Darwin Harbour Cruises

Positive experience: Air-conditioning didn't last. Food nice but only average for the price. Staff great.

Fantastic experience: Sunset Cruise. The best place to see the Darwin sunset. The boat was comfortable. The grazing platter was superb

Fantastic experience: We did the graze and gaze sunset cruise. Great tasting platter and icecream. Plenty of food, friendly staff and informative updates. Would definitely recommend!

Negative experience: We (party of 4) booked the Sunset Gaze & Graze cruise. This certainly did not live up to any expectations. Boarding was slow & disorganissed (why not just collect a 'boarding pass', instead of using a tablet to locate & check passengers off). The recorded commentary on the cruise was limited and at times incorrect (the Cyclone Tracy display at the Museum & Art Gallery is currently closed) and the food was the biggest disappointment. What should have been 4 platters morphed into 2 and didnt include items that were on the menu (no melon in the prosciutto, bread was a couple of dried bread sticks). On the top deck there is no direct access to the bar -have to wait for one of the staff to remember you are there!!

Negative experience: We paid for platinum on the ghan train. This cruise was without a doubt the worst part of the trip. Our table was part of the last 6 people to get food. Most of which was gone because seconds had been served to others before we got anything. One server did bring over some leftovers before clearing off dinner to start dessert. They said we could go first for dessert if we gave up finishing our dinner. And then we had to pay for any drinks including soda. Norts was incredibly rude and spent his time surfing on his phone or yelling at customers and staff. If this isn't part of your ghan trip avoid if it is bring food just in case there's nothing left.

Fantastic experience: What a great night. Great service followed up by fine food which there is plenty and you definitely won’t leave hungry is just perfect. The peaceful boat ride makes for an excellent evening well worth the asking price of $116.

Fantastic experience: Food was nice staff where great

Fantastic experience: Loved this sunset cruise, wonderful birthday treat. All the staff were helpful and friendly, had a great time, food was excellent. Would be nice to hear some NT music stars like Jessica Mauboy, Baker Boy, stingray band etc, in the music mix.

Fantastic experience: I went to the Darwin Harbour cruises , for my birthday with my friends and it was awesome. The food was amazing, the service was fantastic.. and the cruise was great. We loved it.. planning to definitely go back.

Negative experience: Very disappointed with this Company. My Husband and I tested positive for Covid the day we were to celebrate his 86th birthday, on this cruise. We understand their cancellation policy and as they suggested, claimed on our travel insurance, less the excess of $100. As we provided Medical Certificates, dated the day of the cruise, we thought a refund of $100 (our insurance excess) was not an unreasonable request, as we had paid $277 for the cruise. However, the company has refused any refund and retained the $277.

Negative experience: We did the ‘Gaze and graze’ option and for what we paid, it was very disappointing. For $121 each we got a below average platter that was full of very cheap tasting/looking food. It honestly looked and tasted like the cheapest possible option for each item was used (eg a cheap block of tasty cheese cut up, a jar of plain green olives that had zero flavour, chunks of rolled up ham that you get out of a packet etc). It felt like they were going for quantity over quality and it just made the food really unenjoyable when we knew how much we had paid. We then got a tiny tub of icecream to finish that my lactose friend wasn’t able to even eat and they had no other options. The whole experience was so disappointing, maybe the other experiences offered would be better, but I would not recommend the ‘Gaze and Graze’ option to anyone.

Negative experience: Good experience, food was nice and they had gluten free option for our guests coming from overseas that was a nice touch. Although the service was nice I was very disappointing by the fact that they didn’t accept cash, you can come back to me with every single excuse that is not very oriented towards tourism.

Negative experience: Saw this cruise “feeding” the fish with white bread. Absolutely horrified that they don’t, at least, feed them with something nutritious. I guess profit comes before environmental impact for this mob.

Fantastic experience: Did the roof top charcuterie and it was delicious! The cocktails were also divine and the service was attentive without being over the top. Absolutely recommend!

