The reception is inpatient and too busy to answer any questions, what she said is check our website by yourself! Can t see any smile on the face of the Japanese receptionist. That is the worst service we have ever seen in Australia, worst Japanese service. Strongly suggest to improve staff training before making advertisement.
Great service and incredible team! Loved every bit of the experience. A must do if you are visiting cairns!
The pontoon has a nice fenced in pool for young kids, so the little ones had a lot of fun playing with the fish. Good food options for the lunch buffet. The ride to the reef is not going to be pleasant for most due to sea sickness, crew were friendly and offered tablets to help with nausea. Didn't get to see the pictures that were taken which was disappointing, please make it easy for people to view/buy the photos. edit: Sunlover got back to me with the link to the pictures :) Five stars!
Such a bad experience. No good options for vegetarian. While booking we were informed that there will be a separate side for vegetarian but it was nect to fish and beef curry. Mailed in advance for vegan options but had none. Such a disappointment. Charged 229 for such disappointing services
Very good services team, enjoyable experience with this cruise trip
Great barrier reef is a dream destination for a lots of people. It is one of the bucket list attractions. When you reach cairns u expect to see the best part of the great barrier reef.
They take you to the best parts of the reef that is the moore reef. Plenty of activities are lined up once you reach near the reef and the pontoon concept is really nice. You can take your time snorkelling, scuba diving which you can included by paying extra. The snorkelling experience is a very unique one here as you get to see the reef all by yourself from a very near distance. The breath taking beauty of this place will leave you mesmerized.
The only disadvantages are you can really feel sea sick so always take some medicine before you climb over board. Also the options for vegetarians are very limited. The fruit platter is amazing and has fruits ranging from passion fruit, dragon fruits, kiwi, mandarins, oranges, water melons, musk melons and many more to choose from.
Enjoy the evening coffee with biscuits after an exhausting bt beautiful day on the cruise.
Its a must do thing when you are in cairns...
Whole family went and was an excellent day really saw a lot and very well catered for.
Had an amazing experience with them yesterday. I do not know to swim and wanted to experience how it is to scuba dive. Avin is an amazing instructor and I was able to dive in Moore reef with him and explore it. Truly Coral Reef is so mesmerizing when seen from below with your own eyes. There were plenty of small fishes. These guys care about you and they put one instructor per person as there was another lady who wanted to dive for the first time. So if you dont know swimming and if you want to scuba dive I would suggest to book it with it Sun Lovers for amazing experience.
I was very disappointed. I think the Great Barrierreef is for everyone a "once in a lifetime" thing and maybe that's why you have such high expectations. In my opinion the price / performance ratio is not given with Sunlover Reef Cruises. There are too many people on board, the announcements are made 1 time in English and then in Chinese and Japanese and other Asian languages. In addition, the equipment, especially the snorkel, was very inferior! In addition to that the Reef at the point where you were allowed to snorkel was very dreary. There was little to see of the unique coloring of corals.
Well there was also something Hood about the Cruise. You could use the glass bottom boat for free, but then a further negative point is: everything else as guided tours or wetsuits had extra cost.
Another plus is the food, which was really okay. However, it was not announced how long you could eat.
You should think about if this is really worth $ 200.
Cruise itself and the activities during the trip were quite nice.However, the organisation I mean the booking was really poor, as there were a lot of mistakes concerning the price, then the problem with going back to Cairns.What is more , one lady from the staff was rude to us although in fact it wasn't our fault but the mess in crew service documents .
Excellent crew and very helpful coz half the cruise was throwing up while traveling to the Reef but the staff was very polite and helpful. The food was good with quite a few options. Hats off to Iris (dive instructor) who was the best snorkeling trainer and she is the reason for a 5 star rating. She helped me complete my first dive with great ease. Good cruise, great staff, good food and great experience.
Nice staff.. awesome experience, good lunch provided. Photos they took and provide are a bit expensive.
Great experience.
Helpful and multi-langauage speaking staff.
Snorkeling equipments are in good condition. Turtles and Humphead Wrasse are swimming around their station.
The meal is nice.
Very professional outfit, the staff were very knowledgeable, and helpful. The location of the cruise is second to none! Plenty of snorkeling equipment to cater for all manner of people, and the glass bottom and semi submersible boats were excellent. The lunch i found was extremely generous and of a high quality. If your looking for a day on the reef, this would have to be one of the best!
Incredible family day out in paradise!
Travelled with husband and 5 & 7 year olds who had never snorkelled previously, but they can swim well.
