Visiting the Great Barrier Reef via Quicksilver Cruises

What is it like to visit one of the most incredible wonders of the world? This is something I got to experience when I went to Australia. Here are the pros and cons of my Great Barrier Reef experience.

The Pros

1. We were signed up for a day cruise with Quicksilver Cruises to visit the Great Barrier Reef and they took care of everything: getting there and back, the experience in the water, and the food.

2. The cruise ship was large and we could come and go between a few different areas on the boat. The first area when we got on had tables where we could sit on soft chairs and eat our food from the buffet. The next area (my favorite) was also an indoor area but it was upstairs. It consisted of rows of large comfy blue chairs in pairs of two and it was air conditioned. It was easy to hear the staff from this room. The last option was to sit on chairs outside and catch some of that sea air! Here a picture of the comfy upstairs area of the boat and a quick video of the outside with the boat moving.

3. The buffet was very good! There was a variety of food so we didn't go hungry.

4. The staff was kind and helpful. As soon as I got on the ship, I realized my phone wasn't charged like I wanted it to be to take some pictures. I didn't see an outlet around the table, so I asked a crew member and she took my phone up to where near the buffet was to charge it. A couple members of my party also got sick due to it being rough seas, and the crew members were very caring.

5. The snorkeling was awesome! So fun! First, I had to put on a wetsuit. Then, grab some snorkel gear (an eye mask with a snorkel and two flippers). There was a low area with steps in the water to sit on and a staff member to help you get your snorkel gear on and then you could ease in and see what you could see. Though I was wearing a life jacket, the water was deep so I was cautious about how far I went out, but I had a blast. It was a large open area of water but there was rope to tell you your limits. I didn't go out too far (stayed pretty close to the steps and the rope) but as time went on, I got more brave and same around a little bit further. I saw some fish and enjoyed the warm water. Very enjoyable!

6. A couple other things took place in this location too - one was a fish feeding where a staff member fed fish and provided some interesting commentary. The other was a submarine ride where we also saw some fish out the windows. I had never been on a boat like this submarine, basically just one long bench with no backing in the middle where we sat one after another. Pretty cool!

7. There was the option of getting to take food from the buffet to eat at picnic tables above the snorkel site, which was a nice way to dry off from the snorkel experience.

8. A staff diver will come up to you while you're snorkeling and have you hold up a sign while they take your picture. They might also take other pictures of you while you're snorkeling, and then those photos will be lined up inside for you to look at when you're done. We bought a couple of them, and they are great memories!

The Cons

1. The weather can really make or break the trip. For me, the weather didn't break the trip. However, I would have preferred to go on a nice, smoother day at sea. It would have made sitting outside more pleasant, and I would have gotten to see more when snorkeling and on the submarine.

2. The cost was high - it was a really cool day trip experience but at a cost of about $400 per person. The pictures were extra.

3. The boat ride to get to and from the snorkel sight was a long one, a couple hours each way, leaving us just under a couple hours docked to do the snorkeling and submarine experiences.

If you love the water like I do, this experience is a MUST in Australia. I would go back and do it again anytime.