Gordon River Cruise Seat Options And Fares: Which Deck To Book

What Seat Classes Exist On Gordon River Cruises?

Two operators sail the Gordon River from Strahan, and each sells the same roughly six hour cruise in three seat tiers: a main deck central or centre seat, a main deck window seat, and an upper deck or Premier Upper Deck seat. Entry fares sit between A$160 and A$165 per adult, the top tier reaches A$355, and family fares from both operators undercut the price of buying individual tickets.

The naming differs slightly between the two companies, which is the first thing to untangle. World Heritage Cruises (WHC), the family owned operator that has been running boats since 1896, calls its cheapest ticket Main Deck Centre and its premium ticket Upper Deck Centre or Upper Deck Window. Gordon River Cruises (GRC), run by NRMA Parks and Resorts aboard the hybrid electric Spirit of the Wild, uses Main Deck Central, Main Deck Window and Premier Upper Deck. Centre and Central are the same thing: a seat in the middle of the main cabin, not against the glass. For a closer look at the WHC ticket options before you book, the WHC ticket guide covers what each seat type includes.

Both tiers of both operators include the full itinerary. Nobody who books the cheapest seat misses the harbour crossing, Hells Gates, the fish farm stops, the Sarah Island guided walk or the Heritage Landing rainforest boardwalk. Lunch is included on the morning cruises at every fare level. What changes between classes is where you sit, what extras arrive at your seat, and on some vessels whether a beverage is part of the deal. The cruise itself, about 120 km and 65 nautical miles round trip with roughly two hours on the Gordon River, is identical. For a closer look at the narrow, wave-scarred entrance that every cruise passes through, the guide to Hells Gates and Macquarie Harbour covers the history and hazards in detail.

The price question in full, including how the listing prices relate to the operators' own fare sheets, is covered in the companion piece on how much the Gordon River cruise costs. This guide stays on seat class: what each deck costs, what it adds, and who should pay for it. Strahan River Cruises compares the Gordon River sailings from both operators on one page, which is the quickest way to see both fare ladders side by side.

What Does Main Deck Central Or Centre Cost?

The cheapest adult seat on the harbour is A$160 on the World Heritage Cruises morning catamaran and A$165 on the Gordon River Cruises shared lunch cruise, both listed as "from" prices on the booking pages. Children pay A$75 with WHC (ages 3 to 16) and A$80 with GRC. Both are main deck seats in the middle of the cabin, and both include the full cruise, lunch and every shore stop.

These two tickets are the reason the two operators get compared so often: they are nearly identical products five dollars apart. The WHC ticket, sold as "Morning Catamaran, Buffet Lunch", departs 9:00am from the booking office at 18 Esplanade on Strahan Wharf, with check in from 8:30am and tickets collected 30 minutes before departure, and returns about 3pm aboard Harbour Master II, a catamaran launched in October 2020 and built in Tasmania. The GRC ticket, "Gordon River Cruises, Shared Lunch", checks in at 8:00am for an 8:30am departure from the Gordon River Cruises terminal at 24 Esplanade, aboard Spirit of the Wild with its hybrid electric "Whisper Mode" for the river stretches.

One cost sits outside the fare on the WHC side. The WHC FAQ notes that the cruise travels into the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park and that a National Parks Pass is needed; WHC does not sell it, so it is bought separately from Parks and Wildlife Tasmania. Tasmania's park authority confirms a valid pass is required for entry to all of the state's national parks (park passes and entry fees). Budget for it when costing the morning catamaran cruise.

Both listings carry a 4.8 rating, WHC from 1,255 reviews and GRC from 1,635, and both advertise free cancellation when plans change. The WHC listing says the cruise is likely to sell out, which in practice means the cheap centre seats go first in peak summer. WHC does not sail on Christmas Day and does not sail at all from 1 to 31 August 2026, its annual maintenance month; for later Augusts, check the dates, the operator has listed August as its maintenance month.

On the GRC side there is a discount worth knowing before you pay full freight: NRMA members can apply a promo code for 15% off, per the operator's own homepage (Gordon River Cruises fares). WHC's equivalent is a 10% discount for Australian seniors card holders, with the fare sheet published as valid to 31 March 2027 (World Heritage Cruises fares). Neither discount shows in the listing's "from" price, so the headline A$160 and A$165 are the ceiling for most travellers, not the floor.

For most visitors this is the whole decision made: both entry tickets deliver the same six hours, the same lunch and the same stops, and the choice between them comes down to departure time, vessel and wharf rather than price.

