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Cairns Cruising Yacht Squadron

Ratings and reviews, location and contact.

Chef with pedigree does pub grub and it shows! Had Arancini Balls,Spring rolls and Chicken wings.Arancini classic rice with herbs and a great sauce with a pickled veg.Spring Rolls definitely home made with plenty of yummy ingredients and an awesome salad.Then there were the Chicken... wings….chook a l’Orange…! So tasty.Add the lovely view and a great place for a pub lunch which is a cut above the average.I hope it gets appreciated by others. More

Excellent excellent excellent. Happy kind staff, fantastic location and the food is better than most flash upmarket restaurants in cairns and the prices are unbelievable. Highly recommend to everyone

Service was great, food was great. I love this place! Seating is good and is a great atmosphere to enjoy a meal

Visited this club with a friend who was a member specifically to have lunch. Saw beer battered fish and chips on the menu and thought it a great choice given the nautical surrounds. When it came it was very odd shaped fish, the batter was... bordering on burnt yet the fish was underdone. I tried eating around the edges but end gave up and sent it back to the kitchen. When it came back it was like boot leather. Inedible. Really if you’re a yacht club and you can’t get fish and chips right, why even bother opening a kitchen. Terrible. More

Had eaten lunch here before, with friends about a year ago. Food had been disappointing then, but friends told us that the catering had recently changed. So on that basis we went ahead and ordered a Caesar Salad and the 'Special' of Battered Mackerel &... Chips. My Caesar Salad was, without a doubt, the worst ever! It had cost $3 extra to have chicken included in the salad, so I was shocked by the thin dry scraps of chicken, which looked just as though they were leftovers from a very old roast chicken. They were skin on and just awful. No croutons, no bacon, no poached egg on top, and the anchovies had been tossed in in clumps. At the bottom of the bowl it looked and tasted like salty wet sand, gritty and inedible. My partner's mackerel was dry and overlooked, the batter a dark dark brown. Chips also overcooked. And for $20 one would have expected 2 mackerel fillets Had we not been dining with friends I would have sent my salad back, but felt I could not have done so without embarrassing them. Later, our friends admitted that they too had been disappointed by their meal. And added that the roast lamb portion had been rather meagre. Will certainly not eat there again and would NOT recommend it. More

Came for a nice try out of restaurant with the family it's been 2 hours and we are still waiting for our meals. The kids are starving lucky I bought some snacks other wise we would of walked out. I support our locals but come... on guys your service is terrible. More

Atmosphere was lovely, very relaxed over looking the inlet. Staff are very friendly and welcoming. Food is fantastic and at a reasonable price

Won't be back, burgers without chips. Not on . The prices were higher than we expected. $7.50 to add avo?? The burger was nice however, don't think it was worth $20+

Went down for the pirate party they held and I have to say it was awesome, food excellent, service was wonderful, and the whole afternoon was fantasic and a great family environment.

A lovely hidden gem We attended a Christmas party on Saturday here & it was lovely! The garden area out the front is lovely with the boats at berth & the Trinity inlet, it was a lovely setting! A spacious area indoors & out! The... staff were a delight so friendly & helpful! Lots of different beers on tap including boutique beers which was nice. The food was lovely with offerings of fresh sushi, lots of different ones, curry bowls, pot buns, sliders & chicken so much food! The kitchen even made me bone free chicken pieces which I thought was so considerate! Then the desserts were brought out & yum! The staff were all so pleasant & attentive to ensure everyone had enough to eat, were comfortable & mozzie free! Lol All in all this place was a delight & if looking for a nice laid back venue for any sort of occasion I would recommend as I imagine they could cater for anyone! They even have a Tiki Bar outside & a pool table so something for everyone with plenty parking! Will definitely be going for lunch or dinner at some point!:) More

This pub is fantastic! You can relax and enjoy the spectacular scenery, whilst dining on absolutely delicious meals! The staff are friendly and the service is excellent!

Great Location with a breeze from the river Food was fresh and cooked well Well presented and a timely service And the cost was reasonable for pensioners Thankyou for a lovely afternoon

thank you so much for your feed back, it is very much appreciated

Great location with lovely views over the inlet. Friendly staff. Quick service. Well priced, good value for money.

Had a lovely peaceful lunch here today. Nice friendly staff & very good service. It was beautiful sitting outside in the sea breeze looking out at the yachts moored in the Inlet. I’m so surprised this place isn’t busy every day. Not a huge menu,... but more than adequate & very well priced. Entree of crumbed deep fried Brie with cranberries, smoked salmon bruschetta were both winners. The grilled fish burger & chips also looked yummy. Will be returning soon. More

Great location. All in the group enjoyed their lunch. Very reasonably priced meals. The staff were nice and the beer really cold. Been before and will go again.

