Industry experts, maritime authorities and the grieving family are seeking answers after 80-year-old cruise passenger Suzanne Rees was left behind and died on a shore excursion to Queensland’s remote Lizard Island on 25 October 2025.
Rees was on Coral Expeditions’ 60-day Australia circumnavigation voyage aboard Coral Adventurer when she joined a hike to the Cook’s Look summit on Lizard Island, 250km north of Cairns.
Feeling ill from the heat, she turned around alone on the trail and never returned to the ship. The 120-passenger cruise ship departed in the afternoon without her.
According to The Guardian, the ship turned around at 8:43pm after being reported missing at dinner and arrived back to Lizard Island around 3:25am on 26 October.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) was alerted at 9pm, followed by the Queensland Police later that night.
Rees was found dead on the hiking trail during a helicopter search at 9:30am.
The ship will return to Cairns where a police coronial enquiry will commence along with Amsa and WorkSafe investigations.
Rees’ daughter, Katherine Rees, told The Guardian that her family was “shocked and saddened that the Coral Adventurer left Lizard Island after an organised excursion without my mum, Suzanne”.
“From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense.”
Coral Expeditions CEO Mark Fifield said the remainder of the voyage had been cancelled and all passengers would receive a full refund and return home on chartered flights.
“We have expressed our heartfelt condolences to the Rees family and remain deeply sorry that this has occurred,” Fifield said in a statement.
“The circumstances of her tragic death are the subject of official investigations. We are fully cooperating with those investigations to determine the facts. For this reason, it would be inappropriate to comment further on the investigations while they are underway.
“We continue to provide our full support to the Rees family through this difficult time.
“The Coral team prides itself on delivering high-quality experiences to our guests,” Fifield said.
“It was increasingly apparent, given the circumstances of the last week, that we could not deliver on this promise.”