We were treated beautifully by every single staff member, nothing was too much trouble, the crew were outstanding in the way they engaged with our children!
*Tip- At the Terminal in the morning where you check in, there is a shop which sells $1 (One dollar) 'motion travel' tablets.
* Tip- bring a couple of underwater cameras (you can pick them up at Kmart for about $12)
* Tip - on any boat, always bring salted chips/fruit to nibble on for your kids/yourself during the 2 hour boat ride each way to the Reef so as to avoid motion sickness. Also keep your eyes up and on the horizon, sit 'front facing' and sit near the back of the boat where there's not so much motion. Avoid fumes if sitting outside.
I was a little worried about going with Sunlover after reading some negative reviews.
However our day, every process was nothing short of terrific and a job well done - shout out to 'Troy' who was terrific with the kids and the rest of the crew and duty/lifeguards!! And those on 'slide duty'..! Thanks our kids loved you!!
The English Gentlemen crew member who gave us the onboard safety demo was spot on with all his sound advice, dramatic and funny which helped to grab your attention. The English demonstrator went through every single process, including what to do, stinger suits, flippers, float vests, where to get help from, all the different activities you could do and most importantly- when/where food is available!
After the 2 hour boat ride to your destination, you will arrive at a huge pontoon with waterslide and lots of tables and chairs to park your bags at.
Allow a good 30 minutes to suit up with two kids/husband in stinger suits/masks/vests and flippers.
There were other things to do which you could pay for, but we had more than enough things to do and could have stayed all day just snorkelling. Weather was beautiful and ocean was warm, the wind came only after lunch which was still fine to snorkel in.
Our 7 year old was a natural with the snorkelling and spent most of her time doing this, but also alternated between snorkelling and that amazing slide. Our 5 year old didn't like snorkelling once the gear was all on, he spent the rest of his time on the slide- the lifeguards were fantastic and he had a ball!! When snorkelling I could lift my head up and see where he was at all times (even though my husband and I took turns in minding the kids)
When you Swim out more than 10 metres from the pontoon and that's where it gets amazing, pretty coral colours, loads of fish, a huge turtle today and a very large fish (which myself and 7 year old were photographed touching!) Sealife is amazing with aqua, purple, yellow, black and gold, blue and green fish. Creation at its finest!
Loved the free glassbottom boat tour, live touch and feel ocean creatures , semi submarine, feeding fish and downstairs viewing ocean window panels!
Plenty to do even if you don't wish to swim.
Food was good, chicken and mushroom pasta, curries, salads, potatoe salads, rice, heaps of prawns, fresh fruit, sliced ham and beef, mini chicken drum sticks to name a few. Everything refilled as it was demolished. Water, tea and coffee free at the bar.
Photographs taken by the 'snorkelling water photographer' while you're in the water snorkelling, can be viewed at the lunch area on the way home and purchased. We got one with a huge fish that my little one and I were patting in the water as it swam by us - what a photograph! This experience changed the way she viewed ocean life forever.
I will say the weather often helps or hinders your day- we were fortunate enough to have quite good weather. We didn't book this until the night before, due to flooding/bad weather in the area.
Thanks Sunlover crew for a sensational memory filled family day, these memories will last forever. We are saving up to go again with the Grandparents!! Snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef is definitely a 'Bucket List' item!!
Awesome staff and great experience. Well organized reef tour with lots of activities on board. Food was good, tea and morning snacks could have been better.
Had a really bad experience with Sunlover. We planned to go to Cairns just so we spend time at the reef. We were super excited. Both of us can get sea sickness so we contacted sunlover in advance to make sure they have the proper drugs. They advised they had complimentary ginger tablets and proper sea sickness tablets to purchase for $3/each.
Knowing that ginger doesnt work on us. The first thing we did once we got on the boat was purchase the sea sickness drugs.
However and even though we took the drugs well in advance we got very sea sick. We were so sick, we couldn't do any of the activities, we spent most of out time laying time. I was vomitting the whole time. The feel8ng was so horrible!!
By the end of the day, we realized that the staff gave us ginger tablets instead of the proper sea sickness drugs by mistake.
I wasnt happy to say the least! We spent over $600 on the both of us to get sick basically.
I contacted Sunlover for a refund multiple times as it was their fault. They have never accepted to refund us!
They care abour money more than customers!!!
If I had to say one word it's 'beautiful'. The staff were always vigilant in helping and were there always.
Some of the staff are helpful and friendly. The star is for you.
Others are basically annoyed and unpatient at any second on board.
