Mike Ball Dive Expeditions

Exceptionally well run 5 night Coral Sea and Cod Hole dive trip. Boat is well setup and photographers well catered for both onboard and time in the water. Staff were attentive, friendly and the food great with good variety and dietary needs catered for.Diving was amazing - Osprey 40+m vis, lots of colour, and shark feeding was a buzz.Ribbon reef's had quite diverse corals and fish. Whale shark even turned up. Steve's bombie and Crackerjack amazing.Cod at the Cod Hole was huge and very friendly.We will be back.

I had an excellent liveaboard expedition on the Spoilsport, travelling out to the Coral Sea. The staff were very friendly, and knowledgeable. They managed the risks of diving on coral reefs very well. I dived 13 dives over 3 days and at no time did I feel that I was being put at risk or that there were any problems. Very professional organization, good communications. Excellent food on board the Spoilsport as well. I was very pleased to be on this trip, and would definitely consider Mike Ball Dive Expeditions for a future liveaboard dive trip.

An absolutely incredible experience (3 night cod hole).Check-in at 7 at the office was simple; we dropped off our scuba gear and clothing bags, waited for everyone else to arrive and then headed to the airport.At the airport, we were weighed with our carry on luggage (don't need any, it goes in the plane wing) and given a map of the route and dive sites. We were given a general dive/safety briefing and headed to the 2 planes. Trip to lizard island was ~1hour. It was loud, but bearable. It is a low level reef flight so you see many reefs (great pictures!).When we arrived, we were transported on 2 small dinghy boats to the Spoilsport. Once on board, we met the the crew and the 7-night members. We were given a briefing about the boat and what the trip would be like.Diving:Spectacular. Favourite spot was Steve's Bommie. At various the dive sites, you will likely see all sorts of creatures and coral, including clown fish, reef sharks, octopi, turtles, sea snakes, lion fish, etc. Although the coral was damaged and dead in some areas, this is not the fault of MBDE (and to be expected... go watch Chasing Coral).The dive briefs were great, no doubt due to our wonderful trip director Kerrin. He explained (and drew out) the site and all crucial information, common locations animals, and currents. Kerrin also made sure everyone had a buddy, and if they didn't he helped find them one. He also stated when he and the other instructors would be diving and ask if anyone wanted to join a guided dive. Jelle, Olly, and Callum were all wonderful dive instructors and very entertaining. They were fun in and out of the water. They made the trip awesome and memorable!We brought our own gear, so cannot comment on the rented gear. I did buy dive socks for $20 onboard which made a HUGE difference in foot warmth, and ease of putting on my wetsuit and boots. Isobel, the host, was great in this regard, as she helped me try multiple pairs on, gave her recommendations and advice. She also did the same when my boyfriend and another passenger wanted to buy a pair for themselves.Food:The food was absolutely outstanding. You can see the menu on the website, but it does not do the food justice. There are delicious baked goods for afternoon snacks and the desserts (especially rose ice cream) were to die for. The chefs Thomas and Celia did an absolutely outstanding job, and I am a picky eater! If you don't like certain things, there will always be many options so you won't go hungry. Also, the coffee/cappuccino machine has over 10 hot drink options available at any time - it was great! Although the dinners were sometimes late (around 8pm), this is to accommodate the night divers which I understand.The Boat:The boat was lovely and huge. We went with the club room to have our own bathroom, which was a good idea. If I were to do the trip again, I would upgrade to the room without bunkbeds but that's a personal preference. Although we did not see Russel (Captain), Brendon (Trainee) or Richard (Engineer) too much, they were all friendly and approachable and helped when an outlet wasn't working.Extras:Trent (1st mate) and Tom & Alek (volunteers) were all great. Tom was especially helpful when I felt sea sick the first day (he brought me water, crackers, and was friendly/supportive). They also all added humour to the trip.Gary, the cameraman, was also great. I think he should explain at the start of the trip how the picture/video pricing works ($80 for all the pictures on a USB) because we would have dove near him more to be in more than 1 picture. We still bought the pics/video because they were outstanding and a great souvenir. He was also very friendly and his reef talk was very informative/interesting!Kerrin's wake up call and dive brief songs were AWESOME. He was seriously one of the best/my favourite parts of the whole trip. So so so fun and friendly and wonderful!!ALL IN ALL AN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING EXPERIENCE. I'd do it again if I wasn't 15,000 km away!!!

Absolutely excellent trip! The Mike Ball team are all fabulous - they make the trip both laid back and enjoyable, but are also top notch when it comes to safety and technical stuff. Kerren the trip director in particular was terrific. He ran great briefings every day on each dive and the general 'goings on' of the trip. The food was really great - (well done Nat). Thanks to Camille for my Nitrox course - great instructor. I'll be back soon!!

Truly amazing liveaboard experience! Had the time of my life! Beautiful diving, wonderful crew, and delicious food!

A Live AboardPay a group of scuba diving experts and a massive yacht crew to take you on week long tour of the most amazing coral reefs in the world and see if that'll change you perspective on life. I never knew this existed until talking to scuba junkies on a trip before this. Live on a yacht for a week and dive all day as they cruise around the Coral Sea in the the Great Barrier Reef. Everything from night dives, drift dives, deep dives, wreck dives, shark feeding dives, and wall diving, all in one day sometimes. You can dive up to 5 times a day or not dive at all if you want to just live aboard and enjoy wine and food cooked for you as you float thru the most amazing waters of the Great Barrier Reef.The yacht is fully equipped to accommodate about 20 guests (not including crew) to dive, sleep, drink, and eat for a week. Meet the most amazing and interesting people from all over the world on this boat. Make sure to bring your wallet, it'll cost you about a cool $2k for a 4 night trip on this baby.Shark Week For Reals.The best dive was the shark feed. Enter an underwater natural amphitheater where divers can sit along rock side formations just like tiered seating in a stadium. Set in the middle is even a rock formation of a stage. A large trash can filled with frozen fish heads opens up for hundreds of sharks in the area to come feed. Watch your heads, it's about to go down.Make sure you take that Dramamine if you get motion sickness.

An awesome experience that is hard to match!We have been on two expeditions with Mike Ball and have made it out to Holmes, Bougainville and Osprey reefs offshore in the Coral sea as well as the ribbon reefs and cod hole.The diving is second to none and caters primarily for experienced divers. The crew are highly trained and the entire boat is usually full of interesting people!The food is also to die for and they cater excellently for dietary requirements.

Spectacular live aboard diving experience all around. First time doing a live aboard and first time diving at the Great Barrier Reef, and all expectations far surpassed! I was particularly impressed with the friendliness and helpfulness of the crew (they took care of everything with a smile) and especially the food, which was really good. The long dive trip also gets to go out to some of the further spots that you won't do on a day trip. Highly recommend the professionalism and customer care of Mike Ball!

We went for the 4night coral sea expedition and it was absolutely beyond our expectation!Vessel: this tween-hulled vessel is extremely well-maintained. We stayed in the premium queen cabin which was clean and spacious. The view from windows was so beautiful. There are plenty of space for guests to hang around - both AC indoors and warm outdoor area!Diving: we were lucky enough to follow the proposed itinerary and sailed all the way to osprey reef. We had 70+ meters visibility at Admiralty Anchor which was UNREAL!!! The water was so pristine and full of marine life!! The shark feed at North horn was also very exciting and worth a life-time memory. We did 12 dives in total.Food: three meals a day plus continental breakfast (before cooked brekkie) and afternoon tea were all carefully prepared and offered a range of variety. We were so grateful for such good food on the ocean. There is even a coffee machine which you can help yourself for free!Dive/safety briefing: Kristy was super precessional and made sure instructions were accurate and clear. Love the drawing on the whiteboard before each dive!Other highlights: the complimentary photos and videos were of extremely high quality (we can’t believe this is the standard of free stuff). Ship shop offered lots of souvenirs to choose from. The boat party during the last night on board was super fun!!Overall: the whole trip was highly organized thanks to a wonderful crew. Will definitely come back for other trips with Mike Ball.

Went on the 5 night/ 4 day outer reef & cod hole Great Barrier Reef dive. Went on 18 amazing dives & had a great time. Saw beautiful sea life and coral.The crew were fantastic and top notch! And so was the food!Look forward to diving again with Spoilsport!