Great Barrier Reef a great disappointing excursion

[Stefken]

Anyone doing Great Barrier Reef excursion. Just a heads up.

 

We did the Great Barrier Reef excursion in November from Airlie Beach extra cost of £159. From the Explorer.

 

Luxury Catamaran it was not, the pontoon was filthy, bird muck over decks and loungers. Shabby in the extreme, extensive buffet was at best mediocre. Having researched the company who provided the Reef cruise, on our return home, Their  advertising pictures bare no resemblance to the actual experience. 
 

I personally only spent 5 minutes in the reef, as after the cyclone passing through days earlier  made the reef very choppy, I consider myself a strong swimmer, but I felt concerned by the conditions, couldn’t see any fish because visibility was very poor. 
 

We changed out of swimwear in less than adequate changing rooms, got back on the catamaran and waited 1hour thirty minutes for our return to the ships rather than get back on the pontoon.

 

To have waited over a year for this visit to the reef, this was so very disappointing.its the same people doing the Cairns  and Airlue beach excursion. I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone I knew wanted to do the Barrier Reef.

 

We attached the only only one a wanted to take, taken as we left, with no fond memories at all.

 

This my opinion, but thought it may be of interest to others thinking of doing this excursion.

[Jim Avery]

Ours a couple of years ago without the choppy seas was much the same.  Not the beautiful easy to access experiences in places like Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, St. Barts, etc.  A big disappointment to us as well.  Reef is mostly colors of beige or brown.  At least where they take the Touristas.

[clelbonv]

Thank you for the heads up. That is very disappointing. We will be in Cairns on the Explorer in two weeks. Would you recommend booking with an outside company or do you know if all the pontoon tours to the Great Barrier Reef are pretty much like the one you experienced? Since it coss extra anyway, makes no difference to us to go into town and book a better company. 

[Stefken]

11 minutes ago, clelbonv said:

Thank you for the heads up. That is very disappointing. We will be in Cairns on the Explorer in two weeks. Would you recommend booking with an outside company or do you know if all the pontoon tours to the Great Barrier Reef are pretty much like the one you experienced? Since it coss extra anyway, makes no difference to us to go into town and book a better company. 

Hi,

 

I honestly can’t say what other companies would be like, but I certainly wouldn’t go if this company was providing the excursion. I would ask destination services when you board for more information.

 

We did report our experience to the DS Manager Sixtose, he said he’d get back to us, but been home two weeks and still no feed back. If you can see my photo and go on to the companies website, very different pictures, a few years old I would say and not what I expect from RSSC.

 

We are not  complainers, and did give praise when due on another couple of excursions we did. They were included excursions. By the by, having to pay 10 A$ dollars for a beer, just added insult to injury. I wish I’d stayed on the ship and enjoyed cocktails by the pool. 🥂🥂🍷🍷

 

i hope you have a great trip, we did apart from this.

 

🛳🛳🛳🛳🛳🛳🛳

[Tsunami74]

2 minutes ago, Stefken said:

Hi,

 

I honestly can’t say what other companies would be like, but I certainly wouldn’t go if this company was providing the excursion. I would ask destination services when you board for more information.

 

We did report our experience to the DS Manager Sixtose, he said he’d get back to us, but been home two weeks and still no feed back. If you can see my photo and go on to the companies website, very different pictures, a few years old I would say and not what I expect from RSSC.

 

We are not  complainers, and did give praise when due on another couple of excursions we did. They were included excursions. By the by, having to pay 10 A$ dollars for a beer, just added insult to injury. I wish I’d stayed on the ship and enjoyed cocktails by the pool. 🥂🥂🍷🍷

 

i hope you have a great trip, we did apart from this.

 

🛳🛳🛳🛳🛳🛳🛳

Thank you Stefkan

We had heard these exact complaints from some friends who did the excursion with Viking.

We naively thought "well, Regent would be better" 

Now that you have confirmed that it seems to be the same exact trip, we cancelled and picked another excursion in Cairns.

[Tsunami74]

5 minutes ago, Stefken said:

Hi,

 

I honestly can’t say what other companies would be like, but I certainly wouldn’t go if this company was providing the excursion. I would ask destination services when you board for more information.

 

We did report our experience to the DS Manager Sixtose, he said he’d get back to us, but been home two weeks and still no feed back. If you can see my photo and go on to the companies website, very different pictures, a few years old I would say and not what I expect from RSSC.

 

We are not  complainers, and did give praise when due on another couple of excursions we did. They were included excursions. By the by, having to pay 10 A$ dollars for a beer, just added insult to injury. I wish I’d stayed on the ship and enjoyed cocktails by the pool. 🥂🥂🍷🍷

 

i hope you have a great trip, we did apart from this.

