Spoilsport

The Gold Standard in Liveaboards In all honesty, even with 80+ dives and a Rescue Diver certification, the idea of 8 days on a liveaboard w/ a significant number of unguided buddy dives seemed overwhelming to say the least. But, from the very first moment I stepped on SpoilSport, Marita and her band of aquatic miscreants (intended in the kindest possible manner) made things seem far more adventurous and infinitely less chaotic. Ultimately, having spent seven days on a single liveaboard, I am by no means an authority, but I would still argue the SpoilSport is the gold standard for what is to come. From the logistics, to the food, to even the most finite of details, absolutely everything was considered and addressed. From the insane and infinitely hearty meals, to the staff who were incredibly attentive and kind, every last detail felt dive boat luxurious. In the end, after eight days, I felt even a small bit like family, and, truthfully, what else could you possibly ask for? Marita, Pablo, Fernanda, Ryan, Augustina, Fujiya, Amber, and absolutely everyone else on board have my lifelong love and thankfulness. I cannot wait to book my next adventure.

The best way to dive the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef Couldn't have asked for a better experience in the Coral Sea and on the Great Barrier Reef. The dive guides were knowledgeable, helpful, friendly, and safe. Food was excellent. Rooms comfortable. Sun deck was a great place to relax when we weren't diving, eating, or sleeping. Everything about the trip was top notch. Can't recommend it highly enough.

Poor office reception check-in but fantastic dive boat experience that ticked all the boxes This review is from a 72-YO experienced southern Australia diver with over 3,000 dives to his name.
Without berating the boat, it's wonderful crew and excellent dive procedures and protocol, I found the MIke Ball office check in to be nothing less than obscene. I had just driven from Melbourne to Cairns and had got up at 5.00 am from my last hotel overnight stop in Conjuboy QLD and driven 4-hours to Mike Balls office in Cairns. Upon arrival, I asked to use the toilet but was refused access and was told to hoof it by foot to the local shopping centre and find some rest-rooms in that complex. I was informed that the toilets in the office were only for staff and not the public. I had just forked out close to $8,000 for the dive trip for myself and my daughter and I found the check in staffs attitude most repugnant!
Anyway, the poor service at check in was quickly dispelled once I was on the boat where the crew could not be more helpful. Once comment I must make is about the onboard intro speech that was grossly overdone and anyone with with poor hearing such as me (or anyone with a poor comprehension of English language) would struggle to fully understand the excessive gatling gun style commentary that we all found to be excessive.
The food that was served up was awesome, plentiful and not repetitious but meal call was a little unusual. All the food is laid out at the tables then a gong is rung for people to start eating. The problem was that hot food placed on the tables would go cold before it was released for consumption. A few of us got reprimanded for starting to eat before the gong was struck. I also copped a reprimand for entering the dining room without wearing a shirt at lunch time to get a drink. I didn't know the rule as I couldn't hear all the verbal diarrhea at the intro speech and there was no sign displayed saying "no shirt / no entry" on the dining room door. My daughter also got a reprimand for trying to purchase an alcoholic beverage before 4.30 pm (she's ended her dives for the day) even though the door sign said bar opens at 4.00 pm every day? .. just a couple of quirky rules / policies / contradictions that aggravated us.
As for the diving briefings /procedures and dive quality, absolutely first class! the dive boat anchors up away from the reef edge and two tenders are deployed to place a shotline right at the reef's edge. Two mermaid lines are than run from the dive boat to the shot line marker buoy. Divers are then instructed to leap from the dive boat into the sea and haul themselves along the mermaid line to the shot line marker buoy and commence the dive. Yes, you had to be wary of the tide direction which was fully explained and shown on a whiteboard at the dive briefing and yes you had to be able to use your compass and yes you had to monitor your tank contents so that you knew when to turn-around and come back to the shot line but this is all part of your diver training and if your not up to it, you probably should reassess if the boat is for you but my daughter and I found the procedures really refreshing compared to some gestapo type procedures that we'd come across on other commercial dive boats Luckily, the water was crystal clear for the 7-days we dived so with water visibility of over 30-m, finding our way back to the shot-line was not hit and miss job. Mike Ball also clips a GPS tracker onto every diver and gives excellent instruction on how to use it so if you surface any distance from the boat or find yourself downstream in the current, all you need to do is activate the GPS and a tender will come and collect you. Nobody on our dive trip required the "taxi".
All dives were great, even for a 3,000 + diver but I am still unsure about the shark dive. Yes, it gave great encounter with these magnificent top end predators and it was safely executed BUT I personally have a problem with baiting sharks to get them into close proximity to divers. Back home we have the ever lurking Great Whites and Bronze Whalers in the back of our mind. These fish are not to be messed with and excited with bait and we certainly don't encourage them to come near us. Whilst Mike Ball's crew play around with mostly small reefies and greys, one day a large Tiger Shark, Hammerhead or dangerous Bull Shark will enter the fray and the dive could become lethal.
One comment on the twin share room - absolutely wonderful! - Beds were suitably spaced, ensuite toilet and shower was great and there was adequate storage shelves and cupboard for personal belongings. The daughter (40-YO) and I had no trouble co-existing in the cabin but of course she did complain from time to time such is the nature of females!
Overall rating: Food 10/10, Diving and procedures 10/10, staff assistance and friendliness 10.5/10, on-shore office 0/10.