Sydney Harbour Tall Ship Lunch Cruise

This was such an enjoyable experience, sailing most of the harbour in a genuine old time tall ship. The staff were lovely and the food plentiful and tasty. Highly recommended.

I'm a bit of a nautical nerd, but this experience had something for everyone. I was absolutely thrilled with the boat, mast climb and helping out with the rigging and setting of sails. And both my wife and I enjoyed learning more about the history and sights around the harbor from our extremely knowledgeable crew, but particularly the host, Howard. This guy knew every nook and cranny, and seemed to have a story about every one. Vibe was super casual and friendly. Oftentimes with these sorts of tours you're pretty limited as to where you can go and what you can do. Here, beyond a few obvious safety related restrictions you had free reign to explore the ship, chat with the captain and crew, and hang out on whatever part of the deck felt most comfortable. Highly recommended. I know that if I ever find myself back in Sydney I'd book another outing; maybe even the multi-day trip to Tasmania.

James and the team were fantastic.. The food was nice and the views spectacular. Interactive, helping set the sails and steering the ship. Great value for money.

We actually ended up on the dinner cruise as a result of not enough people wanting to go on the lunch cruise. Actually turned out to be a blessing, what a lovely time to sail through the harbour as the city starts to light up for the evening. The beginning of the sunset was beautiful behind the bridge too. The crew were all brilliant, and our host Howard was very friendly and approachable with lots of knowledge and interesting facts. The food was plentiful and tasty, and we enjoyed it along with a beer we bought from the bar. I actually took up the added extra option of climbing up to the crows nest. What a great view from up there and well worth the experience in my opinion. All in all a great cruise, and the ship was a really good alternative to the usual motor cruisers and an experience we really enjoyed. I would recommend this cruise, it was good value for money and we really enjoyed ourselves.

We received a message from Viator that the vendor was asking if we could move our lunch booking to the evening as he hadn’t had sold sufficient tickets for the trip. We were asked to confirm asap. We immediately messaged them that this wasn’t possible and waited for a reply. Three hours later we had heard nothing so tried to ring them. No answer. We couldn’t cancel for a refund as it was within 24 hours of the trip. We contacted Viator who also couldn’t get a reply. At this point Viator refunded us our payment and we booked elsewhere. We only had two days in Sydney and one of them was wasted sending messages , waiting for replies that didn’t come and then looking for alternative trips to book whilst rearranging where to meet friends who were joining us. We get that companies sometimes have to cancel due to lack of bookings but it’s totally out of order to leave those who have booked just hanging around for information that doesn’t come. I have never left a one star review before but have no choice here.

Booked with Viator from who we received a message less than 24 hours before the trip that the operator wanted to know if we could switch from lunchtime to evening as they didn’t have many bookings. We immediately messaged the company that we couldn’t do that and waited for their response. Three hours later and we had heard nothing. Tried ringing. No answer. Contacted Viator who also got no answer. If we cancelled the trip ourselves we would have lost our money as it was within 24 hours. Viator very helpful and made immediate refund do we could book elsewhere. I get that some trips have to be cancelled and have never left a one star review before but this company should have had the courtesy to respond to our messages. It turned one of only two days we had in Sydney in to one of constantly checking messages and having to research and book an alternative trip for the next day. Not good enough.

Really enjoyed our first cruise on a sailing ship. Staff very friendly. Great way to see the harbour. Sailing under the harbour bridge a highlight.

Originally booked a lunch cruise however due to lack of numbers we changed to a twilight dinner cruise. We boarded the Southern Swan and motored out to where the sails could be raised, then glided around the harbour seeing the Opera House, botanical garden, Lady Macquarie's chair, Garden Island, Fort Denison, Taronga Zoo, Luna Park, Kirribilli House, Admiralty House, and back to the Harbour Bridge. Appetisers were served whilst we motored out and then a dinner of Butter Chicken, Vegetable Curry, rice and salad was served while we were under sail. Highly recommend this adventure.

Amazing experience in a sailing ship. Better understanding of how people in the olden days traveled. Great view of iconic sites in the harbour.

Absolutely brilliant time out food was great staff fantastic included everyone for getting involved, lots of facts would definitely recommend.

Totally awesome tour!!! Great staff- knowledgeable & lots of fun, wonderful sights & one of our best tours from our 28 day cruise around Australia!!! This tour is a must when in Sydney!!

Great crew made this a super fun trip out on the water! Nice snacks and lunch with beautiful views of Sydney! Relaxing time!

Most wonderful experience on beautiful old ship. Crew engaging and a delight to see them obviously enjoying their work. A marvellous choice as a treat for friends or family, whether visitors or Sydney siders

Very relaxing great way to spend a couple of hours. Crew happy, funny and knowledgeable. Would thoroughly recommend.

