Cairns Dinner Cruise 
Dinner cruise · Cairns
A buffet dinner and a welcome drink on a catamaran along Trinity Inlet and the Cairns waterfront.
A calm-water cruise with an air-conditioned dining room and large outdoor decks for the view.
Why this evening
Trinity Inlet is the oceanic inlet that serves as the port of Cairns, with the city centre on its western bank where the inlet meets the Coral Sea. It lies in the original delta of the Mulgrave River and is lined with mangroves and mudflats, so the water you sail on is the edge of a working harbour and a tidal wetland at once.
The ticket is a hot and cold buffet with fresh seafood and local produce, served in an air-conditioned dining room, with a welcome glass of sparkling wine, beer or soft drink on arrival. The decks are large and open, so the view is not limited to the window.
Live music is listed from Sunday to Thursday, and the operator describes local Cairns musicians. Choose your night by whether you want a dinner with a soundtrack, and read what the booking calendar shows for the date you pick.
The inlet, stop by stop
The route is Trinity Inlet and the Cairns waterfront, from the Cruise Liner Terminal to the Esplanade. Here is that water as a chart: eight things that make up the inlet and the foreshore, from the marina where you board to the name the land carries.
Tide, light and the skipper's choices decide the route and the order of what you pass on the night, so treat this as a map of the inlet rather than a running order. The crew and your confirmation are the authority on your own sailing.
Where you board
A floating marina in the heart of Cairns city, at 1 Spence Street, run by the port authority Ports North. It has 261 berths and is described as home to Australia's largest tourism and game fishing fleets. The meeting point on the ticket is the finger marked A.
The waterfront
The operator describes the route as Trinity Inlet and the Cairns waterfront, from the Cruise Liner Terminal to the Esplanade. Cairns has a major cruise-ship industry.
The inlet
Trinity Inlet lies in the original delta of the Mulgrave River, which now enters the sea at Russell Heads, about 30 km to the south. The city centre stands on the western bank, where the inlet meets the Coral Sea.
The banks
The inlet is lined with mangroves and mudflats. The Queensland Government lists it as a declared Fish Habitat Area of 7,164 hectares, with extensive mangrove forests and an important nursery area for several species of fish and prawns.
In the water
A large mud island has formed inside the inlet and is called Admiralty Island. When the inlet's reserves were first declared in September 1989, the declaration was for Admiralty Island and the Trinity Inlet reserves.
The working port
The region's only tanker berth and the Royal Australian Navy base HMAS Cairns are on the inlet. Tour operators that visit the Great Barrier Reef work from the Reef Terminal at its entrance.
The foreshore
The Cairns Esplanade includes a swimming lagoon with adjoining barbecue areas. The Esplanade Lagoon opened in March 2003 and covers 4,800 square metres.
The name
The area where the city stands is known in the Yidiny language as Gimuy. Wikipedia describes the inlet as sacred to the Yidinji peoples of Gimuy for its rich cultural stories, among them Kuyala the Sea Eagle.
Your evening
Most of what shapes the evening is how you eat, drink, dress and arrive. These are the four decisions the ticket leaves to you.
Live music is listed from Sunday to Thursday. The cruise itself runs on the same route and format, so the night you pick sets the atmosphere and the weather odds, not a different dinner.
A welcome glass of sparkling wine, beer or soft drink is included. Further drinks and cocktails are bought from the licensed bar, which accepts cash, EFTPOS and credit cards.
The operator suggests tropical cocktail attire, with a light jacket for the winter months. Footwear is mandatory, and suitable shoes for boating are recommended.
Boarding is at Cairns Marlin Marina, at the finger marked A, and the boat departs promptly. The check-in time for your date is on your confirmation, and getting to the pontoon is up to you.
Around the inlet
Tour boats at dusk, a cargo ship on the inlet, the mangrove edge, the birds on the Esplanade mudflats, the lagoon and the foreshore at night. These are photographs of the setting, not of the dinner boat.
