xxpinksaltxx

Unfortunately as others have said the Great Barrier Reef is a very long way from Sydney, and you won't be able to do a day trip. Have you considered? * Fly into Melbourne (spend a few days) highly recommend a trip out to either the 12 apostles or to Phillip Island for the penguins * Fly to Sydney (spend a few days) * Hire a car and drive Sydney --> Brisbane this is a 10 hour drive and you would want to stop for an overnight once or twice. Very popular is Byron Bay, which is about 2 hours south of Brisbane. You will also drive through the Gold Coast too. * Take a cruise from Brisbane up to the Great Barrier Reef. You will have plenty of opportunity to go diving. Jan/Feb is peak cruise season, along with peak holiday season. It will be very hot, so keep that in mind when planning your holiday. You will have many cruise lines to choose from, whether you go out of Sydney or Brisbane. We prefer Celebrity, but there is also P&O, Carnival, Royal Caribbean.

100% change, but like all airports around the world right now, Sydney airport has been a nightmare (very very long lines for security - people waiting hours in them). Also as mentioned above this will be peak holiday season for alot of Australians, especially the day after new years, you will find alot of families going away. If possible, I would overnight in Sydney the day you disembark.

I have visited Kuranda on our own (not while on a cruise). It's really beautiful and certainly worth the day trip we took Gold Class on the train to Kuranda and then took the sky rail back (note the skyrail and the train DO NOT depart and return from the same area), you will have to purchase a separate transfer. Would I do this on my own, while needing to get back to a cruise ship though? Absolutely not. If you have an overnight stop in Cairns, I would say no problem at all. However, we had our own nightmares just trying to get back to our car (even though we had pre-booked transfers as per the offer you posted). Be willing to pay for an uber back, as we did. Also, if anything happens in Kuranda, you are a 40 minute drive back to Cairns, I would imagine a taxi or Uber to be quite slim in the area. I 100% recommend going to Kuranda, but wouldn't risk it on your own.

I have no problem paying extra in tips (I'm Australian and it's not in our culture), but the staff on Celebrity have always gone above and beyond, they work ridiculously hard for not alot of money; many of them just hoping to provide a better life for their family at home. I'm always shocked to hear that some people remove the tips. I always make a conscious effort to ensure I have some USD in cash on hand to give our room stewards, waiters, bar tenders etc an extra bonus tip at the end of the cruise, and a thank you note. They are always so grateful, and I hope it brings a smile to their days when they are so far from their families.