On the day of my trip, the boat was extremely full because of the Chinese New Year holiday. But the lunch buffet seemed like it could only feed half of the boat. I had to queue three times to just get a piece of watermelon... when asked for more, the non-Asian lady with blonde hair just told they will only refill when the tray is almost finished. But can you imagine: how the rest of the fruit mix will look after being picked and clipped and thrown guarantee you will see something like vomit.
And the most annoying thing is she talked about passengers with the other lady staff in English just in front of us, just like no one on board knows even little English...
WHERE IS THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE???
Not even mention when we tried to get a swimsuit. Some people are just always grumpy and seem have forgotten their profession.
THIS IS JUST VERY DISAPPOINTING MOMENT I HAD ON SUCH LUXURY TRIP.
I know most of us are tourists but before you do this, make sure you have had the same treat to the locals... otherwise it looks racism to me...
I regret I booked the trip before entered this page as obviously they have not had any improvement after all of these complaints and suggestions.
So will surely have no more possibility going with sun lover for good and will not recommend to anyone because
WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE IS NOT EQUIVALENT TO WHAT YOU HAVE PAID!
The point! ! ! (If you want to borrow their waterproof camera for AU $ 55, please be sure to participate in underwater walks. {There are only 6 cameras available for borrowing, and your hands will be slower when you are out.} In order to get the most out of it. "** Participate in underwater walks to borrow waterproof cameras ** ** Participate in the underwater walk to borrow the waterproof camera ** ** Participate in the underwater walk to borrow the waterproof camera ** Because it is important, it needs to be repeated 3 times) Very good experience, diving activities are great, although a bit I was nervous but still finished, the helicopter experience was also superb, the Great Barrier Reef was really beautiful. Most of the crew are friendly and humorous. I participated in elementary diving. I could n t bring a camera because I did n t have a professional qualification. The snorkeling (free of charge), but the waves were too big. The capacity of 900 photos was not enough.
The reef is not worth to see anymore. The Great Barrier Reef is extremely white.
Amazing snorkel trip on Great Barrier Reef. The Sun Lovers staff was very helpful. The staff and Sales Rep. Amelia Roy made the whole day a Great experience!
Very disappointed. Someone dead in this trip and cancelled all activities without any refund.
Employees cheating and racism. No management take responsibility till we were waiting for 2 hours.
Do not go with sunlover reef cruiser!!!
A good experience, beautiful ships, friendly and professional staff, eating and drinking badly, they provide homeopathic and free tablets against seasickness.
The journey is comfortable and the view is very beautiful, the base camp is at a point of the sea, where the water and the sky are a deep blue. You can get in the water and give the equipment, there are two types of boats to see the bottom.
Everything always explained very well.
Good experience and friendly staff. Must visit once
Great experience. I couldn t believe my eyes. The reef is so beautiful. The food was Great food and friendly staff too.
Excellent day trip with first rate crew onboard. Pretty sad that boat only 1/5 full due to covid but that meant plenty of room for everyone. The reef is like snorkeling in a fish tank. Unbelievable.
While the staff on the boat and for snorkelling was great, the folks at the bar were petty and rude. After paying nearly 400$ everything included, i was refused coffee because i just wanted it in half a cup of milk without water (a carton of milk costs less than 2$). My husband is lactose intolerant and so for lunch asked for some extra cooked food instead as he could not eat everything else on offer, but was refused. We refused coffee in the morning after he first conversation and also did not to eat after the second time, but no one cared. Since there is only one place from where you can get food on the boat, its nit like one can simply pay and buy anything other than nuts. It was all very insulting and petty for reasons I cannot understand and ruined our day at the reef. Cant recommend Sunlover after this experience
As a family of 4, we did the Moore Reef Day tour. I highly recommend a private snorkeling tour with the resident marine biologist Ted. As a non-swimmer he made me feel very comfortable during the whole experience. Our whole family had an unforgettable experience with Ted guiding us on the outer reef and we even got to see a blacktip Shark. Everything ran on time like clockwork and we could see the crew was highly professional, even when dealing with chinese tourists who showed absolutely no respect to any of the instructions being relayed by the crew.
We went on cruise with Sunlover on January 18. At the beginning, things were smooth. We got check in for helicopter and got time slot for the trip. But at mid way through the cruise, helicopter tour got canceled, glass bottom fish boat tour got canceled, sub-marine tour got canceled. By the time we reached the pontoon, almost all activities were canceled except snorkeling at rough water with high wind. A few people almost drown. So they called off snorkeling and took us back to the terminal 2 hours before scheduled time. They should not took us out on high wind day as weather forecast had warning for sailing, but the cruise company didn't want to lose the revenue and risked traveler's life. We did not receive any refund for any activities cancelled.
