James Craig Tall Ship
James Craig Tall Ship
4.5
10:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Monday
10:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Tuesday
10:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Wednesday
10:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Thursday
10:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Friday
10:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Saturday
10:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Sunday
10:30 AM - 3:30 PM
About
Barque James Craig is rightly famous around the world. She is Sydney’s only 19th Century square rigger (or Tall Ship) and her incredible restoration to full sailing condition was recognised in 2003 by the World Ship Trust’s award of their prestigious Maritime Medal. Her restoration cost almost $A30 million and took nearly 40 years to complete after she was rescued from Recherche Bay in far southern Tasmania. This beautiful ship regularly goes to sea with up to 80 passengers and is open for public inspection at her berth at Wharf 7, 58 Pirrama Road, Pyrmont. She is also available for charter and for functions. Tall Ship James Craig is looked after by Sydney Heritage Fleet, a community-based non-profit organisation, with the following mission: To build and maintain an internationally recognised centre of excellence in maritime heritage for the benefit of all Australians by presenting through research, acquisition, conservation, restoration, education and operation, our continuing maritime history. The Fleet is funded through donations, membership subscriptions and income from vessel charters and tours. The Fleet’s 1200 strong membership and 450 dedicated volunteer workers restore, operate and maintain the fleet of vintage vessels. In the process they preserve traditional technical methods and skills.
Duration: < 1 hour
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingWhat is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience nearby attractions
Are you currently on your trip?
Help us find experiences available for you.
The area
Address
How to get there
- Wynyard • 9 min walk
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
5,742 within 5 kms
Attractions
1,075 within 10 kms
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
278 reviews
Excellent
223
Very good
42
Average
10
Poor
1
Terrible
2
153warren
Warriewood35 contributions
Dec 2022
We have done the Sydney New Years Eve fireworks on three other boats over the years but the James Craig 2022 NYE experience beat them all hands down. The live band, Venus, was excellent and kept us engaged and dancing from 8pm to 1am. A variety of tasty canapes was served until dinner and then we retired below deck for a sumptuous buffet dinner with a large choice of culinary delights. Good quality wine, beers and champagne flowed freely throughout the night. The positioning for the 9pm fireworks near the Opera House was fabulous for photos of boats silhouetted against the early fireworks display. After this, we joined the boat Light Parade around the harbour passing Casey Donovan as she was belting out a tune at the concert at the Opera House. Then we were positioned at a prime spot and the closest boat to the bridge for the NYE midnight fireworks. This was the nearest we've ever been to the fireworks, so near that we could feel the reverberations from the explosions of the fireworks through the boats superstructure - just an awesome, awe-inspiring experience. Refreshingly, the boat is not crammed with people, no ques for anything as there is plenty of room on the James Craig for everyone so it's definitely the best and most relaxed way to see the NYE fireworks in style. No doubt we will be back for a second dose of James Craig hospitality from the amazing, helpful and very friendly volunteer crew who looked after us all night. Definitely, a night to remember so we highly recommend the James Craig NYE cruise for those that can afford the outlay as it's not the cheapest way to see the NYE fireworks, but we think it's worth very cent.
Written 5 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
renbody
East Lansing224 contributions
Feb 2024 • Solo
The James Craig is a restored barque run by volunteers that sails roughly once a month. We had a beautiful day. We motored to the harbor entrance and set sails for a couple hours of sailing. The volunteers man the spars while the paying customers haul the lines on deck (you don't have to do it, but doing so improves the experience). Volunteers provide a lot of background and information about the boat and life aboard it. For us the wind allowed us to sail to the bridge on return. Sailing through the harbor on a sunny day was a wonderful way to see the harbor. Winds were light so it was a gentle sail. The volunteers were obviously having fun -- if I lived nearby, I would definitely volunteer. A few of us were given a chance to go out on the bowsprit when underway. I jumped at the chance and it was exhilarating.
Written 6 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mistral579
193 contributions
Aug 2023 • Solo
I had heard of this ship and wanted to visit - I didn't know it was also covered under the National Maritime Museum's entry ticket, so I was pleasantly surprised to come across it when I visited the museum. As an Asian solo female visitor, this turned out to be the best and most welcoming ship exhibit at the museum; honestly, just visit this one! I stepped onboard and was treated to a really informative one-on-one guided tour by a very friendly and knowledgeable guide, an older tall, bespectacled gentleman (maybe bearded too), I think his name was John? We had a nice chat about the Women's World Cup, as I was in town for the Final. I really admired his passion for the ship and for educating visitors about it, it made for a very engaging, energetic and memorable tour. Definitely a worthwhile experience, as this ship is also owned by the volunteers who conserve it.
