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Quicksilver Cruises Port Douglas provides Great Barrier Reef day tours, visiting their activity platform at Agincourt Reef, part of the outer Great Barrier Reef. Their multi-level activity platform provides you with the opportunity to enjoy unlimited snorkelling, with all equipment provided and included in the tour price, as well as semi submersible tours, visits to their underwater observatory and a fish feeding demonstration. Quicksilver Cruises is Australia’s most awarded reef cruise company and has been running since 1979. Their wavepiercer catamaran has air-conditioned interiors and exterior sundecks, and provides a comfortable ride to the reef. Their day tours depart at 10am and provide guests with 3.5 hours to swim, snorkel, dive and explore the Great Barrier Reef. Morning and afternoon tea is provided on the boat, with a hot and cold buffet on the platform.
You can also add some optional extra activities into your Quicksilver Reef Cruises Port Douglas reef day tours, including certified and introductory (no prior experience necessary) scuba diving, guided snorkel tours, ocean walker helmet dive and scenic helicopter flights.
Get a free underwater camera rental when you book tours through us valued at over $750, we’ll lend you a GoPro underwater camera to use for the duration of your tours. Numbers are limited and allocated on a first-come basis. Get in touch with us to claim this deal today.
During your 3.5 hours at Quicksilver’s Agincourt Reef activity platform, you can enjoy unlimited snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef, semi submersible tours, visits to the underwater observatory, reef presentation and fish feeding. These are all included in the tour price, with lots of optional extras available too.
You can snorkel and explore Agincourt Reef on the Great Barrier Reef, from Quicksilver’s platform. Water access is made easy, with steps and a platform lowered into the water. All snorkelling equipment is provided and included in the tour price (mask, snorkel and fins), with a video presentation showing techniques and tips, shown on the boat during your trip to the reef. Quicksilver also has snorkelling safety officers at the platform, to answer any of your questions. There are rest stations placed strategically in the snorkel area for your comfort. Flotation devices are also available.
Guided snorkel tours are an optional extra during your time at the reef. Led by a marine biologist, guided snorkel tours allow you to learn more about the reef. There’s an introductory snorkel tour for beginners (30-40 minutes) and an advanced snorkel tour (45-60+ minutes). This is in addition to the tour price.
Quicksilver Cruises’ Port Douglas Great Barrier Reef day tour provides you with the opportunity to try scuba diving for the first time. No previous experience necessary. Introductory diving is in addition to the tour price, and the dive price includes your dive equipment, instruction and having a dive instructor with you in the water, the whole time. The ratio of instructor to student is 1 to 4. Dive time is around 30 minutes. You do not go deeper than 12m. The minimum age to participate in an introductory dive is 12 years old.
Please note certain health conditions can prevent you from trying scuba diving, this includes but is not limited to: asthma, epilepsy, chronic sinus conditions and ear problems, heart disease and sugar diabetes. It is not advised to try scuba diving if you are pregnant.
Certified scuba divers can enjoy up to 2 dives on Agincourt Reef, part of the Great Barrier Reef, on a Quicksilver Cruises Port Douglas day tour. All diving on Quicksilver is guided and in addition to the tour price. The dive price includes your equipment, instruction and site briefing, plus dive guide. Certified dives with Quicksilver Cruises are around 40 minutes. Dive depth varies but is generally no deeper than 15m. Water entry is via the activity platform, via a set of stairs to a submerged platform. Once everyone is ready, there are ropes to assist descent (if needed).
Certified divers will be required to show evidence of your certification to the Dive Crew. You are also required to complete a safety waiver, prior to dive (and snorkel) activities.
Quicksilver Cruises runs semi submersible tours on the Great Barrier Reef from its activity platform at Agincourt Reef. The semi submersible tours depart every 15 minutes, and last around 25 minutes, with guests enjoying great views thanks to the panoramic windows. Quicksilver Cruises’ semi submersible tours are fully guided, with information provided regarding the reef, different types of corals and the various marine life you will see during your tour. This is perfect for non-swimmers and families, as well as anyone wanting to learn more about the reef, on a guided tour.
The semi submersible tours are included in your Quicksilver Cruises day tour price. You do not need to pre-book them and you can do as many as you like.
A 10 minute Great Barrier Reef scenic helicopter flight provides a completely different perspective of the reef, its scale and size. Quicksilver’s helicopter flights are run by Nautilus Aviation, a respected Cairns aviation company, and take off from a heli platform, which is moored at Agincourt Reef. The scenic helicopter flight is in addition to the Quicksilver Cruises tour price.
The underwater observatory is located on the Quicksilver Cruises activity platform and is open during your 3.5 hours at the reef. Guests are welcome to visit it as many times as they like during their day. From the underwater windows you can see a range of Great Barrier Reef fish and corals, watch the introductory divers on their scuba diving experience and see the fish feeding presentation. Access to the underwater observatory is included in the tour price.
Ocean walker helmet diving is another optional extra on Quicksilver Cruises’ Port Douglas Great Barrier Reef day tour. The helmet is basically a modern day version of the old pearl diver helmets, and receives a constant supply of fresh air, throughout your ‘dive’ – which is in fact a walk, along a submerged platform at a maximum depth of 4.5m. There is no swimming involved, just walking underwater. Your hair will stay dry and you can even wear your glasses, if required. The minimum age to participate in ocean walker helmet diving is 12 years old and the minimum height is 135cm. There’s a maximum of 6 people participating at a time, and you are accompanied underwater by 2 dive instructors at all times. Ocean walker helmet diving is in addition to the day tour price.
