One of Port Stephens’ biggest and longest-running cruise operators, Tamboi Queen Cruises, has relaunched its ‘Slash and Slide’ dolphin cruises for summer and has also partnered with Nelson Bay Charters to offer an expanded FerryLink service across the waters of Port Stephens, which is 2½ times the size of Sydney Harbour.
Cruising from Nelson Bay twice daily until May – and three times a day on weekends and during school holidays – the two-hour ‘ride and slide’ cruises aboard ‘MV Spirit’ and ‘MV Spirit of Port Stephens’ offer 90 minutes of cruising in search of dolphins on the blue waters of Port Stephens, with passengers able to relax in boom nets resting in the water. For 30 minutes, passengers can also slide into the bay down a water slide on either vessel while anchored in the sheltered waters of Port Stephens. The slide is the only ‘all ages’ water slide available on boat in Port Stephens. Passengers aboard MV Spirit can also relax in the boat’s salt water spa while keeping a lookout for the region’s famously playful dolphins.
The cruises are available for $26 for adults, $13.50 for children (4-14), $21 for concessions and students and $66.50 for families for two adults and two children. A 20 per cent discount is available for bookings made online (except family and combo tickets).
As the longest cruise operator in Port Stephens, Tamboi Queen Cruises has also paired with Nelson Bay Charters to create a new, expanded FerryLink service connecting Nelson Bay on the south side of Port Stephens with Tea Gardens and Hawks Nest on the north side of the harbour.
Tamboi’s own vessel ‘MV Tamboi Queen’, which began ferry services in the area in 1969, and Nelson Bay Charter’s MV Wallamba will together offer four daily ferry trips across the bay each way, with additional services running in the peak summer holiday period. Free morning and afternoon teas are available onboard. Ferry fares are $20 return for adults, $10 for children (5-15), $18 for concessions and $50 return for a family of two adults and up to three children.
FerryLink also offers new ferry and dolphin cruise combo packages – ideal for passengers from Tea Gardens, Hawks Nest and the Great Lakes keen to catch a ferry to Nelson Bay to join a dolphin cruise. The packages, including the ferry and two-hour ‘ride and slide’ dolphin cruise with Tamboi Queen Cruises, are available for $35 for adults, $22 for children (5-15), $32.50 for concessions and $102 for families of two adults and two children.
