Sydney Harbour Sunset Dinner Cruise

A top thing to do while visiting Sydney is cruising the harbor. Our research found Sydney Harbour Tall Ships Twilight Cruise offers a unique experience.

Next to The Rocks neighborhood is the docking location for Sydney’s Tall Ships. We arrived a little early but couldn’t find any signs for the exact location.

sydney tall ship dock — Finally found where to wait for the Sydney Tall Ships cruise. No signs, but eventually someone from the company arrived.

The anticipation for a unique adventure was stirring as we watched the boat pull into port for our 1.5 hour excursion.

sydney tall ship captain — Captain is the first one to welcome us aboard as we take our first step onto the ship.

Our deckhand and advisor (Jim) informed the passengers on the history of this authentic oak tall ship, the evening’s itinerary, and standard safety instructions. The vessel is called The Soren Larson and was the last cargo ship constructed by the Danish shipbuilding family Søren Larsen & sons in Northern Denmark.

sydney tall ship crew — Deck hand and advisor (Jim) shared history and know how of the ship and crew, Sydney Harbour and bridge, and the Sydney Opera House.

After getting a brief history of the boat and harbour, we were free to walk about the ship and admire its beauty.

sydney tall ship opera house — View from the ship of the Sydney Opera House at dusk.

sydney tall ship twilight cruise — The shimmering moon light lit the sky and sparkled on the bay for the twilight cruise.

As part of the package, we purchased the additional mast climb option. Before dinner, a friendly crewmember fitted us with a harness for the mast climb. This experience was purchased as an add on to the Twilight cruise and is an opportunity that should not pass up. The well-trained crew handled all of our safety needs and coached us through the journey.

sydney tall ship mast climb harness — Getting fitted with safety harnesses for the mast climb.

tall ships mast climb — Climbing the mast of the tall ships was an add on to the dinner cruise, but we’ll worth it.

There is a narrow entrance to the crow’s nest at the top of the rope ladder. It takes some effort to position your shoulders through the metal rungs that separate the crow’s nest from the ladder.

sydney tall ship mast climb top — Climbing the mast on Sydney Harbour Tall Ship’s Twlight Cruise. What an experience!

sydney tall ship dinner — The meal on the Twilight Dinner Cruise wasn’t fancy, but it was definitely delicious!

The freshly prepared dinner was a chicken curry over rice, vegetable curry, and several salads. All of the dishes were flavorful and filling.

sydney tall ship night — Bright lights in the big city! Fantastic views from Sydney Harbour Tall Ships.

After dinner, the ship circled the harbor near the Sydney Opera House. The lights dancing off of the inky water created a completely different view of Sydney’s harbor than we had at the start.

sydney opera house tall ships night — Viewing the Sydney Opera House from the Harbour gives a perspective of it’s structure that typically is not published.

Deckhand Jim spoke of the Opera House history, it’s architect, design of the “sails”, and struggles to get the project completed.

tall ships luna park — The tall Ships sails right past the iconic “Luna Park”.

sydney tall ship end — Ending the evening, we disembarked the Sydney Harbour Tall Ship cruise back at The Rocks. Memories made, happy hearts.

sydney tall ships opera house — The tall ship docked back at The Rock, directly across from the Sydney Opera House.

The Sydney Harbour Tall Ships Twilight Cruise was a great experience. It was the perfect way to spend our evening before seeing a symphony performance of Star Wars Return of the Jedi with a full orchestra.

Choosing the Twilight cruise allowed us to see the harbor in daylight, watch the sunset, and enjoy the city’s night lights all in a single experience. Considering the cost of dinner, the cost of a day and night harbor cruise, and the unique experience of this authentic tall ship, this adventure was a great value! Thank you, Sydney Tall Ships.

Tips:

Look for coupons online before booking. We found a fantastic deal using Groupon.
Arrive early and know the location of the meeting point.
Bring a good camera to take high-quality photos of this experience.
Book the mast climb for a rare opportunity and experience.
Visit with the crew to hear more stories of what it is like living aboard this Tall Ship.
Get the warm mulled wine. It was delicious!