Great Barrier Reef Adventure from Cairns including Snorkeling

Posted By : John L
Absolutely spectacular way to experience the Great Barrier Reef! The staff and facilities were exceptional! Ruby in particular was absolutely amazing from start to finish!
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Posted On : 2024-04-15 02:19:35

Posted By : Irene S
Was on a holiday in Cairns with mum and she insisted that we must check out this world popular GBR. Honestly, we might not have done this if I check out all the reviews and pictures prior to booking.

1) Green Island - perhaps my mistake as I went to the wrong side of the island (near the sun deck areas) to check out the place. Being a non swimmer which I don't normally have problem snorkeling around provided there's a life jacket, I was like of surprised that you gotto RENT one if needed. With the kind of price charged for the overall tour, I really wonder how much it gonna costs the operator to offer a 'necessity' for safety purposes. After all, I am pretty sure not everyone gonna take it. Was told by some boat mates that you could see a turtle or two + more fishes near the jetty area. The areas near to the sun deck areas literally has nothing much to offer - water is at low visibility, rather murky. It's really not like how they describe, you can see fishes just close by. I have been to Fiji where I can easily see school of baby sharks swimming around just by the shores. Talking about the sun deck area, I was really annoyed as well by the staff's approach telling me that all benches are out for rent. If I remember correctly, it's at 45 dollars for unlimited time. Guess what, I was merely just putting my phone on the table or probably seconds of sitting on the bench since I am taking selfie. I was eyed and sounded twice despite even the blind can tell that I am taking photos around. 😓 Please be more considerate, after all, am not resting at all on any of the bench. *1 selfie takes max of 5 seconds.

2) Outer Reef - hospitality was not too bad, staffs are friendly and attentive to questions posted. Perhaps the crowd is not too overwhelming for our boat today, everything seems to be nicely organized and arranged. I am blessed and lucky that we do not have any issues on long queues on food, overselling of reef activities (in fact none approached us, probably due to we are Asians and doesn't look like one that gonna do the activities much 😂). Food is OK, though I thought it gonna be a nice seafood buffet since the tour is priced on the higher end. We did the semi-subs once we arrived at the pontoon. Guess what, this experience is the main reason why we are joining the tour, especially since mum don't snorkel or swim. Sadly, it's such a big disappointment - not just from me, but few others too from Aus or Canada that I have spoken too. You really can't see much - water is not crystal clear like, not much variety of fishes... Honestly, it's kind of a waste of time. Some of us in the semi-subs were really cracking jokes that 'imagination is all you need" .😂 Well, perhaps we have seen something way better just within my own country in Malaysia!

Bleached corals instead of the anticipated colorful underwater world is a real big disappointment to the GBR. Nevertheless, I am glad that I have at least made the trip here in 2024 instead of when the GBR is totally gone in 20/ 30 years time.... 🙏
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Posted On : 2024-04-08 11:10:49

Posted By : JohnD_P
This "experience" only made it to 2 stars because of the personable and friendly crew. Otherwise it was a disappointment on many fronts - the viewing windows on both the sub and submerged deck of the platform were dirty, streaked, and gave a prounced blue-grey tint to everything in the water. Several parts of the submerged platform hatch entry way edges were badly and dangerously rusted. Surprisingly, the number and types of both fish and coral were better from the platform than from the moving sub! Most of the staghorn coral was bleached and broken, though some was still blue and alive. Other corals appeared to be in bad shape as well. The sole highlight was the occasional appearance of "Wally", a very large Maori Wrasse, around the submerged platform viewing windows.

The primary way we wanted get in the water, the Scuba Doo, was booked up, even though the attendant at the ticket office told us otherwise (so we actually bought swimwear on that advice!) . Even had that been available there were other issues. There were only coffin sized changing facilities; there were no lockers to store your valuables so someone in your party would have to remain out of the water to hold those. The single good thing about water activities was that Lycra suits were provided for sun and stinging jellyfish protection; BUT sadly I don't recall any mention of that in the tour material. Had one known all of this and still decided to go, the way to do so would be in swimsuit and flip-flops with no valuables whatsoever.

