Passions of Paradise Great Barrier Reef Cruise by Catamaran

Great day on the Reef. Support Sharks and the environment

The Crew were fantastic and knowledgeable. Kudos to Simon for his assistance. The day was educational and great food and snacks were served.

Amazing and Breathtaking

Matteo and Andrea were fabulous scuba guides, the whole staff was so friendly and informative. We would definitely book again !

An excellent tour to the Great Barrier Reef!

What a day! We had a blast on this tour. The crew were fantastic and we enjoyed the presentation by Hannah. We went to 2 outer reef spots and had plenty of time for snorkelling - did not feel rushed. There was plenty of space for snorkelling and was not closed in. An excellent day. Would highly recommend this tour!

Passions of Paradise Supreme

We had the best day on the Great Barrier Reef with Passions of Paradise. Spectacular snorkelling, great crew - with a special shout out to fellow kiwi, Simon for going above & beyond, and Drew for his care and attention to detail, regarding a medical condition. Seeing stingray and shark were amazing! Loved our day and highly recommend Passions of Paradise above all the others for their personal touches, and eco friendly philosophy. Thanks so much for making our day unique 💕

Fantastic day

Fantastic day! The crew were excellent, helpful and informative. The reef destinations were perfect with a wide variety of sea life.

Unforgettable day, crew are legends!!!

Such a cool ‘bucket list’ day, and a great way to end our tour of the east coast! Lovely boat, amazing food, unforgettable snorkelling, friendliest crew. Big thank you to Darby, who’s enthusiasm for diving was infectious - her patience and reassurance meant my first experience of diving was so positive & the best it could be :)) definitely hoping to dive again later in my travels!! Can’t recommend enough🫶🏻

5 stars for crew and Andrea!!

My diving instructor Andrea was wonderful!! I was not able to see much on my first dive because there were others he (one person) had to attend to as they needed alot help. Andrea showed high professionalism when handling all 3 of us introductory divers... ALL BY HIMSELF 👏👏👏 It was this professionalism that I decided to register for a second dive. Luckily i did, and the second reef location was gorgeous!! Also, Gopro was only allowed on the second dive so please take note! The rest of the crew members deserve a shoutout too. They were extremely friendly and took really good care of all of us. I was originally a little worried as I am a solo- traveling asian (yes i said it), but they were fantastic in their services! If you decide to join this tour, do keep an open mind and be forgiving because it is really hard for the crew to manage the divers to reduce the risk of accidents!

Best day of our vacation in Australia

If you want to go to the great Barrier rief and you look for a fantatsic, trustful and reliable crew, good food, smooth organization and an unique experience snorkeling and diving- definitely choose this company. It is a local well educated and professional team, who shared with us all they know about the sea life 😇thx

Best reef trip out

Shout-out to the Passions crew who were absolutely awesome! We did the Marine Bio for the second half of the day and Hannah was such a star with our kids (13yr old teenage girl and a 9yr old boy). I was looking for a reef day trip that was eco-minded and that would also have a little bit of the education part covered for our mix of ages. Hannah brought us out altogether for snorkeling and explained everything to watch for, the kids got pretty motivated and were really engaged - it was great! Our trip did two sites - Club 10 and Three Sisters. The reef was teeming with sea life and we even spotted a turtle, and somewhere in the group there were reef shark sightings too. Overall we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Couldn’t have asked for more. The vibe and energy level is infectious. The entire crew deserve all the five-star reviews that you see here.

