Michaelmas Cay Sailing Tour: Luxury Catamaran Experience with Snorkeling and Diving
4.5
125 Ratings
Cairns City
Embark on a luxury catamaran sailing tour to Michaelmas Cay, a stunning sand cay on the Great Barrier Reef. Snorkel, dive, and explore the vibrant coral gardens and encounter Green Sea Turtles and Blue-Spotted rays. Indulge in delicious meals and enjoy complimentary bubbles while immersing yourself in this unforgettable experience.
Duration:
8 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Ocean Spirit Cruises - Arrive to the Reef Fleet Terminal from 07:30am and check-in at the Ocean Spirit counter. Obtain your boarding passes and be directed to the vessel boarding area at the marina.
Boarding commences from 08:00am. Enjoy Muffins and Focaccia on your journey to Michaelmas Cay. Complimentary Tea & Coffee served prior to departure.
Ocean Spirit departs strictly at 08.30am for a two hour motorized sail to Michaelmas Cay.
- Great Barrier Reef - Sail aboard Ocean Spirit to the unique reef environment of Michaelmas Cay, a picturesque sand cay encircled by beautiful fringing reef.
Watch our crew perform a safety demonstration, reef brief and snorkeling demonstration. This is followed by an informative Marine Biologist Reef Presentation.
- Michaelmas Cay - Enjoy an onboard Fish feeding presentation upon arrival at Michaelmas Cay followed by 4 hours free time.
Snorkel from the cay’s shallow protected waters, cruise in the semi-submersible for a diver’s view of the reef and discover the island’s birdlife. If you prefer to just relax on the beach or onboard and enjoy a leisurely day on the Great Barrier Reef. The choice is yours!
If you would like to dive the Great Barrier Reef, introductory dives for novices and marine biologist guided snorkel tours are also available.
Buffet Lunch is served onboard between 12:00pm to 1:30pm.
- Great Barrier Reef - On the homeward journey, relax in the air-conditioned cabin, outside or on the spacious foredeck under the sails. (Sailing is weather dependent). To top off your Ocean Spirit experience, a glass of complimentary sparkling wine, seasonal fruit platter, cheese and biscuits is also served on the homeward journey should you desire. Access our fully licensed bar to purchase additional snacks and drinks!
- Cairns - Disembark from Ocean Spirit at the Cairns Reef Fleet Terminal at 5.00pm.
What's Included
- Ecological presentations by qualified marine biologists
- Lunch
- Use of snorkel equipment and lyra suit
- Roundtrip cruise from Cairns to Michaelmas Cay
- Coral viewing in air-conditioned semi-submersible
- Environmental Management Charge
- Morning and afternoon tea
What's Not Included
- Drinks, unless specified
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information
Depart from Cairns on a high-end sailing catamaran headed for Michaelmas Cay, an idyllic sandy cay in the Great Barrier Reef. The cay is surrounded by a distinct fringing reef featuring stunning coral gardens inhabited by vibrant fish, curious Green Sea Turtles, and Blue-Spotted rays. It also serves as a crucial bird sanctuary for migratory seabirds.
Experience the coral and marine creatures of the reef from a semi-submerged submarine, or take a stab at scuba diving or snorkeling from the cay to see the splendid coral gardens up close.
To keep your stomach full as you discover Michaelmas Cay for 4 hours, morning tea, a Hot & Cold Buffet Lunch (prawns included), afternoon tea and complimentary bubbles and cheese/biscuits are offered on board.
- Minimum age for all diving activities is 12 years
- After a single scuba dive a wait of 12 hours is recommended before ascending to an altitude of 300 metres or greater. If doing multiple dives an interval of 24 hours is suggested.
- All participants will be required to complete a health questionnaire prior to diving. Some pre-existing medical conditions (For example: asthma, heart conditions, etc) may prevent you from diving, please consult your doctor
Location
1 Spence St
Spence Street
Important: Please check-in & collect your boarding pass at the Ocean Spirit counter inside the Reef Fleet Terminal at 7.30am. Boarding commences 8:00am, vessel departs 8:30am.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.5
(125 Ratings)
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Issymoneyc
Apr 10, 2024
Honestly amazing- best day!! - Honestly couldn’t imagine a better day on the Great Barrier Reef. The marine biology talk was so lovely and then going to see the coral in person. The staff made it so relaxing and not daunting at all. Especially because I struggle sometimes with snorkelling.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hweetee_w
Mar 23, 2024
Amazing team - Ocean spirits crews were very friendly. I love how they organise the whole trip and be flexible if needed. I and my son truly enjoyed the entire trip and the food provided on the cruise. The staffs are absolutely amazing! We highly recommend this to family with kids or elderly.
