M/V Odyssey

Odyssey is a 24m catamaran which sleeps up to 20 guests on 6 night trips to the Rowley Shoals, departing and returning from Broome, Western Australia. Spaces on these trips are limited and much sought after so booking well in advance is advised.

Imperieuse Reef, Clerke Reef and Mermaid Reef are the 3 coral atolls that your diving at the Rowley Shoals will be concentrated on. They rise almost vertically from a depth of around 440 m and these walls are covered in soft corals and fans. They are among the most remote and pristine marine environments and enjoy excellent visibility. Here you will find a wide variety of corals, fish and other marine life, some of which is endemic to Australia and many not found in near-shore coral environments. Larger creatures are also present such as potato cod, mantas, dolphins, turtles, hammerhead sharks and whales.

Guests relax between dives either in the air conditioned lounge/dining area, complete with entertainment system, or on one of the many open air spots located around the vessel. Meals can be enjoyed either in the indoor dining area or al fresco on the upper deck. Guests sleep in Deluxe double/twin cabins or Classic twin cabins, all with air-conditioning, hair dryers and fridges.

You should bring your own diving equipment (including torch, glow sticks and a safety sausage) on board as only weights and weightbelts are provided. With only a few departures a year, you can be one of the privileged few to dive here but you need to act now to avoid disappointment.

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Dive experience: A recognised open water certification is required to dive at the Rowley Shoals. Odyssey Expeditions recommends, for your safety, that all divers have maintained their dive skills on a regular basis and have logged 20+ dives.

Cruise price per person includes: Cabin accommodation, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinking water, soft drinks, hot drinks, transfers to the boat from the depot, dives (as detailed in the trips above), experienced English-speaking divemaster(s), tanks (DIN and Int.), weights and weightbelts, all port and park fees, all taxes.

Cruise price per person excludes (mandatory, unless customer provides own): Scuba equipment rental (regulator and dive computer: US$ 93, BCD: US$ 44, wetsuit: US$ 50, all per week). Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival.

Optional extras: Alcoholic drinks, torches, dive computer, dive insurance. Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival. Note: prices of items purchased onboard are subject to change.

How to get there: Rowley Shoals Marine Park consists a series of coral reefs just under 300 km west of Broome and south of the Timor Sea. There are direct flights to Broome from several of the main cities in Australia (Brisbane, Darwin, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth). Check Virgin Australia, Qantas and Air North for details.
Meet at depot 5 Lucas Street Broome at 09:00 hrs. Following an informal briefing from a divemaster, the transfer bus will take you to the boat where you can stow your gear prior to departure. The boat will then depart for an overnight journey to the Rowley Shoals.
The last dive of the trip will be at around 13:00 on the second last day of the trip. Odyssey returns to Broome on the final morning and you will be transferred at 09:00 hrs to a waiting bus that will take you to town or your accommodation. Please wait at least 18 hours before flying after diving.

Diving Environment: Water temperatures vary between 27-30°C / 81-86°F during the Rowley Shoals diving season. You can expect visibility over 20m and sometimes as much as a jaw-dropping 60m. Warm clothes are recommended since mornings and evenings can be cool. These itineraries will feature a combination of lagoons, coral bommies and canyons to be enjoyed via drift dives, night dives and cave dives.

Non-diver rate: None.

Single supplement (if you do not want to share accommodation): This is optional - single travellers may choose to share a cabin or pay a supplement of 50% of the normal published price for their own cabin.

Dive clubs and group discounts: Various discounts are available for groups of 6 up to 20 guests. Please check with us if you have a group inquiry.

Whole boat charter rate (per night): Pay for 17 guests and 3 additional persons can join the cruise in Classic cabins free of charge.

There are 6 Deluxe double/twin bed cabins on the main deck and 4 Classic twin share single bed cabins on the lower deck. All have individually controlled air conditioning and all these cabins share a total of 4 bathrooms.

All the cabins have: No. of bathrooms / showers - 4 / 4 - hot water

Customer reviews:

"No table for cameras nor compressed air for drying cameras and other equipment ... Very small tanks for rinsing equipment and wetsuits ... Cooked breakfast available on alternative days only ... No food selection for dinner, mostly one-pot cooking ... Staff did not rinse BCDs after the end of the trip." - Joseph M Backer, United States, 1 November 2023 ...

"All the staff on Odyssey were so helpful and caring, making sure that the snorkellers (four of us) had as good an experience as the divers. I don't think they could have done more to make the trip memorable. Whilst back in Broome I recommended Odyssey to anyone I met who might think of visiting Rowley Shoals." - Monica Wells, UK, 31 October 2017 ...