“Bing Bong” Best day, best crew ,best boat - special shout to Darby and Simon our dive instructors amazing “Bing bong”

I need to start this review with a special shout out to Darby my wife and my dive instructor who is Canadian , she was professional , friendly and her positive and happy attitude to the dive made what was already an amazing dive and day even more enjoyable and memorable I booked originally to dive with my wife , but they also offered the introduction to dive which was an appeal for friends including my mother in law who had Simon as her dive instructor , Simon also made the day memorable for my mother in law and was so patient with her and even had her eagerly doing a second dive . Once we boarded the boat , we were greeted by friendly staff and an amazing boat , from the captain to staff and the amazing chef we would recommend Passions to anyone . To the owners of Passions you have a great team and thank you “Bing Bong “

Amazing experience thanks to the luxurious vessel and loveliest staff

We had the best time aboard the Passions of Paradise. Such a cool experience, being pampered by the most lovely staff. The boat is luxurious and super comfortable, with lots of room inside or outside if you feel like soaking up the sun. We went to two snorkeling sites to view the colourful reef and all its fishes. We saw a reef shark but unfortunately the turtles hadn't returned from their mating spot yet, so we missed out on those. Cannot recommend the tour enough, it's an experience I will not soon forget. A big thanks to the most amazing staff!

Couldn't have asked for a better Crew

The crew were wonderful, unfortunately I had pretty bad travel sickness and all of them were so nice checking in on me, making sure some of the fantastic food that I unfortunately couldn't eat at the time it was served was saved for me when I was feeling better, and just all around seeming so enthusiastic about their job which makes the experience so worth it

Outstanding tour!

Highly recommend this tour. I was initially hesitant about the group size however, the boat had plenty of space for everyone to spread out when sailing to/from the reef. The crew was amazing, equipment was clean, and lunch was delicious. The two sites we visited were experiencing bleaching but were still beautiful. We saw giant clams, blue starfish, and tons of coral and fish. Highlight of our trip!

Best snorkel experience!

This experience was amazing, the crew were very considerate and made sure to check in with anyone that was unsure, feeling sick, or uncomfortable in the water. It was my friends first time snorkeling and a guide took them around the reef with a buoy and pointed things out to them. They both had a wonderful time and were super excited at the end of the first snorkel site. We saw giant clams, tons of coral and fish, as well as a reef shark! Highly recommend!

Amazing crew!

The most professional and kind crew ever! One of the staff members told me to take some sea sick medication and I didn’t listen thinking I could handle it since I’ve been on boats/snorkeling plenty times before… I was wrong. I felt so sea sick and the crew was so understanding. Take the medication! They are also very knowledgeable and the first time I got to learn something on a snorkeling trip which was awesome! Food was amazing. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Great experience

The skipper and crew were amazing. Peppered them with questions and they patiently answered all of them. Snorkelling equipment was great. The only problem with the reef tour was the choppy sea and it was surprisingly cold. Neils towed four of us hanging onto a buoy around the reef, how he managed that in the continual wave hits was incredible! Food was great and a nice hot curry, very welcome after the cold sea. Definitely worth the fee

Our 4th trip as good as ever

Renee our reef tour guide was amazing. Really looked after us, especially as my partner had never swim from a dive boat before. Safety was paramount. Food excellent All staff friendly and very helpful. We always use our company - my son's 4th trip with u

A more personal experience which I would do again!

We had a great time with Passions. They were all friendly and helpful, especially Heath who was so patient with my dives. We met a lot of people and it was a great experience!

Exciting trip to the big oceam

being first time going out in the ocean and snorkelling it was daunting at first but the team specially Nils was very helpful in making sure I was comfortable the whole time and safe. one feedback for me is to have fish option as lunch, but thats just my personal preference

Great day

Absolutely fantastic day snorkeling. The crew were so friendly and helpful, I can’t fault them. I would definitely recommend.

Amazing experience and crew!

Amazing experience with an amazing crew. We were only supposed to snorkel but they offer an introduction to scooba diving so we just went for it. The crew was so professional and made it feel so safe. We did two dives with Pheobe and got down to about 9m. I 100% recommend doing the scooba dive if you are down for it. Such a cool experience that you will have for life. You also get to snorkel after the dives. They also serve a surprisingly good lunch, coffee and snacks. Shout out to the joyful and cool crew for the amazing experience. It really added to the experience that they took measures for sustainability and for taking care of the reefs. If we could give 6 stars we would!

Choose this one!

