Recommend excursions Carnival Great Barrier Reef Cruise

[Explorer121]

We are doing a 9 day cruise above next month from Sydney, hitting Tangaloona/Moreton island, Arlie beach, Cairns, and Willis Island.  I have looked at excursions thru Carnival and nothing of much interest.  We love to snorkel and want to really do a lot of it in and around Great Barrier Reef. Can anyone recommend a good local private or small tour/excursion for any of the above stops?  We would like to snorkel at least 2 days and which stops will offer the best for the Great Barrier Reef? Is snorkeling the wreck island worth it at all in Mireton?  We are also open to any other great tours/excursions anyone can recommend.  TIA

[Hogbay]

3 hours ago, Explorer121 said:

We are doing a 9 day cruise above next month from Sydney, hitting Tangaloona/Moreton island, Arlie beach, Cairns, and Willis Island.  I have looked at excursions thru Carnival and nothing of much interest.  We love to snorkel and want to really do a lot of it in and around Great Barrier Reef. Can anyone recommend a good local private or small tour/excursion for any of the above stops?  We would like to snorkel at least 2 days and which stops will offer the best for the Great Barrier Reef? Is snorkeling the wreck island worth it at all in Mireton?  We are also open to any other great tours/excursions anyone can recommend.  TIA

Those GBR tours are the same operators for Royal, P&O etc . The outer reef is along way out so the CAT's come to the ship ,which is a tender stop At Arlie beach,  to make it a possible day trip. They will sell out . Tangalooma wrecks , you can walk up the beach to and use your own goggles.  Willis is  you will be snorkelling in the pool ,its a sail /bye 🤣👋.Tangalooma Wrecks 

[MMDown Under]

31 minutes ago, Hogbay said:

Those GBR tours are the same operators for Royal, P&O etc . The outer reef is along way out so the CAT's come to the ship ,which is a tender stop At Arlie beach,  to make it a possible day trip. They will sell out . Tangalooma wrecks , you can walk up the beach to and use your own goggles.  Willis is  you will be snorkelling in the pool ,its a sail /bye 🤣👋.Tangalooma Wrecks r

I think the cruiselines should say Willis Island is a sail bye so passengers aren't confused.

When I went past Dingo Beach, I noticed people doing water activities there.

[buchhalm]

Given the port times on a cruise, i think you are pretty much tied to what the ships sell.

The independent tours depart or get back at times that are not suitable for cruise schedules.

But if you have time before or after the cruise, there are a few fabulous smaller operators in Cairns and Port Douglas. There is one that takes a sailing catamaran with out to the Low Isles for a full day of snorkelling and diving.

Not as busy as the huge boats with many hundreds that go to the pontoons on the outer reef. (But those are great as well. Just not as laid back)

[SinbadThePorter]

8 hours ago, Explorer121 said:

Is snorkeling the wreck island worth it at all in Mireton?

 

It's worth doing from a boat, but it's a long, lonely swim out to the wrecks from the beach.

[cruiser3775]

If your main aim is snorkelling on the outer reef, where the coral is best, then you are going to be disappointed by the cruise.  The Great Barrier reef is not close to shore in any of the places you will be stopping.

Tangalooma has an artificial reef made from shipwrecks that coral has grown over. It is easily accessible.

Airlie Beach is about a three hour ride in a catamaran to the outer reef

Cairns is about a two hour ride in a fast catamaran

Willis Island is just a sail past - the cruise ship will not stop there.

Your best chance to snorkel the reef is from Cairns, but you will have to pay for the ship's excursion. The independent operators leave too early or get back too late. The ship excursion is shortened to fit the sailing times, and spends less time actually at the reef for snorkelling.

[MMDown Under]

47 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

If your main aim is snorkelling on the outer reef, where the coral is best, then you are going to be disappointed by the cruise.  The Great Barrier reef is not close to shore in any of the places you will be stopping.

Tangalooma has an artificial reef made from shipwrecks that coral has grown over. It is easily accessible.

Airlie Beach is about a three hour ride in a catamaran to the outer reef

Cairns is about a two hour ride in a fast catamaran

Willis Island is just a sail past - the cruise ship will not stop there.

