Galapagos Master Liveaboard Reviews small

Galapagos Master Liveaboard Reviews: One of The Best Liveaboards

Galapagos Master Liveaboard Reviews
Galapagos Master Liveaboard – image courtesy of Liveaboard.com

At the time of writing this Galapagos Master Liveaboard review, this Galapagos dive boat had a customer review rating of 9 out of 10 and superb by 26 verified reviews. The Galapagos Master Liveaboard is not the cheapest Galapagos liveaboard, but then it’s also not the most expensive either (see below for Galapagos Master Liveaboard cost).

The best way to dive the Galapagos Islands, and especially Darwin Island and Wolf Rock, is by a scuba diving liveaboard. You can check the latest and best deals on Galapagos liveaboards the following window:

Galapagos Master Liveaboard Review in 20 seconds…

The Galapagos Master Liveaboard is a 32.3 metre (106 feet) dive boat built for scuba divers. With paid Nitrox onboard, so you can extend your dive times when diving with hammerheads. Meals cater for all dietary requirements and she has 9 en-suite aircon cabins for couples, singles and solo divers.

Galapagos Master Liveaboard overview
Galapagos Master Liveaboard – image courtesy of Liveaboard.com

Galapagos Master Liveaboard overview

In this Galapagos Master Liveaboard review I take a look at what this dive boat offers for scuba divers. In the above image you’ll notice there have been 26 verified customer reviews. This has resulted in an overall review rating of 9 out of 10 and 4.5 stars. That’s a good review by anyone’s standards and a great start for any scuba diver.

Here’s an example customer review of the Galapagos Master:

Amazing wildlife underwater with a great team. I had the opportunity to see a whale shark even if he was not expected in this period and was great. Really many hammerhead in Darwin and Wolf. My cabin was comfortable and the chef prepared for me vegetarian food. I really enjoy.” Recommended for: Wildlife, diving guides, helpful crew.

Customer Review Marina C from Italy.
Galapagos Master Liveaboard review
Galapagos Master Liveaboard – image courtesy of Liveaboard.com

Here is a list of what the Galapagos Master Liveaboard offers to scuba divers and why you should choose this liveaboard to enjoy your Galapagos scuba diving trip.

Feature Advantage to You
Flexible booking terms You can book with confidence knowing that this liveaboard offers a free trip reschedule within 24 months if you are unable to travel due to Covid-19 related restrictions.
Nitrox available Nitrox onboard means you'll benefit from the many advantages of nitrox divingextended bottom times. Especially important when you're enjoying diving with the schooling hammerhead sharks.
Dietary restrictions catered for Relax knowing that whatever your dietary requirements, you can enjoy the food onboard, as the Galapagos Master Liveaboard will cater for any specific dietary requirement you have.
En-suite cabins (All 9 cabins) You benefit from your own private en-suite bathroom so you can shower and get ready in comfort.
Aircon cabins (All 9 cabins) You benefit from being able to choose the temperature of your cabin for complete comfort and a good night’s sleep.
Din Adaptors If you have DIN regulators you don't have to worry, as they have DIN to Yoke regulator adaptors onboard.
Scuba gear rental The benefit to you is you can travel light and simply rent all your scuba equipment onboard.
32.3 metres (106 feet) dive boat Large stable liveaboard, which is an advantage in larger swells and seas.
Double cabins Scuba diving couples can share a cabin with a double bed and their own private en-suite bathroom.
Twin cabins Single divers can share a cabin and solo divers can share with other solo divers.
Sun deck An advantage to those sun-lovers to relax and sun bathe between dives.
Sea view cabins Choose one of the sea view cabins to enjoy the views from your cabin.
Includes diving on Darwin and Wolf Islands You benefit from the best diving in the Galapagos Islands to see schooling hammerheads, Galapagos sharks and much more.
Separate Rinse for u/w Camera Underwater photography enthusiasts benefit from being able to easily rinse down their underwater cameras.
What are the pros and cons of the Galapagos Master Liveaboard
Galapagos Master diving deck – image courtesy of Liveaboard.com

What are the pros and cons of the Galapagos Master Liveaboard?