The boat was way too crowded and lunch was terrible. People should stay away from this company.
Sunlovers Reef Tour was a blast! The staff is so friendly and Linda was the best! the buffet was delicious!I highly recommend this reef tour!
Don't forget to go 2nd. Water and water. I'm a fish.
This is Aaron Mengham, receptionist from YAL. I wanna say that the cruise to Moores Reef was really good, it was the perfect day to go out since it was sunny. I highly recommend to anyone who likes to go out to the reef for the day.
A small ship, garbage service, began to stroll on the bottom of the sea and said that there was no problem with mild otitis media. Later, when I got on the boat, I said that the otitis media ear rupture will break. I will find all the reasons for not letting me go down. I am very unhappy once.
staff(angelna Tong) she is good service on this trip
Location is perfect and had a fantastic day out.
All staff were on time and had fun snorkeling.
Snorkeling with master instructor TED was great! Champion!
ONLY ISSUE: due to timing of activities the photographers can t keep up and hence why a ton of people missed on photos. Checking photos after the snorkeling was poor show.
Good experience and friendly staffs.. worth for the money we pay..
Overcrowded boat.. last time I had Poseidon boat which is bit expensive however it was worth. In Sunlover cruise , the pontoon had limited fishes and corals to see.. also there are lot of damage to reef and you can see underwater lot of eubbish due to daily activity. It is however low budget cruise for price oriented people.
Unfortunately the weather was quite bad and they should have canceled the cruise that day. I am completely aware of the fact that they cannot control the weather, but if they know they cannot offer you a great experience why take you on a cruise? Most of the people on the boat became seasick.
My husband did scuba diving as well and was not too impressed, as he dived in other places of the world he was expecting this to be the most amazing one. He was also really disappointed that they did not allow him to take his go pro underwater. I'm sure that on a sunny day, the experience would be better. The global warming has great negative impact on the corals and maybe it was not the best time of the year for them either as they looked pretty dull.
We did enjoy the semi underwater tank where we could see some fish and Sunlover Reef cruises guide gave us a great presentation.
They offer complimentary swimming vests, goggles and flippers.
The lunch looked varied but I was too sick to eat. I have to mention that the tablets to prevent you from getting seasick did not really work.
Overall I'm sure Sunlover could offer great experiences on good weather, but they should know better when to cancel a cruise.
What a brilliant day! We decided in the moore reef pontoon. The slide is a bit of fun. The crew were so friendly. My hubby is in a wheelchair and every crew member jumped at the chance to help us anyway they could. I felt like royalty. The food was good but the best part of our day was Afu taking us on snorkel safari. We got dragged around on a floaty to see the best parts of the reef saw a turtle and ao many different fish this really is a massive amount of awesome to take in. A gorgeous underwater world. Next time we gotta go scuba diving. Everyone on this crew is just so happy to share info about the reef and have a laugh and chat. If you are looking for an accessible fun day this is it! The crew was so accommodating. And being in the water is just unreal.
We had a great experience yesterday with an amazing and friendly crew on board. Special thanks to Luke (reef tour guide) for helping us non-swimmers to survive and enjoy the Great Barrier Reef at the same time.
An underwhelming experience. Expensive for what you get, and extremely busy. It is chaotic and slightly unorganised - great to see the Reef, but let down by the tour.
Fantastic company to see the reef with! It was great value, picked us up from Fitzroy island and was by far the best way to experience the reef. I highly recommend adding the snorkelling tour to the very reasonable standar cruise package as the reef you can see is beyond incredible. The cruise and pontoon the ship parked at had grey facilities, the section of the reef you can snorkel in is awesome and they provide good quality flippers and snorkels. The food provided was of good quality, well labeled (please note we do not have specific dietary requirements like gluten free for celiacs disease or vegetarian/vegan) low gluten and vegetarian style meals however were definitely available. There was also a large variety and heaps of food for my partner massive appetite. All complementary activities offered from the boat were great and worthwhile. The staff were absolutely amazing (the marine biologist staff were incredible). If prone to sea sickness I would recommend some preventive tablets 30mis before you leave but absolutely a MUST DO!
A local discount?? Are you kidding me, I'm well travelled and this is utter stupidity.
