Rum Runner Cairns

Despite the mixed reviews, I gave Rum Runner a go and this is what I found.Firstly, I’ve been diving for 15 years and this is my 5th time diving on the Barrier Reef.The boat is as described - an oldish 20m motor sailing yacht. After chatting to the captain I learned the sail is for stability and I found the boat was stable and comfortable.The boat immediately felt intimate but never cramped. Quite a different feel to the large catamarans like Silver Sonic, Wavelength etc. One issue I’ve found with some of the larger newer cats is the constant diesel smell that somehow vortexes back inside cabin while cruising.Ok so it takes a little longer to reach the reefs, I didn’t really find this to be an issue and we still comfortably fit in 6 dives over 2 days (one of them a night dive) with food in between every single dive. Back at 3pm on the second day. They run a tight but well thought out schedule which was easy to follow and never felt rushed.I found the crew to be awesome, very friendly and accommodating. Captain JP was true blue and knew his stuff. He is very experienced and when a random mechanical fault happened to the diving tank filling hose occurred, he fabricated and improvised on the fly and had the mechanism fixed without a single delay, like it was an episode of deadliest catch!The crew were experienced divers that were doing their DMTs and a professional photographer. Due to the small numbers on the boat, this meant that although they weren’t necessarily 20+ year dive master veterans, we had small groups of 4 with our own personal underwater tour guide! They encouraged us to buddy up and explore if we desired or follow their lead which lead to some really good diving. (See the pics). Heather, Dom and Suzie thank you!!! - you guys were genuine and awesome and really made the trip!Food was great and absolutely no complaints from me. Seeing the captain salting up a couple of big bits of pork for roasting was something to look forward to! I eat everything but they also accommodated for vegetarians, vegan etc with every meal. In meal time crew will keep working and not touch a thing until every passenger has eaten - then they serve themselves before calling “seconds” which is thoughtful.I’d heard about the gear so I brought my own wetsuit mask and snorkel. From what I could see most of their gear was good enough. Never had an issue with my BCD. Did see a couple of holes in parts of some wetsuits (nothing really major) their fins and masks all looked completely fine.Boat has air con. It’s off at night as the generators are off. But they open the hatches to give you airflow. They have little fans in each room that can stay on. I slept like a log and I’m a light sleeper. Didn’t notice any bed bugs or get bitten.Clasping at straws for negatives - toilets were a little smelly at times but you’re not exactly sitting in there scrolling through your Instagram. Night dive could have been a bit longer. Bacon at breakfast to go with the eggs and all the sides!? HahaAll in all it was a great trip and I’d do it all over again. If you’ve got some diving experience and want a good honest fun livaboard for a couple of days, Rum Runner is great. Value for money is unbeatable and it hopefully won’t be the last time I jump onboard!

The Rum Runner tour is awesome! I had my first dive ever with them at the GBR and it was fantastic! I also went snorkeling and loved it. It was a lovely experience in total, would definitely do it again and would also recommend anybody to join them as well! Not to forget that the crew is the best! :)

Highly recommend this tour group. Did an overnight boat trip into the great barrier reef and it was such a great experience. All the food they prepared was delicious and the weather was also perfect.

We had a great time on the 2 day tour. We did the snorkeling only as we have a 5 and 7 year old. All the sites had great snorkeling. The crew were fantastic and gave us a great experience as a family. Plenty of good food and simple, but comfortable sleeping arrangements. Great value too.

Very nice experience on the rum runner for a 2D/1N cruise on the Great Barrier Reef.The crew (Richard,JP, Michael, Rina and Chris) was great. The food was really good.The accommodation is quite basic but we expected that so all good for the price you pay.The diving is quite intense (4 dives the 1st day and the 2 dives the second one) so you really get your money worth. We sometimes dived twice at the same spot.The sea was really rough that day. So if you're easily seasick, think twice :)Thanks guys!

Nov. 23-24. Best “Thanksgiving” ever.Family of 4 (2 girls 15 and 18), Atlanta GeorgiaSnorkeling (and intro dives by the girls)With only 10 days in Australia, we really looked forward getting as much out of our 2 days on the reef as possible. The Rum Runner Cairns delivered. We had a great time and the crew was fantastic.The accommodation was basic as expected (like described on the website). However, above expectation were the crew, the reef, the food and the sunshine (re-apply!!!!)-Jason, thanks for a great time and good food!-Jen, you did a fantastic job introducing my daughters to diving.-Soap (-Sp?), Heather, Sabrina and Hanna, you truly made the time on Rum Runner Cairns great.

One night out on the Great Barrier Reef with the Rum Runner, Captain Richard, Ebony, Bear and the other guests (who are now all friends) was incredible.I have come away with a yearning and passion to be back!The experience was far more sincere and personal and I would definitely recommend this over going on one of the large, fit-as-many-people-as-we-can providers.Rich and the crew were knowledgeable, very supportive and great fun.I would recommend this to everyone!

The 2D1N snorkel and dive trip is an absolute must do! The reef is amazing and the crew were fantastic. A special shout out to Mike, who helped me as a first time diver to feel comfortable and safe even when I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do it. I loved every moment and am eternally grateful.

Absolutely fantastic trip shout out to Scuba Mike, Richard, Phill & Zeb for making it such a special trip!