Written 21 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lamby64
Grimsby, UK256 contributions
Dec 2019 • Couples
I have read with interest the other reviews about this NYE experience 2020. I agree with the comments about the ships positioning and the lack of seating for the main meal. I understand about the issues with the prevailing weather and can see that this had impacted the positioning of the ship and subsequent view of the fireworks. I was disappointed that we were not in the described position but see that safety must come first. My wife is not a beer or wine drinker and the lack of a couple of spirit options is surely something for the organisers to look at when you are paying over $1000 a ticket.
We did enjoy our experience in the main. Food was plentiful and tasty.
We met some lovely people on board and the crew and guests were very friendly.
The band were excellent and made the night very enjoyable.
This was a long time ambition for us to achieve and watching the fireworks from Sydney Harbour into the first flush of the New Year should have been a 5 star experience. When you watch this spectacle on TV it shows the magnificent firework display(no questioning that) to a musical accompaniment. This is not reality and was disappointing. This is not the fault of James Craig.
We have attended the London display a few years ago and what you see is what you get.... in our opinion a better theatrical experience. One off the Bucket List though !
We did enjoy our experience in the main. Food was plentiful and tasty.
We met some lovely people on board and the crew and guests were very friendly.
The band were excellent and made the night very enjoyable.
This was a long time ambition for us to achieve and watching the fireworks from Sydney Harbour into the first flush of the New Year should have been a 5 star experience. When you watch this spectacle on TV it shows the magnificent firework display(no questioning that) to a musical accompaniment. This is not reality and was disappointing. This is not the fault of James Craig.
We have attended the London display a few years ago and what you see is what you get.... in our opinion a better theatrical experience. One off the Bucket List though !
Written 3 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mirjam H
Fremantle, Australia5 contributions
Dec 2021 • Couples
We went on the James Craig for New Years Eve Sail. It was amazing! The crew looked after us very well. There was so much food with ditdown dinner, drinks and snacks all night.
Live music midships for dancing, and at the bow you could have nice chats with other passengers.
Being part of the parade, for the health car workers was very special.
The crew manouverd the vessel into the best posdible spots for us to see the 9pm and midnight fireworks! Magnificent.
Live music midships for dancing, and at the bow you could have nice chats with other passengers.
Being part of the parade, for the health car workers was very special.
The crew manouverd the vessel into the best posdible spots for us to see the 9pm and midnight fireworks! Magnificent.
Written 3 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jane
32 contributions
Feb 2020
The James Craig is one of the best undiscovered things to do in Sydney. The boat is run almost entirely by volunteers who are friendly and care passionately about the boat and its proud history. To be part of an expedition sailing out through the heads for a day will be a lifetime memory. The views are Simply amazing all the way from start to finish. The lunches and drinks that are provided are also exceptional. We encourage everyone to support this not for profit. The prices for a ticket are well worth it, and far superior to anything that you might pay on the commercial vessels.
Written 28 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
David W
Melbourne, Australia3 contributions
Mar 2020
Having seen this sailing vessel previously in Melbourne a few years back, I just had to do a trip aboard the James Craig. Only a day cruise, but plenty to soak up and a wonderful approachable crew to enlighten us on ship board life and always ready to answer questions. You can get as involved as much as you think you can handle.
From hauling up and trimming sails to running the log or just ringing the ships bell at the appropriate times. All in all, a great day was had by my friends and I. I would highly recommend it to all and sundry to try. A dream would be to do a passage aboard. Perhaps another time.
From hauling up and trimming sails to running the log or just ringing the ships bell at the appropriate times. All in all, a great day was had by my friends and I. I would highly recommend it to all and sundry to try. A dream would be to do a passage aboard. Perhaps another time.
Written 10 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sylvia T
1 contribution
Mar 2020 • Solo
Best day out ever. The crew were so friendly warm and very welcoming. Especially Sally who taught us so many historical skills and even a sea shanty. When the sails were furled and we moved at 6 knots it was amazing. Could hear the wind and waves but the boat was silent. It was thrilling. Can't believe how the crew climbed up and down the masts and how seemingly easy they turned the ship any way they needed to. Will be looking for a longer trip next time. Thanks all Sylvie.