Amazing experience. Knowledgeable crew and narrator, buffet wasn’t up to much but was not expecting anything different. Great to actually sail under the harbour bridge under sail. Would recommend

This was a lovely way to spend a couple of hours in the Sydney Harbor. A hot lunch was provided but would have liked another option such as a sandwich. The woman gave a nice history of the area as well as the ship.

A perfect way to experience Sydney Harbour! We really enjoyed the 2 hour cruise through Sydney Harbour. Don’t go for the food- very basic. However, a focus on the views, experience and atmosphere will make this one of the best things you can do in Sydney. Well done to the crew. Amazing people.

Not as advertised. Better value if meal not included. Only toured the Harbour. Only raised 1 sail. Good photo of the Quay and Opera House.

Somewhat mislead, false advertising . The advertisement showed huge tall ship. We boarded something like less than half the size in the advertisement and looking like it had been re-floated after being sunk for years. Photos on the ad site are nothing like what you experience , felt like you were ripped off and deflated when you arrive at pick up point. Advertise what you are really sailing guys so you don't have people disappointed on spending a lot of money. You boldly said to leave a review so here it is!

The crew were skilled and friendly, informative about the ship and its history and encouraged the guests to be as interactive as they felt comfortable. I learnt a lot about the history of Sydney. It was my third time on the lunch cruise over several years, and I keep coming back.

Fun day out with great people. Definitely worth the money 👍🏻 We took our three teenage boys and they loved it.

We have only toured Tall ships, never ridden on one. It was a delightful experience! It's a beautiful boat full of history and stories. Two guests were able to climb the main mast!! It was a wonderful excursion.

Fantastic experience!!!! Highly recommend tour! We had an absolute ball! Spectacular views of the harbour. A very comfortable ride with amazing and interactive staff! All went out of their ways to ensure our enjoyment!!

It was a beautiful day! They were very switched on to my dietary problems, champagne was delicious staff were helpful and friendly food was very good! All in all a great day out in the harbour!

Nice boot tour, nice guide, nice lunch. Great view over the Opera house and Bridge. But if you do not want to spent the money, you can take the ferry

A most enjoyable lunch cruise. Commentary and crew were great, food was good, weather was kind to us too and we sailed back to Circular Quay. This was the second time for me, first time for my friend, and I'd do it any time again. My friend is also recommending this cruise to her visitors arriving from Melbourne. time.

Great service, nice food, comfortable vessel, nice commentary (yet sometimes hard to hear as no microphone). Very relaxing.

aided by perfect weather, the cruise was a most enjoyable time spent 'floating' along what i consider the prettiest harbour in the world. The ability to watch a crew enable the 100 year old workings of a sailing ship was great as we sailed peacefully along. lovely hosts, always informed of goings on and let us sit back and enjoy. I have done many a cruise in the harbour, but the tall ship is one to have at the top of a list of things to do.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable and informative cruise around the Harbour. It was great to see the sails up and to feel that experience of the tall ship sailing. The crew were great, we exchanged stories and nautical knowledge with "Jim Lad", the crew member who briefed us "sailors". I'd recommend this to anyone with an interest in the old sailing ships.

Felt at ease with the Captain and the mast climber who was leaving the following day to travel. We fortunately had a fairly mild day on the water as we were on the smallest of their three ships so it could have been a different experience. We were told that the early afternoon can be the choppiest part of the day out in the bay. Our only complaint was the narrater told us where to sit and was speaking to all of us as we started off but stayed up by the “bar area” most of the trip so we never did hear any history of the Bay Area. It was a little to unstable for us to stand without something to hold onto to get closer. The masts were only up for awhile which made a quiet part of the trip. Other than the mast climber and Captain the crew seemed a little disorganized with the whole operation of rope tying and when to do what. The Captain had to repeat his commands a few times as the team sorted out the ship returning. The dingy was under inflated and holding water. Being boaters ourselves this did not install confidence. Friendly staff and think it was overpriced for the trip.

The tour guide was very informative. To be on a vessel that was 74 years old was a fantastic experience. Would highly recommend to any visitor to Sydney

What a fantastic way to spend an afternoon in Sydney ! My wife, daughter and myself thoroughly enjoyed our time on the Soren Larsen. Friendly staff, knowledgeable guide (Howard), great food and drinks available.

Wonderful experience on board. The crew was very friendly and loved working on the ship. Lunch was good and so was the wine! I got to help unfurl the sails !