As with any scuba diving holiday booking there are always pros and cons to take into consideration. Let’s take a look at the Galapagos Master Liveaboard pros and cons.

Pros of the Galapagos Master Liveaboard - double cabin
Galapagos Master double cabin with sea views – image courtesy of Liveaboard.com

Pros of the Galapagos Master Liveaboard

  1. Nitrox onboard so you can dive with the advantages of nitrox.
  2. Flexible booking terms so you can book with confidence.
  3. 7 or 10-night trip itineraries available so you have a choice of trip lengths.
  4. Offers two full days diving at Wolf and Darwin Islands so you get to dive with the well-known schooling hammerhead sharks and Galapagos sharks.
  5. 12 experienced crew onboard with two dive masters to make sure your dive trip is amazing.
  6. Land excursions are included in the trip to see giant land tortoises.
  7. The Galapagos Master Liveaboard cost (see below) includes your airport transfers, drinking water, soft drinks, tea & coffee, wine with dinner, full-board meal plan, snacks, all diving (see pro 8), land excursions, cabin towels, complimentary toiletries and deck towels.
  8. 7 night diving package includes up to 18 dives in total and the 10 night diving package includes up to 30 dives in total.
  9. Specific dietary requirements are catered for, but you need to add this when you book your trip.
  10. Options of indoor and outdoor alfresco dining.
  11. Maximum of 16 guests on this large liveaboard and looked after by 12 crew.
Cons of the Galapagos Master Liveaboard
Crew member of Galapagos Master Liveaboard with drinks – image courtesy of Liveaboard.com

Cons of the Galapagos Master Liveaboard

  1. Nitrox is paid for as an extra cost (if you want free nitrox, the Galapagos Sky Liveaboard offers this luxury).
  2. Not the cheapest liveaboard. For a comparison chart of Galapagos liveaboards, including a Galapagos budget liveaboard, following this link Galapagos Diving Liveaboard.
  3. All alcoholic beverages are an optional extra, but this is very common on most liveaboards. Although wine with dinner is included.
  4. The Galapagos Master liveaboard does not offer diving courses.
  5. No internet onboard. If you want internet on your Galapagos liveaboard dive trip, you should choose the Calipso Liveaboard, where this is free of charge and included in the dive trip cost.
Liveaboard.com legit company
Galapagos Master liveaboard review – courtesy of Liveaboard.com

Liveaboard.com legit company?

You can book with confidence as Liveaboard.com are a legit company. You can never be too cautious when booking online, especially when spending on the cost of a liveaboard trip. The above 10 out of 10 review of the Galapagos Master even mentions Liveaboard.com in their review.

Schooling hammerheads - Why should you book the Galapagos Master Liveaboard
Schooling hammerheads is why should you book the Galapagos Master Liveaboard

Why should you book the Galapagos Master Liveaboard?

The Galapagos Master is a liveaboard that was built for scuba divers. So if you’re not looking to scuba dive the Galapagos Islands, the Galapagos Master is not for you. If you want to dive with the well-known schooling hammerhead shark and experience some of the best diving available in the Galapagos Islands, you should book the Galapagos Master Liveaboard.

If you are interested in booking a non-diving liveaboard to enjoy the Galapagos island, search and scroll the following booking table:

Table of Galapagos liveaboards

This list of Galapagos liveaboards is in descending customer rating order, followed by Scuba Diving Luxury Rating (SDE Lux Rating, see below), so the liveaboards with the highest customer rating and the best SDE lux rating will be at the top of the list. If you want to change the list order, use the “Sort by” dropdown below.