Written 14 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Theresa G
16 contributions
Feb 2025 • Friends
Did the trip in Hobart, for the Wooden Boat Festival. It was a pleasant day trip..but not as good as 2 years ago. The trip was shorter than expected and food was not as good or plentiful ( 2 years ago we got breakfast , lunch and tea) . There were sweets and coffee at the start of the trip, but no savory options..and lunch was passable, but no way of knowing what the sauces where.
The crew are always friendly and helpful.
The crew are always friendly and helpful.
Written 15 February 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tom
5 contributions
Oct 2022 • Couples
Ask the volunteer crew anything, they love to tell you! We joined in when invited, looked around when the sails were set, relaxed and had a drink when coming back into the harbour. It just looks and feels great with sail!
Let's be clear, take a Travacalm the night before and another when leaving the wharf, because there was a bit of seasickness! And check the weather because you may need to deal with cool and wet, the only real shelter if you're not dressed right is below deck.
Let's be clear, take a Travacalm the night before and another when leaving the wharf, because there was a bit of seasickness! And check the weather because you may need to deal with cool and wet, the only real shelter if you're not dressed right is below deck.
Written 30 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Can I buy spirits onboard as I do not drink beer or wine ( other than moscato) ?
Written 2 December 2018
Hi Chelle6431,
We do not sell spirits on board, only beer, wine and soft drinks as well as complimentary tea and coffee.
Kind Regards, SHF Team.
Written 3 December 2018
Hi! We are booked and excited for 2018 New Years Eve! Can you give me an idea of how most people dress for the evening? Thx!
Written 20 October 2018
Hi Terisa, Thank you for contacting us! We are so looking forward to celebrating this together too! FYI pasting the below from the booking page/terms and conditions:
What to wear: Smart Casual dress code. Please wear sensible footwear and bring a windproof jacket. Stilettos and sharp-heeled shoes strictly prohibited.
Hope this helps!
Have a great day!
Regards
Vantha
Written 21 October 2018
Hi ive booked this for new years. Can you tell me if the boat moves alot, will i need sea sick tablets :)
Written 16 July 2018
Hi, We move slowly about the harbour as there are many other vessels out on the harbour during the night. However we can’t guarantee that it will not get a little rocky if it hit’s a rough patch. If you have any concerns we advise that you see your pharmacist and they will be able to best advise what to do.
Kind Regards, SHF.
Written 18 July 2018
Are you able to store your jacket / bag pack / camera equipment somewhere on the boat so I don't have to Carry it all the time during new years eve?
Written 31 December 2017
Yes there is space below decks on James Craig to store your personal belongings.
Regards (from one of the volunteer crew) :-)
Written 16 May 2020
Hi,
Do you do whale watching as part of the tour?
I will be in Sydney the last week of April....
Thanks
Written 24 February 2017
Hi Flibbix
Thanks for your enquiry. We are not specialised in whale watching tours, although, the Humpback Whale migration passing Sydney takes place between April and December so if we are lucky we may see one or two and you could have a whale of a time :)
Cheers
Written 28 February 2017
Hi,
wondering about prices for nye 2016 on the James Craig. Hope you might be able to send info or direct me to site for ticket prices and details.
thanks
Written 23 August 2016
Leisa R
Sydney, Australia
Hi Antoinette G,
Unfortunately our tickets for this NYE are already sold out - it's one of the most popular events in our calendar year! All information is on our website however and if you wish to go on our waitlist or require any further information please contact us on (info @ shf . org . au)
Many thanks
Written 24 August 2016
Hi Stargate15
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you!
We haven't released the event online yet but it will soon be advertised. Please send us (info @ shf . org . au) your email and contact details and the number of seats you would like to book, we are currently starting our expression of interest (EOI) emailing list.
Warm regards
Vantha S.
Written 18 January 2016
Hi Stargate15
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you!
We haven't released the event online yet but it will soon be advertised. Please send us (info @ shf . org . au) your email and contact details and the number of seats you would like to book, we are currently starting our expression of interest (EOI) emailing list.
Warm regards
Vantha S.
Written 20 January 2016
Showing results 1-8 of 8
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Related Stories
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing