dkata Posted April 11, 2017 #1 Share Posted April 11, 2017 We are going to Cairn pre-cruise before flying to Sydney for our cruise to NZ. We are interested in seeing the Great Barrier Reef. We are not divers. We saw the Coral Princess has a 3 or 5 day cruise from Cairn that visits Lizard Island, stops at several snorkeling spots and other land stops and offer similar amenities to a cruise, but on a smaller scale. Has anyone sailed on the Coral Princess and was the 3 or 5 day cruise worth it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GradUT Posted April 11, 2017 #2 Share Posted April 11, 2017 We are going to Cairn pre-cruise before flying to Sydney for our cruise to NZ. We are interested in seeing the Great Barrier Reef. We are not divers. We saw the Coral Princess has a 3 or 5 day cruise from Cairn that visits Lizard Island, stops at several snorkeling spots and other land stops and offer similar amenities to a cruise, but on a smaller scale. Has anyone sailed on the Coral Princess and was the 3 or 5 day cruise worth it? Why not just do a snorkeling day trip to the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns? There's no need to to a 3-5 day cruise just for snorkeling. I have done many snorkeling trips to the GBR, but they have all been on boats based out of Port Douglas. If you were to stay in PD (which I think is way better than staying in Cairns), then do a day trip to the Outer Reef with Wavelength. They are a snorkel-only boat that carries a small number of passengers (under 50) to 3 different locations on the Outer Reef. If you choose to stay in Cairns, look at a day trip with Seastar. I have not gone out with them, but they get excellent reviews on Trip Advisor. The one thing you should NOT do is a snorkeling trip from Cairns to Green Island. The coral at Green Island is in poor condition and you won't see much sea life as a result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUT2407 Posted April 11, 2017 #3 Share Posted April 11, 2017 You do know it's not a cruise ship ran by Princess cruises but a smaller boat for reef excursions? https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowUserReviews-g255069-d584951-r115934651-Reef_Experience-Cairns_Cairns_Region_Queensland.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finzleftright Posted April 11, 2017 #4 Share Posted April 11, 2017 I love Princess and would NEVER discourage anyone from one of their cruises. BUT Australia is so simple to visit, and you need more time to explore. We were booked on a 20 or so day Princess cruise with friends. And after thinking it over, we told them to go without us. Then we booked our own three week trip with stays in Sydney, Tasmania, Kangaroo Island, and Port Douglas. We loved Port Douglas. And we really enjoyed the snorkeling cruise with Quicksilver. Look them up on TripAdvisor and look for my review comparing the Outer Reef vs the inner Islands. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUT2407 Posted April 11, 2017 #5 Share Posted April 11, 2017 I love Princess and would NEVER discourage anyone from one of their cruises. BUT Australia is so simple to visit, and you need more time to explore. We were booked on a 20 or so day Princess cruise with friends. And after thinking it over, we told them to go without us. Then we booked our own three week trip with stays in Sydney, Tasmania, Kangaroo Island, and Port Douglas. We loved Port Douglas. And we really enjoyed the snorkeling cruise with Quicksilver. Look them up on TripAdvisor and look for my review comparing the Outer Reef vs the inner Islands. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Save as I said previously it's not a Princess ship, seems to confuse some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finzleftright Posted April 12, 2017 #6 Share Posted April 12, 2017 The original post said "Coral Princess" which is a Princess ship. According to Princess, at least. Is that not the ship that we're discussing? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkata Posted April 12, 2017 Author #7 Share Posted April 12, 2017 Thank you for everyone's responses. Yes I am aware this is not a "princess" cruise. The company is called Adventure Smith Explorations https://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com. I think the former company was Captain Cook Cruises. Wife likes the 5 day/ 4 night itinerary because there are land stops to other islands, like Lizard island. https://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/great-barrier-reef-cruises#itinerary Can't find any reviews that aren't on the companies page the question we both have is "How are the coral reefs now? Are they all bleached out? Is all we are going to see while snorkeling is bleach out coral? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celle Posted April 12, 2017 #8 Share Posted April 12, 2017 No, the reefs aren't all bleached out. Some are, and there is concern that more may bleach, due to rising temperatures. I would expect that the ship takes you to reefs that are still OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUT2407 Posted April 12, 2017 #9 Share Posted April 12, 2017 Thank you for everyone's responses. Yes I am aware this is not a "princess" cruise. The company is called Adventure Smith Explorations https://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com. I think the former company was Captain Cook Cruises. Wife likes the 5 day/ 4 night itinerary because there are land stops to other islands, like Lizard island. https://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/great-barrier-reef-cruises#itinerary Can't find any reviews that aren't on the companies page the question we both have is "How are the coral reefs now? Are they all bleached out? Is all we are going to see while snorkeling is bleach out coral? You may be aware, but others seem to have been confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MMDown Under Posted April 18, 2017 #10 Share Posted April 18, 2017 There is an excellent small Australian cruise company - Coral Expeditions, which operates out of Cairns on 3 day or 4 day GBR cruises, or 7 day combined cruise. I would love to do the cruise which visits Lizard Island. If you email the company, they will answer any questions you may have, as they are a very friendly small company. They are a long established company, which have recently expanded short cruises to Southern Tasmania and SE Asia. http://www.coralexpeditions.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkata Posted April 19, 2017 Author #11 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Thanks for the info. I also found out it was now called Coral Expeditions. they renamed the company and the ships. I had to go to the cruise critic.com.au site to find recent reviews of the tour and they were very positive. The company doesn't have recent reviews on the US website version . So we will be booking the 5 day cruise that does stop at Lizard island for next February, a week prior to our NZ cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MMDown Under Posted April 19, 2017 #12 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Thanks for the info. I also found out it was now called Coral Expeditions. they renamed the company and the ships. I had to go to the cruise critic.com.au site to find recent reviews of the tour and they were very positive. The company doesn't have recent reviews on the US website version .So we will be booking the 5 day cruise that does stop at Lizard island for next February, a week prior to our NZ cruise. That should be a wonderful cruise, prior to your NZ cruise. Just be aware our cyclone season is from November to April. However, this year's cyclonic weather was late in April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Kristal Blade Posted April 27, 2017 #13 Share Posted April 27, 2017 We have cruised with this company. Did 3 day trip. It was expensive but worth it. The crew were fantastic, took great care of us both on board and in the water. We had great snorkelling, amazing food cooked by a Swiss chef and made some good friends. We would recommend this to anyone as it is a nice small boat so you have no queues to get in and out of the water and if you don't want to snorkel you can always take a trip on the glass bottomed boat. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise Junky Posted November 15, 2017 #14 Share Posted November 15, 2017 I love Princess and would NEVER discourage anyone from one of their cruises. BUT Australia is so simple to visit, and you need more time to explore. We were booked on a 20 or so day Princess cruise with friends. And after thinking it over, we told them to go without us. Then we booked our own three week trip with stays in Sydney, Tasmania, Kangaroo Island, and Port Douglas. We loved Port Douglas. And we really enjoyed the snorkeling cruise with Quicksilver. Look them up on TripAdvisor and look for my review comparing the Outer Reef vs the inner Islands. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Good on ya. We're currently in Port Douglas for 8 nights. I can't imagine seeing this wonderful country by ship. Inter Australian flights are so convenient and cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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