning exploration of one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World

There were many highlights throughout this trip so to name only a few: The food service was unbelievable!! The galley was too small to produce the variety, quality and quantity of food that I enjoyed. Chef Reuben is nothing short of a magician. Swimming with Minke Whales. Swimming with many of the sea creatures is a mind blowing experience, but none moreso than the Minke Whale. They are curious and gentle giants that really make you feel like a fish out of water. The Great Barrier Reef!

Recommended for: Staff support, catering, photography

9.2 Superb
Huzefa K
India

Great place

Turtles whales. Dolphins. Sharks

Recommended for: No other liveaboards in our vicinity. Crew. Comfort and ease of dives preparations

9.2 Superb
Guillaume B
France

Stunning dives with an amazingly friendly crew

Du point de vue des la plongée en elle-même, la 2nde plongée de nuit ainsi que les 2 jours à North Hole furent les meilleurs moments.

Recommended for: 1) un voyage préparé/organisé sur-mesure pour des plongées toutes incroyables. 2) la connaissance impeccable des spots par le personnel. 3) la convivialité exceptionnelle et l'esprit de service du personnel

10 Exceptional
Nick K
Canada

Surpassed Expectations

Crew was amazing - everyone was super inviting. Great dive spots. Amazing food from our cook Chris. Overall it surpassed all of my expectations.

Recommended for: Crew members, food, dive sites

10 Exceptional
Stuart G
United Kingdom

Seriously, not enough stars

The crew. Hands down. I challenge you to find a better one. Professional yet fun and with a great dynamic between them all. They work hard! I stayed on for the three day trip but would have loved to stay longer. Diving was incredible, with a good variation in the dives and spacing for the "must see" stuff, so you could take a break if needed. I've done a bunch of liveaboards and this is the first that I would consider redoing. Thanks to everyone! #terry'sengineroomtour #terryisfamous

Recommended for: The crew, the diving, the food

9.2 Superb
Gabriel C
Spain

Awesome!

Sharks!

Recommended for: Diving, crew, locations

8.4 Very good
Warren C
Canada

Dives are unguided.

Night Dive on the Second Dive was the highlight of the trip.

Recommended for: Location, Crew, Food

9.6 Exceptional
George K
United Kingdom

Epic trip

The shark dive & Steve’s Bommie were my favourite dives but apart from the 1st one where the visibility was bad due to coral spawning, all of the dives were great. The crew were AMAZING!!! They could t have done more to help. At every point from the famous finderella service to helping me try to find important lost items. They were all friendly, good humoured, helpful, polite and respectful. Special mentions to James, both Scottys, all the girls and all the boys. Lol. They were all fab!!!

Recommended for: Incredible crew, amazing food and great equipment

10 Exceptional
Fang L
China

Excellent trip because of excellent crew!!!

Feed shark

Recommended for: 1, the crew, everyone is very nice, friendly and helpful; 2, the food is great; 3, the clean and comfortable atmosphere

8.0 Very good
Vicki C
Australia

A great way to spend the week

Bougainville reef, mantas, the cod hole and the shark feeding

Recommended for: Lots of diving, the food, and lovely people

9.6 Exceptional
Andy T
United Kingdom

Best dive trip I've ever had.

Bourgainville reef and Osprey reef.

Recommended for: Sites, staff and food.

8.8 Fabulous
Amy M
Australia

Our first liveaboard

The whole experience was outstanding. Definitely recommend this to others

Recommended for: Great diving, fantastic crew, delicious food

10 Exceptional
Marie-Pier B
Canada

Amazing

Everything was well organized and the staff was amazing. I had the best time on that trip

Recommended for: The staff, the dives, the food

9.6 Exceptional
Jan N
Netherlands

Live event! liveAboard Spirit of Freedom

All dives were splendid!

Recommended for: Dive locations, Overal safety, Quality food

10 Exceptional
Kareem S
Canada

Only thing better than the food was the diving!

The staff on board took care of absolutely every last detail, whether a cable for charging a phone up to making sure we got everything we could out of every dive we took. The boat itself was super clean and very well prepared. Finally, and most incredible, the food was absolutely amazing. I've eaten in many restaurants on land that couldn't hold a candle to what Chef prepared for us every meal. Definitely recommended!

Recommended for: Amazing dives, excellent food, fantastic staff!

