Great Barrier Reef

[JJ__]

Hi.

 

 

I would like to know which cruise covers the entire Great Barrier Reef in Australia or at least which one covers the most of it.

[Wastegirl]

So would I but this is the province of specialist smaller cruising companies and soooooo expensive, try:

 

http://coralprincess.com.au/home-au/

http://www.captaincook.com.au/great-barrier-reef-cruises/

 

Alternatively you can hire sail boats which are crewed but they will do only regions of the GBR.

 

In November 2014 HAL's Volendam sails from Sydney to Singapore through the GBR but how much of it you see I don't know as you are not stopping next to reefs to snorkel, dive etc. Princess cruises do something similar as well.

[Yillup]

If you want to see the "whole" barrier reef, a big cruise ship isn't the right way to do it I don't think. There's no way a cruise ship will get close enough to appreciate anything, and the ports up that way are limited in size and are quite spread out. The Great Barrier Reef itself is 2300 kilometres long and covers 344400 kilometres squared. The length is like a few Englands stacked on top of each other. There are small islands all the way along and many you can stay at.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[MicCanberra]

Hi.

 

 

I would like to know which cruise covers the entire Great Barrier Reef in Australia or at least which one covers the most of it.

Welcome to cruise critic, as the posters above have stated, most of the mass market lines (Celebrity, RCI, HAL, Princess, etc) only call in at some mainland ports such as Port Douglas, Cairns and Airlie Beach. Excursions can be taken from these ports but to really see the reef for days on end, a chartered yacht may be better suited. Otherwise some island hopping may be the solution.:D

Edited January 17, 2014 by MicCanberra

[JJ__]

Hi.

 

Understood. tks for reply.

[yeah-its-us]

Hi.

 

 

I would like to know which cruise covers the entire Great Barrier Reef in Australia or at least which one covers the most of it.

 

Your best bet is to head to Cairns, lots of operators there who'll take you out through the reef....as mentioned, the larger cruise lines may go past there but even if you did get to spend some time there, can't imagine it would be long enough to see much of the reef.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[rabbitoh_777]

.

Hi.

 

I would like to know which cruise covers the entire Great Barrier Reef in Australia or at least which one covers the most of it.

.

 

Put quicksilver into Google.

 

Their wavepiercer catamarans are magic.

 

:cool:

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

JJ_ what do u actually want to do? Wake up on the reef each morning & snorkel / dive etc, or just sail / cruise through it & see it from you deck etc? maybe a land holiday on one of the islands that has a walk out reef would be better for you :)

 

The outer reefs you see on the day trips from Cairns / Tvvle etc are pretty ordinary compared to a pristine reef with minimal human footprint. Having said that, they are still fantastic, just not as nice as what you can get on smaller less damaged reefs.

 

Some operators out of Cairns / Tvlle do live aboard dive trips that spend days out on the reef. They are expensive, but worth it if you want a "genuine" reef experience.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Hi.

 

 

I would like to know which cruise covers the entire Great Barrier Reef in Australia or at least which one covers the most of it.

 

No major mass market cruise line covers the Great Barrier Reef. The reef is a National Park plus a World Heritage Site. The transit of any cruise ship near or through the reef is strcitly controlled .

Smaller cruise "boats" have licences to operate cruises/tours within the reef itself , but even these are restricted to where they can and cannot go.

If you want to really experience the reef , your best bet is to stay for 3 or 4 days in Cairns and pick your days to take one of the many tours on offer there.

 

[Widebay]

I agree with all the other replies - GBR is quite long, and in most cases some distance from the mainland. In the northern section (near Cairns) the reef is closer to the mainland, and in the south, a bit further out.

 

Where I live in Hervey Bay, we have small planes that fly out to Lady Elliot Island, a beautiful coral cay island, largely unknown to many tourists.

 

Excellent diving, swimming, a small resort on the island to buy a meal. An airstrip across the middle of the island which consists of coral rock, with grass growing over it.

 

As you walk around the island, the cabins & hotel section, you will see thousands of sooty tern birds in the bushes, just everywhere, the island really is a nature gem, something you don't see on the northern touristy islands.

 

Another island I visited 2 years ago was Lady Musgrave, again similar to Lady Elliot island,....both coral cay islands.

 

Both islands get large turtles laying their eggs on the islands at certain times of the year........these 2 islands are the REAL GREAT BARRIER REEF.

not like the "touristy" continental islands further north.

[Widebay]

I forgot to mention another island, very close to where I live, and that is Fraser Island or K'garri island (name given by the Butchilla aboriginal people - which means "paradise")

 

K'garri Island has wild dingoes, beautiful long stretches of sandy beaches,

and wonderful inland fresh water lakes for swimming, or cleaning your rings in (apparently one lake's water does just that)

 

There is a large resort on Fraser Island (K'garri) called Kingfisher, with a number of restaurants, fresh water swimming pool, canoes, guided bush walks, etc, etc.

 

Where I live, we are fortunate to be able catch a ferry from River Heads over to Fraser for a "Day out excursion" - that is, lunch, bush walking tours, use of Resorts swimming pool, and a visit to Z-Force old jetty area (Z-Force were an elite group of Australian soldiers trained to sail an old japanese junk up to Singapore, then at night, place mines on the side of the Japanese ships in port. If they were captured, they shot on the spot...very brave men)