Awesome crew Comfortable boat (and one of the last locally owned one) Emphasis on environment Marine biology your way back was fantastic, she was excellent! Has travel sickness tablets available on board for those that needed Very supportive, in the water with floats while everyone snorkelled. Highly recommend Great value for money Only 80 people were on our boat (compared to the massive companies with 200+ people).

Lovely company, go in summer

WINTER! It's choppy and cold. But it's also The Great Barrier Reef. Great crew and ship, very professional and safe. But do take the seasick prevention pills.

Must do

Really enjoyed our experience on this snorkelling tour. Both places we stopped of to snorkel were great and we even got to see some dolphins in the distance! The boat was nice and the food was 10/10. Crew were very knowledgeable and kind.

It was the best experience ever!

This tour was more than the word amazing. I feel safe and welcome from the tour's start to end. This tour is not just a tour that takes your time to the reef, lets you do your thing and go back. They teach you everything about the reef in deep detail with passion. I was so impressed by how well-organized they are. Food, snacks, and beverages were excellent. The Scuba dive instructor was top-notch. He took excellent care of my husband, who had the worst motion sickness. He has a solid knowledge of what he does. You will feel safe and comfortable with him, even if it is your first scuba diving. I highly recommend that everyone looking for a great experience at GBR book a tour with this company. Thank you to all the crews on the ship especially Marco Polo!

HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS TOUR

My Husband & I went on this tour 16/05/24. It was a wonderful day out on the reef. Thank you to Nils in particular for making our day so great. It was made so by his attitude. He showed great respect for our ages,(70 & 74). He patiently explained all aspects of of the wearing of the snorkelling equipment. At all times he displayed genuine caring for us, our well being & made sure we had fun. He had a vast knowledge of the reef & the sea life which is pointed out to us whilst we were snorkelling. He was very patient with us whilst we novices were snorkelling. The other crew members were all great too. The genuine interaction & skill showed by each crew member was very evident. We are sure that all of them can carry out each others tasks required on trip. A great asset to the business. They all showed great professionalism. Drew took careful notes recording our medical history & this was taken into account by the staff when we went snorkelling.

Highlife of our trip !!

My husband and I were the oldest people on the boat and they really catered to us to make sure we had a great time!! Probably the high light of our trip!! Mateo personally took me out to see things I couldn’t get to by myself. Everyone on staff was hard working and friendly!! Highly recommend this trip over others!!!!

Great barrier reef experience

A brilliant experience from start to finish. Special shout out to my snorkelling guide Hannah who was knowledgeable and super enthusiastic. Also a special shout out to Drew my diving guide, who was so diligent and reassuring on my first dive. Food was amazing and a crew to match. Would highly recommend.

Couldn’t have asked for better

Absolutely incredible! I chose Passions of Paradise because it was quite clear that their tours were more environmentally conscious than some of the other companies’ offerings, and had the most incredible time. The group was a reasonable size, not hundreds of people, so there was plenty of space for everyone! Would very much recommend them and one day plan to go back and dive!!

The BEST day EVER on the GBR!

Thank you Passions of Paradise for the most incredible day snorkeling and diving the Great Barrier Reef! I had never dived before and didn’t think I could, but the team were so awesome I decided to give it a go and am so, so glad I did! Heath was just awesome as was Darby, Ben and Sota. Thank you all so much for taking such good care of us! The crew had such a relaxed, fun approach to their work where nothing was ever too much trouble and yet they were all so knowledgable and professional throughout every aspect of the day. Passions III is an amazing vessel, comfortable and well decked out with great diving and snorkeling gear and the food on board was delicious and in abundance. Not only was every detail thought of, it’s fabulous to know we were supporting a locally owned and operated business. We all had the best day and yet apparently the weather wasn’t great, but we didn’t even notice as we were so comfortable and having such a ball the entire time! The two spots we dived on the reef were incredible, brimming with life and yet different so that both experiences were unique. Thanks again to the entire team, we cannot recommend Passions of Paradise highly enough!

amazing experience

the best crew especially darby, amazing food and photos. The boat was very nice and clean, same with the equipment. would highly recommend!