Fantastic experience: Great experience all round friendly best food and great sunsets to boot.

Negative experience: They call it all you can eat buffet, but you have to use the 1 plate and get all your food at once. Oysters were good prawns were frozen imports or days old soft. Hot food was horrible and just slops. Deserts were ok. Save yourself money and head to the all you can eat at mindl beach. You get better sunset views and food

Fantastic experience: Stunning night on Darwin Harbour Cruises. Service was exceptional, food delicious & great selection of beverages. The perfect way to showcase Darwin to interstate guests. The small clips of commentary were the perfect addition to give some additional insight into the Top End’s history. Highly recommend to both locals and visitors to Darwin.

Fantastic experience: Harbour dinner cruise on the Charles Darwin was faultless. We booked the buffet dinner which was inside the boat and there was a wide range of food with seafood, hot food and salads. All the food was exceptional. I advised them when booking that my wife was lactose intolerant and as soon as we boarded the vessel the staff were already prepared to ensure that she would have oil with the bread and not butter and came across and told her which foods had got dairy products in. There were also hot and cold desserts. Good range of drinks to purchase. The service was very attentive. We cruised into the harbour area. Saw the sunset and could go out on the deck, outside. This was undoubtably one of the highlights of our trip to Darwin and I have no hesitation in recommending it. We used the hop on hop off bus to get to the wharf for 5.30 and we used the shuttle bus back at about 8.30 to get to the lift and walkway but it is walkable in about 30 minutes from the CBD.

Fantastic experience: Good food and excellent service.

Fantastic experience: Absolutely magic…. We did the grazing platter which was ample for the two of us. Cocktail was yummy…! Service was attentive, prompt and friendly. Informative commentary on Darwin history added a nice touch but didn’t take away from the peaceful, scenic focus of the sunset. Highly recommend

Fantastic experience: Had dinner on the Charles Darwin. Superb meal and to witness sunset in the Darwin harbour was brilliant. Certainly worth the money.

Negative experience: I recently went on the Darwin Harbour Dinner Cruise and was extremely disappointed. Despite the high price, the selection of food was abysmal. Not only were there only three hot dishes available, but they were also horrid. To make matters worse, the rest of the food, comprising 90% of the offerings, was served cold. We considered ourselves lucky because we had a light snack before the 'all you can eat cruise,' as when we went back for seconds, all of the hot dishes were gone. We ended up eating garden weeds and overly salty pork cubes for the rest of the night. Adding to the frustration was the fact that the boat was massively packed with over 100 people, all crammed into the tiny main cabin. People didn't even wait until everyone had gotten the chance to go up and grab some food, leading to chaos and a rushed, unpleasant experience. To top it off, the man in charge seemingly picked tables at random, causing additional frustration for my young son. Overall, it was a complete waste of money and a terrible dining experience. I would strongly advise against anyone considering this cruise. Went on the cruise on the 19th of April

Fantastic experience: Locals for over 20 years (between us), we loved being on this cruise. Sometimes you just need to see a Darwin sunset from the water to remind you we live in a truly stunning place. The food was delicious and plentiful, the staff were professional and friendly and thanks to the sunset gods for turning on a spectacular sunset for us. Would recommend to locals and visitors alike.

Fantastic experience: Beautiful views! Great service!

Fantastic experience: Locals for over 20 years (between us), we loved being on this cruise. Sometimes you just need to see a Darwin sunset from the water to remind you we live in a truly stunning place. The food was delicious and plentiful, the staff were professional and friendly and thanks to the sunset gods for turning on a spectacular sunset for us. Would recommend to locals and visitors alike.

Fantastic experience: Highly recommend. Sailing aboard the Charles Darwin by Darwin Harbour Cruises was one of the most pleasant and relaxing experiences we've had in the Top End. We were beautifully looked after by Mia and Christian, the food was fresh and delicious and the views were stunning. We chose the Gaze and Graze Sunset Cruise and were able to access the top deck of the ship, which afforded us gorgeous views of Darwin and the sunset over the harbour.