Review provided by Viator
Sunita_n
Mar 5, 2024
Incredible experience - Great experience, very friendly staff . Good food . I did snorkeling tour with the biologist which was the most amazing experience to see the corals . Must do if you are here in reef for the first time. Will do it again and again .
Review provided by Viator
95ks95
Mar 3, 2024
Very nice snorkel experience. - Ocean Spirit was well organized and nicely handled. Takes 2 hours from Cairns to arrive but a pleasant trip over with stuff to listen to. Nice equipment, staff was friendly and helpful. Snorkeling was very nice. Reef isn't too deep in fact only 2 feet under in spots but you can easy snorkel around whereever you wanted Plenty of areas to go, lots to see. Visability was pretty good -- not excellent -- but pretty good. Say shark, eel, stingray, and a few friendly small jellyfish. Wish we knew the jellyfish in the area were not the ones you need to worry about -- I would have been friendlier to them :) You get tendered into shore where you put on your gear and head out. The dives cost money - even the trial dives - that was not well communicated up front. Many in our group did the submarine thing and said it was just OK. I'm glad that I went back to snorkel even more. I'm sure the outer reef is even better but we really did enjoy our experience. 8 hour tour. Plenty of snacks -- good lunch.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hiromit2024
Mar 1, 2024
Michaelmaskei is the best! - I was impressed by the blue of the ocean and the white of the sand.
I was very happy to see sea turtles while snorkeling.
It had been raining since morning, the wind was strong, and the waves were high, so I was very worried about getting seasick, but I managed to enjoy the activities without getting seasick.
There were six Japanese crew members, so I was able to participate with peace of mind.
The lunch buffet was delicious, and the champagne and cheese were also delicious.
Thank you so much for a wonderful experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nmaisuria22
Jan 7, 2024
Great Barrier Reef diving trip great success! - Everything was incredible, first time diving felt amazing! Thanks Jasper for your guidance! Also to the captain and all of the crew that were very attentive, professional and lots of fun!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cvd485
Jan 28, 2024
Alright - We took a nice boat trip to go diving at the coral reef. Each company has its territory where it can bring tourists. The place where the boat stopped was very close to an island where there were many birds.
The package paid for this group trip included a “submarine” ride, dinner and a dive.
The submarine ride was good without being extraordinary. We could see the seabed quite well.
The meal, a buffet, was simple, good and quite varied.
For diving (snorkeling), we had around 2.5 hours. We were provided with diving suits to protect us from jellyfish. As for the coral, it was good without being extraordinary. I still enjoyed the diving, even if there were very few fish.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mariedc5196ij
Mar 11, 2024
Overpriced and disappointing - Overpriced for value received.
Staff sporadically present and not customer friendly.
We were left on our own and we were not the only couple who had this opinion.
A recommendation: send your staff to see how zigzag staff does it on their Whitsunday snorkel tour on the Great Barrier Reef !
Zigzag team sure demonstrates enthusiasm, devotion and careful attention to all …. We got totally the opposite with Ocean Spirit team and were very disappointed as we did not have our money’s worth
We do not recommend this tour with Ocean Spirit.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maximilian
Jan 14, 2024
Nice, but too expensive. - Nice experience, but definitely too expensive. Paid $200 and had about 20 minutes of diving time. The snorkeling was a bit badly timed with lunch and caused a lot of stress for the divers. The small submarine and the food were really good though. Staff very friendly. The pictures weren't very good and were absolutely overpriced. If you wanted a single picture, it was $44.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Arkay56
Feb 28, 2024
Nice boat; grumpy captain, not for beginners - The Liverpudlian Captain seemed disinterested in his clients and his attitude to suggestions was rude. e.g. many come on board wanting to experience snorkelling the great barrier reef for the first time. Unfortunately he drops us off on shore 50m from the reef, and nervous swimmers won't go out that far.
Other cruise companies use a long rope for people to hold on to, above the reef. A platform was suggested but there may be marine park issues.
The boat was comfortable and we were well supplied with equipment, food and drink. The only disappointment was as anove; if you are a beginner you won't see a lot.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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