The Quicksilver Cruises Great Barrier Reef day tour departs Port Douglas every day, at 10am. They take you to Agincourt Reef, which is part of the outer Great Barrier Reef and 72km from Port Douglas. Prior to boarding the catamaran, you need to collect your boarding passes from the Quicksilver reservations counter, which is located inside the Crystalbrook Superyacht Marina. Check-in is available from 9.15am, with boarding commencing at 9.30am for a 10am departure. Morning and afternoon tea, as well as a hot and cold buffet lunch are included in the tour price. You should take a towel, sunglasses, hat, change of clothes and sunblock for the day, as well as cash or credit cards to make any beverage, snack or souvenir purchases. Tea, coffee and cold water is supplied and included.
Check in at the Quicksilver Reservations counter, which is located inside the Crystalbrook Superyacht Marina at Port Douglas, to receive your boarding passes.
Boarding commences at the Quicksilver Cruises wavepiercer catamaran, which is moored at the Crystalbrook Superyacht Marina. Tea and coffee is available on boarding.
Depart Port Douglas for Agincourt Reef, part of the outer Great Barrier Reef. During the transfer from Port Douglas, you will complete any necessary snorkelling and/or scuba diving paperwork, and be advised of the timing of these activities. You’re welcome to sit in the air conditioned interiors, or on the exterior sundecks. The monitors inside the boat show a marine biologist presentation and snorkelling demonstration, from 10.30am.
Arrive at the Quicksilver Cruises activity platform, on Agincourt Reef. Activities commence, including snorkelling and the semi submersible tours, as well as access to the underwater observatory. These activities continue throughout your time at the pontoon. If you have booked a guided snorkel tour, scuba diving, ocean walker helmet diving or a scenic helicopter flight, times will be advised for these activities.
A hot and cold buffet lunch is served on the pontoon. This includes prawns, pasta, cold meats, salads and breads. Chairs and tables are located on the pontoon, and you can choose to sit in the shade or on the sundeck. Drinks are available to purchase on the boat, which is moored to the pontoon for the duration of your time here.
The boat will blast its horn, which is a sign for all guests to return to the catamaran.
When all guests are aboard, a passenger headcount is completed and then the boat commences its return to Port Douglas. Afternoon tea is provided on the boat. You are welcome to enjoy the reef video on your way home, talk to the marine biologists, look at souvenir photos taken during the day, or just sit back and relax.
Arrive back to Port Douglas’ Crystalbrook Superyacht Marina
There are lots of inclusions in the Quicksilver Cruises Port Douglas Great Barrier Reef day tour.
You can do lots on your visit to the Great Barrier Reef with Quicksilver Cruises, including unlimited snorkelling from the pontoon, semi submersible tours, and visits to the underwater observatory, as well as reef presentations and a fish feeding presentation. These are all included in the ticket price. Optional extras are a guided snorkel tour, scuba diving, scenic heli flights and ocean walker helmet diving.
Yes, you can snorkel at the Quicksilver Cruises Agincourt Reef activity platform. Water access is comfortable, thanks to a platform with bench seating, which is lowered into the water. The reef is a short swim away. There are flotation devices and buoyancy vests available for your comfort, and snorkel stations are dotted around the snorkel area.
Quicksilver Cruises’ activity platform is located at Agincourt Reef on the Great Barrier Reef, which is about 72km offshore from Port Douglas. Its distance from the mainland ensures the underwater visibility is usually very good. The reef is only a small swim from the platform, and here you will see an array of hard and soft corals and an abundance of Great Barrier Reef fish, including scissor tail sergeants, butterfly fish, angelfish, rabbitfish, wrasse and more. You can snorkel as much or little as you like during your 3.5 hours at the reef, and all snorkelling equipment is included in the Quicksilver Cruises tour price.
There is also the option to join 1 of 2 guided snorkel tours, which are led by a marine biologist. The guided snorkel tours are in addition to the tour price. The minimum age to participate in a guided snorkel tour is 12 years of age and children must be accompanied by an adult. You can choose the introductory snorkel tour, which lasts 30-40 minutes and is tailored towards families. Or the advanced snorkel tour, which lasts 45-60+ minutes which is more explorative and marine biologists can teach you how to duck dive (should you be interested).
Yes, you can scuba dive at and from the Quicksilver Cruises reef activity platform. For those who have never scuba dived before, you can try an introductory dive which lasts around 30 minutes. You must be aged a minimum of 12 years old to participate in this, and you do not go deeper than 12m. You will be with a dive instructor the whole time. The ratio of instructor to students is 1 to 4. Certified scuba divers can do 1 or 2 guided dives with Quicksilver Cruises, during their Port Douglas reef day tour. Each dive will be around 40 minutes. All scuba diving is in addition to the tour price. The dive price includes all equipment, instruction and dive guide.
Yes, the Quicksilver Cruises Great Barrier Reef day tour is suitable for non-swimmers. Non-swimmers can participate in the following:
Yes, the Quicksilver Cruises Great Barrier Reef day tour is suitable for families. The catamaran can accommodate prams. Infants and young children can take semi submersible tours and visit the underwater observatory. Older children can snorkel over the reef with parents and/or guardians. Optional extra activities for children aged 12 years old and over, include guided snorkel tours (with family members and a marine biologist), an introductory scuba dive or ocean walker helmet dive. These are all in addition to the ticket price.
Lunch on the Quicksilver Cruises reef activity platform is good. It includes a range of hot and cold dishes, including fresh prawns, range of salads and breads, ham and cold meats and more.
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