CAIRNS CRUISING YACHT SQUADRON - 42/48 Tingira Street Portsmith - Updated 2024 Restaurant Reviews, Photos & Phone Number - Tripadvisor

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• Cairns Cruising Yacht Squadron Restaurant & Bar

Cairns Cruising Yacht Squadron Restaurant & Bar

Search through the Australian menu. This club offers you good beer . The intimate atmosphere of Cairns Cruising Yacht Squadron Restaurant & Bar allows customers to relax after a hard working day. Most people say that the bar staff is accommodating at this place. This place is rated on Google 4.1 by its visitors.

Best in the city This award is based on the analysis of multiple factors, including reviews, ratings, and user engagement trends on Restaurant Guru.

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This New Yacht Is Sailing to Gorgeous, Lesser-known Ports in the Caribbean Sea — and I Was on Board With 'Below Deck's' Chef Ben

Emerald Cruises' new Emerald Sakara ship brings guests to smaller ports in the Caribbean and Mediterranean, with an onboard marina and the occasional Bravo-lebrity.

Paul Brady is the news director at Travel + Leisure and the brand's expert on cruise travel. He has been covering the travel industry for more than 15 years for outlets including Condé Nast Traveler , Skift , and The Huffington Post .

The Staterooms

Bars and restaurants, where emerald sakara sails, shore excursions, amenities and entertainment, family-friendly offerings, accessibility.

Paul Brady/Travel + Leisure

With a couple dozen guests looking on, chef Ben Robinson was showing how to slice and dice a fresh red snapper. “You kind of feel him — but you don’t fondle him,” said Robinson, the fan favorite from the Bravo reality show Below Deck, who’s always ready with a quip. As he pulled a perfect filet off the bone, he explained how to salt the fish and that there’s no more important relationship than the one you have with your fishmonger. “My advice is to always be friendly,” he noted. “I like to support my mom-and-pop [businesses]. If you become familiar with them, they’ll say, ‘Hey, I got this in this morning.’”

The cooking demo, which also featured a ceviche how-to and tips on knife sharpening, was one of many “Chef Ben” moments on my trip aboard Emerald Sakara . It’s the newest 100-passenger vessel from Emerald Cruises, which launched in the fall of 2023, a sibling vessel to the Emerald Azzurra .

During an eight-day voyage in March from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, the reality personality was definitely one of the star attractions. Robinson spent several evenings in the galley, creating special dishes such as a panko-crusted veal striploin stuffed with pesto.

He also hosted a well-attended Q&A about his life in the kitchen — and spent plenty of time connecting with fans, many of whom booked the trip specifically to chop it up with Below Deck alum.

“We definitely booked because of Ben,” said Shannon Welnel , a Montana-based travel advisor who had lots of praise for his cuisine — and the yacht-like atmosphere on board the 100-passenger ship. Other guests I spoke with admitted they hadn’t seen much Below Deck, but were intrigued by the chance to chill with a Bravo-lebrity.

Emerald Sakara

• With a max of just 100 passengers, Emerald Sakara feels at times like a private yacht, with no lines and no crowds, and outstanding service from a highly experienced crew.
• Minimalist rooms recall the stripped down aesthetic of Miami Beach or Mykonos, Greece, with pops of color from Missoni Home accents and a sleek-yet-functional bathroom with plenty of storage space.
• While this small ship has but one restaurant and one poolside cafe, there’s plenty of choice when it comes to meals, whether you’re hitting the breakfast or lunch buffet or choosing from the dinner menu.
• The onboard marina, which is open in favorable weather conditions, offers watersports and swimming off the stern of the ship.
• Easy to understand and mostly inclusive pricing covers meals, beverages at mealtime, many tours, and surprisingly speedy Wi-Fi.

The intimate-ship vibe was also one reason the chef wanted to hop aboard. “This definitely has more of a yacht vibe than any other [ship] I've been on,” Robinson told me one afternoon. “A hundred passengers is not a lot,” he said. “I've been on boats with 2,500 passengers, and you really do feel like you're anonymous. But here, the service is great, and you really are treated as an individual and someone important. And you kind of lose that on the big boats.”

While Robinson doesn’t have immediate plans to join another Emerald cruise, he told me that there were plenty of parallels between his life on megayachts and what the Sakara offers its guests. “It’s been incredible,” he said.