Is A Main Deck Window Seat Worth The Extra Money?

A main deck window seat costs A$195 per adult with World Heritage Cruises and A$200 with Gordon River Cruises, against centre fares of A$160 and A$165. Children pay A$99 with WHC and A$90 with GRC. The window seat guarantees a seat against the glass for the whole six hours, including the roughly two hours of reflection cruising on the Gordon River.

Whether that premium is worth it depends on how you photograph. The Gordon River's dark, tannin stained water produces the mirror calm the region is famous for, and a window seat means you watch it without leaning across a neighbour. The trade off is that centre cabin seats on both vessels are close to the glass anyway; neither boat buries its main deck in an interior with no view. Passengers on the main deck can also move around, and both vessels have outdoor viewing areas, so a window seat buys a guaranteed position, not exclusive access to the scenery.

The window premium is proportionally bigger for families, because the child window fare climbs too: A$99 against A$75 with WHC, and A$90 against A$80 with GRC. A family buying window seats individually pays the higher adult and child rate on every ticket, which adds up quickly across four seats. At that point the family fares in the section below usually beat buying window seats individually, which is worth checking before you book anything.

A practical note on the two vessels: Harbour Master II is a catamaran with wraparound main deck glazing, while Spirit of the Wild's main deck windows frame the river from a lower, closer angle. Neither operator assigns specific numbered seats at booking on the main deck classes, so window seats are first claimed at boarding. With GRC's 8:00am check in and WHC's 8:30am, early arrivals at the wharf get the pick of the glass.

The honest summary: solo travellers and photographers get their money's worth from the window seat, and everyone else can keep the difference and spend it in town.

What Do You Get On The Upper Deck Or Premier Upper Deck?

The upper tiers diverge. WHC's Upper Deck Centre costs A$205 and Upper Deck Window A$225, both including lunch, morning tea and a beverage. GRC's single Premier Upper Deck costs A$355 for every passenger, adult or child, and adds teas, canapes, a private deck and, on the evening dinner cruise only, an open bar. The A$355 ticket is the most expensive seat on the harbour.

The two premium products are not the same thing, and the price gap says so. WHC's upper deck is a modest step up: A$45 to A$65 over its centre fare, with the beverage and morning tea served on the upper deck only, and the best sightlines over Hells Gates as the catamaran crosses the harbour bar. GRC's Premier Upper Deck is a different class of ticket entirely, closer to a premium cabin: it bundles extras, a private deck area on Spirit of the Wild and full child pricing parity, which is why it costs the same A$355 for a child as an adult.

For the morning cruises, the value case is asymmetric. On WHC, the upper deck is a reasonable A$45 upgrade for a traveller who wants the beverage package and the higher view. On GRC, Premier Upper Deck sits at A$355 against A$165 for a Main Deck Central seat, and the buffet lunch and every stop are identical, so it is a ticket for people who want the quietest, most pampered version of the day rather than a better cruise. The evening dinner cruise is the exception: there, the Premier Upper Deck's open bar at Hells Gates changes the arithmetic, and the Main Deck's complimentary drink at Hells Gates is the baseline rather than the premium.

The shared lunch cruise aboard Spirit of the Wild is also the one product where the seat class changes the onboard experience most: the hybrid electric motors switch to Whisper Mode on the river, and the upper deck sits above the busiest part of the main cabin. Passengers who book the premium tier on the morning sailing are, in effect, paying for calm.

One caution on the WHC row: the operator publishes child fares for its main deck classes only, so families weighing the upper deck should ask at booking rather than assume a child rate exists.

If the premium question is still open after reading the fare sheets, the mid-article choice is simple: both morning cruises run daily outside the closure months, both include lunch, and both can be held with free cancellation while you decide.

Which Family Fare Is The Better Deal?

GRC sells a Family Main Deck Central ticket at A$345 for two adults and up to three children, plus a Family Main Deck Window ticket at A$425 covering two children. WHC sells family fares at A$340 centre or A$440 window, both covering two adults and up to three children. Both undercut individual tickets, GRC by about A$225 and WHC by about A$205 on centre fares.

The arithmetic is where families win or lose. Two adults and three children on GRC Main Deck Central seats bought individually pay the full A$165 adult and A$80 child rates on every ticket, against A$345 for the family ticket, a saving of A$225. The same group on WHC centre seats pays A$545 individually against A$340, saving A$205. On window seats the GRC family ticket covers only two children, so a family of five needs WHC's A$440 window fare, which still saves A$247 against the A$687 individual cost. The family fares are the single biggest discount on the harbour, bigger than either the seniors or NRMA concessions.