Compare the options
| Evening | What it offers | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Dinner cruise on a catamaran | A 2.5-hour calm-water cruise on Trinity Inlet with a welcome drink and a hot and cold buffet dinner, in an air-conditioned dining room with large outdoor decks. Live music is listed from Sunday to Thursday. | A full dinner on the water, with the city lit along the shore. |
| 90-minute sunset inlet cruise | A 1.5-hour calm-water cruise on Trinity Inlet from the same marina, with a complimentary beer, wine or soft drink, a light snack and the skipper's commentary. There is no dinner. | A shorter, lighter outing on the same water before dinner somewhere else. |
| Night at the Aquarium with dinner | An after-hours guided night tour of the Cairns Aquarium, about two hours, with a two-course dinner in its restaurant. It is wheelchair accessible. | An indoor evening with dinner, and a choice for guests who cannot board a boat. |
Evenings on the water and at the table
The first card is the dinner cruise described on this page. The second is a shorter sunset sail on the same inlet, run by another company, and the third is an after-hours aquarium tour with dinner. Further activities in Cairns follow in the strip underneath.
A 2.5-hour calm-water cruise on Trinity Inlet with a welcome drink and a hot and cold buffet dinner, in an air-conditioned dining room with large outdoor decks. Live music is listed from Sunday to Thursday.
See dates ↗A 1.5-hour calm-water cruise on Trinity Inlet from the same marina, with a complimentary beer, wine or soft drink, a light snack and the skipper's commentary. There is no dinner.
See dates ↗An after-hours guided night tour of the Cairns Aquarium, about two hours, with a two-course dinner in its restaurant. It is wheelchair accessible.
See dates ↗More to do in Cairns
Before you sail
The meeting point is Cairns Marlin Marina, 1 Spence Street, at the finger marked A. A hotel transfer is not part of the ticket, so you travel to the pontoon yourself.
The boat departs promptly. The booking page and the operator's own pages have shown slightly different check-in times, so your confirmation is the one to follow.
Footwear is mandatory, and the terms refuse boarding without shoes or sandals. The operator suggests flat rubber-soled shoes for moving around the boat.
Only the welcome drink is included. The bar takes cash, EFTPOS or credit cards, and you may not bring your own alcohol on board.
The catamaran is not wheelchair accessible, with several stairs at boarding and narrow doorways. Infants aged 0 to 3 are permitted free, children must be supervised, and there are no high chairs or changing facilities.
Wikipedia describes a wet season from November to May and a relatively dry one from June to October. The operator can cancel a cruise for mechanical breakdown, safety reasons or weather, so keep your confirmation handy.
Guides to the cruise and the inlet
Choosing and booking A Cairns dinner cruise on Trinity Inlet explained: the boat, the buffet, the music nights, the inclusions and the kind of guest it suits.
Read the guide → Boarding, dress and the water Where the Cairns dinner cruise boards, how to time your arrival, what to wear and what the inlet and the weather will be like on the night.
Read the guide →FAQ
Yes, that is the catamaran you board, and the ticket names the operator as Tusa Reef Tours and Spirit of Cairns. This site only describes the evening and does not run it.
The ticket lists a calm-water evening cruise of two and a half hours. The check-in and departure times for your date appear on your confirmation.
A welcome glass of sparkling wine, beer or soft drink and a hot and cold buffet dinner with fresh seafood and local produce. Further drinks and cocktails are paid for at the licensed bar.
Live music is listed from Sunday to Thursday, and the operator describes local Cairns musicians. Check the booking calendar for the sailing you choose.
It boards at Cairns Marlin Marina, 1 Spence Street, at the finger marked A, and returns there. A hotel transfer is not part of the ticket.
No. The operator says the catamaran is not wheelchair accessible, with several stairs at boarding and narrow doorways, and the ticket lists mobility impairments as unsuitable.
The operator's FAQ says the buffet includes vegetarian and other special-diet dishes, and menu items are labelled for gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian and vegan diets. Mention needs when you book, and note that the operator cannot guarantee a completely safe environment for a severe allergy.
Tropical cocktail attire, with a light jacket for the winter months. Shoes or sandals are required to board, and flat rubber-soled shoes are suggested.
Every fare here is per adult in US dollars, and the booking page converts it into your own currency.