Beautiful Reef + Capable Crew = Perfect Day

Seeing the Great Barrier Reef was the one experience I insisted to my friend we HAD to do while in Australia and I was not disappointed! Our catamaran was skippered by the very capable Captain Benny and a great helpful crew! We had a very informative presentation by a marine biologist which I really appreciated, especially since she was able to explain reef bleaching in more detail than I'd heard before. The two reef sites we spent around an hour each at were definitely experiencing some bleaching but there was still plenty of beautiful color and vivid fish life for us to see there! Someone even saw a shark (not a dangerous one). We chose to snorkel rather than scuba dive and the flotation device they offered us made swimming in the ocean a breeze (so often not the case). We were able to experience the reef within arm's reach with both the confidence we were safe and ability to satisfy our curiosity. Only thing I'd recommend you do different from us is to be cautious of using the seasickness medicine offered if you don't normally get seasick. I had applied a patch the night before but my friend used the offered medicine (even though he is generally fine on boats) and found it made him so sleepy that he napped through our second reef site.

Highly Recommend this Local-Owned GBR Tour!!

We had such a great time exploring the Great Barrier Reef with Passions of Paradise! We were taken to two really great reefs, where we snorkeled (there was also an option for first-time scuba divers that several others opted for). The crew were all so professional, from conducting the safety briefings, to making sure everyone onboard had their proper equipment, to checking in on every passenger to make sure no one was feeling sea sick. On the ride back to the port, they conducted a lovely wildlife presentation where we got to learn more about all the wildlife and components of the reef we saw while snorkeling or diving. They're one of the few remaining local-owned GBR excursion companies, so we loved supporting local and would definitely recommend them to singles, couples and families alike!

Amazing experience! Simon is the best!

All the staff were amazing! My friend and I tried the introductory dive and it was incredible! Simon was the best scuba diving instructor and helped calm us down and walked us through everything clearly. Highly recommend! The snorkeling was great too.

Lovely Great Barrier Reef experience with dedicated friendly staff

Amazing crews in amazing cruise!! Great experience of Barrier Reef with knowledge friendly staff. We were bit nervous group of 4 seniors. Hannah comforted us and took real good care by taking us in the water. Simon’s touch was a magical!

Must try experience at Cairns

Opted this experience because of positive reviews but never regret the decision . Awesome experience especially the crew made it special

Best reef tour company in Cairns

This trip was exceptional. All staff went above and beyond. After the first snorkel, I was given a wet suit and different mask. I didn’t ask for either item but the staff are so attentive, they know exactly what each person needs (I tend to get cold easily so having the wet suit over the stinger suit gave loads of extra warmth). Additionally, the lunch, coffee, and snacks were delicious. There was a photographer on board who took a photo of everyone underwater and you could purchase these photos. The reef presentation given during the return ride was well-researched and executed. Well worth the listen. This cruise line is locally owned and operated and they donate to reef conservation efforts. In my opinion, if you’re going to explore the reef, there is no better company than this! Thank you all for going above and beyond! :)

Amazing time!

It was an amazing day snorkelling even though I’m not a strong swimmer I could still enjoy the day and see the reef. Renee is lovely, pointed out fish and checked on us. The food was so good (fruit, biscuits, tea, coffee, pasta). Would recommend to anyone!

Great service

Great helpfully staff Food was great Overall excellent experience Nils was great friendly and helpful

Once in a lifetime.

Crew was absolutely the best. Simon our Dive Master was also magnificent. He was very thoughtful and a great instructor.

Brilliant

I was so impressed with everything today. The crew were phenomenal and couldn’t do enough to make our day great, shout out to Hannah who sat with my girls for half an hour telling stories about the fish and coral we had seen that day. They were unfailingly kind and generous with their time and we had a brilliant day despite really big swell!

Great day with the Passion team, thoroughly recommend these guys.