8.8 Fabulous
Brenton S
Australia

Fantastic experience.

We are advanced open water divers but dive at best once a year so we can be a little rusty. Whilst all the crew were great , our special thanks go to Jarred who was very patient, helpful and professional. Nothing was too much trouble and he made our experience an absolute delight. Brenton and Lyn SCOTT

Recommended for: Great sites, friendly people, great weather.

8.8 Fabulous
Ellie D
United Kingdom

Incredible diving on the Great Barrier Reef!

Fantastic dive locations on the Ribbon reefs and out in Osprey, exploratory dives, live drops... the diving was fantastic! Everything delivered with charm and underpinned by safety. Hostesses and food superb and boat comfortable for divers with lots of space to relax. I can't wait to go back to explore more of the GBR with the Spirit of Freedom crew!

Recommended for: Crew, food, and dive sites

10 Exceptional
Jennifer V
Canada

A Great Experience For Our First Liveboard

This being our first Liveaboard, we weren’t sure what to expect but boy were we impressed. Our Trip Director James did an amazing job with clear dive briefings and ensured all of our needs and concerns were met. Mish, the Master Reef Guide was great making sure we we got the most out of each dive site and kept things fun and relaxed. Antonia, Jarryd, and Brad kept a close watch on all our dives with safety being top priority. Anne, the “Hostie with the mostie” kept a close eye and made sure we had everything we needed. Chef Giovanni prepared delicious meals and kept the food coming all day long. First mate Carina and 2nd mate Ben worked hard keeping the ship running smoothly and securing each dive site. And last but not least, Captain Tony Oversaw the whole show and brought us back to shore safely smiling all the way. The crew worked together seamlessly making this an experience to remember. Highlights for sure were Cod Hole and the night dive. We highly recommend the Spirit of Freedom. Hope to get the chance to cruise with them again. Marc & Jen Veno Cruise date: February 24-27, 2020

Recommended for: 1. Attention to safety. 2. Attentiveness of the crew. 3. Lots of diving.

10 Exceptional
Peter F
Australia

Wow... just wow

The crew were exceptional, the diving was amazing, the knowledge and experience of the guides were second to none and the meals were seriously 5 star, wow... just wow, a must for any diver

Recommended for: The diving, the crew and the food

10 Exceptional
Santiago J
Argentina

Amazing Dive trip

The experience of being on a trip just for diving. I gained a lot of experience!

Recommended for: Dive, meals & sleep

10 Exceptional
Matthew H
United Kingdom

Great crew and good diving

- flight to lizard island (especially as a cyclone threatened) - the great lengths that the crew went to to find dive spots when usual schedule was disrupted by weather - great dives - being well away from the corona virus madness

Recommended for: Crew attitude, help on the dive deck, boat generally

10 Exceptional
Michael F
Austria

Spirit of Freedom amazes in every aspect

Watching the feeding session of the potato cod. Interesting and professional dive briefings.

Recommended for: The crew, the dive sites, and the food.

7.2 Good
Chris B
Australia

Overpriced

I had low expectations, I just wanted a cruisy dive trip. Having worked these same dives as a DM in the 90s, I was familiar with the Diving culture out of Cairns, and the boat operating style. If you are an advanced OW diver, with limited exposure to the barrier reef, travelling with partner or similar friends, this trip is for you. If you are a couple, who dive occasionally, and want an easy dive holiday. Likewise. If you have more than 500 dives, a DM, tech or have dived througout Asia, in varied conditions, and you want adventure in the outer reef. Hold your money. Post Covid, boats are struggling to find dive crew, and boat crew. So, the crew is a mix of old, 2-4 yr on boat, and new staff, less than 6 months. Young and enthusiastic they are, as most 20 somethings tend to be. But the dives here, are planned based on the weakest group, ie. The advanced OW travellers. So, no decent drift dives were included, despite available current. My buddy from our DM group was sent back to the boat, by the dive leader, with 70 bar at 40 mins into his dive, as a french Navy Diver, he wasn't happy. So, check your expectations. Crew smoking onboard, in sight of customers, was noted. Ashtrays available for divers? Was weird. The Skipper was seen yelling at the new crew as they struggled to secure the tender. All these observations are the post Covid pains of coming back upto speed. Personally, I think its lack of leadership, at the dive crew level. And a lack of seniority outside of the skipper. This isn't a backpacker boat, at over 3k per trip. Rating 7/10 for inwater experience. 8/10 for food. Lots of cafe quality food, needs more fish. Wine selection 5/10. Its table wine, bring your own if you like good wine. Would I reccomend it? As above, for easy diving yes. For adventure style diving on one of the best reefs in the world, look elsewhere.