Groupon has fine print saying you must book prior to 72 hours, no last minute deals. When I spoke to them to see if they would offer the same rate as Groupon they said the best they could do was 10% off (Groupon was over 20%) yet they offer more discount to locals. 40%!!
This says to me. "Because you're a tourist we have the right to rip you off." Terirble company policies. I do not recommend dealing with company like this at all.
Really good. Kids enjoyed the day a lot.
Snorkelling and sliding were the hits for the kids. The time frame of approx 4 hours @ Reef was very relaxing. Thanks for the great day.
Awesome experience, amazing team. Highly recommend.
A really good experience and time in the water. The only issue I had was the woman handing out wetsuits not understanding how they work or should fit. The one she gave me was gaping at all openings and she insisted it was the correct fit. I'm abnormally sensitive to water temperature (even when it's in the low 20s) and snorkel often around Adelaide and if I had've worn the initial one there is no way I would be able to cope.
Had a great experience with Sunlover Reef Cruises. There were many crew members on board to assist and the overall journey was managed well. I had my first introductory scuba diving session. Being my first dive into the deep sea, I was well prepared and given enough training by the instructors. There are options to snorkel and do a helmet tour if you don t want to dive. They also offer semi submersible tours and glass bottom boat tours at the pontoon (included in the package). There were a lot of people on board with minimum seating available. The extras (such as underwater photos) are a bit overpriced.
In the beginning, we were looking forward to the Moore Reef scuba diving activity and photos we dive for the first time.
BUT we DIDN'T HAVE ANY PHOTO!!!! Just because the sunlover wants to save time to import others photos to the computer first and quickly.
As a result, as scuba diving customers, we were SACRIFICED AND NO PHOTOS !!!!!!!!!
What's more, even we complained about this situation, staffs didn't take it serious.
They told us that photographers would take photos for us in the reef when we did scuba diving.
HOWEVER, they lied to us and we got nothing!!!!!
How RIDICULOUS and RUDE of the sunlover
Very dedicated and committed marine biologist - Pablo - very invested and you can see how sincere he is.. my son enjoyed the private snorkeling tour with him. Loved the glass bottomed boat option, sea walking, food etc. The rest of the staff were great as well, helpful and friendly except one guy who was a life guard with braided hair - really rude, kept passing racist comments at the asian customers.. overall, very condescending and patronizing. He was the one negative experience on what was a fantastic experience.
Was a great experience. Staff was very helpful and friendly, made sure that we were ok. I was quite anxious at the idea of being on the water for 8 hours and not getting sick. Plenty of assistance and reassurance that everything is going to be fine.
There were other activities on the pontoon once you got there, so you didn't have to just snorkel or scuba dive.
Not a wide variety of vegetarian options for lunch, but that did not lead me to removing a star. Highly recommend this company!
The Pontoon is amazing it's great everything from the waterslide staff and location activitys the lot however the boat trip on the way to the pontoon is uncomfortable as soon as you get on the boat the constant safety talking and sales of activities on the speaker in every language will give u a headache you cannot get any peace or get away from it it's so loud and irritating and the staff coming upto you 4 times clicking the counter in your face puts me off.
Excellent day out on the reef with snorkelling equipment provided plus $10 wetsuit hire. Staff on the catamaran were very helpful and sea sickness bags readily available for those who need it. But gee they charge a lot for photos on the return trip. We paid $25 for one photo and it escalates from there.
It's an overwhelming experience going underwater. Si lover cruise took us to a great place in the sea. We went snorkeling. Did scuba diving. Took nice clicks with some huge fish posing for a great picture.
The staff were superb and the food....yummy.
Super convenient and very friendly/funny staffs, which is extremely suitable for first-time travellers to Cairns to visit the Great Barrier Reef.
Besides of yummy food on the tour, strongly recommended to try the ice cream on board
You can buy tickets for Emerald Island from here, but I would like to ask the travel agency if it can be more cost-effective with snorkeling or diving trips.
Went on the Moore Reef cruise on a particularly rough weather day. Despite the conditions, which saw quite a few people be sick on the way there, the staff were all really supportive and helpful. They took the time to go around and check in with each person. While the trip was really special, it was the positive attitudes and friendliness of the staff that made this cruise really stand out for me!
We went yesterday to this cruise. It was so good for kids. If you have kids choose this one. A lot of activists for them. Very friendly staff as well. 5 stars from me.
What an amazing day. Some of the best snorkelling we have ever done. Highly recommend the Moore Reef snorkelling to anyone.
