Kuranda Railway and Gondola excursion return time to ship

we are on the Legend of the Seas departing 10th January sailing ex Brisbane and are interested in a day tour that combines Kuranda Scenic Railway and Gondola from Cairns. The ship excursion for 3 of us would be over $800! I have found one on cruiseexcursions.com which is around $300 cheaper. We are in Cairns for 2 days. on the 2nd day the tour departs Cairns railway station at 0830 so no problem getting off the ship I think as we are in port already. The tour is listed as returning to ship at 3.40pm. The departure time of ship is 5.00pm. Is this too late do you think, not sure what final time you must be back at ship if it departs at 5.00pm. This is not an official RCCL excursion so I know ship won't wait for us if tour delayed. We cannot go on the tour on the day we arrive as it leaves at 0830 but it is listed that we don't dock until 0900 so too late.

The boarding time is generally one hour before the ship sails. So if the ship sails at 5pm, you will have to be on board by 4pm.

You could also book this tour directly with Kuranda Skyrail or Kuranda Scenic Railway. The quoted fare for the train and Skyrail combo with transfers to/from Cairns is $123 pp--much less than what the tour company has quoted. The Skyrail gondolas depart every few minutes from Kuranda, so you could choose whatever time you want to leave in order to be back to the ship at a certain time. (I suggest you allow at least 90 minutes for the Skyrail to give you time to get off at the various stations and walk on the boardwalks amongst the rainforest.)

While these tours can be booked online on the Skyrail and KSR websites, it would probably be better to give them a call and book this over the phone. That way you can explain that you are on a cruise and they can find the best times for your return to Cairns.

I'll second the DIY direct with KSR...

they are actually quite responsive to email IME so rather than start out with a phone call try an email first..

The money you save can always be used on upgrading to the gold class carriage on the train..

thank you for these answers, not something I had thought of so will look into that! That is why I like these boards, sometimes takes another pair of eyes to look at things from a different perspective!

Hi Arnie65,

Third to recommend booking with KSR direct - they will do KSR + Skyrail + bus transfer from Skyrail to Cairns Central (or even the cruise terminal if enough cruise passengers are waiting and the bus driver doesn't mind) :)

On my last cruise (Rhapsody of the Seas overnighting in Cairns) I did just this due to the outrageous price difference. I even upgraded to gold class on the train up to Kuranda and still saved money compared to the ship excursion prices. This was booked directly with them via email long before the cruise with Kuranda Scenic Railway with payment made on the day at the KSR office that opens onto the platform in Cairns.

The Gold Class carriages are on the second train which departs from Cairns at the later time of 9:30 am. If I recall correctly I was off the ship just after 8:30 and got to the Cairns station a few minutes after 9 am, walking (KSR requests you arrive at the station 30 minutes before the train departure). The volume of Gold Class passengers on this particular day meant everybody (at least in the carriage I was on) was guaranteed a window seat in its own row (3 seats to 1 person) - pretty neat for photographing the views!

As far as the Skyrail is concerned we were asked to nominate one of four departure times from Kuranda (roughly in 45 minute-1 hour intervals) that best match up with bus transfer times, however there was no problem boarding the Skyrail earlier or later than this time if prepared to wait at the end for the bus transfer.

EDIT: One other thing ... the ship excursion departs from Freshwater station rather than Cairns. So by booking direct, not only do you save some dollars, you also get a slightly longer train ride (approximately an extra 20 minutes) :).

Excellent information supplied above.

There is also a shopping centre very close to central station in case you need some essentials.

This is a good example of diy that could be applied to any port of call. Check out the ship tours then see if you can match it up with the local operator.

Hi Arnie65,

 

booking with KSR direct - they will do KSR + Skyrail + bus transfer from Skyrail to Cairns Central (or even the cruise terminal if enough cruise passengers are waiting and the bus driver doesn't mind) :)

 

I upgraded to gold class on the train up to Kuranda. This was booked directly with them via email long before the cruise with Kuranda Scenic Railway with payment made on the day at the KSR office.

