Quicksilver or Sunlover?
 

We are going to be staying in Palm Cove next month and want to take a cruise to the GBR. We only want to do the glass bottom boat. Both of these companies offer that option--Quicksilver just on their cruise on WaveDancer to the Low Isles. Or Sunlover to Arlington Reef. Any opinions on either of these boats--quality of boat, food, service, etc. Difference in quality of viewing at Low Isles or Arlington Reef? Thanks.

My friend took Quiksilver last August from Palm Cove. She said people were packed on the boat like sardines, which was quite unpleasant. (Also the water was rough so many people got seasick, but that's another matter....) Makes me want to look into alternatives for my visit this year so I look forward to reading replies to your post.

We took the big Quicksilver catamaran (not Wavedancer) out to the reef and really enjoyed it. The boat was about half full, may have been different if it had been full, but it was a very well organised day with lots to do. At the pontoon there is a buffet lunch, cold water showers if you do swim/snorkel and lots of seating and shade cover. There is a free semi-submersible which you sit inside and it goes through the water so you can see the fish etc without getting wet. It can be slightly claustrophic as you can't move around at all once you're seated but the ride isn't that long. There is also a free underwater observatory you walk down into plus you can do scuba diving or helicopter rides if you want (extra $$). I had never snorkelled but the staff were very helpful and I really enjoyed a short time in the water. The snorkelling area is roped off so you can't go astray. The day just flew by. I think the viewing of the reef is better the further out you go, but it does take a while to get out to the reef, an advantage of a bigger boat is it doesn't take as long.<BR>Kay

Kay is right!! the further out you go the better the reef gets. You have a choice of sitting on a boat for a few hours to get there and back, or if you really want the best, you can go to Lizard Island for the day with daintreeair. Travel time is only 45 mins and you get to spend at least 6 hours on some of the worlds very best reef. You do not need to be a champion swimmer as the reef is very close to the beach. However if you want and you are a good swimmer you can go out for miles. But really there is no need to go out any further than just a few metres. www.daintreeair.com.au<BR>Pete.

Miranda if you want alternatives for snorkelling, check out Wavelength- www.wavelength-reef.com.au<BR><BR>they are the best operators for snorkelling.<BR>if you want some dive operations i can help u with those too<BR>