Search:
Sort by:
Total Records Found: 11, showing 10 per page
Discover Liveaboard Customer Rating SDE Lux Rating % Flexible Booking Dive Courses Dietary Requirements Nitrox Gear Rental
Review: Galaxy Diver II; Book: Galaxy Diver II 9.9 73% NO YES YES YES YES
Review: MV Tiburon Explorer; Book: MV Tiburon Explorer 9.7 85% NO NO YES YES YES
Review: MV Galapagos Sky; Book: MV Galapagos Sky 9.6 83% NO NO YES YES YES
Review: MV Calipso; Book: MV Calipso 9.4 85% NO YES YES YES YES
Review: MV Galaxy Diver; Book: MV Galaxy Diver 9.3 56% NO NO YES NO NO
Review: MY Aqua; Book: MY Aqua 9.1 65% NO YES YES YES YES
Review: MV Galapagos Aggressor III; Book: MV Galapagos Aggressor III 9.1 65% NO YES YES YES YES
Review: MV Humboldt Explorer; Book: MV Humboldt Explorer 8.8 60% NO NO YES YES YES
Review: MV Galapagos Master; Book: MV Galapagos Master 8.6 71% NO NO YES YES YES
Review: MV Nortada; Book: MV Nortada 8.5 79% NO YES YES YES YES

The Scuba Diving Earth Luxury Rating (SDE Lux Rating) is explained on each liveaboard review when you click the “Discover Liveaboard” link, and is my own Liveaboard Luxury Rating I’ve assigned to all liveaboards. Choosing between liveaboards is helped by customer scores, and if you get stuck choosing between two or three liveaboards, where each one has a high customer score out of 10, you can use the SDE Luxury Rating to help narrow down your choice.

Think about it like using Booking.com when searching for the best hotel. Booking.com also use a customer score where each customer rates hotels out of 10. This is similar to the liveaboard customer rating, which is also rated out of 10. But let’s say you only like to stay in hotels rated 8 and above on Booking.com, but you also want the hotel to have WIFI or parking, or to have a swimming pool etc. The features each hotel has is usually secondary to the score out of 10.

Liveaboard.com search Galapagos scroll

You can scuba dive the Galapagos Islands from a land-based resort. But the disadvantage of this is you won’t be able to Dive Wolf and Darwin Islands, as these can only be dived from a liveaboard like the Galapagos Master. This is another reason to book the Galapagos Master liveaboard for a trip of a lifetime.

Galapagos Master Liveaboard cost
Fully air-conditioned indoor lounge with comfortable cushioned bench seating – image courtesy of Liveaboard.com

Galapagos Master Liveaboard cost

To book a trip on the Galapagos Master Liveaboard, prices begin at £305 ($415/€342) – cost right at the time of writing this article.

The cost of booking the Galapagos Master is not the cheapest Galapagos liveaboard, but it is also not the most expensive. If you want to book the most expensive or the cheapest Galapagos liveaboard, please take a read of this article that includes a Galapagos liveaboard comparison chart.

The Galapagos Master liveaboard cost to book includes the following:

  • Airport transfers.
  • Drinking water, soft drinks, tea & coffee and wine with dinner.
  • Full-board meal plan, which includes specific dietary requirements (but this must be requested at the time of booking).
  • Snacks.
  • All your diving, which on the 7-night diving package includes up to 18 dives in total and the 10-night diving package includes up to 30 dives in total.
  • Land excursions of North Seymour and Santa Cruz to see giant land tortoises.
  • Cabin towels, complimentary toiletries and deck towels.

The Galapagos Master liveaboard cost to book excludes the following:

  • Dive Insurance.
  • Travel Insurance.
  • Chamber Fees.
  • Galapagos National Park Fees.
  • Optional Gratuities.
  • Alcoholic Beverages, except for wine with diner.
  • Nitrox fills.
  • Scuba rental gear.
  • Snorkel gear.
  • Laundry and pressing services.
Whale shark - Galapagos master liveaboard scuba diving for UK

Galapagos Master Liveaboard scuba diving from the UK

The Galapagos Master Liveaboard can be booked by scuba divers from the UK. This is a Galapagos Master liveaboard review by Claire W from the United Kingdom:

Lots of Hammerheads! A great experience.” Recommended for: many large pelagics, food on board.