 

The Gold Class carriages departs from Cairns at 9:30 am. If I recall correctly I was off the ship just after 8:30 and got to the Cairns station a few minutes after 9 am, walking (KSR requests you arrive at the station 30 minutes before the train departure).

 

EDIT: . the ship excursion departs from Freshwater station rather than Cairns. So by booking direct, not only do you save some dollars, you also get a slightly longer train ride (approximately an extra 20 minutes) :).

I have been in contact with KSR office and have a trip booked, but the times don't work for me, but they don't work for Ships Tour either?? I want to get to Cairns station and take 9:30am so we can be on Gold car. We want to return in a Diamond view Skyrail car. LOS docking time is 9:30am. But even if ship tour leaves out of Freshwater, the time of departure is 9:55 am. How do you get a ship tour off the boat, on a bus, with a 15-20 min drive, get tour off bus, and be able to get on a train that leaves 25 minutes after posted docking time??? :eek: Return trip via skyway not a problem. Could the ship tour be taking Skyway up and train return? It is not specified on RC tour site. Any help would be appreciated. Thank-you

Lots of very good information and suggestions on this thread. I just wanted to share that this rail trip, the sky ride, etc., can be well worth it, interesting and fun. Need proof? Below is some photo "evidence" from our early 2014 experiences there. Hope everyone can work out their timing and logistics!! More pictures and details for in and around Cairns on live/blog connected below. Happy to answer any added questions via that posting location.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 155,858 views for this posting.

For this day in the Cairns area, we got, surprise, some rain while visiting the nearby rainforest areas. It was the sky ride to get up there, with several stop offs to explore these heavily forested areas. The Kuranda rail trip took us back a different routing, plus lots of interesting scenery, dramatic waterfalls, major engineering work, many train tunnels, big bridges, etc. The rail line dates back to 1891. For our group of six, we did the upgrade to the "gold" rail seating with plenty of wine, nice food/snacks, etc., in a wonderful, old-style rail car with great service and attention by the staff The great company and nice sights (plus the flowing wine), made it very much fun on a day with on and off patches of rain.:

Here are a couple of pictures giving more of a sample of our rainforest/rail experience. First, Susan and John riding on the luxury rail car. John is a former college roommate and is filling out a post card that the train provided that they will be mailing back free to the USA. Yes, those are empty wine glasses. Had about three large classes each. Made the trip very, very good and flowing with that "help"!! Plus good wine from the great vine areas near Adelaide. This picture also gives a good sampling for the interior on one of these Second is another sample showing the rail cars making a turn with a big waterfall on the right side. Fun sights!!:

Kuranda was a fun, charming town!! Here is a visual sample for its "style and flavor". Yes, it had lots of both, plus more "character" given its hippie past. It offers a variety of interests for travelers doing the Skyrail and/or rail trip from the nearby base of Cairns. Lots of varied shopping "opportunities", plus lots of food potentials. In the main street of this town, there are large, large banyan trees. This shows one of those massive works of nature in front of a cute drug and photo shop. We also enjoyed talking with a woodworker in his shop next to where we had a great lunch. Good talking with him, seeing his many different wood pieces. Great items he offered and learning what woods can be cut down or now due to their environmental practices there. There was a shop that had various leather items made from Aussie Crocodiles. There were two of these stuffed, full-sized crocs in this shop. Don't see these in Ohio or the USA too much!!:

I have been in contact with KSR office and have a trip booked, but the times don't work for me, but they don't work for Ships Tour either?? I want to get to Cairns station and take 9:30am so we can be on Gold car. We want to return in a Diamond view Skyrail car. LOS docking time is 9:30am. But even if ship tour leaves out of Freshwater, the time of departure is 9:55 am. How do you get a ship tour off the boat, on a bus, with a 15-20 min drive, get tour off bus, and be able to get on a train that leaves 25 minutes after posted docking time??? :eek: Return trip via skyway not a problem. Could the ship tour be taking Skyway up and train return? It is not specified on RC tour site. Any help would be appreciated. Thank-you

Yes, that's entirely possible. The train departs Kuranda at 2:00 pm and 3:30 pm for arrival in Freshwater Station at 3:32 pm and 5:02 pm, respectively.