Fantastic experience: Amazing experience and staff are so friendly and helpful. We got a great table for a birthday and the food and drinks were fantastic. It really is a must do if your in Darwin for the dry season.

Fantastic experience: Went on the "Gaze and Graze Sunset Cruise" on Friday, 4th August. Had a wonderful night. The Grazing plate was delicious and plenty of food. The staff were very efficient and friendly. I will recommend this cruise to anyone.

Negative experience: I booked this dinner cruise 12 months ago and was very much looking forward to dinner on the harbour, I phoned the day before to confirm my cruise only to find out that they knew nothing of my booking. The lady I spoke to blamed my booking agent and said there was nothing else she could do therefore I missed out, very disappointed with the lack of empathy and help. I look forward to getting my refund.

Fantastic experience: Thoroughly enjoyed the Valentine's Day dinner cruise. Delicious food, excellent service and a beautiful sunset. Definitely recommend!

Fantastic experience: What a wonderfull experience!!! The staff was incredibly kind, the food was amazing too! With my boyfriend we took the cruise during the night for Valentine’s Day and we had a really great night. It included dessert, the cheesecake was sooo tasty. Good job everyone!!!

Fantastic experience: Very nice tour with excellent food. Unfortunately, due to the weather, the sunset was missed. Drinks have to be paid for, food is served as a buffet. The dessert was delicious.

Fantastic experience: Must do in Darwin, these guys are a class act All the staff were friendly, food was delish and beers cold well done!

Negative experience: Rude inconsiderate helmsman.

Fantastic experience: Fantastic commentary and very informative thanks to the captain and Ella

Positive experience: Excellent. Great commentary from the skipper. Excellent smorgasbord. Feeding the fish was a highlight.

Fantastic experience: Had a lovely meal in pleasant surroundings. Nice way to finish off the day.

Fantastic experience: We love your pick up driver; he was the best and gave us good laughs.

Negative experience: Poor form, blocking the view for everyone on the beach.

Negative experience: Seriously! Park the boat in front of the sunset where 1000's of people have travelled to see it! Then once I query your company give a cop out response that you've never experienced tides like this that has obscured the view? The captain stopped the boat in front of the sunset and once it was over mysteriously just moved on? You need a new captain who can manage a boat!

Negative experience: This is the second time we’ve been on this sunset cruise first time was in 2015 and this was the best experience we’ve had and was looking forward to it again so on the 13th November we booked it and wow I don’t know what’s happened ,the commentary was good , but the food was absolutely disgusting , it tasted like 3 day old hospital food, since our first experience the trip has obviously grown in the number of people it takes which has resulted in poor quality food.

Negative experience: Cruise was good, very inconsiderate to park in front of thousands of spectators at the middle of Mindil Beach. Not very community minded.

Negative experience: This is the first time I have ever seen such disrespect for a whole beach full of people also there for the sunset to have it totally obscured by the boat. The whole beach were booing if you don’t believe me look at the photo posted. Shameful selfish behaviour

Negative experience: Travelled from Melbourne to see the spectacular sunset at Mindil market that everyone raves about. Instead, the captain cruised ever so slowly in front of the scene and all but stopped. Every single person on the beach were mortified. What a waste. That boat could have been anywhere else on the water and it seemed a very deliberate act. Poor form.

Negative experience: Absolutely disgusted with the arrogant behaviour of this company, who thought it was ok to park their two story boat in front of hundreds of tourists who had come to watch the amazing sunset at Mindil Beach. Shame!!! Rob Booth, Adelaide.

Positive experience: The cruise its self was lovely. Only short fall would have been how loud the running commentary (War history) was. We couldn't speak or hear one another for the first 20 odd minutes. We were travelling with someone who had hearing difficulties and this isolated her. Otherwise, great experience.

Negative experience: Pretty poor form from the captain on this one, arrogance at its highest. If the captain can't steer the boat more than 100 M from the shore completely blocking the view for about 1000 people he needs to be sacked. I'm pretty sure everyone on board could hear the booing from shore. No attempt at all was made to move away until the sun was gone. No excuse could cover this one, very poor form.

