Great Barrier Reef tours from Cruise Ship without getting into the water

[eddieg07410]

We will be visiting the Great Barrier Reef area on a Viking Cruise in March. We would like to view the Great Barrier Reef from either a submersible or glass bottom boat. We will be makes stops in Cairns, Townsville, Whitt Sunday Islands, Thursday Island, and Darwin. We would also like recommended tours to see other sites while in this area. Thanks in advance.

[cruiser3775]

Cairns is the only port on your list for seeing the Great Barrier Reef. The  tours to the reef go to big pontoons moored at the outer reef. They have glass bottom boats for non swimmers.  But it is a 2.5 hour ride in a fast catamaran to get to the reef, so five hours travel in total.  Most of the regular tours leave too early and/or get back too late for the times the ships are in port. So you are pretty much tied to an excursion arranged by the ship, which will be shorter, as well as very expensive.

[Mrs f.]

We'll  be doing Great Adventures GBR  pontoon tour out of Cairns in December.    I can let you know how it goes. They have underwater viewing

[eddieg07410]

1 hour ago, cruiser3775 said:

Cairns is the only port on your list for seeing the Great Barrier Reef. The  tours to the reef go to big pontoons moored at the outer reef. They have glass bottom boats for non swimmers.  But it is a 2.5 hour ride in a fast catamaran to get to the reef, so five hours travel in total.  Most of the regular tours leave too early and/or get back too late for the times the ships are in port. So you are pretty much tied to an excursion arranged by the ship, which will be shorter, as well as very expensive.

We get into Cairns around 8 and leave at 6. There are a few tours that leave from Spence street but I have no idea how far that is from the cruise port.

[possum52]

22 minutes ago, eddieg07410 said:

We get into Cairns around 8 and leave at 6. There are a few tours that leave from Spence street but I have no idea how far that is from the cruise port.

It is just a few minutes walk from where you will be docked to where the tours leave - on the map I have attached, I have marked the cruise ship terminal and where the excursions out to the reef leave from with red dots. We were in Cairns for 10 days in July/August and took a half day trip to Green Island and went on a glass bottom boat. We left Cairns at around 10.30am and it took approx 45 mins to reach Green Island. We explored the island, had coffee and lunch and then went in a glass bottom boat to see the reef. We left Green Island at 2.30pm, arriving back in Cairns around 3.15pm. 

Green Island Half Day Tour

 

 

[cruiser3775]

Green Island is nice enough for a day at the beach, but the coral there is dead, victim of rising sea temperatures. If you want to see good live coral, you have to go out to sea 40 kms to the Outer Reef.  That's why the trips are expensive. It costs a lot to maintain a large pontoon permanently moored at the reef and ferry people in and out to it.

[possum52]

1 minute ago, cruiser3775 said:

Green Island is nice enough for a day at the beach, but the coral there is dead, victim of rising sea temperatures. If you want to see good live coral, you have to go out to sea 40 kms to the Outer Reef.  That's why the trips are expensive. It costs a lot to maintain a large pontoon permanently moored at the reef and ferry people in and out to it.

Actually the coral at Green Island which is a national park is far from dead. It is undergoing a rehabilitation program which started in 2020 and the coral is growing well. All coral reefs around the world are suffering from the same problems of rising temperatures and pollution.

Reef Rehabilitation Green Island

[Hogbay]

2 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

Cairns is the only port on your list for seeing the Great Barrier Reef. The  tours to the reef go to big pontoons moored at the outer reef. They have glass bottom boats for non swimmers.  But it is a 2.5 hour ride in a fast catamaran to get to the reef, so five hours travel in total.  Most of the regular tours leave too early and/or get back too late for the times the ships are in port. So you are pretty much tied to an excursion arranged by the ship, which will be shorter, as well as very expensive.

Op said they are going to Whitsunday's  im guessing Airlie Beach . Yes ship tour is the only viable option and all have non snorkelling/ diving options . GBR is looking fantastic and its debatable what caused the die back 5 years ago looking like run off and those cyclones then .

[cruiser3775]

It would be nice if the coral at Green island was in good condition, but it is not. Yes, the rehabilitation project is helping a small area around Green Island, which is the part they show to tourists.  It is nothing like it used to be. There have been severe bleaching events in 2020 and again earlier this year, the first time that has happened in a La Nina year.

[eddieg07410]

On 11/12/2022 at 8:42 PM, possum52 said:

It is just a few minutes walk from where you will be docked to where the tours leave - on the map I have attached, I have marked the cruise ship terminal and where the excursions out to the reef leave from with red dots. We were in Cairns for 10 days in July/August and took a half day trip to Green Island and went on a glass bottom boat. We left Cairns at around 10.30am and it took approx 45 mins to reach Green Island. We explored the island, had coffee and lunch and then went in a glass bottom boat to see the reef. We left Green Island at 2.30pm, arriving back in Cairns around 3.15pm. 

Green Island Half Day Tour

Thanks. We booked this tour through Viator. How long is the and how much is the crocodile option and how do you book that? We are not beach people. We plan to go from 8:30 to 2:30. Will there be enough to do?

 

 

[eddieg07410]

On 11/12/2022 at 6:44 PM, Mrs f. said:

We'll  be doing Great Adventures GBR  pontoon tour out of Cairns in December.    I can let you know how it goes. They have underwater viewing

I know they have sushi and glass bottom boats. Are the subs much better for viewing the reef that the glass bottom boats?

[Aus Traveller]

The semi-submersibles are better than glass-bottomed boats.