Great Barrier Reef, organise a charter?

Cruising on the Pacific Dawn in July and as there will be 6 of us the costs for reef trips from Cairns through the ship are just ridiculous. We're tendering in at Yorkeys Knob and apparently I don't have much choice anyhow due to our times. I've been wondering about chartering a boat for our group. I've been having a look through http://www.cairnscharters.com.au and they seem to have a good selection.

Has anyone done this?

Would we need to come ashore first, or could we be picked up directly from the Pacific Dawn?

Cruising on the Pacific Dawn in July and as there will be 6 of us the costs for reef trips from Cairns through the ship are just ridiculous. We're tendering in at Yorkeys Knob and apparently I don't have much choice anyhow due to our times. I've been wondering about chartering a boat for our group. I've been having a look through http://www.cairnscharters.com.au and they seem to have a good selection.

 

Has anyone done this?

 

Would we need to come ashore first, or could we be picked up directly from the Pacific Dawn?

The first question is how long are you scheduled to be in port? Depending on your time in port, you will probably be limited to taking a ship's excursion to the Great Barrier Reef.

Remember that trips to GBR are weather dependant, so you can cancel your booked cruise on the ship, if the trip is cancelled.