 

🛳🛳🛳🛳🛳🛳🛳

Thank you Stefkan

We had heard these exact complaints from some friends who did the excursion with Viking.

We naively thought "well, Regent would be better" 

Now that you have confirmed that it seems to be the same exact trip, we cancelled and picked another excursion in Cairns.

[forgap]

We did a similar excursion in Cairns in 2018.  The catamaran was huge with about 200 people packed in - a mix of Regent passengers and others.  A cyclone was about 500 miles away so very choppy seas.  Of course, I got sea sick.   Mustered up enough energy to squeeze into a wetsuit (not a model shoot - more like 100 imitation Orcas), got into the murky water for snorkeling and called it quits after five minutes.   I was down for the count for the rest of the excursion.  For what it’s worth, Bora Bora was much better and, actually, Oman was better.  

[GMIAC]

One thing you can do is to look at YouTube videos for the tour you're interested in. We cancelled our Eco River Monkey Tour on Harvest Cay after watching this video; the tour was operated by the same company that contracts with Regent. While I admit this guy was quite melodramatic about the whole thing, and that we never laughed so hard watching a video that didn't feature people falling on the ice, the tour did look like something we ultimately wouldn't have enjoyed.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vbAlpti9FA&t=10s

[irishwitchy]

I did this  last year out of Cains.  The deck chairs were covered with yuk, but we bought extra towels  with us, because my husband went for the ride and his plans was to catch some sun and go on the sub.  The sub was so so.   
 

I on the other hand, grabbed the stinger suit, flippers and snorkel and was the second person in the water.  It was very calm that day and the colors were great.  While everyone else was still trying to figure out what size to grab and/or change (wear your bathing suit, folks),  I’m checking out the fish and coral.  Stayed in the water for 25 minutes and got out.  At that point everyone finally got in the water.

 

Lunch was being served and we in line before everything was picked over. I will say the shrimp had to be peeled and many folks had an issue with that.  (We didn’t),  fried chicken I think there may have been some Indian thing, which adding the shrimp to was very good.  It wasn’t the best lunch, but it was ok. 
 

I think we got a couple of drink coupons and my husband and I went back to the lounger and had a great conversation with the crusty old man working the slide (which I did).  At this point everyone is getting out of the water to get lunch.  Time for me to go back in!  
 

We have had better and worst excursions, but I got to see some great looking coral, fish and a turtle.  I’m also a certified diver.  I could have done that,  but sometimes it easier to snorkel.  

I do remember that folks that did the excursions from Airlie were not thrilled,  Cains was much better.   When in Cains,  we can highly recommend Prawn Stars (floating shrimp restaurant).  You may see this place on a few other docks.   Get the Morton Bay bugs, salmon and a bottle of sparkling wine.  Pick up the Tshirt, also.  

[curmudgeon98]

The Great Barrier Reef tours can be a bit of a gamble.  Bad weather can hamper the visibility, and a pontoon floating out in the sea isn't easy to keep in nice condition if you don't have those low-paid cruise line workers to keep things painted and polished.

 

Some years ago I was staying in Port Douglas and did a reef trip with Quicksilver.  Weather and visibility were good, the boat was quite large and stable, and the buffet lunch fairly extensive.  The snorkeling experience was badly hampered by too many people in a relatively small area.  I liked what I saw, but not the zoo in the water.

 

When we got back, I found a smaller boat going out the next day.  About 30 passengers.  They didn't go to a fixed site, but picked from a few locations depending on wind and weather.  Lunch wasn't nearly as elaborate, the boat wasn't as stable, it was a long day in the sun.  It was a vastly better experience for someone focused on time in and under the water, but would have been uncomfortable for someone less active.

[lovetosew]

We also were suckered into a reef tour but since neither of us snorkle it was just a pleasant day in the down under sun.  Do not remember a buffet but Vantage must have had something to eat.  On a lighter note I do remember taking a private around the island from Wellington.  We booked a kid with a van to see the seals on the far side of the island.  He was a stitch and a lot of fun; a real Quigley down Under.

 

 

[kelsea82301]

On 1/8/2024 at 10:15 AM, curmudgeon98 said:

The Great Barrier Reef tours can be a bit of a gamble.  Bad weather can hamper the visibility, and a pontoon floating out in the sea isn't easy to keep in nice condition if you don't have those low-paid cruise line workers to keep things painted and polished.

 

Some years ago I was staying in Port Douglas and did a reef trip with Quicksilver.  Weather and visibility were good, the boat was quite large and stable, and the buffet lunch fairly extensive.  The snorkeling experience was badly hampered by too many people in a relatively small area.  I liked what I saw, but not the zoo in the water.

