Thank you for your travel reviews of the Reef Endeavour cruises for the benefit of fellow travellers. Included here are some of your responses and we update regularly.

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• "Hello Sonia, Although we have been in Australia for almost a month, we have only scratched the surface of what this huge and wonderful country offers. But what we have seen has been wonderful.

Kewarra Beach Resort and then The Reef Endeavour 4-day cruise from Cairns gave an appreciation of the Great Barrier Reef and some wonderful snorkeling. Linda snorkeled for the first time and loved it (the queasy feeling provided by the boat's slow roll didn't make the same hit!).

The planning of this trip began in 2000, and it has given us much to be thankful for this year." Roger & Linda C., Burlington, USA (28 Nov 05)

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• "Zoe, Our trip on the Reef Endeavour ended yesterday and we are now at Sofitel Reef Casino Hotel again. Thanks very much for your help in working out the arrangements. The Captain Cook office is directly across the street, and check-in is done there - so location is VERY convenient, and the hotel is great. The hotel is also excellent in its services as well as facilities.

So I will suggest to the Captain Cook people that they recommend it, and I am suggesting (by copy of this note to Megan Packer, a Front Officer Manager of the hotel) that the hotel can recommend Captain Cook Reef Endeavour Cruises with confidence regarding its services. Some photos we took on the cruise, and the information below, will also help your understanding.

The trip continues to be more than we had either expected or hoped for. Two days ago I was able to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef at Ribbon Reef #5 (Linda had snorkeled the previous day at Watson's Bay on Lizard Island and LOVED it - but Ribbon Reef is open water with no beach, and the waves were choppy, so she did not risk it). The beauty seen in that snorkeling can't be described, but a $20 waterproof camera gave some photos which accompany this note. BEST WISHES from the Happy Travelers," Roger & Linda C., Burlington, USA (21 Nov 05)

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• "Dear Tina, Just a short thank you for a wonderful time which my family had on our recent 4 night Reef Endeavour Cruise. Even although we had the only young children aboard they more more than amply catered for which of course helped us enjoy ourselves.

Everything was first class, the food, the service and the facilities and tours with the exception of the morning tour of Cooktown where the guide was hopeless and we would have been better off to walk around ourselves but I guess this is to be expected over a period. Anyway thanks once again and we are certainly telling our friends about the trip. All the best. Of course I came back to the bonus of us whitewashing the Kiwis in the one day series!" Leon G., Durban, South Africa (3 Nov 05)

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• "Hi Kylie  Just back from our 4 night Northbound Captain Cook Reef Endeavour Cruise and wanted to let you know that we had the best time it was just fabulous, would recommmend it to everyone, Thank you" Linda B., Sydney, Australia (26 Sep 05)

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• "Hello Sali  We had a great time, everything went perfectly acording to plan. The Captain Cook Reef Endeavour Cruise was a real delight, although the cabins look a bit tired. But, when you have a good time, that is only minor. We are very much tempted to try their cruise to the Torres Straight Islands next year and we will certainly come back to you for your most efficient service. " Werner & Henny B., Sydney, Australia (30 Aug 05)

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• "Dear Sonia, The Reef Endeavour Cruise was excellent for a small cruise experience. The crew and the service were exceptional, the food plentiful and good, the day tours and activities to the islands and the drop offs into the reef were unforgettable. The Reef is something one has to see to believe. The feeling of snorkeling in the middle of the ocean and the beauty of the reef is indescribable. " Nick and Jane M., Athens, Greece (24 Aug 05) - read full report HERE

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• "Hello Tina,  Captain Cook Reef Endeavour Cruises was a good fit. Jeff and Abby made two dives and we all enjoyed snorkeling and the tranquility of the GBR. Our cabins were comfortable and food was good. If we are ever lucky enough to make it back, we will defintely use your services again. We are already missing the friendliness of Australians and barramundi!" Jeff W., St. Paul, USA (4 Aug 05)

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• "Hi Tina, The Reef Endeavour trip went well and we enjoyed the cruise and Port Douglas. No problems! Thank you for making the arrangements." Tim M., Perth, Australia (18 Jul 05)

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• "Hi Gayle, We really enjoyed our Captain Cook cruise on the Reef Endeavor . Beat our expectations. From check-in to disembarkation all when smoothly. The crew was great.... meals delicious and healthy with lots of fresh fruit and seafood... the cabin was comfortable and adequate... the activities well planned... safety was definitely a priority. All-in-all we had a very, very nice experience and would highly recommend this 4 night cruise." Anna Marie H., Olympia, Australia (12 May 05)

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• "To Whom It May Concern: We just returned from a Reef Endeavor Cruise and wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed it. We boarded the ship on 14 March, 2005 and were pleasantly surprised to find out that it was a "classical music" cruise. We had booked our trip a year ahead of time so had no idea that we would receive the added bonus of having wonderfully talented people performing for us.