Very nice experience for our big team with Peter talked about history along the way made the boat ride more meaningful. Mast climb was highlight and everyone had a great time. Food probably easier with sandwich, but the curry we had was not bad.

A great way to see the beautiful harbour and Sydney sights. Our host, Peter was knowledgeable and gave us interesting information. The lunch was tasty and served to us under the shade sail. A real experience to run down the harbour with the sails set.

Bleak start with the weather but then the sun came out and we enjoyed sailing around the harbour area ,captain and crew were friendly and 2 ppl did a mast climb. The light lunch was tasty ,but don’t worry about the drinks package .

The best part was actually travelling under sail - it was unbelievably beautiful. Our lunch and snacks were excellent and the commentary by all the staff was great. The only glitch was for my 83-year-old husband who wouldn't have been able to access the on-board toilet - steep step into the cabin and steep stairs - thank heavens he didn't need it! All in all a wonderful experience and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

Great views and some amazing history on the ship. Fun to climb the mast too. My youngest teenager was not looking forward to another one of “mom’s activities” but we all had a great time.

Loved hearing about Sydney harbour history. Food was yummy and my food allergies were accommodated, we are so glad we booked this tour!

Fabulous! Great crew, great boat, good food and drinks, lively fellow shipmates. Weather was iffy but so glad we did it.

The experienced staff and the wonderful cruise around Sydney harbour brought this whole experience to life

We loved the ship and crew. Nice lunch and unrivaled views. 1/2 time under sail with no noise just the wind. Recommend that you have hat and windbreaker even on warm days.

It was an interesting cruise. We live locally so have been on the beautiful Sydney harbour many times. Okay, the food is nothing to write home about, but I wasn't expecting much on a smaller rocking ship. A couple slices of chorizo, a paper plate of curried chicken and small bit of fudgy brownie. There were only ten on our lunchtime cruise so we had lots of room to walk about. The guide knew a lot of Sydney history and locations of important people's houses. We were more interested in the history of the hundred year old ship. There is a barman serving wines and beers. Prices were reasonable compared to Sydney city pubs. The ship rocked about at times and we were blessed with perfect warm and sunny weather. It is not expensive to get onto the ship and it is basically run by volunteers that love the experience. We cruised around the harbour using the engines. The sails were opened for a short time and passengers were involved in pulling ropes. One passenger signed a waiver and paid a fee to climb the mast. The rope ladders look a bit wobbly and I can only imagine what it's like to be standing in the crow's nest. Overall another thing ticked off the bucket list. If you want luxury and restaurant quality food, you would be better off on a Captain Cook cruise, but if you want to experience being on a bit of history, this cruise is excellent.

Such a beautiful afternoon! Even on a low wind day, the tall ship cruise was so much fun. The staff was amazing, and gave lots of history about the ship and the harbour. And lunch was excellent! We opted for the Drink package, which was much easier having paid up front and not every time for a cold one.

Lovely trip with very knowledgeable commentary was notable. Easy to book and food/service onboard was good too. I was disappointed they didnt put up more sail on the day I went (only 3 square sails of all sails were rigged) given wind conditions seemed good for sailing. Lovely to travel on this ship, given its age - well presented and safe trip.

Lovely experience on a beautifully restored sailing ship (though much smaller than expected - we were on Coral Trekker - the ones in the pics were the larger ships on the fleet). Staff were friendly and knowledgeable, and went out of their way to be welcoming and provide an enjoyable experience. The Wine and Canape evening cruise provided ample drinks and good finger food. Only downside was that the cruise was scheduled for 5pm departure - we had a stressful rush to get to the Quay in time at the end of our work day and travel to the city , then they ship did not even arrive at the pier until well after 5:30 and did not sail until closer to 6 pm, which affected plans later in the evening. Would absolutely recommend this family owned company for a wonderful experience, and will definitely use as a way to show overseas guests our lovely harbour

The commentary, the friendly crew and the top hot food. 10x better than the" canapes " catamaran dinner cruise.

Enjoyable experience - just different to what was advertised. Ship was not like the picture. Trip on the boat was good. Would not recommend this as a lunch experience. Food was tasty, but poorly presented and did not include a significant number of dishes advertised. Servings not at all generous. Advertised ‘staff member would be there 30 minutes before and please be there 15 minutes before scheduled departure’, turned out to be staff member would make himself known just before the vessel arrived - 5 minutes before departure. No signage, no uniform. Were really beginning to believe we’d been scammed. Crew were efficient, skilled and knowledgable but the experience was not what the advertising promoted. Would do the sailing experience again - but not a “lunch’ cruise

Even better than expected. Well worth it. Great food, great people. We had a blast. The vessel itself was fun to explore and the views from the water were unique and wonderful.