Ive gone snorkelling before, with a different operator but this time after reading through reviews and recommendations, I decided to go with Ocean Freedom on the 30th July and it was a fantastic experience !
First, I would like to emphasise that marine life & weather are things the crew cant control. However, the link to the meteorological/coastal report for the area is very helpfully included in their website which made it helpful for me to decide if it would be a good day to go snorkelling. Besides being a little windy, being the dry season & all, the visibility underwater was great and there were tons of marine life ( including rays, sharks, sea turtles ) and we were blessed with beautiful clear blue skies and sunny weather which made this experience so much more magical.
The reef ( Upolu reef ) that we were brought out to was really beautiful and private, there weren't many other boats/people out there, and the best part was that there were only 33 people onboard that day, which made for an incredibly personalised experience ! The crew were so energetic and knowledgeable & made the whole day so fun. They were even sharp eyed enough to spot a whale from afar while we were en route to Upolu Reef & stopped the boat to point it out to us !
What i appreciate most was the guided snorkel tours. We were split up into 3/2 groups, and there was a member of the crew bringing us around ( we followed her, I believe her name was Mia (?) I do apologise if I got her name wrong, I'm terribly bad with names ), she would dive into the water and point what/where we should be looking at and explain the various marine life we were looking at, which was really helpful rather than us cluelessly swimming around not sure what we were looking at. The instructors also prioritized the safety and wellbeing of everyone & consistently checked up on the wellbeing of all the participants before, during & after every activity ensuring everyone was okay and accounted for. It is clear safety is their number one priority !
The crew were also what made this experience so amazing. They were not just knowledgeable about the marine aspect, but also were proactive in ensuring our comfort. Some of us sitting in the air-conditioned area of the boat were cold & shivering after snorkelling as the hatch leading to the fwd was open & wind was blowing in. Although the crew were extremely busy, having to clean our used equipment, man the food station, do the headcount, they noticed we were cold and kindly offered to close the hatch for us, which I really appreciate !
While snorkelling at the second location I noticed that one of the divers & i think one of the diving instructors by the name of Tom ( again im sorry, im bad with names ) had surfaced because of an issue with said diver's goggles ( iirc water had entered his goggles ) . The diver was grabbing onto Tom's wrist but there was no judgement or laughing, instead Tom was patiently encouraging & assisting him, and assuring him he was doing a good job which was actually really nice to see !
As someone who works in the service industry myself, I understand how much teamwork & effort it takes to make a day like this go so smoothly, and I can tell that it starts from not just the leaders, but from within. The crew all had amazing teamwork and it was felt by all of us onboard ! So once again a huge thank you to the staff for making this day such an unforgettable and amazing one for all of us 🤍🐢🌏✨️
I learnt so much more about the GBR & the marine life that call it home & will definitely be back !
Response from the owner:Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a thoughtful and detailed review. It means a great deal to our whole team. We are so pleased you had beautiful reef conditions, saw such a wonderful variety of marine life — and even had a whale make an appearance on the way!
Loved reading your comments about the guided snorkelling, the crew’s knowledge and the small things they noticed throughout the day, from checking everyone’s wellbeing to making the saloon more comfortable when guests were cold. That is exactly the kind of personal care we want people to feel onboard so wonderful to hear. We will pass on your comments to the crew, including Mia and Tom - they will be very happy to hear.
Thank you for choosing Ocean Freedom after doing your research, and for sharing your experience so generously. We would love to welcome you back to the Great Barrier Reef again!