Negative experience: Just watched and listened to 1000+ people cheer the sunset, then boo The Charles Darwin cruise ship who moved directly in front of line of sight of the su set for all the people sitting on Mindill beach. Poor form, Darwin Harbour cruises, poor form!

Negative experience: I’m sure the passengers on the Darwin Harbour Cruises sunset cruise on 3 August 23 got a wonderful view of the sunset at Mindil Beach, but the thousands of folks on the beach couldn’t see anything because the captain plonked the boat right in front of the beach blocking everyone’s view. Poor form. Absolutely no need to block everyone’s view.

Fantastic experience: Beautiful experience with great food and smiley staff. I highly recommend seeing Diego behind the bar for a special off menu cocktail. The boat ride was very calm and the sunset was spectacular.

Fantastic experience: We had a lovely sunset dinner cruise, the meal was Fantastic and the scenery was perfect, this cruise is a must if you are visiting Darwin, 5 Stars , Highly recommended

Fantastic experience: My recent cruise with Charls Drawin Cruise was an exceptional experience. The friendly and accommodating staff made it truly special. They went out of their way to take photos of our family against the backdrop of stunning views, enhancing our experience. The cruise became even more memorable as we celebrated my wife's birthday onboard. The crew surprised her with a beautifully decorated cake and heartfelt wishes, which was an unexpected and touching moment during our journey. Charls Drawin Cruise stands out for its warm and dedicated crew. From the warm welcome with a refreshing drink to the surprise birthday celebration, it was a cruise that exceeded all expectations. We are immensely grateful to the crew for making this day truly extraordinary. If you're seeking a remarkable cruise experience, I highly recommend Charls Drawin Cruise. Thank you for the unforgettable memories.

Fantastic experience: The cruise was fantasic. The scenary, commentary, platters & service. No better way to see a Darwin sunset!

Fantastic experience: We had a really great night and food was delicious. Must've had about 3 dozen oysters and a hundred prawns. Yum! They accommodated our group of 13 with ease and we had a great spot on the front deck. Unless it was raining, or windy, I wouldn't sit anywhere else - perfect spot for a few beers and delicious food. Thanks guys!

Fantastic experience: Visited Darwin 2nd September 2023 - that night we did the Harbour cruise- what a fabulous experience- the atmosphere was great and the buffet was enjoyable. The staff were very friendly & attentive really enjoyed the friendly banter with Diego he made us some amazing cocktails overall a lovely night.

Fantastic experience: Joined the cruise trip and it was great! I enjoyed the view of Darwin City and the sunset. It’s so beautiful seeing the sunset on the cruise. Clear sky and beautiful ocean. The food is also great. I got seafood platters and the portion is generous. The service is also excellent! The servers really know how to treat people or customers very nicely making it a very wonderful experience! Cheers!

Fantastic experience: I recently had the pleasure of taking a cruise with Darwin Harbour Cruises, and it was an experience I won't soon forget. From start to finish, everything about the experience was top-notch. First and foremost, the seafood platter was absolutely amazing. It was clearly made with the freshest ingredients, and every item was cooked to perfection. The variety of seafood on offer was impressive, and it was all so delicious that I couldn't pick a favorite. The service provided by the staff was also exceptional. They were friendly, attentive, and always willing to go the extra mile to make sure we were comfortable and enjoying ourselves. It was clear that they take pride in their work and genuinely care about their customers' experience. The cruise itself was a delight as well. The boat was comfortable and well-maintained, and the views of Darwin Harbour were simply breathtaking. The knowledgeable guides provided interesting commentary throughout the cruise, giving us a deeper understanding of the area's history and wildlife. Overall, I highly recommend Darwin Harbour Cruises to anyone visiting Darwin. Whether you're a seafood lover, a nature enthusiast, or just looking for a unique and enjoyable way to experience the beauty of Darwin Harbour, this cruise is sure to deliver. The combination of great seafood, excellent service, and stunning views make it an experience not to be missed.

