Ocean Quest Liveaboard, Australia
8.9 Fabulous - Nitrox available
- En-Suite bathrooms
- Aircon Cabins
“Amazing experience with an amazing crew. ”
Highlights
The OceanQuest Liveaboard is a 36m Catamaran offering year-round diving trips to Australia's magnificent Outer Great Barrier Reef. The OceanQuest liveaboard is permanently moored at the Outer Reef, and guests are transferred by fast boat from Cairns.
The OceanQuest liveaboard was refurbished in 2017 and has 22 cabins, each with an en-suite bathroom, air conditioning, and a TV. Each cabin has either two single beds or two single bunk beds. Split over 3 decks, the OceanQuest liveaboard offers plenty of space for relaxing after a full day of diving. There is a large air-conditioned lounge, a well-stocked bar area with an entertainment system, and a spacious dining room. The sun decks are perfect for sunbathing between dives in the warm Australian sun. The OceanQuest team provides 3 meals per day, served buffet style in the large dining area.
There is something for everyone with the OceanQuest liveaboard, with options for certified divers, introductory divers, and snorkelers. Guests can explore numerous outer Great Barrier Reef dive sites with OceanQuest and enjoy up to four dives a day; 3 daytime and 1 nighttime dive. Non-diving guests are also welcome aboard.
Please be aware that the dives are self-guided; however, for solo travelers, the crew will be more than happy to assist in pairing you with a dive buddy or a dive group. Rest assured, there is always a dedicated supervisor on board and a vigilant lookout on the deck during in-water activities. If you wish to opt for a guided dive experience, you can reserve this service on the day and overnight trips, priced at 20 AUD per person per dive. In cases where your certification or a medical condition necessitates supervised diving, it is mandatory to partake in dives accompanied by a guide.
OceanQuest liveaboard divers can experience the Great Barrier Reef at night in a new way with Fluoro Night Diving. This incredible dive uses specialist torches and mask filters to bring the reef to life in an array of fluorescent colors (extra charge applies). Nightly Shark In The Dark dives offer the chance to jump in and see the Great Barrier Reef sharks at night. Whale fans can join an OceanQuest liveaboard ‘Meet The Minke’ whale diving safari (available in June and July).
Book your Outer Great Barrier Reef Dive adventure today.
Choose your departure date
Included: VAT, Hotel Transfer, Drinking Water, Tea & Coffee, Full-Board Meal Plan (All meals), Diving Package, Rental Gear.
Required Extras: Port Fees (20 AUD per day).
Optional Extras: Gratuities, Airport Transfer, Alcoholic Beverages, Soft drinks, Snacks, Nitrox, Nitrox Course (325 AUD per activity), Private Dive Guide (750 AUD per activity), Scuba Diving Courses (335 AUD per activity).
Book now, pay later: You can easily place your booking online. We will then hold the spaces for you and you can confirm with a payment later.
* Extra fees are shown per person.
Pay by bank transfer or online with
Cabin Types
Ocean Quest Reviews
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- 8.9 Fabulous
- Vessel 8.7
- Crew 8.4
- Food 9.5
- Diving 9.1
- Value 9.1
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- 8.0 Very good
- Anna L
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United States
This was good way to get out on the Great Barrier Reef with flexible dates.
I booked this trip because I was traveling in the area and couldn't find any other liveaboards that worked for the amount of time I had. I had pretty modest expectations and mostly just wanted to get out on the reef and experience it. I found the diving good but not spectacular and the boat and dive deck a little too large for my taste. If I were to go back to dive the GBR I personally would go for a smaller boat that goes out further, but I'm still glad I did this trip. Definitely a good experience for a first liveaboard and for newer divers.
- Recommended for
- Diving the GBR. Flexible dates. Space.
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- 10 Exceptional
- Andrew O
- United States
Great diving trip
A wonderful trip and wonderful crew. Very professional and well organised.
- Recommended for
- Felix. Service. The boat.
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- 10 Exceptional
- Russell H
- United States
Great 1-night liveaboard.
We had a wonderful trip despite the very windy and choppy conditions. The crew was delightful and always available to help.
- Recommended for
- The Crew who were fantastic and very helpful. Clarity of information and instruction.. The food!.
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- 10 Exceptional
- Mary M
- United States
Fantastic way to experience the great barrier reef! Highly, highly recommend.