Lunch was merely so so. The fresh melons were the exception, being very good. What made lunch a harrowing hassle was that the vast majority of the tour attendees were Chinese. They lined up for lunch well before its starting time and then piled two plates precariously high with every available offering, greatly taxing the serving staff. Seating for lunch was grossly insufficient for the number of passengers, and much of it had already been "reserved" by the Chinese covering the tables up up with mountains of bags. We only managed to get lunch late in the serving and had to return to the tied up boat to find a place to eat it.

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Posted On : 2024-04-01 04:14:15

Posted By : Amanda_S
Absolutely devastated!!
The reef around the pontoon was dead.
No colour whatsoever.
Very few fish
The submersible was cloudy … nothing at all to see.
Very few fish to view from the cloudy observation area.

All in all we really wished that we had booked a completely different trip.
Certainly not worth the money.

Everyone I have previously spoken to had raved about the reef …… this is NOT … the trip to go on if you want to see colour and beautiful reef.

I would suggest that you avoid at all cost!!

So many more trips less expensive and hopefully take you to a better part of the reef!


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Posted On : 2024-03-28 07:38:33

Posted By : John_W
A wonderful trip out to the reef. The itinerary was exactly as published. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The food provided on the reef pontoon was very good.
The submersible was really good, especially for the non swimmers.
One tip - When entering the Reef Terminal to exchange your Viator voucher, look for the Quicksilver Group placard.
Highly recommended.
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Posted On : 2024-03-21 19:51:06

Posted By : David_B
Great day out very professional plenty of staff to answer questions under water viewing platform was good and the semi submersible was good
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Posted On : 2024-03-04 06:00:45

Posted By : AllisonLee_M
Great experience and such a well run trip. We booked this off a cruise ship and easy to walk to from the port. The experience was identical to what the cruise ship was offering and half the price. The ride out to the platform was comfortable and plenty of seating. The crew did a great job of offering optional adventures and also getting snacks during the ride. Once on the platform it was so easy to get in the water and the reef was amazing. The only time it was crowded is if you stayed close to one of the floating rafts what are there for people who get tired or don't swim well. We were amazed how pristine the reef looked with so many people. Lunch was great, loved the fresh water showers and had plenty of time to snorkel as much as we wanted. Highly recommend.
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Posted On : 2024-02-26 01:37:42

Posted By : paullsoucy
We left in the rain but the experience was fantastic. The weather improved but was still overcast and it didn’t matter. The reef and the fish were amazing. The included semi-submersible was OK if you are not planning to snorkel but you see far mare of the reef and the fish if you plunge in and snorkel. My wife and I have snorkeled in Florida, Tahiti and Hawaii, and this, by far, was the best.
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Posted On : 2024-02-23 04:36:54

Posted By : Aine C
Journey to Green island was smooth but the staff were really pushing you to buy things ( helicopter, parasailing) which was really annoying. Went to Green island was impressed when we arrived but no working showers and again pushing you to buy things . Trip to reef was again staff pushing products to buy . Things on the platoon was very unorganised and could have been managed better .
Corals were beautiful and enjoyed this .
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Posted On : 2024-02-21 04:38:44

Posted By : Melanie_S
The 3 of us loved every bit of this tour. Communication was great beforehand since we weren't sure about timing and location from our cruise ship. We made it in time and we're impressed immediately. Special shout out to Michael helping us to register for the guided snorkeling and addressing health issues. And KEVIN for above and beyond snorkel guidance, picture taking and keeping us safe in a strong current. Did I mention the yummy cake? Such a great snack. Lunch buffet was passable not gourmet but hot tasty sufficient and decent choices.
Several well- manned stations to collect and fit gear and then into the water on your own or with guide. We did both and saw much more with guide. Semi submersible we did not plan on using but a schedule was posted. Back on board there was coffee tea and cheese and crackers on return alcoholic beverages available.
The highlight - as it should be was the reef. All sorts and number of fish but the coral was the star.
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Posted On : 2024-01-30 13:52:30