Galapagos Master Liveaboard review by Clair W from the UK

It’s a long trip from the UK to get to the Galapagos Islands, but well worth the long-haul flights. The Galapagos Islands are in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Ecuador in South America. If you’re flying from the UK to the Galapagos Islands this can take over 20 hours of flying time with stops along the way. Most flights to Ecuador from the UK will be via America.

You can get to the Galapagos Islands by flying into the capital city of Quito or Guayaquil. From there you are best to get a flight from Quito to Baltra Island, which is where most liveaboard boats depart from.

Galapagos Master Liveaboard scuba diving from the United States

The Galapagos Master Liveaboard can be booked by scuba divers from America. This is a Galapagos Master liveaboard review by Shanna T from the United States:

Magnificent. I’ve done drift dives before but this was amazing. To see the hammerhead cleaning station was so neat. And the sea lions playing.” Recommended for: Hammerheads, crew, and the divers.

Galapagos Master Liveaboard review by Shanna T from the United States

For those Americans living on the west coast, getting to the Galapagos Islands is a shorter trip, so if you are flying from the USA, the flying time will of course be less. For example, if you’re flying from New York, the flight from New York to Quito, Ecuador is just under 9 hours long.

When flying from American, you can get to the Galapagos Islands by flying into the capital city of Quito or Guayaquil. From there you are best to get a flight from Quito to Baltra Island, which is where most liveaboard boats depart from.

Galapagos Master Liveaboard scuba diving from Germany

The Galapagos Master Liveaboard can be booked by scuba divers from Germany. This is a Galapagos Master liveaboard review by Oliver G from Germany:

outstanding!!! absolutely amazing boat and trip!!! Recommended for: diving, crew, boat comfort.

10 out of 10 review rating by Oliver G from Germany

To fly from Germany to the Galapagos Islands, you are best to fly from Frankfurt International Airport via the United States and on to Ecuador. Then you can get to the Galapagos Islands by flying into the capital city of Quito or Guayaquil. From there you are best to get a flight from Quito to Baltra Island, which is where most liveaboard boats depart from.

You can book the Galapagos Master Liveaboard from where ever you live in the world. So you can also book if you live anywhere in Europe, like France, Switzerland, Hungary and Austria. Or in Asia like Japan or Taiwan and China. Or other places like Mexico and Demark.

Galapagos Master Liveaboard discount code

Galapagos Master Liveaboard discount code

If you are searching for a Galapagos Master Liveaboard discount code you are best to look out for the discounts Liveaboard.com offer on certain trips. Take a read of this article about how to book a last minute Galapagos liveaboard cruise.

I hope you enjoyed this article about Galapagos Master Liveaboard Reviews

I’d love to hear from you. Tell us about your adventures of diving and snorkeling, in the comments below. Please also share your photos. Either from your underwater cameras or videos from your waterproof go-pro’s!

If this article hasn’t answered all of your questions. If you have more questions either about snorkeling or scuba diving (or specifically on Galapagos Master Liveaboard Reviews), please comment below with your questions.

There will also be many more articles about scuba and scuba diving safety tips (and on snorkeling too) for you to read and learn about this fabulous sport.

Have fun and be safe!

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Article by Russell Bowyer

Article written by Russell Bowyer who has been a scuba diver since diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 1989. After his first dive he trained as a BSAC diver in the UK. He attained his Diver Leader certification with BSAC.

He then went on to become a scuba diving instructor, teaching others how to dive and was voted as Diving Officer and Treasurer for the Saffron Walden BSAC Dive Club too. His favourite part to diver training was when he helped newbies overcome their fear of mask clearing.

Russell has dived all over the world, including the UK such as Cornwall, Littlehampton, Dartmouth and the Farne Islands (see image to the left), on liveaboards in the Red Sea, the Caribbean (Barbados, Antigua and Bonaire are favourites to name a few), South Africa and the USA.

Russell is experienced in all dive types, including drift diving, deep dives that involved decompression stops and recreational dives too. His absolute favourite type of diving is scuba diving with sharks.