We were not sure what to expect from this type of "budget "experience. It turned out that it didn't really feel like a budget experience at all. The crew were knowledgeable and friendly, service was great, experience was wonderful with literally no problems. Would highly recommend anybody!
- Recommended for
- Crew - fun, friendly, helpful. Experience -meals cabins great value. Logistics 100% taken care of.
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- 7.2 Good
- Ashley G
- United States
Good value for money but very basic.
Ok trip. Good value for the money. Guided dives were $20 AUD each dive. Had to transfer from one boat to another. I would have rather settled all my stuff in the room rather than having to transfer. Didn’t really get any information on what to bring from the operator so was surprised when a towel and shampoo/conditioner/body wash wasn’t included. Not a lot of places to sit on the deck only 1 chair for 40+ people. Food was ok. Coffee was instand coffee.
- Recommended for
- Dives. Dives. Dives.
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- 6.8 Review score
- Sandra H
- United States
Awesome diving experience!
Just finished a dive trip on Ocean Quest. Strengths: The diving was outstanding; second to none. Gorgeous fish and coral. Two beautiful encounters with Minke Whales. The dive guides were excellent—very helpful. Very knowledgable and provided very good care. (Yay, Johnnie!) Weaknesses: We only got one bath towel for the week. It was wet from day one on and never did dry the entire week as the air conditioner was kept at 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The boat was exceptionally cold (miserable) all week, and many divers wore sweaters and winter coats between dives. I felt that the boat was kept unreasonably cold and with only one wet towel for the week, we never could get warm and dry. I am leaving with a very bad cold. My window did leak onto my bed due to all the rain, but the staff promptly addressed the situation both times. In all, I would do it again for the diving, but I would bring lots of dry towels and a warm winter coat—NOT just a big sweatshirt.
- Recommended for
- Diving the GBR was awesome!. Dive crew was capable and caring’. The Minke Whales!.
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- 10 Exceptional
- Vanessa L
- United States
Great experience
This was our first liveaboard experience, and we had a fantastic time. We only did 2 nights but we wished we did more. The staff were very helpful, the whole experience was very organized which made it easy, the equipment was in good condition, and the diving conditions were awesome.
- Recommended for
- Great diving conditions and equipment. Good organization and support from the staff. Food was actually decent, surprisingly.
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- 9.6 Exceptional
- Greg S
- United States
Great diving and crew
Driving was great only thing was diving so soon after a meal was a little concerning. Crew and guides were very respectful and helpful.
- Recommended for
- Great dives. Crew very helpful with my disabled wife. All crew were friendly and helpful.
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- 8.0 Very good
- Catherine D
- United States
Loved the crew, dives, and divers I met. Did not care for the facilities of the boat nor the dive gear
This was my first liveaboard so I didn’t know what to expect other than the dive itinerary. We were picked up from our hotel and then shuttled to the docks onto a boat called Sea Quest. We did 2 dives from this boat. Then we were picked up by ocean quest. We were given our room assignments which I believe I paid for a queen or full but instead got a 2 twin bed room. The bathroom was pretty minimal and not much to speak of. We had 2 towels, one for each of us, and 1 floor towel. We all walked barefoot which I personally was not a fan of but my husband loved that. It gets stinky very fast because most of us are walking around with sea water dripping even though we tried to towel off before going inside the cabins. The food was ok, one night we had rice with curry and the rice was not cooked well at all, it was crunchy but the chef made lots of good desserts. We had fruit, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and 3 types of milks available at anytime which was nice. If you wanted soda you had to go up to the bar and buy it. We also did not have any WiFi on the boat which sucked because it made it hard to edit our dive media. Loved having 4 dives a day, never dove deeper than 19 meters. I did have a good time though because of the people and crew who made it enjoyable. I wish I brought my own gear because it is standard scuba pro vest inflate gear with no integrated weights which means weight belt.
- Recommended for
- The dive sites. The whole crew. The people.
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- 9.2 Superb
- Steven V
- United States
Great liveaboard for those newer to diving at a great price point. Would definitely book again!
Great diving and wonderful crew. Would definitely book again. Well organized and efficient diving operations. Cabin bathrooms are a bit dated and could use a refresh. Better diving gear storage on the dive deck for those who have their own gear. Beer options could improve, 2 beers/2 ciders available. But not a big deal because it's a dive boat, not a party boat. Overall, met expectations and beyond for the price point.
- Recommended for
- Great diving. Amazing crew/staff. Well organized and safe dive operations.