I had to agree. The Sakara certainly has much to offer, both in spite of its smaller size and because of it. While it’s available to book by the cabin, like any cruise ship, it still manages to feel at times like a private yacht, particularly when it sails to less-commonly visited ports such as Culebra, on Puerto Rico, or St. Bart’s. In the latter, we dropped anchor near Eric Schmidt’s yacht, Whisper , and had the whole day to explore the glitzy island and its capital, Gustavia. (After a drive around in the morning, I managed to catch the beautiful sunset from the lovely little Shell Beach, right in town.)

“The benefit of being on a small cruise ship like this one is that we can enter small ports and areas where others can’t,” said Robert Kuznin, the captain of Sakara , who previously worked with several cruise lines, including Paul Gauguin, Seabourn, and Virgin Voyages. “For example, when we dropped anchor in Esperanza Bay,” he explained about our stop at the island of Vieques, “there were only two meters under the keel — and that was the shallowest I’ve ever been!”

Courtesy of Emerald Cruises

The ability to go places that larger ships can’t was also on display one morning on St. Kitts, one of the final stops of my trip. It was still early in the morning, but already four mega-ships were docked in Basseterre, the island’s capital. Instead of tying up next to them on the busy cruise pier, we dropped anchor just off the beach in South Friar’s Bay, a long sweep of sand in the island’s southern reaches. There were no crowds to contend with, no paperwork hassles, no touts offering dodgy cab rides. A five-minute tender ride to the beach was all it took to meet our local guide. Time from leaving the breakfast buffet to our first stop? About 25 minutes. Even the most efficient mega-ship would struggle to make that happen — and they can’t drop anchor right off the one of the best beaches on the island. 

Other moments aboard Sakara felt like something out of Below Deck . One afternoon, I made my way to the yacht’s marina, a platform at the stern stocked with lounge chairs, refreshments, and water toys such as a floating trampoline and inflatable sea kayaks. I jumped off the stern into the Caribbean and then tried out the ship’s Seabob, a floating gadget that’s like a cross between a Jet Ski and an electric scooter.

As I continued my joy ride, I could see another vessel anchored just north of us. Turns out, it was David Geffen’s private yacht , Rising Sun . Of course, we were there first.

Here’s a closer look at all the amenities of the Emerald Sakara , which sails seasonally in coastal waters in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Laurent BENOIT/Courtesy of Emerald Cruises

Welcome to your starship: the stripped down, white-and-gray cabins on Sakara feel sci-fi chic, particularly when the accent lighting is switched on. They’re also, thankfully, spacious and super functional, with ample storage space (including a safe), a small minibar, a coffee station, and a clever headboard built-in that’s a great spot for your charging devices and water bottle. Most of the 50 rooms and suites have verandas; ocean-view staterooms are the exception. Bathrooms are just big enough, with plenty of storage, and are stocked with Espa products and a hair dryer. My cabin, 421, was a 300-square-foot balcony suite toward the aft of the ship on deck four: I never once heard noise from the surrounding cabins or in the hallway, though I did occasionally notice sounds and vibrations from the vessel, something that is common on even the largest of ships. A note on power plugs: my stateroom had U.S.-style outlets throughout as well as USB-A charging ports on either side of the bed, a nice touch.

Because Sakara is smaller than most cruise ships, it can’t compete on sheer volume of bars and restaurants. Still, the food on board is solid. La Cucina is the only true dining room, with both indoor and outdoor seating; it has somewhat limited hours compared to the round-the-clock dining options on bigger vessels. That being said, I certainly didn’t go hungry: a breakfast buffet is complemented by traditional à la minute options such as omelets and pancakes; lunch is also buffet style with a carving station. Dinner is more restaurant style, with options from an ever-changing daily menu plus always available classics such as Caesar salad, shrimp cocktail, grilled salmon, and spaghetti bolognese on offer. (Many dietary restrictions and preferences can be accommodated.)

On my voyage, chef Robinson put together several special plates, including what might’ve been the best dish of the week: a sesame-crusted seared yellowfin tuna with celeriac puree. The Below Deck star also put together a panko veal striploin roulade one night and, another evening, offered a citrus-cured hamachi with, in a touch of molecular gastronomy, “mango spheres.” Elsewhere on board, a poolside cafe, Aqua Café, has quick bites like burgers and flatbreads, as well as sweets and coffee pulled from a Cimbali espresso machine. The cocktails served in the Amici Lounge and the Sky Bar were consistently excellent, mixed by a talented team of pros who’ve previously worked on Seabourn ships and in some of Dubai’s top hotels. One weaker spot was the selection of wine on board: pours at mealtimes are included, but they didn’t rock my boat. A short list of “chairman’s wines,” available at extra cost, included a couple by-the-bottle finds such as 2013 vintage Cristal ($650) and some mid-tier Bordeaux and Burgundy options.

