MV Hallelujah is a 35 m long steel boat, which cruises the waters of the Similan Islands, Richelieu Rock and Khao Lak.
MV Hallelujah dive boat review
Historical Hallelujah photographs: LiveAboard.com and the existing Divezone gallery. These images do not establish present operating condition.
Hallelujah’s appeal was the space to enjoy the time between dives. A broad sun deck, indoor saloon and sea-view cabins made her a sociable base for the Similans and Richelieu Rock. This guide preserves the boat’s character and her guests’ memories while separating them from today’s booking picture.
35 metres · 13 ensuite cabins · published capacity 25 guests
No current Hallelujah departure has been verified. Big Blue Khao Lak’s present schedule names Blue Dolphin. Those dates and fares are not Hallelujah offers.
Share your experience Hallelujah availability enquiryAffiliate link: Divezone may earn a commission if you book.
Divezone reader reviews
MV Hallelujah, through your eyes.
The best advice often comes from someone who slept in the cabin, shared the dive deck and came back with a story. This is the place for your experience aboard MV Hallelujah.
Be the first to leave a detailed ratingLoading published contributions…
Loading published reviews. The original comments remain available below.
Ratings by criterion & how the score works
The overall score is the average of the overall ratings in published reviews submitted through this form. Each optional criterion has its own average and response count. Unrated criteria are excluded.
Earlier stories remain part of the conversation, without assigning scores their authors did not provide. Reviews describe individual experiences; publication does not verify a stay or certify the boat’s safety.
Would you choose MV Hallelujah again? Your review can help the next diver.
Stories shared on Divezone
Reader stories are available in the original comments below.
Reviews from other websites
Two external guest-feedback pages checked on 12 November 2026. These figures describe past trips, not a verified current service.
How the accounts read together
The selected accounts are largely warm about the crew and the social experience. Their age matters: they help explain Hallelujah’s reputation, but do not establish a present crew, condition or sailing programme.
What guests love
Attentive guiding and meals recur in the accounts, with newer divers also describing patient support. That combination made the trip feel welcoming for the guests who wrote these stories.
What guests like less
An older account considered a course expensive. The sample does not establish a recurring onboard defect; course fees would need a fresh quote rather than assumptions based on past packages.
LiveAboard.com · 9.1/10 · 63 reviews
Lisa M, 27 November 2017: “Top notch crew”. Her account also praises meals and common spaces. Sanee I, 28 December 2018: “Prices for one of courses was a little steep”. The same account compliments the staff and diving.
Secondary guest feedback · No Troubles Just Bubbles · 9/10, based on 8 divers
The Stone family’s 24 December 2018 trip account describes calm support despite their limited experience. Javier, who travelled on 9 January 2019, praises the crew and dives. These agency-hosted accounts remain historical evidence.
About the comparison
This manually checked selection does not cover every review in the displayed totals. Different sites may host overlapping accounts; their totals are not added together. LiveAboard.com identifies its reviews as coming from customers who booked and travelled through its service. That does not make them Divezone reviews. No usable boat-specific DiveBooker review page was located in this search.
A familiar name in the northern Andaman
Hallelujah was built in 2002 and previously operated as Viking of the Orient, according to the vessel history published by Sunrise Divers. That account records her return as Hallelujah in November 2011 after a refit; LiveAboard.com separately lists a 2013 renovation. The dates describe different reported milestones, not a recent inspection.
The present uncertainty concerns booking. LiveAboard.com and No Troubles Just Bubbles show no Hallelujah trips, while Big Blue Khao Lak promotes Blue Dolphin for its current season. An older Big Blue page still describes Hallelujah. Until there is a named, dated departure confirmation, the profile below is a description of the documented boat and former programme.
Three cabin choices
Standard Twin
Ten main-deck cabins with bunk beds, sea views, air conditioning and ensuite bathrooms. The bunk arrangement is the practical distinction for friends or solo travellers considering a shared room.
Deluxe Double
Two main-deck rooms with double beds and ensuite bathrooms. These provide the double-bed option for couples rather than the Standard category’s bunks.
VIP Single
One upper-deck cabin behind the wheelhouse, intended for a single guest. This room brings the published total to thirteen cabins and twenty-five guests.
These are the documented Hallelujah categories. They should not be substituted for Blue Dolphin’s different cabin plan.
Room for a book, a meal and another dive story
The huge sundeck gives oodles of space to unwind with a book or enjoy the sea breeze. Inside, the air-conditioned saloon offers another setting for a surface interval, with books, entertainment facilities and room to look through photographs.
Meals were described as a varied Thai and international buffet, served in the saloon or open-air dining area. The large dive deck, camera table and rinse tanks supported the practical side of the holiday, with motorised dinghies for dive support. These facilities explain the boat’s layout; they are not a promise of services on an unconfirmed departure.
The documented four-night route
Hallelujah’s published example allows up to fourteen dives over four diving days. It moves from the Similans’ granite scenery towards the northern pinnacles, then returns through Koh Bon and the Boonsung Wreck area. The map preserves this itinerary as a reference, not a current timetable.
Route description below.
Four nights · Similans to Richelieu Rock
Thap Lamu (1) → Similan Islands (2) → Koh Bon (3) → Koh Tachai (4) → Richelieu Rock (5) → Koh Bon (3) → Boonsung Wreck area (6) → Thap Lamu (1).
The operator’s example spends the first day in the Similans, moves north on day two and gives Richelieu several dives on day three. The final day returns via Koh Bon and a wreck dive. Weather and sea conditions can change the sites and order.