Fantastic experience: Had the sunset cruise. Fantastic experience with great service. Views of the sunset were magical!

Fantastic experience: We had the best time on the Charles Darwin and cannot recommend this cruise highly enough. We opted for a grazing plate on the Sundeck.Celene really looked after us and was so accommodating.

Fantastic experience: There are lots of ways to enjoy the spectacular sunsets over Darwin Harbour, but Darwin Harbour Cruises gives you a ringside seat! We enjoyed their Gaze and Graze Cruise, which included a platter of nibbles. Yummy and stunning! Thanks team for your hospitality. Much appreciated.

Fantastic experience: Fantastic 2-hour cruise aboard the Tumlaren; friendly, attentive crew and great commentary; delicious charcuterie box meal (also offered prawns and oysters from platters) and a good range of drinks to choose from. Beautiful sunset and great view of the coastline. I enjoyed being able to walk around the boat. Definitely recommend!

Fantastic experience: Wonderful cruise friendly efficient staff. Particular mention to the girls Taylor & Stephanie who were so helpful with giving me a quiet & cool spot away to breastfeed & put Bub off to sleep.

Fantastic experience: Highlight of our time in Darwin - worth the $, fantastic service, everyone so friendly boarding and exiting (employees seem so happy), platters were excellent (recommend ordering in advance as you book your tour, your food will come out very quickly), and the mango ice cream to finish was delish. Tour guide at beginning of the ride was great, good to learn some history and then kick back and enjoy the remainder of the cruise and the sunset washing over the boat. A memorable experience which we will recommend to others.

Fantastic experience: If you're looking for an amazing venue to celebrate a special milestone then THIS IS IT. For my hen's/bachelorette we hired the Tumlaren and it was an AMAZING experience. We hired this amazing vessel on a Thursday night and I got married on a Saturday - it was such a great decision. We had the captain (Lyle) with the support of Kristy create such a special evening. Together we sailed the coastline of Darwin watching the sunset and listening to our favourite tunes. My bridesmaids organised some amazing games and we had a phenomenal time. The cruise provided us with these gorgeous grazing platters and sparkling wine, soft drinks etc. This is a 10/10 experience and if you're umming and ahhing just make the decision and go here. It's an experience you'll remember for the rest of your life.

Fantastic experience: Wow what an experience with outside dining on the deck with friendly staff an commentary. Great variety of seafood and vegetables dishes to suit everyone, sunset was spectacular. Highly recommend.

Fantastic experience: What amazing experience! Must do in Darwin .Thank you . This is our second time on this cruise and you’ve always delivered. Thank you to the crew & chef. Will definitely back again for 3rd round. Hopefully soon . Keep it the good work !

Fantastic experience: Great cruise excellent buffet friendly staff great commentary plenty of food or hand always replenishing. Reasonable bar prices and great views of the harbor and sunset.

Fantastic experience: Gabby, Diego and Toby are a credit to the team. Had a wonderful experience. Food was amazing and will definately do this cruise again

Fantastic experience: Fantastic cruise on Sea Darwin, staff were friendly, highly recommend

Fantastic experience: We opted for the Charles Darwin Sunset Cruise with a platter, rather than the full dinner buffet. As we had preordered the platter, a table on the sun deck was reserved for us. Right from arrival, everything was very well organised, being directed to the deck, the table, ordering of drinks and the delivery of our food. We had the cheese platter, which had a great selection of cheeses and plenty enough for us to share. The staff were very friendly and helpful and the delivery of the commentary was really good. Unfortunately there wasn't much of a sunset for us, but we had a great time anyway.

Fantastic experience: Definite must do in Darwin! Happy accident for gaze & graze on upper deck which had quality ample food, fantastic views & photo opportunities. Nort, on commentary was hilarious, made safety briefing most enjoyable! Loved it.

