Hi .. we'll be travelling to the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast & Cairns in late Dec / early Jan 05 / 06.
I'm concerned to hear about stingers in Qld as we will be doing a 7 day reef cruise x Cairns.
I'm hoping the stingers are found on the inner beaches only.
Will it be safe to swim / snorkel off the boat on the GBR itself?
It's a Captain Cook Cruises tour.
Many thanks

I've now done a search on the forum and discovered that the stingers appear to lurk largely nearer the shore but that some operators offer a stinger suit to wear.
Can't wait to see dearly beloved in a lycra suit!

There's not likely to be a problem with Coral Princess, be guided by crew and wear a stinger suit if necessary. Keep your camera handy though!

Pat - do you have any feedback on the Coral Princess? We are very much looking fwd to seeing this amazing place.

Oops, cross purposes here ... we are of course travelling on the Reef Endeavour as it is a CCC trip.
Have read the various RE reviews on here, sounds as if it will be fine, but interested in any more recent experiences . Perhaps I should start a new thread.

Hi Pleiades, sorry, thought you were talking about Coral Princess but same goes for Reef Endeavour trip regarding stingers. It'll be hot in summer, the biggest worry you'll have is sunburn, so slather yourself in a high factor lotion.

No problem at all with the Gold and Sunshine Costs. Far too south for Stingers at anytime of year - except of course blue bottles which opens up a another can of worms.