Not only did we enjoy every performance, we also felt privileged to be able to watch and listen to the musicians as they practiced for their performances. We especially appreciated the piano performances by Tahu Matheson. What an incredibly gifted young man. The quintet "The Ecelectics" were a big hit with the audience during performances and during social times. We all enjoyed having the opportunity to chat with them and to share our love of music. This group was especially personable and we left the ship feeling as though we had made new friends. Kerry Vann, the operatic singer, had a marvelous voice and such a sweet personality.

We were surprised at how good the acoustics were and how well these talents were showcased. Thank you for providing this wonderful experience. There is nothing more beautiful than the ocean and classical music all in one place. We hope that you will continue to sponsor these cruises. If you do, be sure to let us know when." Carol and Garry L., Australia (9 Apr 05)

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• "Dear Tina, The Reef Endeavour was a great success and I am glad you recommended we took the 4 day trip rather than the 3 day one. The ship was only one third full, so very relaxing. The hotels we chose together were almost all excellent. Best wishes" Alan P., Manchester, UK (7 Mar 05)

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• "Dear Kylie, we've just arrived from DOWN UNDER. It was FANTASTIC !!!!! Your arrangements were exactly the ones we hoped for and everything was all right. We enjoyed Kangaroo Island, and Captain Cook Reef Endeavour Cruise was really lovely. We arrived in Darwin (NT) and visited the following national parks: Kakadu, Katherine Gorge and Litchfield .

In Queensland, after the beautiful cruise to Lizard Island, we went to Undarra: absolutely fantastic! There we saw a lot of wallabies, kangaroos and kookaburra and the Lava Tubes . You can't miss it. Passing from the Atherton Tablelands we went to Daintree and Port Douglas, seeing the great Curtain and Cathedral Fig Trees . We went to Melbourne by plane and we drove on the Great Ocean Road, just to Adelaide . After Kangaroo Island, we took a flight to Ayers Rock (Uluru) to visit the Red Heart of Australia.

Finally we spent our last four days in Sydney, visiting the Tower, the Blue Mountains, the Opera House, the Taronga Zoo and the Aquarium . We'll send you some photos as soon as possible. Thank you very much for your work. We'll suggest your travel agency to all our friends planning a trip in your beautiful land down under. Ciao ciao from Italy." Silvia & Sergio C., Rome, ITALY (10 Dec 04)

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•"Hi Gayle, What a fantastic trip we had! Thank you for all your help in arranging the cruise and all the other accommodations. Your insight and recommendations were most helpful.

We enjoyed the Captain Cook Reef Endeavour cruise - the food was great and the crew members were extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Although the weather was a little choppy and it was a fairly rocky ride the first couple of days, that was soon overshadowed on the last day of our 4 day cruise when we snorkeled Ribbon Reef No. 5 (an unforgettable experience).

Silky Oaks Lodge was an excellent follow-up to the cruise. the resort is first class in everyway and a perfect place to relax and unwind. We enjoyed the Daintree and Cape Tribulation tour you included in our package. Although it was hard to compete with the ambiance and serenity we experienced at Silky Oaks, we did enjoy being on the beach for a few days on the final leg of our journey when we stayed at the Sebel Reef House in Palm Cove . It's a lovely resort and the beaches are beautiful. My only regret is that we couldn't spend more time in your amazing country. We'll just have to plan on another visit before too long and when we do, I'll certainly call on you to help with our plans. " Lynn W., Missouri, USA (6 Oct 04)

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• "Dear Gayle Jim and I recently booked onto a Captain Cook Reef Endeavour Cruise to Lizard Island . The service we got from you was outstanding. You replied very quickly, and gave us all the information we needed. When we had extra questions you were kind enough to research and come back to us again quickly and cheerfully. We especially were grateful for the extra time you spent giving us your psersonal feedback after you had been on the trip.

To summarise, the service you offered us was very friendly, fast and professional. We would not hesitate to use you again if we ever are lucky enough to be able to afford another trip to Oz. By the way, we got a welcome bottle of bubbly and up-graded to Top Deck! Many Thanks (We are happy for to use any of this in your publications/web!) PS the only info we got that didn't match up with reality was the average age of the cruise go-ers being 35 - 40!!! On our trip it was 40 - 50!!!!!." Samantha & Jim, London, UK (6 Jul 04)

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• "Hi Kylie: The trip was fantastic. The Reef Endeavour cruise was awesome, we snorkelled with sharks and manta rays.

The accommodations at the White House Port Douglas were great, the people were very friendly down under and we have made some new friends.

Thankyou so much for recommending the Reef Endeavour cruise we certainly put it up there with the high lights of our trip, I'm busy now but I will send you a photo in the future of our trip. Thanks again I'll definitely recommend you and your agency in the future. All went well best regards," Joan G., Vancouver, Canada (24 Nov 03)