Recommended for: The onsuite shower, food was better than day boats, although a lack of fish and seafood. The backdeck was spacious, crew friendly though inexperienced.

9.6 Exceptional
Lindy O
Australia

We loved it, great service, great staff, great food, thoroughly enjoyed the diving.

The experience of the staff, particularly the Captain meant we got to dive the not so Far North Queensland reefs, when the options for Osprey were not possible due to the strong winds forecast. The staff made the most of the situation and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience .

Recommended for: Great service, staff and food.

8.4 Very good
Amie J
Australia

Loved it

Loved the whole trip. The staff were friendly and the food was amazing. I'll be back to complete the second leg of the trip.

Recommended for: Food, diving and lizard island trip

3.6 Review score
Caroline D
France

Too expensive for what you get

Many beautiful reefs. The boat is ok, even if the cabins doesn't have windows and the uppercut deck isnt very pleasant (lack of sunbeds, no cushions, engine noise). Concerning diving, doing 15 dives in 4 days, without any proper dive planning, without setting up guidelines about the max debt and max time under water isnt very professional in my opinion. We were an experienced divers group, i would not recommend this trip to unexperienced divers. Also, the staff didnt want to guide the dives so we didnt spot much creatures under water nor learnt much about the underwater life over there. Taking into account the very expensive price, I think it is disappointing.

Recommended for: 1. We go far so we are alone on the reefs, 2/ the dive gear is brand new and the staff help with everything from preparing tanks to clearing masks 3/ it was well organised

9.2 Superb
Marcus G
Germany

Best way to experience the great barrier reef

Potato Cod Attraction Sharknado Night dives with sharks

Recommended for: Sharks, sharks, sharks

8.8 Fabulous
Marlen S
Switzerland

Excellent tour with professional, friendly staff!

Very fishy places and healthy Reefs.

Recommended for: Healty Reefs, delicouse Meals, cool Buddy divers snd Crew

8.4 Very good
mark K
Canada

Good Diving experience but expected more for some reason!

Shark Feed was definately the best part. As for the rest it was just ok. I guess I was expecting much better visibility. That is not Spirit of Freedoms Fault at all. It was just expectations were so high for the great barrier reef that it ended up just being ok. I've been on other dive trips where my expectations were blown away but thats maybe because my expectations were not as high as the great barrier reef. The Spirit of Freedom itself was ok.....not a brand new boat by any means but it was clean and efficient for the purpose of the trip. Just an ok trip overall!!!

Recommended for: Staff, Some of the Dive sites, Food

9.2 Superb
ben Y
United Kingdom

Fantastic week out diving

Saw Manta Rays Shark feed Cod feed

Recommended for: The Crew, the food and the diving

9.2 Superb
Gabriel R
Argentina

Great Liveaboard

Great liveaboard !!! Incredible dive sites, lots of fishes, caves and more. Visibility was great in the sites of the 4 night trip. Shark feeding dive was amazing !!! The food on the boat was really good too.

Recommended for: Dive sites, crew, food

9.2 Superb
Anthony B
Australia

Exceptional, very pleased to have chosen SoF

Selection of dive sites and proficiency of the crew in both diving operations and accommodation/service operations

Recommended for: Crew's proficiency and seamless operational efficiency, selection of dive sites, friendly attitude of all the crew

8.0 Very good
Gary V
United Kingdom

Friendly and professional crew

Positives: Some fabulous dive sites some of which are being added to my top twenty all time best. Great crew, helpful and friendly in the utmost. Well organised and professionally managed dives with top notch support above and below water. Food was brilliant; expertly produced and plentiful. 24/7 complimentary coffee and biscuits. Cabins were clean and in good decorative order. Everything on this boat works. Negatives: Not enough fill lines. The boat fills both air and nitrox and I think there were about three or four whips for each gas, one to each line of dive tanks as opposed to one for each tank which I had on my last liveaboard. This means fast fills and a drop of pressure in the tank of around 20bar per fill which had to be topped up each time if you asked. Min guaranteed fill was supposed to be 200bar, most were around 210 after top up and around 190 or 180 without a top up. Not a major problem but I feel that the owners of the boat could improve this. The only other negative (if indeed it is a negative) is that we hit a couple of the sites twice (as on going back second half of the week). In my niavity I had imagined thousands of dive sites on a reef so large but it seems that the sites are quite limited (by availability of moorings, wind direction etc). Small amount of frustration at not being able to see more different sites in the seven days. Would I go again knowing what I know.......... Yes absolutely.

