Great Barrier Reef Adventures

Overview

Accommodation facilities onboard the fully air-conditioned vessel are terrific. Staterooms are modern, spacious & bright with plenty of storage space, & all have en-suite bathrooms.

Reef Encounter has its own onboard water desalination plant so guests have the luxury of unlimited showers. The dining room is big & fresh, our onboard heated spa is perfect to relax after a night dive or watch the sunset with a glass of champagne. Our hydraulic scuba dive / snorkel platform makes scuba diving & snorkeling a breeze. Reef Encounter is large enough to provide all the comforts of larger cruise ships, yet small enough to enable access to spectacular reef locations inaccessible to other vessels.

Reef Encounter offers an outstanding opportunity to live aboard & spend a night or several nights on the Great Barrier Reef. Reef Encounter is a team of like minded individuals who share a passion to provide the best environment for people to experience the Great Barrier Reef in comfort & style. We cater for peoples individual requirements & our aim is always to provide people with the best possible experience they will remember forever

Facilities

Facilities available for liveaboard accommodation onboard Reef Encounter:

• 21 twin/double staterooms (all have private bathrooms).
• Air-conditioning.
• Fully Licensed Bar.
• Complimentary Tea, Coffee & Milo all day.
• Dining Room - Chef prepared meals made fresh daily on board.
• Heated Spa
• Easy access to snorkelling / scuba dive platform.
• Snorkel & Dive Equipment
• Dive Tender vessels.
• Spacious Sun Deck with sun lounges.
• Glass Bottom Boat.
• TV / Video Room.
• Heli Pad.
• Reef fishing is available - advanced bookings are essential.

Transfers

• Compass Cruises transfers passengers to Reef Encounter on a daily basis - transfers operate from The Marlin Jetty - Boarding is at 7:45am.
• The Great Barrier Reef Helicopter Group offers Helicopter flights from Cairns General Aviation Base landing directly onboard Reef Encounter's exclusive Helipad. Helicopter transfers require a minimum of 2 persons to operate. $355 per person, one way.

What people say

The Reef Encounter is an older styled vessel, well maintained and well serviced.  On board there was a mixture of young and old passengers. The mix of passengers I think would go up and down on each trip. 

Cabins are air conditioned, large and spacious with shower and toilet.  The vessel cruises the outer reef and stops at different locations throughout the day depending on time of day, prevailing winds and tides.

Food served on board is better than most pub and club food and plentiful.  Coffee, tea, Cordial, H2O and fruit are all available throughout the day.

I have never dived before and I was a bit scared - Having now done two dives which cost $70 and $55 respectively I wouldn't miss it again for the world.  It was great experience and I got to swim with some turtles. This was the highlight of the trip for me and certainly gave me a greater appreciation of the Great Barrier Reef.

Vanessa Colyer Tay
Style Editor, Inside Out Magazine
May, 2008

Image Gallery

Scuba diving photos
Snorkeling photos
Reef Encounter liveaboard photos