The stars are only for the fact that you do go to a near place and there re fish everywhere which is cool. The staff is horrible though and could use training in customer service skills. They seem annoyed when asked anything and sometimes ignore. They did this to me and other passengers. I couldn t imagine taking kids. Personally I recommend going with a different company.
We took sunlover cruise on 8th May 2018 and will never forget this experience. We were snorkelling under water and filming the coral and fish. the instructor Pablo was doing photography under water with an air tank on his back. At 12:25, when my wife swam close to the big fish Wally, Pablo suddenly attacked my wife and pushed her very hard on her chest. We have the GoPro footage if anyone or authority is interested. This is very rude and aggressive, let alone customer care. We consider this attack very dangerous, because he is wearing scuba dive equipment and my wife could be at her last second of oxygen from skin dive. This put other people s life on risk under water. Later on we talked to the captain and the owner, and they arranged Pablo to apologise to my wife. The captain handle it well and show his integrity. We accepted the apology and really hope the company could do some reflection and improve thing in the future. And the cruise site is not bad at all.
We thank for the team s reply below, and also appreciate when incidence like this happened, company need to protect their business interest in the current economy and try to get away from murder. However, as an Australian CItizen for decades, this is not misunderstanding at all. From the 2:09 minutes GoPro footage, my wife was 2 meters away filming the fish through out the whole time. This is purely rudeness, violence, and crime under water!
We do hope the company as a whole could realise the necessity of customer services improvement. And we do believe your staff has good heart in terms of protecting your animal. We ourselves pick up rubbish from sea every weekend when snorkeling. However, the way this protecting got delivered is extraordinary. If the company keep the pushing innocent client under water culture, sooner or later, you guys will come across a family, happen to know their right, happen to have time, and energy, and serve you a notice from Cairns local court.
So many friends and colleagues wish to go to the reef after seeing our photos. Looking back to the beautiful sea, we wish it haven t happened. Tomorrow will be another day, people cruise to the reef and live in harmony.
Good but not great. For the same money you can find better one
Great day out on this boat! We saw a giant sea turtle! I like the idea of the attached pontoon as we were able to walk around. The water slide at the back of the boat was a hit with the kids! I thought the buffet was ok but needed a bit more variety.
The experience of SunLover Reef Cruise is an all day, fun and at times a nauseating affair. The crew can't be faulted for their diligence in running around during the choppy sea travel handing out vomit bags. The translation was well managed for the different tour groups and their buffet food was decent and generous. The boarding was swift, not crowded. And the Pontoon activity was amazing, plenty to do, tours to join, and the scuba experience was the best. Thumbs up to this friendly crew!
Over crowded. Bad food with no cleanliness. All excursion were waste of money since you see nothing. The platform from where excursions start is so commercialized that there is nothing you see. We tried sea walker, glass bottom boat and snorkeling. We ended up taking private snorkeling and that way we got to see little something else it was waste of precious day and money.
I had a fabulous day out with Sunlover! I have visited many locations on the reef and I have to say I was very impressed by Moore reef. I am a certified diver but even the snorkeling there was spectacular. There was so much variety and certain parts of the reef were really close so the visability was amazing. I would say that it's actually the best snorkeling experience I've had. The boat is very spacious and all staff were super friendly. It's also a great boat for families or those not comfortable in the water as they have many other activities available if you do not want to get into the water.
The hour and a half boat ride to Moore Island was rough so be sure to take sea sickness tablets. It's totally worth it - an unforgettable experience with knowledgeable and passionate staff. Don't miss the guided snorkel tour!
Booked the Sunlover by Starlight package and had an amazing time! Far exceeded my expectations.
We got so much private snorkelling time and amazing food and got to see the stars at night! It was amazing and well worth the cost! The quality and amount of food they provided was unreal. I thought about bringing a snack just in case but it was not needed at all.
The crew (Fran and Levi!) that stayed with us over night were amazing and made sure we were well taken care of. Actually all the crew for the regular day tour was also amazing and you can tell they all care about the reefs.
I actually bought a couple photos even though I usually think they re a waste of money. They have amazing animals that swim up to you for photos ( in exchange for food of course lol )
Our tour was almost cancelled because they need a minimum of 4 guests to run it and we only had 3. I m so glad they decided to make an exception for us!
This review is coming from someone that is not a sun lover and was dying in the heat lol. It was that good.