Fantastic experience: We did our third sunset cruise with these guys and were not disappointed. We did the "Gaze and Graze" package and it was well worth it. The food platter was huge for the two of us and of great quality , we were stuffed after. Not often that food actually looks like the images online but this platter surpassed that. Unfortunately the star attraction, Dave no longer does the commentary,he was so interesting,informative and funny. Now a " plastic" commentary is played ,very sad. Bring back Dave!!! The staff were lovely and very attentive. Well worth it - if you feel the cold take a warm top just in case the wind gets up when the sun goes down. That's a tip not a complaint.

Fantastic experience: Got placed on the foredeck outside for dinner. But windy to start with but calmed down and was perfect. Food was great, commentary was quirky and sunset was stunning. Thoroughly enjoyed it all

Fantastic experience: Definitely worth doing. Great dinner cruise of the harbour. Food was nice and there was plenty of it. Commentary was good but the volume needed to be lower. Staff were great

Fantastic experience: Great farewell cruise

Negative experience: What an awful experience Went on board clearly telling them I have an anaphylactic seafood allergy. Was rung up day before to confirm and I told them again - happy to go elsewhere if they could not accomodate me. When on board very rude captain instructed me what I could eat - pointing out the prawns and other seafood. I repeated again I can’t eat that as in I’m allergic and he told me I could have the barramundi or anchovies. I ended up having salad and chicken. No idea if he thought this was funny but as it is a medical condition my husband started to get very worried. As the evening progressed I had to ask the waiter to move away from me as they had a bucket of prawn scraps. Also food scraps on the floor. Ended up waiting to dock outside because of the seafood smell and scraps everywhere . Terrible experience - would not recommend.

Positive experience: The concept of this cruise is "Enticing", however, our expectations were far from met. Admittedly our tour was booked via Imagine Tours, not by ourselves, so we were unaware of options for inside outside seating & what that meant regarding food choices. On arrival you all just stand on the dock, the gate opens, you file on, nothing orderly about it. Then when you enter, you are advised that you will be seated inside, taken to the table. Ours was by windows, with stack of outdoor chairs & a timber wooden partition, plus dirty windows (all around). After asking the stack of chairs was halved. We were unaware of steps down to toilets, my sister had mobility issues-but managed. The commentary was just a drone of annoyance & some relaxing background music would have been appreciated. The commentator was like a parrot repeating what he had said a thousand times. No ebb or flow & hard to hear. We all just checked out & struggled to talk over him. The staff did not keep the buffet plates stocked swiftly enough. The commentator picked & chose which table went when. The food was say 7/10. One of the bowls on our table had clearly not been cleaned properly. Bar service seemed reasonable after the initial rush. The asian staff member stood out positively. The table cloths were clean, the tables beneath chipboard with lifting laminex. Large cracks in toilet floor. However, the concept & possibilities to have a wonderful evening were there but lost in amongst the other. I think it would be time enough for the commentator to drone on, after the sunset. It was like lets get through all the good stuff in the first 1/2 hour. After the sunsets - it is just dark - apart from the beautiful Ferris Wheel lights. Orderly loading, like front deck/1st level etc. could help. By the time we got back to dock, we all just wanted off. If we had been seated in a half decent place, with windows we could see through, be welcomed (that bit was OK), then chill with the sunset and wine, I reckon a lot of the rest would not have even been a noticed.

Positive experience: We had a lovely night on the water.They gave us a good table at the bow of the boat.The staff were very attentive, cleaning tables when you were finished. The toilets were a problem for me because i am disabled, as you had to go down a flight of stairs and there was no disabled bars,so I had trouble in toilets. The food was alright.I think it is better to go on a night cruise when it is NT night as you see all the fireworks. Once the beautiful sunset had gone done,there wasn't anything to see..

Fantastic experience: We had a great cruise on Monday night, lots of food including prawns and oysters. Beautiful sunset too, would highly recommend.

Fantastic experience: Great activity to see the harbour. We were lucky to have the sunset and the full moon rise within 45 minutes of each other!! I definitely recommend this experience for any visitors!