The catch is that family tickets exist only on the main deck classes. There is no family version of Premier Upper Deck or the WHC upper deck, so a family of five wanting the premium tier faces the full per person price. For most families the decision is therefore between the two main deck family products, and the differentiator is the child cap: GRC's window family fare stops at two children, WHC's goes to three on both decks.

Both family fares include lunch for every covered passenger, and both cruises are genuinely family friendly: the Sarah Island walk and the Heritage Landing boardwalk are short, guided and flat. The full case for taking children, including accessibility notes, is in the kids, seniors and accessibility guide.

WHC children are counted from age 3 to 16, and infants under that threshold are not covered by the published child fares, so check with the operator when booking for toddlers.

Which Seat Class Should You Book On The Gordon River Cruise?

Book Main Deck Central or Centre if the cruise is the goal: at A$160 to A$165 it is the same six hours, lunch and stops as every dearer ticket. Book a window seat for a guaranteed glass position for the river reflections. Book the WHC upper deck for the beverage and view, and Premier Upper Deck on GRC, at A$355 a seat, only when the private deck and extras matter.

That is the short version. The longer version is that the seat decision is really a decision about what kind of day you want. The morning catamaran cruise and the shared lunch cruise both deliver the itinerary regardless of ticket, so the honest question is whether you are buying a cruise or buying a view of a cruise. Photographers chasing the mirror calm of the tannin water should pay for glass or height. Visitors whose main memory will be Sarah Island's ruins and the Huon pines at Heritage Landing can spend the difference on a second day in Strahan instead.

For a fuller comparison of the two operators across every dimension, not just seating, the operator comparison guide breaks down departure times, vessels and inclusions side by side. If you already know you want the cheapest deck, the morning catamaran buffet lunch cruise page shows the live fare and availability, or Check availability on the shared lunch cruise if the 8:30am departure suits you better.

One last timing note that affects every class: the WHC listing is flagged as likely to sell out, and both cheap decks fill first. Free cancellation on all four listings means booking early and adjusting later costs nothing.

How Does Seating Work On The Dinner Cruises?

Both dinner cruises use the same deck structure as the morning sailings but run only in short summer windows. The GRC evening cruise runs 27 December 2026 to 2 January 2027 and 14 to 24 February 2027 only, from A$160, with a complimentary drink at Hells Gates on the Main Deck and an open bar upstairs. The WHC afternoon cruise runs 27 December to 16 January only, departing 3:15pm, from A$160.

Neither dinner cruise is a year round product, and that is the single most important thing to know before comparing their seat classes. The GRC evening sailing checks in at 3:00pm, boards at 3:15pm and departs 3:30pm for about six hours, with a chef prepared buffet dinner and the same Hells Gates, Gordon River and Sarah Island stops in evening light. Its Main Deck ticket includes that complimentary drink at Hells Gates, and its Premier Upper Deck includes the open bar, which is the clearest case on the harbour for paying up: the premium tier on this one sailing genuinely changes what is included.

The WHC afternoon catamaran dinner run, "Afternoon Catamaran, Seasonal Run", is the mirror product from the other operator: a 3:15pm departure, back about 8:30pm, buffet dinner with local specialties, and afternoon tea plus a beverage for upper deck ticket holders. It has 23 reviews and the GRC dinner cruise has 12, small pools compared with the thousand-plus reviews on the morning sailings, so treat their 4.9 and 4.5 ratings as a small number of reviews rather than settled verdicts.

Because both dinner products are seasonal, the booking window matters more than the deck. Travellers fixed on a summer evening on the Gordon River should check dates first and seat class second, and anyone visiting outside those windows should plan around the morning cruises, which run daily except for WHC's Christmas Day and August 2026 closure. The lunch and dinner options across both operators are compared in detail in the lunch and dinner cruise guide.

The seating verdict for evenings mirrors the mornings with one twist: on the GRC dinner cruise the Main Deck drink at Hells Gates makes the entry ticket feel premium already, and on the WHC afternoon run the upper deck's afternoon tea and beverage are the only extras worth the climb. Window seats matter less at dinner, when the daylight fades over the harbour crossing and the cabin becomes the destination.

Common Questions About Gordon River Cruise Seat Options