Numbered points are regional references. The lines show indicative travel order, not navigational tracks or underwater entry points. The sole layer reflects the route supported by the examined Hallelujah programme.
Hallelujah on film
The historical Hallelujah film is no longer publicly available. The boat and cabin photographs above provide the available visual record.
Why the old fare is not a current quote
No current Hallelujah fare or complete trip total was verified.
An older Big Blue page still displays THB 35,000 for Standard Twin, THB 45,000 for Deluxe Double and THB 55,000 for VIP Single on its four-night programme. These are historical reference figures, not confirmed 2026–2027 offers. Park-fee figures also differ between that page and the partner listing, so combining them into a new total would be misleading.
What a usable new quote would include
A named vessel and departure date, cabin category and occupancy, fare currency, park fees, transfers, rental equipment, Nitrox, courses and any fuel or tax supplements. Flights, hotels, insurance and personal spending would complete the travel budget. Until the sailing itself is confirmed, a precise-looking total would not help planning.
Diving experience, companions and getting aboard
The former operator programme specified Open Water certification and diving within the guest’s qualification. That describes the published programme, not an assurance that every site suits every novice. Any future offer would need its own requirements for recent experience, equipment and insurance.
Non-diving guests were welcomed in the documented Hallelujah programme, with island visits and deck time among the attractions. A future non-diver fare, snorkelling arrangements and supervision would still need confirmation for the actual trip.
The historical route used Thap Lamu near Khao Lak. Its transfer arrangements must not be assumed to apply to a different boat. For a current Big Blue booking, the confirmation should state the vessel, port, pickup location and return time; the old Hallelujah article is not a substitute for those details.
Planning a trip now
For readers remembering Hallelujah, the cabin photographs and preserved guest accounts provide a useful record. For a new diving holiday, a dated offer on an identified operating vessel is the starting point. The Junk is another northern-Andaman option with verified scheduled departures. Big Blue’s current Blue Dolphin programme can be checked separately through the operator.
Big Blue’s current Blue Dolphin programme
Hallelujah questions, answered
Can I book Hallelujah for 2026–2027?
No Hallelujah departure was verified in the current listings checked. An enquiry needs a written confirmation naming Hallelujah and the dates before it becomes a usable booking option.
Is Blue Dolphin the same booking?
No. Big Blue’s current schedule names Blue Dolphin and presents a different cabin layout. Hallelujah’s photographs, reviews and historical prices should not be used to describe that offer.
Were there twelve or thirteen cabins?
The documented complete layout has thirteen: ten Standard twins, two Deluxe doubles and one VIP Single. The former twelve-cabin description omitted the VIP room.
Can solo travellers use the VIP cabin?
The documented VIP category was a single cabin on the upper deck. That historical layout does not establish present availability or a current fare.
Do the reviews show the boat’s current condition?
No. They describe the trips their authors took, many several years ago. Their original dates remain visible, and they are kept separate from any current sailing claim.
Editorial update checked 12 November 2026 against the identified operator pages, booking listings and guest accounts. This is a source-based guide, not a new firsthand inspection onboard.
Where does this liveaboard dive boat go?
Check out the fabulous places where this dive boat travels to.
Note: some destinations may not be listed below, please enquire for more details.
Khao Lak
A mainland base for northern Andaman liveaboards, island day trips and fish-filled local wrecks. The best choice depends on your experience, crossing time and the actual departure programme.
Similan Islands
Granite boulder dives, reef photography and northern Andaman liveaboards. Day boats also visit the Similans; route choice, current and park access determine the right trip.
- If you have been diving on board this liveaboard dive boat in Khao Lak & Similan Islands, please share your review and let us know what you thought. Please post your comments in the review section below, by doing so you will help fellow divers to plan their next diving trip
.
Other Liveaboard Reviews in Khao Lak & Similan Islands
Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant makes room for both halves of Thailand’s Andaman Sea. Her four-night cruises concentrate on the Similans and northern pinnacles; selected six-night journeys continue south to Koh Haa and Hin Daeng–Hin Muang. That longer trip is the interes
The Junk
Three masts, a wooden hull and a history that began with charcoal rather than scuba tanks: The Junk brings a little romance to a Thai diving holiday. The appeal goes well beyond a photogenic silhouette. Eighteen guests share six ensuite cabins, and the
Sawasdee Fasai
Sawasdee Fasai is a good boat for divers who like a full day underwater and room to spread out afterwards. Four nights carry the trip from the Similans’ granite scenery to the northern pinnacles, with Richelieu Rock given a full day in the sample progr
MV Smiling Seahorse
Photos: Smiling Seahorse operator gallery via LiveAboard.com.
Thailand Master (The Phinisi)
Photos: Thailand Master operator gallery via LiveAboard.com.
Andaman Tritan
Andaman Tritan images from Sunrise Divers’ identified boat gallery. Undated photographs of the documented configuration.
MV Pawara
Pawara photo gallery: operator imagery supplied through LiveAboard.com. Photos are undated; the confirmed cabin allocation governs your booking.
MV Oktavia
Historical Oktavia images supplied through LiveAboard.com. They do not depict a verified current Orca Oktavia configuration.
South Siam 3
The 30 meters South Siam 3, also called Somboon 3, is a liveaboard operating in Thailand. Indeed, the dive boat offers flexible itineraries including the best dive sites of Thailand such as the Similan Islands, Koh Bon, Tachai, Surin and Richelieu Rock
South Siam 4
Thailand · Similan Islands & Richelieu Rock · Updated 9 November 2026