Fantastic experience: Great way to see a famous Darwin sunset. Food was excellent with a good selection. Crew were friendly.

Fantastic experience: Many thanks to the office staff for reorganising our booking when our itinerary got disrupted. The cruise was well run and the food was wonderful. A great and relaxing experience.

Fantastic experience: Good food and good experience. I didn't like the attitude of one of the waiters (the blonde one), he was the whole time swearing words to himself but it was obvious that you could listen to him, I think if he does not like the job, he shouldn't be doing it. The rest was very good

Fantastic experience: Amazing! There's nothing quite like Darwin sunsets and what better way to take it all in than with a seafood dinner?!? :) well priced and worth it!

Fantastic experience: Excellent cruise. Happy friendly staff. Good food. Great views and narrative. Value trip for all.

Fantastic experience: An excellent cruise with great commentary

Fantastic experience: Nice staff and best food

Fantastic experience: Great food and service

Fantastic experience: Great cruise and service. Amazing team on board.

Fantastic experience: This was absolutely stunning and the buffet was gorgeous

Positive experience: Good food. Pleasant staff.

Positive experience: Very good service. Should have no smoking policy on top deck especially when you are surrounded with kids and families.

Positive experience: Great evening, food was excellent and lots to choose from. Staff were friendly.

Fantastic experience: An amazing cruise with spectacular views and food. I was lucky enough to be seated on the bow/deck and loved every minute. Totally recommend this cruise.

Fantastic experience: Excellent service, made sure as a coeliac we were catered for wonderfully which made for a great evening on the water. Staff went out of their way to make our trip special.

Fantastic experience: Good food, great service!

Positive experience: Was okay, but meal basic, we think quite expensive overall. The commentary was bit off putting, the guy was trying to be funny in between the serious part of maybe needing to put on a float vest. No check was done either where we came from. Didn't see any sanitiser.

Negative experience: So incredibly underwhelming... and I'm being kind. If you've never been on a boat or done a sunset dinner, you'll probably think it's OK. But this is no Hamilton Island sunset cruise. It appeals to the buffet bogans and does not cater for dietary requirements, not even vegetarian. The prawns and oyster are terrible and definitely not fresh. Vegetarians can enjoy mixed zucchini, tomato and Capsicum vegetables, and cous cous. Service average. Highlight was the safety brief. Give it a miss.

Negative experience: Paid for the $100pp dinner cruise. Disappointing is an under statement. World rather spend the money on a fancy restaurant meal. Actually, I would recommend eating at a water side restaurant instead and enjoy the view. Three Disappointing reasons: 1. They pack the boat full of people which means there is no real viewing space and you feel like you're intruding on other guests space when trying to take in the limited daylight. 2. The 'captain' had a random way of determining which table goes up to grab food that you paid for - felt like I was back at school and the teacher chose their favourites to go up first. With absolutely no logic, you somewhat feel he plays favourites as he wants to be. Not happy. 3. After sunset about 40 minutes into the cruise, it is dark for the remaining 2 hours. Not much to see. The only good point was the seafood was fresh, but then again you can get that right at stokes Hill wharf (where you board the boat) at a fraction of the cost! The cruise is one thing to avoid.

Negative experience: We would not recommend Charles Darwin Dinner Cruise for families or large groups. We were a large party of 18 with 40% of group being between the age of 4 to 14. $72 for children, $110 for Adults. No drinks included, No entree. Over priced drinks ($7 for a glass of orange juice). Each person got two prawns and two oysters, along with some other dishes. They will offer you plenty of bread rolls though lol. We were the second last group to be "allowed" to go get our meals. When my sister told the gentlemen the kids were starving - his response was we were not present for him to let us go up. Which was not true. They had plenty of opportunities to tell us to go up well before other tables. (well before being the second last group to go get our meals.) We have also been on Spirit of Darwin as a family group, and had a lovely time! Entree bought to your table. RELAXED and very COMFORTABLE cruise. Two drinks included.