Cairns dinner cruise: what to expect and booking

What the cruise is

This cruise is a dinner on a catamaran that leaves from Cairns Marlin Marina and runs along Trinity Inlet and the Cairns waterfront, from the Cruise Liner Terminal to the Esplanade. The ticket lists a calm-water evening cruise of two and a half hours, with a safety briefing, sailing, scenic views and a meal on board. Its itinerary starts at the marina with welcome refreshments, moves on to Trinity Inlet for dinner and free time, and finishes back at the marina. Cairns sits on the edge of the Coral Sea, so the water you sail on is a working harbour and a tidal wetland at the same time.

What the ticket includes

On arrival you get a welcome glass of sparkling wine, beer or soft drink. Dinner is a hot and cold buffet with fresh seafood and local produce, eaten in an air-conditioned dining room, and the vessel also has large outdoor decks. Further drinks and cocktails are bought from the licensed bar, which takes cash, EFTPOS or credit cards. The operator says menu items can change without notice and are labelled for gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian and vegan diets, so the dishes on your night may differ from what a past guest describes. The list below separates what the ticket covers from what you pay for on board.

• Included: the welcome drink, the buffet dinner and the cruise
• Paid on board: further drinks and cocktails
• Not part of the ticket: a hotel transfer, so you make your own way to the marina

The music nights

Live music is listed from Sunday to Thursday, and the operator describes it as live entertainment from local Cairns musicians. Guests describe a lively evening: one praises a saxophone player, another a young man with a guitar and a little dancing, and a third calls the entertainment wonderful. One guest who wears hearing aids found the music loud, so mention any hearing needs to the crew when you board. If you would rather talk across the table, read what the calendar shows for your night and choose with the music in mind.

The boat

Spirit of Cairns is the name of the catamaran you board, and this site is an independent guide that does not run it. A catamaran has two parallel hulls of equal size, and Wikipedia notes that the wide spacing resists rolling and that catamarans usually have a shallower draft than a single-hulled boat of the same length. It also says catamarans can reduce both heeling and wave-induced motion compared with single-hulled boats. The operator describes an air-conditioned dining room and large outdoor decks, so you can eat inside and watch from outside.

Read next: Cairns Marlin Marina: boarding guide

Boarding and timing

Boarding is at Cairns Marlin Marina, 1 Spence Street, at the finger marked A. The boat departs promptly, so be on board before the time on your confirmation. The booking page and the operator's own pages have shown slightly different check-in times, which makes your confirmation the one to follow. A hotel transfer is not part of the ticket, so getting to the marina is yours to arrange. The next guide covers the marina, the walk and the dress in more detail, and it is worth reading before the evening itself.

What to wear

The operator suggests tropical cocktail attire, with a light jacket for the winter months. Footwear is mandatory: the terms say you will not be allowed to board without shoes or sandals, suitable shoes for boating are recommended, and the operator's FAQ suggests flat rubber-soled shoes for moving around the boat. The booking page also lists a jacket and weather-appropriate clothing among the things to bring. In practice that means one smart outfit that copes with a warm evening, a cooler dining room and a breeze on the decks, plus shoes you can walk in along a pontoon.

Choosing your night

Two things change from one sailing to the next: whether live music is listed and what the sky is doing. The booking calendar shows which nights are open, so pick a Sunday to Thursday sailing if you want the music. If the light matters more to you than anything else, read the guide to the wet and dry seasons before you settle on a month. The cruise runs on the same route and format whichever night you choose, so the choice is about atmosphere and weather rather than about a different dinner.

Read next: Wet or dry season: when to sail

Other evenings on the same water

A 90-minute sunset cruise on Trinity Inlet from the same marina is a lighter option. It comes with a complimentary beer, wine or soft drink and a light snack, with commentary from the skipper, but it has no dinner, and it is run by a different operator. For an evening indoors, the Cairns Aquarium offers an after-hours guided tour with a two-course dinner. Both appear on the booking cards further down the page, each described from its own booking page. Choose the dinner cruise for a full meal on the water, the sunset cruise for a shorter outing, and the aquarium for an indoor night.

Who this isn't for

The catamaran is not wheelchair accessible. Boarding and reaching the toilets involve several stairs and the doorways are narrow, so the ticket lists people with mobility impairments as unsuitable. Children must stay under parental supervision and cannot use the outer decks without a parent or another adult. If you want a plated, sit-down dinner or a silent room, a buffet with live music on some nights is a different kind of evening. Guests with a severe food allergy should also read the allergen statement in the operator's terms before booking, because a shared buffet cannot promise a risk-free table.

Booking and what happens next

You book through GetYourGuide by choosing a date, and the calendar shows the options and availability. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before sailing, and payment can wait until later. For food allergies, tell the operator when you book: its terms say it endeavours to provide safe food but does not guarantee a completely safe environment for anyone with a severe food allergy. The buffet, drinks and dietary guide goes through the labels and the questions to ask before you pay.

Read next: Buffet, drinks and diets on board

The evening in the city

The marina is in the heart of Cairns, and Ports North describes a short walk to the swimming lagoon, hotels, shopping, dining and nightlife. Cairns was founded in 1876 and named after William Wellington Cairns, then Governor of Queensland, and it is now a centre of tourism with two UNESCO World Heritage sites within reach: the Wet Tropics of Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef. Wikipedia counts a major cruise-ship industry among the city's businesses. A dinner on the inlet is one of the few ways to see the city's waterfront from the water.