Sydney Harbour Tall Ships – Lunch Cruise Reviews
We recently tried out one of the Sydney Harbour Tall Ships cruises and had a really great relaxing afternoon. We opted to do the Lunch Cruise which included two hours sailing time aboard the Soren Larsen as well as lunch dining. As an extra we also booked the open bar package (includes unlimited soft drinks, juices, beer, wine and sparkling) and for an extra $22 per person and would definitely recommend that optional extra.
We boarded promptly and on time. The boat takes off under motor for the first half of the trip. Once the boat is unmoored, the bar is open and the drinks flow freely. A few canapés start to be handed out about 15 minutes into the cruise. There is also an option to purchase a Mast Climb if you are brave enough! They get people started doing the mast climbs pretty much straight away due to the rule that no alcohol can be consumed before you climb.
The boat sets out around Sydney Harbour and the friendly crew (we had Tom as our main guide) and the Captain Marty will provide any answers for questions you might have as well as giving you commentary on historical events and general information about Sydney itself. After around 45 minutes, the boat starts to turn around, then the crew brings the sails down (you can help out if that is something you want to try) and the engine is switched off. This provides a more quiet slow-moving time to start lunch.
Now don’t expect too much from the Tall Ships lunch experience, it is not a gourmet feast. It consists of a green salad, coleslaw, potato salad, pulled meats (pork, chicken and beef) with bread rolls. Chocolate brownies are offered around for dessert also. The lunch was actually fine for us as we had earlier had a big buffet breakfast at our hotel and weren’t really very hungry anyway. It may not be enough though if you hadn’t eaten very much earlier in the day. It is then a nice slow cruise heading back to port under sail while you take in the beautiful scenery of Sydney Harbour.
There are different cruise options available leaving from Campbells Cove, The Rocks which are;
- Lunch Cruise – sails daily except for Tuesdays (1.45pm to 3.45pm)
- Afternoon Discovery Cruise – sails daily except Tuesdays (4.00pm to 5.30pm)
- Twilight Dinner Cruise – sails daily except for Tuesdays (5.45pm to 7.45pm)
- Convicts, Castles and Champagne Tour – Mon, Thur, Fri, Sat and Sun (1.00pm to 4.45pm)
- Champagne Brunch Cruise – Sundays (11.00am to 1.00pm)
- Attack of the Pirates (great for families!) for a limited time on Saturdays and Sundays (1.30pm to 2.45pm from Campbells Cove) (3.15pm to 4.45pm from Milsons Point Wharf)
If the Sydney Harbour Tall Ships is something you might like to do, a tip would be to join the mailing list on their website. You will then receive weekly email updates and specials that may help cut costs. We were travelling to Sydney on a Friday and got an email the Thursday before we travelled offering us a great deal on the Saturday Lunch Cruise, which we then happily booked. Cost through that was $65 per person (and we paid an additional $22 pp for open bar) which also included the mast climb (although we were not brave enough to do it!) so it was a really great deal. It worked out that we saved $84 pp from the standard prices on the website.
This was a really enjoyable experience and suitable for both couples and families. For more information on the Sydney Tall Ships go to www.sydneytallships.com.au or call on (02) 8015 5571
