Beautiful views of the reef. The experience was a bit less handicapped accessible than expected. The entry ramps didn't extend all the way to the ground so he had to get off scooter and be helped on board, then the scooter carried on. Same with accessing the platform. However, he was able to do several things and was happy with what was available. We appreciate being able to do this, as several other providers (in another town) all just said ' not for those with walking difficulties'.
Amazing from start to finish! Everything was organised very well. Staff was friendly, helpful and informative.
What an amazing experience! We arrived around noon to the pontoon. We enjoyed the glass bottom boat and submarine tour. The lunch was super delicious but our favourite part was a private tour with marine Biologist Chris. This was an extra cost but worth every penny! We seen turtles and parrot fish. Snorkeling in the ropes was just as amazing and not necessary to pay the extra but it was really Awsome extra. The amount of fish and coral was crazy and we seen so many different species!
I booked a day trip flight and no tours started after my scheduled landing time of 8:30a except this one and finished perfectly on time for me to reach the airport and make my afternoon flight of 6:30pm on time. I did the guided snorkel with Chris, he took us beyond the tours limited barriers and showed us all kinds of cool things surrounding the reef. Overall I have told people I would do it again!
Let me start by saying several things. First I have done over 30 Trip Advisor reviews and have given only 1 3star review. All others were 4-5 and I rarely criticize, so this is my first 2. We took this excursion from our Royal Carribean Cruise ship. When you do this you pay a premium to be picked up at the cruise ship and delivered to and from your destination only with your fellow passengers and returned on time. At your destination you may share the location with multiple other tourists which is perfectly acceptable and understood. We were to be on the Sunlover's catamaran and sailing by 8:30 with 1.5 hours traveling to Great Barrier Reef. Then 4 hours at the reef leaving at 2 and back to ship by 3:30. We were returned to our ship at 5:45 and missed our dinner reservation. So where to begin to outline the multiple problems. Let's start with incompetence. Within 15 minutes of sailing the crew discovers 4 passengers who are on the wrong excursion. This problem could have been avoided by simply checking our tickets when boarding, which was NOT DONE. It necessitated a stop at Cairns to let these unfortunates off the catamaran. An unnecessary stop you think, BUT NO! Crew realizes they do not have enough food for the passengers at lunch, so they have to bring on more food. How efficient of them. Instead of counting the number of tickets sold in advance and planning appropriately we maximized our waste of time by stopping at Cairns for 2 unnecessary reasons. Despite this by 2:30 they had run out of soda for sale. We next stop at Fitzroy Island for reasons unexplained at the time. It turns out Sunlovers picked up passengers not associated with our RC Cruise. We arrive at the snorkeling pontoon 1/2 hour late at 10:30. The Captain promptly announces we are 30 minutes EARLY! He either assumes we are incapable of elementary school math or is deliberately misleading us. It turns out to be the latter as the published schedule on the pontoon has events going until 3:30 (when we should have back to the cruise ship). Clearly they catered to the other tourists from Fitzroy. RC is already aware of this & I can only hope they contract c another snorkeling company in the future. The problems continue below. No one has an issue c a tour company making a profit but keep in mind we already paid hundreds of dollars for the excursion. Ideally, company profits are the sideline to what, for the tourist should be a memorable day. Once on board there is an almost constant barrage of sales pitches for (IMO) overpriced add on such as guided snorkeling/helicopter rides etc. Perhaps most disturbing though just as we approached open water, which had a very mild chop, the crew not very subtly distributes barf bags while wearing latex gloves. By this point I was not shocked to find Sunlovers has anti sea sickness meds conveniently for sale; accompanied by dire warnings that it won't help if taken when already ill feeling (true). They fail to mention it takes 30 minutes to be fully effective; time we did not have (Yes I am a physician). Lunch was served promptly and to be fair the food was adequate in quantity and taste given our location. However, keeping in mind what we paid for the excursion and ambient temperatures approaching 90 F. there was NOTHING TO DRINK FOR FREE. I have no problem c a charge for wine/beer. But Sunlovers could not find the means to provide complimentary ice tea/lemonade or even water! On returning I realize my cell phone and I did not capture the underwater photos I desired. Reluctantly, but with the help of staff, I located one professional photo of myself snorkeling taken by Sunlovers that I agreed to have printed for a fee of $20 US. For security I had left my credit cards on the ship but I was assured that contactless payment via smart phone and Google pay would work. Sunlovers accepts payment c one of those portable hand held charge card devices. Trepidation began when watching persons cued ahead of me charged via card only to have salesperson take said device, lift it over her head, and begin to vigorously wave the machine until the charge went through somehow. When my turn comes the charge will not process due to no internet connection. Sunlovers has a prominently displayed user ID and password for WIFI. As I began to enter it the clerk informs me not to bother because it doesn't work! So we all wasted our time again. In general, few things annoy me as much as when a company makes it difficult to GIVE THEM MY MONEY! I left without the photo. In closing I gave this review a 2. Reef Snorkeling is a wonder. The young staff works hard and tries to be pleasant. The equipment at the pontoon was adequate for the number of people and was in good shape. Management is fortunate to have an attraction such as the REEF that demands attention and keeps them operational. IMO, their business management style is very off putting. Look elsewhere.