Recommended for: The dive sites; The crew and the food

8.8 Fabulous
Pieter S
South Africa

Bucket list diving experience.

Spirit of Freedom a comfortable dive boat.Staff is just BRILLIANT!Food was excellent.The visibility of dives spoiled a bit due to the rain season,crew did their best to find a variety of dive sites,night diving was out of this world.

Recommended for: Amazing staff, 5 star chef,outer Great Barrier Reef diving.

10 Exceptional
Jill M
United Kingdom

Great diving experience made very easy by the great crew who were always helpful

Two Towers, Monolith and Vertical Garens .The corals and fishies The flight back from Lizard Island was great fun too, oh and the food was excellent also. The house staff were great

Recommended for: The dive managment was good especially as due to weather conditions some sites had to be altered from usual and Skipper had to do some great mooring to get us to the sweet spot., Dive staff really helpful when needed.

10 Exceptional
Joanna B
Australia

Trip of a lifetime!

We got to dive some of the most remote seamounts due to the glassy sea conditions! I felt very lucky. The real highlight though was the crew, who clearly loved their work and made us all feel happy and welcome with big smiles and remembering our names. Best service ever!

Recommended for: Crew, weather, divesites

Spirit of Freedom, Australia

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2023

2024

2025

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Diving

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Drawings & Vessel Layouts

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Ocean View Deluxe Cabin

Ocean View Standard Cabin

Stateroom

Standard Double/Twin Share Cabin

Quad Share

Standard Double Cabin

Standard Twin Cabin

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Spirit of Freedom Reviews

Awesome experience!

Amazing Dive Trip

Unforgettable experience, and I would definitely do it again!

Trip of a Lifetime

Fantastic time with great crew

Amazing experience

Best Dive Trip Ever

Amazing Experience

Amazing

Very enjoyable

Best Part of Our Trip

very good experience, diving at osprey reef was fantastic

Would do again

Amazing

Excellent, friendly, professional service

The BEST diving experience; my whole family loved it!

I loved it!

fantastic experience, look forward to the next one

Great,safe diving in a friendly environment with off the chart food

The crew was amazing, the food spectacular and amazing dives

Great Barrier Reef Trip

Fabulous diving with a wonderful crew that exceeded my expectations

Not sure I would be satisfied with anything else.

An amazing 4 days!

Amazing

Spirit of Freedom

Education, support, excellent food, superb crew, expert trip management

An amazing trip on the great barrier reef!

Excellent experience and wonderful staff

A great option for a short trip to dive the reef

Best way to experience the GBR/coral sea

Great dive trip

Can't ask for a better diving experience

Amazing diving on a comfortable boat with a great crew!

Phenomenal!

Some great dives, awesome food, a few things missing for us

Wonderful!

Best dives I’ve ever done.

Fantastic trip that truly maximized our time on the GBR

Unforgettable Four Day Coral Sea Liveaboard

Great Experience

Great diving and relaxed atmosphere

Good service

Wonderful!!!

Overall, great satisfaction both on diving and on the life aboard.

A wonderful trip

Friendly crew and awesome dive spots

Serviço exemplar

Fantastic experience.

A childhood dream realised.

Fun, safe and adventurous

Phenomenal trip to an incredibly remote area - amazing to be the first to dive such amazing sites.

Extraordinary Dive Expedition to the Far North

Highly recommend - absolutely perfect experience

The best liveaboard ever great quality all the trip!

Fabulous dive trip!

Brilliant all round experience, and I have experienced 10 different boats.

i was 1 week and everything was very good: security, Foods, Guides, crew service

Outstanding experience during rough seas, dive team showed 1st class leadership, we will book again!!