We have just completed a Coral Expeditions cruise around the Great Barrier Reef, and found it to be a great experience. Unfortunately, we had bad weather for the first leg of the cruise, and some of our destinations were altered due to conditions. But this is a matter of luck, and things improved as we travelling north.

The crew were exceptional, and are an integral part of the overall experience. There were some crew changes on our second leg (we combined two cruises), but the new members slipped in seamlessly. They all appear to be multi-skilled, experts in their field, and nothing was an effort. The standard of the meals was excellent.

We had a couple of afternoons on beaches where the crew set up drinks and snacks - one memorable occasion we had champagne and fresh oysters in the shell. The logistics of getting the chairs, table, food and drinks from the boat to the beach on the tender boat was complex, but the crew did this with apparent ease. Read more