Deep Andaman Queen, Thailand

Extraordinary

It was non-stop fun during the entire boat trip - pampered by the crew, wonderful food, new friends, great weather and of course, 14 awesome dives.

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Friendliness of crew, interaction with other divers and superb diving experience

Great first liveaboard experience

The real highlight of the trip was Richelieu Reef - unbelievable the amount of life there.

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3 things in no order....... Boat was awesome, crew was spectacular. How to say this, how the staff looked out for us as a group in so many different ways

This was an overall good Liveaboard diving experience.

Relationships with new dive friends.

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Local hire crew. Enthusiasm of director. Relationships with new dive friends.

all you could want to know

I had a very positive experience on the Deep Andaman Queen and can recommend it without reservation. As context, I had not been on a “liveaboard” before therefore had little idea what to expect. This is like dive boot camp with 14 dives in 3.5 days. It’s dive, eat, dive, nap, dive, eat more, dive, eat, night dive, sleep, repeat. I thought I could skip the first dive but quickly learned this was a group experience and you stick with program. This is likely the norm for all liveaboards. After getting with the program and adjusting my mindset to the group mentality, I definitely want to do it again and will seek out the Deep Andaman Queen. Diving: The diving program was excellent. Steve, the head of the program, is a talented and natural leader. He’s in control, enforces safety, and is an effective communicator. Diving itself was great. I hear the Similan Islands are only “above average” diving but for me, with little to compare to, I loved it. We saw everything you could possibly dream of seeing. Steve is very vigilant on watching your level of dive experience and accommodating any requests. For example, I wanted to use a compass and he readily lent one to me on the honor system to return. Dive guide: I was very pleased with my Thai guide Charlie. He had a lot to deal with in me since I had open water certification 4 years ago and very little experience since then. He was great. He got me into tiptop dive shape again. My only comment was that after Dive 2, Charlie took over the camera work for the other couple in my group (who were great people and divers). From Dive 3-14, Charlie saw nothing if it wasn’t through the camera lens. I think we missed a lot of sea life while he was trying to get the perfect shot for the dive clients. Food: The food options were simple, fresh, healthy, and tasty. I had better Thai food on this boat than in restaurants in Phuket or Bangkok. There were plenty of Western options too. There was also plenty of vegetables. I liked the set up on the boat for communal eating too. Cabin: I slept well in three-person cabin number 2. This cabin probably was the worst on the boat in the belly of the ship. I see other reviews complained on noise from the engine, but I used ear plugs and an eye mask (essentials for good sleep in any travel situation). I thought it was fine. If I was in the least desirable cabin, the other cabins must only get better. The bathroom was quite generous in size too. Renting Gear: I ended up bringing my own mask, fins, and wet suit. I would just rent everything in hindsight. No need to bring your own gear. I recommend comparing rental prices with what Steve has in his paperwork vs what your booking agents quotes you for rental prices as it differs a bit. (In general, you need quite a bit of money for park fees, rental gear, the crew tip at the end, and any beer consumption.) Wifi: I didn't know the boat had wifi most of the time. It does. I think they're afraid to advertise wifi in case it fails. It’s a bonus, not a guarantee. Alcohol: The boat offers Thai beer. In the future, I might bring some wine or a bottle of gin for G&Ts, but be prepared to share. This is a communal experience. It would be weird to show up for dinner with a bottle of wine but not share it with the table. This is also not a boozy crowd. Boat: I liked the layout of the boat too. I had four different “go to” kindle read spots between dives and unlimited hot tea. There wasn't too much A/C which was great -- I was never cold except the dive briefings in a sealed off A/C room. I was never too hot either wishing for A/C. You step right off the boat for the dives. The only minor complaint was a very nice part of the boat was dedicated to smoking. I would ban smoking altogether, but the Thai crew definitely want to smoke somewhere. This a quality experience done right. Thank you Deep Andaman Queen.

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nice ship, good dives, good karma

A few hiccups but overall a great trip!

Overall we had a great trip! However the renderings of the refit didn’t really match how the cabins looked. We were all a little disappointed only because we had different expectations. There was a lot of exhaust smoke from the generator or engine that blew into our room so it felt like we were breathing it in anytime we were in the room. Most of the trip the boat leaned quit a bit to one side. Not sure why. Also it seemed very disorganized when we first boarded. There wasn’t enough equipment for people that were renting therefore people were left with BCs that didn’t fit or fins that didn’t fit. There should be better communication between the office and crew so that these items are available and ready for those renting. Also we were told that we could pay for our rental equipment with a credit card by the office but then on the the boat we were told we couldn’t so we had to use an ATM when we got off the boat. Lastly we paid for the master suite but when we boarded we were told that other parties had already booked the master cabin and we were put in a smaller room. Again, communication seems to be lacking. A helpful tip - if you only have your open water certification consider getting your advanced certification. They will not allow you to dive deeper than 60’ (which are the limits of the open water certification) unless you are advanced. You can get your advanced certification on board for an additional fee.

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The crew and dive masters were top notch

HIGHLY recommend this boat and crew

Although the diving and the guides/crew were amazing and all worked super hard and went above and beyond, the MVP for me was the chef. Truly ruined me for Thai food for the rest of the trip it was so good. The variety and quality was top notch. The dive sites were amazing too with a lot of variety. As exhausted as I was each day, I don't know how the guides and crew do what they do. They worked so hard and did a superb job. I felt safe and welcome.

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Diving locations, guides/crew, food