Awoodwaring

20 hours ago, possum52 said:

There are many other things to do in the Cairns/Port Douglas area other than going out to the reef. For flights from Sydney, there are at the moment seven direct flights to Cairns from Sydney, duration of around three hours. The shuttle drive from Cairns airport to Port Douglas is around an hour. 

 

I would suggest you do quite a bit of research and check out all the options for visiting the reef and see what suits you best. Check the cruise tours from all three ports - Airlie Beach, Cairns and Port Douglas and see if any interest you. From Airlie Beach, it takes 2.5 hours to get to the reef.

For Cairns - TIme to Get to GBR
 

Outlined below are the answers of how long it actually does take to go from Cairns to the Great Barrier Reef broken down to the actual reef destinations and their approximate travel times.

Outer Reefs [Norman, Moore, Thetford, MIln, & Flynn Reefs]

The average amount of time for a modern fully motorised catamaran to travel to the outer reef is approximately 90 min one way.

Mid Reefs [Arlington, Saxon, Hastings, Upolo, Pinnacle Reefs & Michaelmas Cay]

If travelling to the mid areas of the Great Barrier Reef [half way between the coast line and the Continental Shelf edge], the average time is approximately 70min.

However, if travelling by a sailing catamaran, open water travel to the reef can take approximately 2 hours.

 

From Port Douglas, the time depends on where the tour is going on the reef -

Port Douglas GBR Tours

 

We are in the midst of planning a trip to Cairns or Port Douglas at the moment for July and deciding which tour to do to the reef. 

 

That’s really helpful, thank you! Sometimes it is hard to know what questions to ask!

On 4/1/2022 at 6:27 PM, possum52 said:

I assume you are talking about 2023 or 2024 and not this coming June? Carnival ships are not coming to Australia until a transpacific in September 2022 and then regular cruising starts in October. 

 

As for whether doing a cruise or land tour, it will depend on what you want to do. It is best to do a GBR excursion directly from the ship if on a cruise, which you can do from Airlie Beach or Cairns. If you want to spend more time on the reef and see more of QLD, probably a land holiday is the best choice.

Yes, 2023.  We were looking at the cruise, as I wasn’t sure how difficult it would be to fly from Sydney to Cairns, shuttle to Port Douglas and then rely on either public transport or private trips.

Also, are any of the reefs close? My husband gets sea sick so, he would be good for 1 or 2 trips, but not a bunch if they were back to back and 1.5 hrs out each time. 
 

Thinking about doing the South Pacific and Great Barrier Reef cruises on Carnival out if Sydney in June. Since we are coming from California, all of it is very new to us. Anything we should know? Is the GBR cruise worth it, or should that be a land tour?

On 12/24/2021 at 1:56 PM, 1025cruise said:

There is no non-alcoholic version of Cheers. 

 

The Bottomless Bubbles only has juice and soft drinks, not milkshakes and coffees and virgin drinks. Or, is there another program not listed on their site?

Our room comes with the promotional Cheers bonus. My daughter is only 19, but wants the coffee, virgin drinks, milkshakes, etc… Is there any work around so she can get a non-alcoholic version of cheers, since it was part of the promotion? Or, is she stuck with the soda only program? 

I have really enjoyed your reviews over the years. If you are looking for the next place, what about Hawaii? There is a condo in Maui where the sea turtles hang out in front of the condos (look in the shoreline in the bottom pic). You can swim with them and see all the other fish, too...my favorites being the box fish and puffers. Oh, and my daughter also has a way with animals 🙂

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

3/18 is during our school's Easter break. I am guessing that is the difference. I always have to pay more due to our school schedules.

Unless you need a special type of sweetener for coffee/tea, they have the major ones, including good old sugar;). No need for instant coffee, although some folks who think the Lido coffee is a tad on the weak side or want flavored coffee do bring packets of Starbucks Via. As I recall the tea bags are either Bigelow or Lipton brands, but that may not be correct. An assortment of herbal and non-herbal teas included decaf are usually available at any beverage station in the buffet area. If you prefer another type of tea, you're welcome to bring it on board. Same with snacks.

Do they have honey and milk? Yeah, I am kinda high maintenance with my coffee...

Thank you!

How does FTTF work if we get 1 pass, but there are 4 of us (2 in each room)? Can we use it to board early for the whole family? Or, can only 2 go ahead?

I understand only 1 room would be ready early, just not sure about boarding and tenders.

Thanks in advance!

This will be our first cruise. We will cruise sometime between June and August. I wanted a balcony, so I am starting to look now. I am assuming prices don't drop much during summer break?

Me: like critter activities, snorkeling, beaches, relaxing, hiking, museums, educational tours, etc...oh..and, SOFT BEDS and fluffy pillows!!

Hubby: similar

Dd (12) likes animals, beaches, movies, pools

Ds (14) introvert (his worst vacation would be stuck in a teen room lol...unless they were all playing Minecraft or some other video game), likes animals, body surfing, water slides; mini golf and unlimited chocolate were his 2 requested items for the cruise :)

I don't know which cruise would be best for our family:

Norwegian Getaway

Ports of Call:

Day 1: Miami, Florida

Day 2: At Sea

Day 3: At Sea

Day 4: Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

Day 5: Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Day 6: At Sea

Day 7: Nassau, Bahamas

Day 8: Miami, Florida

Carnival Glory

Ports of Call:

Day 1: Miami, Florida

Day 2: At Sea

Day 3: Cozumel, Mexico

Day 4: Belize City, Belize

Day 5: Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

Day 6: George Town, Grand Cayman

Day 7: At Sea

Day 8: Miami, Florida

Carnival Breeze

Ports of Call:

Day 1: Miami, Florida

Day 2: At Sea

Day 3: At Sea

Day 4: Philipsburg, St. Maarten

Day 5: Basseterre, St. Kitts

Day 6: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Day 7: Grand Turk Island

Day 8: At Sea

Day 9: Miami, Florida

Thoughts?