My friends and I had the best day. The Passion staff were just so accommodating. I had a group of 8 people, they reserved a table for us and gave us a team member to assist. Our team leaders was Renee and Hannah, they were great. Fabulous day had by all. Thanks

Awesome crew, nice group size

Even though the weather did not cooperate, the crew did a fabulous job and we got to view the GBR. The crew was attentive and supportive to guests with a wide range of capabilities. The lunch was delicious and there was plenty of seating for our group of about 90 guests . I can’t name all the crew, butSimon was particularly helpful to us, Vinnie shared details about the boat and others answered all our questions . Highly recommend taking preventative measures for motion sickness!

Weather was bad, cancelation would have been better.

The weather was too bad. The boat ride was not enjoyable due to the weather. Vision at the reef was not oke. I'm sorry we did not cancel. It was way too much money for what we got to see. They should have canceled the trip.

Fantastic day on the reef

Despite the adverse conditions the crew worked very hard to enable a great trip and experience. The boat is great and the smaller more intimate size of the party allows a better experience. The crew also make sure every one is catered for including less advanced swimmers and snorkelers and people with medical conditions get closer supervision.

Love it!

Great staff, wonderful people, your team are professional and friendly. We love everything, food and services. The cruise is beautiful and clean. We enjoyed the snorkeling with the support from your team guiding us to the reef. Thank you for this special journey.

An amazing day from beginning to end

An incredible day from beginning to end. The Passions of Paradise crew has just the right mix of professionalism, expertise and sense of fun to make the trip to the reef really special. The excellent food, photography and comfortable boat all added to the enjoyment. We were on the ‘Be A Marine Biologist For The Day’ experience which was fantastic and I’d throughly recommend. We were met as we boarded by Corinda who is a real star. Hugely knowledgeable she explained the Eye on The Reed project where data from those who visit the reef is collated to monitor how the coral and sea life is coping with current stresses. As we snorkelled we noted down what we sure under Corinda’s guidance. Having your own personal guide was a real treat as she pointed out things we would have definitely missed. She was also brilliant with the kids - 11 and 13 - making them feel secure and safe as we ventured a little further than we would have done alone as a family. We had huge fun but also felt we learned a great deal. An amazing day.

Amazing day with an awesome crew and stunning reefs

Absolutely amazing! The crew were awesome, the reefs were stunning. It’s a small boat with maybe 90 on board and one of the few remaining locally owned reef tours left. Almost all the other boats going out were huge and jammed with people. We had lots of delicious snacks, a really good buffet lunch and a crew that looked after us perfectly. One of the best was Darby who took care to make sure we were well looked after. She also helped me get reconnected with my wife after we lost track of each other at one of the reef sites. Her enthusiasm for the reef and the company was contagious. Skip the mega boats and book these folks. They really are the best in Cairns.

A great Barrier Reef experience with Passions of Paradise!

A great day out for 3 of us (two adults and a 13 year old daughter) who had never snorkelled before outside a UK swimming pool! Very efficient check-in with a medical form to complete- 5 minute walk to the catamaran. Departed at 8 am, 2 hours cruise to the first of two areas on the reef - lots of information, comfortable inside and out. Really impressed by the proactive way the crew checked equipment fitted, gave tips and eased us into the water with guides to assist. In both areas, had about 1 hour 30 minutes. Coffee tea, biscuits and fruit platters served morning and afternoon while lunch was splendid (6 or so salads plus a main (chicken or vegetarian option) and seconds if you wanted. Very interesting presentation on aspects and occupants of the reef by a team member on the way back - lots of room to tan as well! The reef itself was unforgettable- and made possible by great service and support. Would thoroughly recommend.

Professional staff, good food, nice snorkeling

The snorkeling was great. The staff is very helpful and polite. Our snorkeling guide Gonzalo is very professional and knowledgeable. He took care of our group. Whenever we have a problem with our snorkeling mask, he’s very patient and always knows how to adjust it and make it work well. Food on boat is good too. Very good experience, highly recommend.