Cairns Best Reef Tour MV Reef Experience

Reef Experience Cairns best reef tour
Reef Experience

 

A Great Barrier Reef Day Tour With Class

If you take tours when you are on vacation, you most likely have come across what some people say are the cattle car tours.

A very high probability if you have taken tours from cruise ships.

These tours pack as many people as they can on a bus or boat and just takes you from point a to point b, maybe point c and then back to point a.

The suppose tour guide is more like a cowboy herding you from place to place.

The only thing they say at length is their tip speech.

Your experience on the MV Reef Experience will be far far away from the cattle car tour.

The facilities are top rate and the crew of the MV Reef Experience prides themselves on providing the best service that can be expected and beyond.

Sailing From Cairns On The MV Reef Experience

The MV Reef Experience is a high speed catamaran that departs from Cairns daily.

It is an all inclusive day tour that includes a variety of different features including unlimited snorkeling. The first item that you will notice is that they are coming to you.

On the morning of your tour someone from the staff of MV Reef Experience will arrive at your hotel to escort you to the vessel that is at the at Cairn’s Marlin Marina.

Pick ups with in city are included in the tour price as are the park fees.

Check in starts at 7:20 am and as soon as you finish you can head to the breakfast bar where bacon and egg rolls are waiting for you.

The seating on board for your journey out to the reef is comfortable, the same that you will find on high speed ferry services in their first class section.

Why Is It Different?

In addition to the welcome aboard breakfast and the spacious seating another difference you will experience on the way to the outer reefs is the Marine Biologist talk. The resident marine biologist will give a lecture on the way out to the reef for those who are interested. The talk will give an advance overview of what to expect underwater when you arrive. Another extra that the MV Reef Experience provides is a free scuba dive. For those who are a certified diver and can present their “C” card they will be given one free scuba dive including equipment except prescription mask are a small additional fee. Certified divers can purchase a second dive if they wish. Those who are not divers can do what is called a resort dive.

A resort dive is a short program designed for those who are interested in scuba diving but are not convinced that diving is for them. It gives the person a glimpse of what is waiting below the surface. This is not just a short peak but very similar to what the certified divers are also doing. A resort dive program starts with some basic instructions and some demonstrations of basic skills. Some of the basic skills include: how to replace your mask underwater, how to recover your regulator if it accidentally gets out of your control(like dropping it after you took it out of your mouth to smile at the camera) and controlling your buoyancy.  The next step is your practice. In calm waters you will practice the basic skills until you can do them effortlessly. While the skills sound hard they will quickly become second nature. Many people are able to perform the skills on the first attempt and are very comfortable with them in just a minute or two. Once the resort diver and the instructor are confident in the task being formed it is off to your dive, or rather down for your dive. When compared to the cattle car tours this is the complete opposite. One of the procedures to do a resort dive is that the instructor can only escort two resort divers at a time. The instructor most remain within arms reach of the student at all times. Resort dives are generally between 5 and 10 meters which is ideal on the coral reefs. Resorts and other dive boats may charge from $50 to $75 for a resort dive.

Those not interested in either the scuba or snorkeling can take a glass bottom boat ride along the reef.

Afternoon On The Reef

After the morning water session, the warm and cold lunch buffet is available prepared on board by the chef. After lunch head to the sun deck and watch the beautify seascape as the MV Reef Experience moves to a second reef. Each day the Reef Experience will visit two reefs. They have four different reefs that they visit in the outer reef area and on each reef there are a couple of different sites that they can visit. Each day the Captain picks the sites with the best conditions. The Reef Experience will spend about 6 hours out on the reefs. On the way back to port, their will be a wine and cheese party with fresh Fruits.

Top Deck Club

While the experience of the MV Reef Experience can be said to be the “business class” of the day tours, some people would like something even a little more special. Enter the privileges of the Top Deck Club.  The “first Class” of day tours, the Top deck Club have additional benefits. There is priority boarding so no need to queue for check in or for anything else for that matter.  You will be greeted by a crew member as you reach the vessel and escorted to reserved seating in the wheelhouse with the ships officers. Your escort will be assigned to you for the entire trip and will even be your personal guide during the water sessions. Meals will be served to you at your table.

When looking for a day tour to the Great Barrier Reef, the MV Reef Experience stands out from the rest.