 

When we got back, I found a smaller boat going out the next day.  About 30 passengers.  They didn't go to a fixed site, but picked from a few locations depending on wind and weather.  Lunch wasn't nearly as elaborate, the boat wasn't as stable, it was a long day in the sun.  It was a vastly better experience for someone focused on time in and under the water, but would have been uncomfortable for someone less active.

Hello,

 

Do you remember what company had the smaller boat?  We are looking at Wavelength and Calypso for a GBR tour out of Port Douglas.

 

Thanks!

 

Kelly

[curmudgeon98]

1 hour ago, kelsea82301 said:

Hello,

 

Do you remember what company had the smaller boat?  We are looking at Wavelength and Calypso for a GBR tour out of Port Douglas.

 

Thanks!

 

Kelly

Sorry, I don't remember the specific company.  I found it by wandering down the docks after returning from the Quicksilver tour.  It could have been Calypso, though not the same boats they are using now.  Both Wavelength and Calypso look like decent options.  There is some argument for doing a "snorkel-only" trip if that's your focus.  On the other hand, I ended up doing a couple of "intro dives" with scuba on my trip even though I hadn't originally planned on that, so being on a mixed trip had it's advantages (they do the land class on the trip out, then an instructor stays close when you dive).

[jessandarnie]

4 hours ago, kelsea82301 said:

Hello,

 

Do you remember what company had the smaller boat?  We are looking at Wavelength and Calypso for a GBR tour out of Port Douglas.

 

Thanks!

 

Kelly

Have a look at Oceanspirit website. Smaller catararam sailing boat, with motors.

[kelsea82301]

5 minutes ago, jessandarnie said:

Have a look at Oceanspirit website. Smaller catararam sailing boat, with motors.

I will. Thank You!

[robbie21]

Back in 2017 we chartered a 35 passenger boat out of Cairns. 

 

In researching this trip I found many adverse comment on the cruise line excursions to the pontoons.  We also later heard similar comments later from fellow passengers. Crowded, dead coral, bad food, etc. We did not want to take a ship excursion to the reef.  Our situation was a late arrival in Cairns, around 10AM.  The small boats normally leave around 8 AM so we were unable to take a regular excursion on our own.  The ship excursion was the only option or so we thought.

 

Anyway, I contacted the Seastar and arranged a charter of the whole boat.  We were a group of 8 and I filled the rest of the slots via the roll call without difficulty.  It was a 2 or 3 block walk down the waterfront to the boat slips.  We were underway by 10:45.  Wonderful day. Spectacular weather and we anchored about 10 feet from the reef. They had a glass bottom boat for some of the non-swimmers. The reef was spectacular. Good food too. We got back in around 5:30 PM. We had 4+ hours on the reef which was ample given that we could just step off the stern and we were there.  All in all a terrific day.

 

I started this process about 6 months prior to the cruise. I made the charter on faith that I could fill the boat from the roll call.  Turned out to be easy.  There was a fair amount of "administration" in collecting checks and making payments. Because of a fluctuating exchange rate determining the price was a bit tricky.  I ended up $75 ahead.  By consensus of the group I spent it on a bottle of wine that night.

 

 

[Wuzzle10]

On 1/8/2024 at 2:34 PM, Stefken said:

Anyone doing Great Barrier Reef excursion. Just a heads up.

 

We did the Great Barrier Reef excursion in November from Airlie Beach extra cost of £159. From the Explorer.

 

Luxury Catamaran it was not, the pontoon was filthy, bird muck over decks and loungers. Shabby in the extreme, extensive buffet was at best mediocre. Having researched the company who provided the Reef cruise, on our return home, Their  advertising pictures bare no resemblance to the actual experience. 
 

I personally only spent 5 minutes in the reef, as after the cyclone passing through days earlier  made the reef very choppy, I consider myself a strong swimmer, but I felt concerned by the conditions, couldn’t see any fish because visibility was very poor. 
 

We changed out of swimwear in less than adequate changing rooms, got back on the catamaran and waited 1hour thirty minutes for our return to the ships rather than get back on the pontoon.

 

To have waited over a year for this visit to the reef, this was so very disappointing.its the same people doing the Cairns  and Airlue beach excursion. I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone I knew wanted to do the Barrier Reef.

 

We attached the only only one a wanted to take, taken as we left, with no fond memories at all.

 

This my opinion, but thought it may be of interest to others thinking of doing this excursion.

We were on this exact trip, but in January 2023, doesn’t look as though anything has changed, we complained about the whole cruise as most of it was not good, but this excursion was about a 1 star experience , I don’t think any Regent representative has ever been on it and why keep sending guests there is beyond me