Sea Hunter Liveaboard

We had an amazing trip to Cocos Island on Sea Hunter. The ship was well equipped and set up nicely for diving. And the skiffs are larger than your typical zodiac, which was really nice when the seas were choppy. The boat was spacious and the cabins were small, but that was expected on this type of trip. The food was delicious! And the staff were all awesome. The captain and crew were all very nice and worked hard. The divemasters were incredible as well. They were very knowledgeable and we had lots of fun. The marine life was definitely some of the best I've ever seen. Tons of sharks, fish, rays, octopus, dolphins, eels... the list goes on and on.

Incredible dive trip. Best guess is that we saw hammerheads on 70% of the dives. Also saw tigers (2x), Galapagos (several), silvertips and whitetips. A friendly manta showed up on 4-5 dives and we were blessed with dolphins at the end of one dive. There were several bait ball occurrences as well which were beautiful. Finally, marbled rays were prevalent and a joy to see. This is the best diving I’ve done over 25 years where I felt that nearly every dive had something fun. I will go back, and I will go with Sea Hunter. The following items were particular highlights for Sea Hunter: - DMs, DMs, DMs!!! Juan Miguel and Ian were attentive, informative and above all PURE FUN. Their passion for diving and ensuring that guests had a great time was obvious. I can’t say enough about them. - Most dives were planned to begin around cleaning stations. If there was not enough activity then we would either explore around the coral/landmass or head out into the blue as a group. VERY often the blue experiences were wonderful as these included walls of hammerheads and/or mantas to end the dives. - The ship used two hard shelled pagodas to ferry groups to/from the dive sites. These were speedy to most sites and easy to enter/exit. They also had canvass roofs which provided a little protection. - I had expected there to be no coral and while the coral wasn’t a focal point there was some and subsequently some non pelagic enjoyment as well. - The ship had some nice relaxation areas including the lounge, dining room, upper deck and a reading nook. State rooms were reasonably good sized and well maintained. In-room showers always had hot water. Opportunities for improvement: - There was no group introduction in which people stated who they were, etc. etc. While this does happen organically, it’s nice when the dive op opens that door. Our trip had 7 nationalities on it and breaking down those barriers could have been made easier. - The food was well presented and wholesome though didn’t have much pizzazz. While not exactly a complaint, other dive operations take the food to be an artform. Snacks were okay. Almost all post-dive snacks were pastry puff somethings and fresh fruit. - Rooms that had bunk beds did not have a ladder to get to top bunk. This could be a challenge for some. - On-deck showers were luke warm and sometimes cold. General comments: - The crossing to Cocos was rough. Close to 50% of the passengers were somewhat sick. This is not a knock on Sea Hunter, simply a note for those considering this particular dive trip. - It rained every day. On one hand this enhanced the beauty of the island (think waterfalls and green). Only one day did it affect the vis in the upper 20-30 feet of the dive. Once below the muck, the diving was still good. - The diving does involve a lot of waiting. This can make people cold. Plan accordingly. You also are definitely hands-on on the reef which is different than typical ecologically suggested. Bring gloves because the coral can be rough and the barnacles like to push against your hands to dislodge. - Sea urchins are plentiful. No one got a “Cocos tattoo”. Just be aware.

Incredible dive trip. Best guess is that we saw hammerheads on 70% of the dives. Also saw tigers (2x), Galapagos (several), silvertips and whitetips. A friendly manta showed up on 4-5 dives and we were blessed with dolphins at the end of one dive. There were several bait ball occurrences as well which were beautiful. Finally, marbled rays were prevalent and a joy to see. This is the best diving I’ve done over 25 years where I felt that nearly every dive had something fun. I will go back, and I will go with Sea Hunter.The following items were particular highlights for Sea Hunter:- DMs, DMs, DMs!!! Juan Miguel and Ian were attentive, informative and above all PURE FUN. Their passion for diving and ensuring that guests had a great time was obvious. I can’t say enough about them.- Most dives were planned to begin around cleaning stations. If there was not enough activity then we would either explore around the coral/landmass or head out into the blue as a group. VERY often the blue experiences were wonderful as these included walls of hammerheads and/or mantas to end the dives.- The ship used two hard shelled pagodas to ferry groups to/from the dive sites. These were speedy to most sites and easy to enter/exit. They also had canvass roofs which provided a little protection.- I had expected there to be no coral and while the coral wasn’t a focal point there was some and subsequently some non pelagic enjoyment as well.- The ship had some nice relaxation areas including the lounge, dining room, upper deck and a reading nook. State rooms were reasonably good sized and well maintained. In-room showers always had hot water.Opportunities for improvement:- There was no group introduction in which people stated who they were, etc. etc. While this does happen organically, it’s nice when the dive op opens that door. Our trip had 7 nationalities on it and breaking down those barriers could have been made easier.- The food was well presented and wholesome though didn’t have much pizzazz. While not exactly a complaint, other dive operations take the food to be an artform. Snacks were okay. Almost all post-dive snacks were pastry puff somethings and fresh fruit.- Rooms that had bunk beds did not have a ladder to get to top bunk. This could be a challenge for some.- On-deck showers were luke warm and sometimes cold.General comments:- The crossing to Cocos was rough. Close to 50% of the passengers were somewhat sick. This is not a knock on Sea Hunter, simply a note for those considering this particular dive trip.- It rained every day. On one hand this enhanced the beauty of the island (think waterfalls and green). Only one day did it affect the vis in the upper 20-30 feet of the dive. Once below the muck, the diving was still good.- The diving does involve a lot of waiting. This can make people cold. Plan accordingly. You also are definitely hands-on on the reef which is different than typical ecologically suggested. Bring gloves because the coral can be rough and the barnacles like to push against your hands to dislodge.- Sea urchins are plentiful. No one got a “Cocos tattoo”. Just be aware.

A very comfortable ship with a top notch staff who go above & beyond to please. Excellent food and oh, by the way the diving is fantastic, too. Mind blowing in fact. Dive Master Frederico seemed to have a sixth sense as to what we were going to see, and when and where. We are true "Cocoholics" who will return via the Sea Hunter for a third visit in 2015.SHIP: The ship is comfortable because it is big enough to not be crowded. There is enough room in the dining room for everyone at once with room to spare. There are nice lounging places inside and outside for between dives and the state rooms all have private bathrooms.FOOD: There is good variety and lots of it. No extra charges for pop or juice. Even all the beer you could drink was included. I have a nasty allergy to garlic and the chef made personally sure that I didn't get any.The dive masters were very professional. They quickly picked up on who might need a little extra. They obviously loved diving and passed their enthusiasm on to their guests, which is not always easy when one does it every day.MARINE LIFE: We saw white and black tip sharks, silky sharks, galapagos sharks, tiger sharks, whale sharks but mainly hammerhead sharks. Also, dog tooth tuna which scare the sharks off and rivers of jacks and cleaner Wrasse. Also dolphins, several varieties of rays, octopus, and even frogfish and batfish. Even saw a couple of humpback whales. Not sure what else we could ask for. The shark sightings are not rare, they are the norm. Often, there are so many one can't see through them.