Wilsons Promontory Cruises — Attraction in Tidal River

Extremely Disappointing and Unprofessional Experience – Avoid!

We were a group of four who had booked and paid in advance for a cruise with Wilsons Promontory Cruises. On the day of the cruise, we informed the team around 9:30 AM that we were running slightly late and were told to arrive no later than 10:45 AM. We made it exactly at 10:45 AM, only to be told that only three of us could board, despite our full group having prepaid and arriving at the time instructed.

Shockingly, a person from the waiting list — who hadn’t even paid in advance — was given priority over us. The staff admitted they were overbooked and mentioned their booking system “wasn’t perfect.” We requested to speak to someone in authority, but staff members refused to let us escalate the matter.

We were told wait for 2pm cruise. We waited patiently, only to be informed at 1:45 PM that again, only one of us could go. This was even after hearing another passenger cancel over the phone right in front of us, yet that spot was never offered to us.

We had traveled over 300 km and sacrificed 8 hours of work each on a public holiday to be treated in this unprofessional and disrespectful manner. No proper explanation, no escalation, just a vague apology from the operations manager blaming the staff. If a mistake was made, why were we made to wait three extra hours just to be told the same thing?

We feel cheated, ignored, and disrespected. This wasn’t a last-minute booking — we had paid and confirmed well in advance. There was no mention of “first come, first served” or overbooking during the booking process.

Additionally, it was extremely concerning to witness how the booking process handled children. Staff informed at the time of booking, children were not counted towards the total capacity, but when they showed up on the day, they were suddenly counted in place of paying, pre-booked adult passengers like us. This is not only misleading but also completely unfair.

Staff member Deb was particularly rude and dismissive. The entire process felt mismanaged and, frankly, like a scam. Even the refund took 3 hours, and there was no compensation for our time, travel, or the day lost.

To Wilsons Promontory Cruises: We expect fair compensation for the wasted time, missed work, and the emotional and financial distress caused. We are prepared to take this matter further through consumer rights channels and media if necessary.

Your system and staff failed us badly. Please do the right thing and reach out to...

This is amazing and a must if you go to Wilson’s Prom. We met at the open air cinema and were given rain coats and a brief description of our tour. We then walked down to Tidal River beach as a large group where we were able to put on the gorgeous long red raincoats and go up the stairs to get on the boats/cars. If you like a bumpy adventure sit at the front, if you prefer a smoother ride sit towards the back. We were able to see dolphins, eagles (and their gigantic nest), and soooo many seals. The dolphins enjoy swimming near the boats and the seals will literally come up towards the boats and almost laugh at you. The staff were amazing too. Full of knowledge about the area, happy to answer any questions or simply chat. They’re also happy to play photographer as we saw the most southern part of Victoria, looked at the changing colours of the rocks, and the rock formations, plus Skull Island - an amazing rock that is a cave and jaw dropping. We went in mid April in the afternoon, so it was getting a little cool by the end of our journey but it’s better to be cold than hot on a boat of your seasick. You may want to take a beanie headband or cap that won’t blow off in the wind. They did offer ginger tablets before hand if you are unsure if you will get seasick. When you get off the boats at the end, you simply hand back the rain coat and walk yourself back to your car or campsite. I loved seeing the boats returning back to their base while sitting in the car. They were driving down the main road in the campsite and waving to everybody. We honestly had an amazing tour and are seriously thinking about another holiday so we can look at the whale watching tour or all day tour. Thanks for a...

What a trip! Such a thorough, exciting and informative boat trip! We have to thank Chris and Gareth especially who headed up our tour and they were both fantastic! So enthusiastic, so friendly and so down to earth! Their knowledge of Wilson’s Prom, the surrounding islands and the wildlife was top notch. I initially thought that 2.5 hours for $145 wasn’t much time for quite a lot of money, but actually once you’re on the boat, it feels like plenty of time - we saw and learned so much (granted we lucked out with perfect weather, I’m sure if the weather is pants you’ll see a little less)! In the end, the trip was well worth the money! If I lived closer, I’d be down there on that boat tour all of the time! The views were just stunning. The team were there at check-in with free ginger tablets for those who suffer with sea sickness, and with quality waterproof coats to keep you dry and warm! Life jackets were available for those who wanted them and we were all made to feel safe and well taken care off. Great care was taken to ensure that everyone got a seat that suited them best (sea sick suffers at the part of the boat where less motion was experienced etc). All seats on the boat provide a great view, and you are provided so much opportunity to stand up and photograph/get a better look at things when the boat stops at each destination. If you’re lucky enough to get up close with the seals - it’s a great experience! They get so close, they’re super inquisitive and they love to entertain us watchers! All round great trip - zero complaints! Will be raving about this for ages! Thank you so much to the team that make these...