Your best chance to snorkel the reef is from Cairns, but you will have to pay for the ship's excursion. The independent operators leave too early or get back too late. The ship excursion is shortened to fit the sailing times, and spends less time actually at the reef for snorkelling.

If passengers main focus is the GBR, there are better ways to see the reef than from a big cruise ship because they’re days in port are too short to consider other options.

 

When I cruised on a small expedition ship from Cairns to Darwin with Coral Expeditions, the ship used tenders to take you to two ribbon reefs to snorkel.

www.coral expeditions.com

 

 

 

 

[Hogbay]

1 hour ago, MMDown Under said:

If passengers main focus is the GBR, there are better ways to see the reef than from a big cruise ship because they’re days in port are too short to consider other options.

 

When I cruised on a small expedition ship from Cairns to Darwin with Coral Expeditions, the ship used tenders to take you to two ribbon reefs to snorkel.

www.coral expeditions.com

 

 

 

 

Op has already booked  on Carnival . Coral Expedition is in no way comparable in $$$$$ for a family. Some of  " Big Cruise Ships " had overnight stays in Cairns. 

[MMDown Under]

2 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

If your main aim is snorkelling on the outer reef, where the coral is best, then you are going to be disappointed by the cruise.  The Great Barrier reef is not close to shore in any of the places you will be stopping.

Tangalooma has an artificial reef made from shipwrecks that coral has grown over. It is easily accessible.

Airlie Beach is about a three hour ride in a catamaran to the outer reef

Cairns is about a two hour ride in a fast catamaran

Willis Island is just a sail past - the cruise ship will not stop there.

Your best chance to snorkel the reef is from Cairns, but you will have to pay for the ship's excursion. The independent operators leave too early or get back too late. The ship excursion is shortened to fit the sailing times, and spends less time actually at the reef for snorkelling.

I agree with your comments.  

[arxcards]

17 hours ago, Hogbay said:

Op has already booked  on Carnival . Coral Expedition is in no way comparable in $$$$$ for a family. Some of  " Big Cruise Ships " had overnight stays in Cairns. 

Some overnight in Cairns and those usually skip Port Douglas. Others spend the one day in Cairns, but only cruise to Port Douglas for the next day. If anyone is prepared to pay for a night off the ship in Cairns and a 1hr shuttle up the highway to Port Douglas the next morning, it opens-up more possibilities for GBR out of Cairns.

[ceeceeDee]

Best to check itineraries. Don't know if it is the same every time, but Encounter has an overnighter in Cairns on our next cruise. Gets in around 9am one day and leaves late afternoon the next from memory. Don't all rise up and slay me, but having lived for 15 years in Cairns back in the day, I'm more interested to see how my old stomping ground has changed rather than snorkling the reef which I also did back in the day!

[Explorer32]

Hi

I am going on this cruise 6 May from Sydney.  

Did you go on any of the ships excursions... if so how did you find them?

 

Thanks in advance

 

[aussielozzie18]

Airlie Beach - Ocean Rafting ship excursion.  

Cairns - spent hours in the free pool on the foreshore.  Afternoon - ship excursion - stretch limo tour to Cairns Cascades and Port Douglas.

 

Port Douglas - did the ship excursion with Quicksilver to outer reef platform for snorkeling.

 

All done through Carnival.  Enjoyed all of them.

 

tip - if you haven’t done a cruise by of Willis Island before,  make sure you are on the open deck as you slowly cruise past as the reef pilot will interview one of the scientists who live on the island and broadcast it through the ship speakers.  Interesting 

Edited March 24 by aussielozzie18

[ceeceeDee]

Skyrail Rainforest Cableway in Cairns is awesome. Fantastic views.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Airlie Beach - a Whitehaven Beach excursion in a RIB where you'll not only get to see this gorgeous beach but also much of the Whitsunday Islands going there and back. It's a bit of wild ride though but heaps of fun. We did this through Princess so it should be available through Carnival.

[Muffinz]

On 3/25/2024 at 1:22 PM, ceeceeDee said:

Skyrail Rainforest Cableway in Cairns is awesome. Fantastic views.

we did this on our cruise in 2018 - was well worth it

[cruiser3775]

Moreton Island has some of the largest artificial reefs in the world, with multiple shipwrecks to explore..  It provides excellent snorkelling.