Sunlover reef cruises organises daily
Trips to a pontoon stationed at the outer edge of the great barrier reef.you're introduced to the wonders of reef by on board experts on a glass-bottomed boat tour and a semi-submersible coral reef viewing tour
Luxurious and pleasant boat ride, splendid hospitality, a lovely lunch and a wonderful experience. Snorkelling near the pontoon was fantastic
Disappointed, waste of money, the ship was packed with people and the crews refused to turn down the air-conditioning temperature, causing everyone to sweat and made the cabin smelly. The tours are overcrowded, blocking the slightest views that you might have.
Printed photos are expensive aF (6 6'*8' photos cost $130). They also charge sky-high surcharges on Visa, MasterCard, JCB, AMEX, and UnionPay, making EFTPOS the only option (however lots of cards are limited to $1000/day, making group travel a hassle).
Edit: What's wrong with the photographer that uses flashlight in broad daylight?
We paid around $400 each person for a cruise to the reef and helicopter scenic flight. What a regretful choice! First of all the helicopter was running late... our flight was supposed to be at 12.30pm as we were the first people to sign all the papers when on board. We got at the platform around 12pm. Had to wait until 1.30pm to hear that helicopter was running late and we should be back at 2.45pm for our flight.
Obviously we couldn t enjoy the water before because as we had such a short time and we wouldn t be able to fly if we were yet. So one hour and a half lost for nothing.
We had lunch, because buffet closes at 2pm. As we had just a short period of time til flight time, we had to wait.
Again, no one could give us an explanation... it was already past 3pm and no one to assist us.
Almost 3.45pm the guy who takes care of the flights said they had an emergency and they had to send the helicopter back so they wouldn t be doing any more flights. We were upset but there was nothing we could do. But the worse was to come. 20 min after it, we saw a group of Chinese being taken to fly! Right in front of us and some other people that were suppose to fly with us.
Ridiculous company that doesn t appreciate people s money. We ve tried to contact someone on board, my agent also contacted their office but there was nothing they could do.
To finish all that... we were trying to resolve it for almost one hour and cruise was living at 4pm. So we ended up not enjoying our cruise at all.
Plus depart time was supposed to be at 9am but when we actually left cairns after 10am.
(PS. ONE DAY BEFORE I HAD A CRUISE WITH A COMPANY CALLED BIG CAT CRUISES. AWAY BETTER THAN THIS ONE! They had more variety of food, staff was super friendly and no one in the boat was seasick like in sunlover where almost everybody was. And AWAY cheaper!)
*and they stop at Fitzroy island only to get more people on board. You won t even have a chance to see the island!
AMAZING!
I have no words to explain how amazing was the experiencie in the Cruise to the great barrier reef with sunlover company. Pablo and luke have been amazing profesionals. Pablo was explaning and showing to my friend and me all the history of the barrier and, the animals living there. Luke was a amazing diving teacher, he taught us how breath under the water and, helped us to feel so comfy and to enjoy this amazing experience.
I can't wait to REPEAT that experiencie with
Sunlover company!
Was a Very good experience, smooth ride boat is fast that we're always ahead of our schedule. We love the reef and snorkelling but we thought Pablo is the Highlight of our trip
So we give Pablo a 10 out of 5,.. thank you sunlovers...
Had a fantastic experience on the tour. Would recommend to go on the guided snorkeling session, Ted was fantastic guiding us showing us the coral reef and the wonderful fish in the water. Both myself and my husband had a great time.
Had a fantastic time. Even in rough conditions, once you get to the pontoon it's actually quite calm and the visibility is excellent. A Special thanks to Pablo for taking the time to make the more inexperienced snoklers feel comfortable, relaxed and able to experience the unbelievable sights underwater.
Great destination, friendly staff, definitely worth the experience. Food was below expectations but then again this is a minor inconvenience when considering the whole experience
This is a wonderful operation. Extremely professional. Very clear and concise instructions. Safety is a priority. Lifeguards carefully watching large snorkel area. Very nice in water platform with bench seats so one can put fins and gear on safely and swim directly out to have fun. Area of Arlington Reef we went to today is quite lively for one of the 3 sites they visit routinely. Lots of fish, healthy Coral, huge clams and a Dugong.
I HIGHLY recommend these professionals. I posted a video to YouTube "ArlingtonReefvideo" that does not do the colours justice but shows part of my 3 1/2 hours snorkling yesterday.
sunlover reef cruise discriminating against customer
sunlover staffs abused Chinese customer : you are not welcome back to great barrier reef ONLY because this customer was snorkeling and taking photos at the same time these two staff were shooting photos for paid photograph customer.
they were diving beneath the surface and pulling Chinese customer legs and caused her choked salt water.
when this customer protested against them: these reef belong to everyone,you cannot push me away .
they replied without any manner and very cruel: leave!
why you dont wear flippers! because you dont wear flippers you don't allow swim here and YOU.ARE.NOT WELCOME TO.COME BACK.
