My first liveaboard experience

I have looked at joining the Infiniti liveaboard with skepticism. Don’t get me wrong, I love diving and could be diving all day. But being on a boat in the middle of nowhere just diving the whole time? I was not so sure about that.

I took all my skepticism aside and decided to join the Infiniti Liveaboard on an 8 days experience to the remote Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in the Sulu Sea, west of Palawan, Philippines.

Infiniti Liveaboard

The Infiniti is a 39 meters long custom-made steel vessel that was specially designed for the liveaboard experience. And what an incredible experience it provided.

The rooms are modern and spacious but forget about the rooms. Despite providing a silent place to rest, I did not spend much time there apart from sleeping and morning routines. The boat is as such as it gathers together the divers in the common areas such as one of the four decks. My go-to place was the sun deck on top of the boat as it offered an amazing 360 view of the ocean and a shaded area; the best place to relax and share stories about the dives we came from.

Birds of the same feather

It turns out that there were loads to share on that trip; and who else to share it with than like-minded ocean addicts.

Getting to know everyone was easy and very enjoyable as we all shared a common passion, diving! We had on that trip, divers from Australia, Korea, America, Netherlands, Russia and, of course, Mauritius. As it goes, the evenings around the dining table were colored by sharing everyone’s footage of their dive experiences from before.

The atmosphere was great and the excitement was even greater. The camaraderie was mixed with fun competitivity as to which group would go first the next day and their chances of seeing something mindblowing before everyone else! We were all after the whale shark and the tiger shark.

After just a day or two, it really felt like a big family trip filled with joy, friendship and the odd competitive smirk from another dive group.

The crew

It’s hard to talk about the crew. To tell you the truth, it did not feel like we had a separate team there looking after us; but more like friends being there helping and guiding us throughout the trip.

I had a great time with my divemaster. He was very knowledgeable and fun, allowing us to plan ‘schemes’ as to how to plan a dive that would allow us to be on our own with big pelagics. At the same time, once in the water, his eyes were sharp and he pointed left and right at macro life and then up a big passing by dogtooth tunas.

And how can I not mention the chef! It was nice to discuss different cuisines and tastes. Coming from a dive and walking in the dining area, you could see the excitement on his face; he made something special! From the awesome peanut butter and banana smoothies to authentic Filipino cuisine with a dash of whatever would tingle his mind based on the conversation, we had the night before.

Diving

Diving with the Infinity Liveaboard crew made getting in and out of the water a true bliss. The lower deck offered ample space to get my gear on and off. The crew also made sure that everything was going smoothly and assisted you in getting on and off the dingy.

While all wet gears are kept on the lower deck, the ‘geek’ area was super cool. All underwater photographers and videographers would set up all their gears and talk about cameras and casing; from GoPros to the latest underwater camera, it was like having live debates on what would be our next purchase.

Should you go?

That’s a definitive YES!

The Infiniti Liveaboard really made a difference for me when it comes to diving and exploring. I really look forward to another adventure with them.

So put all your skepticism aside and like me, jump right in for the experience of a lifetime.

Love marine mammals? Check out my post The Hidden Cost of a Selfie.