Paul Brady/Travel + Leisure

Though small, this ship isn’t an expedition yacht. Rather, it’s specifically designed for warm-weather coastal cruising, meaning it spends the lion’s share of its time in places such as the Caribbean and, in the Northern Hemisphere’s summer months, the Mediterranean. My trip aboard was spent entirely in the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean, where passages between ports were short and the seas were often calm. (We did occasionally encounter some swells of up to two meters, or 6.6 feet. I saw many guests wearing medicated patches to prevent motion sickness throughout the trip.) Sakara typically spends a season of several months in a given region, with a variety of cruise lengths offered, ranging from six to 24 days. In 2024, the ship will spend April through November in the Mediterranean. Sakara will return to the Caribbean at the end of the year, through April 2025.

Tours off the ship were a strong suit for Emerald, at least on my voyage. Most stops offered a variety of activities, ranging from a simple transfer to a nearby beach to a full-on, multi-hour tour. Usually, I found myself ashore with a very small group of folks — fewer than a dozen — and all the guides Emerald arranged were true pros. Passengers raved about a kayak paddle through the bioluminescent bay on Vieques, something I sadly didn’t try myself. I did, however, enjoy a short guided hike on the island of St. John, to the pristine beach along Salomon Bay, which was all but deserted. The organization of excursions felt flawless to me, thanks no doubt to the crew and shore excursion manager, Pilar Atencio. Worth a mention, too, were Atencio’s detailed briefings on what to expect each day. While these sorts of “port talks'' are common on ships of all sizes, they felt particularly useful on Sakara because of how intimate our groups were; many passengers made a point of attending the pre-dinner talks every night, for info on what to expect about our anchorage, historical background on each island, and detailed info about what each tour offering would entail.

Call it small but mighty: Sakara has all the essentials, which is a bit of feat for a ship this size. A cozy spa has wellness and beauty treatments, as well as a small hairstyling and facial studio; morning yoga and stretching are available on deck. The fitness center, with a few cardio machines, a Peloton bike, and a variety of weights and other gear gets the job done. The smallish pool and a top-deck whirlpool were lovely — though I spent most of my time in the ocean: the Sakara ’s marina deck is a key feature, and it was open several afternoons during my trip. It’s like the greatest pool party you’ve ever been to, complete with piña coladas, sea kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, and a trampoline, right off the stern of the ship. It is, truly, as much fun as it sounds like, though it is subject to the whims of weather and ocean currents. Also available in some destinations are e-bikes from Gocycle, which are available on a first-come, first-served basis; during my trip, several guests gave them a spin on the island of Vieques. Sakara also carries a ton of snorkeling gear and beach towels, which passengers can borrow whenever they like. In terms of performances, this isn’t the vessel for Broadway-style shows, but guitarist Jamie Ferguson and voyage director Nathalie Millet added plenty of live music to the trip.

The youngest passengers I spoke with on my cruise were in their 20s — and they were traveling with their parents. Sakara is perhaps the perfect ship for families traveling with adult children, since it offers such a diverse array of activities to suit different tastes and activity levels, while visiting intriguing destinations. The ship is also intimate enough that everybody can gather easily for meals — or a swim off the stern — without fighting the crowds common on larger vessels. On the other hand, Sakara is probably not the best choice for families with younger children: there’s no kid-specific programming, and you’re likely to be the only ones aboard with little ones. “Emerald Cruises yachts are recommended for people aged 12 and up, and they must be accompanied by and share a cabin with an adult aged 18 or [older],” a spokesperson shared with T+L.

Sakara is probably best described as somewhat accessible: the ship has elevators to all decks and the crew was, on my trip, very accommodating to those with mobility challenges. There are handrails throughout, and bathrooms feature shower grab bars. That being said, several areas of the ship — the outdoor dining terrace, for example — require navigating at least one step even once you’ve reached the deck in question by elevator. “Due to the nature and size of the ships, wheelchairs and scooters are not allowed to be used on board,” a spokesperson told T+L. When the ship is at anchor, it’s only possible to go ashore by tender or Zodiac, both of which could be challenging for those with limited mobility. As Emerald’s FAQ explains: “Guests with limited mobility will require help from a companion, since the crew is limited.” Also of note: many announcements are made only by loudspeaker with no hearing-impaired alternative.

Seven-night sailings on Emerald Sakara start from $2,775 per person, and you can book at emeraldcruises.com .

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