Do there have any mandatory rule that a swimmer have to wear flippers to swim? the answer is NO
BUT the manager of sunlover cruise refused to investigate and replied to customer that they do not know what happen with very arrogant attitud.
Great experience for the whole family grandparents aswell!
Crew very friendly & helpful,
lots of things to do in & out of the water. A fun day had by all! Thanks!
I took this cruise mid April 2018 with my wife and daughter.
It was a very enjoyable cruise.
My wife and daughter had an excellent time snorkling at the Moore Reef.
The buffet lunch was also good.
Very crowded, everything was overpriced. The marine biologist snorkel excursion was given by a non English native speaker and could not understand anything he said with his broken English. The Moore reef like the heavy traffic is taking its toll on the marked areas you can snorkel. The photographers were very concerned with making a few bucks so much that people get pushed away and to the side for their pictures.
Had such an amazing time. Great friendly staff. Did snorkelling with Ted and he was absolutely fantastic. He did his best show us everything and was super friendly.
The journey to moore reef was quite bad. I get sea sickness time to time but the sea sickness from sun lover reef was the worst I've ever had. However, Ted kept checking on me and sick bags were located literally every where.
Meal was also great as well.
Theonly one thing I would like to suggest is Camera Hire or Camera hire instruction should be temporary hold while safety announcement is on.
Prebooked Sunlover cruise and transfer to and from Fitzroy Island. On return Sunlover cancelled boat due to weather, effectively leaving us stranded on Fitzroy without accommodation. No notification whatsoever. Had to purchase additional transfers with Fitzroy Island Co to get back to mainland. Went straight to Sunlover Office in Cairns and were informed not their problem. Said we would have to recover funds from travel agent. Staff at Cairns office were a disgrace. Wouldn't you think they would have arranged alternative transfers with Fitzroy Island on our behalf since Fitzroy Island ferries were still running? No. Sunlover attitude is that because they weren't going to the reef the passengers they were supposed to pick up that day would be left high and dry on the island. Pathetic cruise company who just don't care. No, they can't control the weather but can control customer service which they have demonstrated a complete lack of care about. Never use again. And no doubt they will either not reply to this post or post some patronising reply.
Best day you'll ever spend is out here on sunlover cruises exploring the great barrier reef in all its glory
Once in a lifetime experience!
Dear Pablo, dear Sunlover Reef Cruises Team,
today we went with you to the Moore Reef and we hardly find the words to describe this breathtaking experience.
We are a bunch of three and one of our fellow travelers is sitting in a wheelchair. Everybody and I really mean EVERYBODY was taking so much care and offered us a hand whenever we needed it.
The first snorkeling tour with Pablo was already awesome and so informative but when he later offered to take our friend - who is not able to walk - on a tour we were just speechless. With two guys assisting us in getting him onto the water platform he was able to see the reef himself while being drawn through the water by Pablo.
Pablo as well as all the other members were very experienced and caring.
One remark for the people which are focusing on the meal which is included: it is okay - nothing special and the noddles a bit over cooked but the two types of Curry were super tasty. They were running out of salads quite quickly but obviously the food is not the reason why going on this cruise.
The Reef and its inhabitants were of course amazing too. The water was clear today and the sun was shining - so we couldn't be more lucky!
The most amazing 2 days. Stayed on the pontoon overnight, the sunsets and sunrise spectacular, the staff fabulous really looked after us well, the snorkeling on the second morning before the boat arrived was amazing.
We live in north Qld and this was our first trip out to the reef. If you haven't been out to see the reef yet you should
M&P
The cruise has capacity of 400 but around 100 people boarded due to covid. Sick tablet helped and also 6 month old baby was fine without it.
My 10 and 11 years old kids did guided snorkeling for half an hour. Cause guide who is a marine biologist knows what lives where at the pontoon area, she will take you to where nemo lives for example. Also lots of knowledgable talking during the snorkeling. My kids really enjoyed it. Thank you Tanya.
No facility to change nappy but they kindly offer the corner area to do it.
Facilities and lunch you may complain but excellent, kind, experienced staffs and their team work over come it.
Me and baby stayed dry enjoyed semi submersible tour and under water obsevatory but 4 hours at reef was short for my kids. Middle of October, sunny day, unforgettable memory.
sunlover.com.au