Brisbane CBD to new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal ?

[shireboi]

Brisbane CBD to new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal

 

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/cruising-is-back-new-brisbane-terminal-finally-welcomes-passengers-20220602-p5aqlb.html

I wasn't actually aware that there was a new cruise terminal (used the previous one in 2018 pre COVID) - it was only the news on the P&O cruise to Brisbane that it mentioned the new site....now...  it's 19Kms from the CBD

 

 

No public transport - I guess that it's basically a taxi / Uber :  what $$ are we looking to get there from the CBD ??

 

(why the bloody hell dump it out there with NO TRANSPORT options ??????)    

 

Fail to PLAN of these THOUSANDS : 

 

 

Schrinner said Brisbane was expecting 150 ships to dock at the terminal in the next 12 months.

 

“Think about the thousands of people that will come off those 150 ships,” he said.

“They’ve done the maths. Each person spends about $387 on average in Brisbane when they get off the ship, so that then flows right out into the local economy, creates jobs, supports local business, and that is an exciting day today for our city.”

Edited June 2, 2022 by shireboi

[Aus Traveller]

15 minutes ago, shireboi said:

Brisbane CBD to new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal

 

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/cruising-is-back-new-brisbane-terminal-finally-welcomes-passengers-20220602-p5aqlb.html

I wasn't actually aware that there was a new cruise terminal (used the previous one in 2018 pre COVID) - it was only the news on the P&O cruise to Brisbane that it mentioned the new site....now...  it's 19Kms from the CBD

No public transport - I guess that it's basically a taxi / Uber :  what $$ are we looking to get there from the CBD ??

 

(why the bloody hell dump it out there with NO TRANSPORT options ??????)    

 

Fail to PLAN of these THOUSANDS :

Schrinner said Brisbane was expecting 150 ships to dock at the terminal in the next 12 months.

“Think about the thousands of people that will come off those 150 ships,” he said.

“They’ve done the maths. Each person spends about $387 on average in Brisbane when they get off the ship, so that then flows right out into the local economy, creates jobs, supports local business, and that is an exciting day today for our city.”

You asked why they put the new cruise terminal in a place with no transport options. Simple. Ships have to be able to get to the terminal otherwise there isn't much point in having a cruise terminal. 🙂Very few of the current cruise ships can use the Portside terminal because either they can't fit under the Gateway Bridge, or they are too long to turn in the river at Hamilton.

 

It's true that there is no regular public transport to the area of the new cruise terminal, but how many passengers actually use public transport when their ship calls into a port. With more than 90 cruises in my cruise history, I can think of only two port where we have done that (Melbourne and Adelaide). We usually take a private or ship's tour, or in some cases, take a shuttle bus into town or walk (e.g. Auckland, Cairns). If a local bus ran from the new terminal it would take much more than an hour to get to the CBD with stops along the way. It is highly unlikely the Council will extend the CityCat service to the mouth of the river. It is too far and they would have to build a new wharf. After the expenses of repairing infrastructure following the recent floods, that isn't going to happen.

 

It has been reported that today there was a free shuttle bus to Brisbane CBD. This would have taken well over half an hour. It would be great if that is offered when other ships call into Brisbane, but at the moment, we don't know if that will be the case.

[arxcards]

It is a beautiful new terminal, with the potential to berth any cruise ship in the world. I am not sure how this is news, as it was completed in 2020 and has just been waiting for the bug to pass.

 

Sydney has a cruise shuttle that runs from Central station to the equally inconveniently located White Bay terminal. Perhaps that is a possibility from Roma Street or another public transport hub?

[SinbadThePorter]

31 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

You asked why they put the new cruise terminal in a place with no transport options.

 

The new cruise terminal is where it is mainly because it is on the last bit of riverside land available, and it was available because nobody else wanted it. 🤑

 

What cheeses me off somewhat is that you aren't even allowed to walk into the terminal.

 

I agree that it seems extremely unlikely that a small boat jetty will be built there. 😒

 

That said, I'm very happy we have it. 😁

[arxcards]

Just another observation. The new cruise terminal is about the same distance from the city as the airport, and there are 1000's using it every day. Yes, there is the air train that is used by some, but that took forever.

[Aus Traveller]

10 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

The new cruise terminal is where it is mainly because it is on the last bit of riverside land available, and it was available because nobody else wanted it. 🤑

 

What cheeses me off somewhat is that you aren't even allowed to walk into the terminal.

 

I agree that it seems extremely unlikely that a small boat jetty will be built there. 😒

 

That said, I'm very happy we have it. 😁

I feel that the major reason the new terminal was put where it is was so it could be used by large cruise ships, and today, that is nearly all the cruise ships. I already mentioned the height of the Gateway Bridge but the other factor is that the terminal is near a very wide section of the river that can be used as a turning basin.

[shireboi]

SO - no estimate cost for a taxi / uber there ??

 

anyone reading this from today's first trip ??

[SuitesRbest]

23 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

The new cruise terminal is where it is mainly because it is on the last bit of riverside land available, and it was available because nobody else wanted it. 🤑

 

What cheeses me off somewhat is that you aren't even allowed to walk into the terminal.

 

I agree that it seems extremely unlikely that a small boat jetty will be built there. 😒

 

That said, I'm very happy we have it. 😁

Bloody dido to that!! This will lurer that BIG cruise ships to maybe home port in Brisbane in our cruise ship season eventually and we can't wait. No more having to fly to Sydney for these ships hopefully!!

P&O/Princess have the main go at it at the moment however, it will be good to the likes of Norwegian cruise lines sail out of Brisbane!!!

There will be shuttle bus's put on and it will not be to much of a hassle seriously, it is on the correct side of the river which does count in favour of most!!! 

[OzKiwiJJ]

11 minutes ago, shireboi said:

SO - no estimate cost for a taxi / uber there ??

 

anyone reading this from today's first trip ??

The taxi fare calculator indicated $42-$58 for a taxi from the Treasury Hotel to the cruise terminal at 10:30am on a Friday.

[Ozwoody]

Ah guys, its directly over the river from the grain terminal, which was for larger ships, and as an alternative to the cruise terminal.

And I can assure you the trip to the new terminal is a lot easier that the trip to the grain terminal.

With all the heavy transport on the Lytton road, it could be a bit hairy at times.

So we probably are better off with the new one.

Just hope the wind is in the right direction, or the sewerage farm is a bit of a worry.

Even if the government tells us it will be fine.

 

Edited June 2, 2022 by Ozwoody

[arxcards]

25 minutes ago, shireboi said:

SO - no estimate cost for a taxi / uber there ??

 

anyone reading this from today's first trip ??

Yes, we had a free shuttle into the city. No idea of cab fare

[Bizziecruzer]

Can please some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time.

One of the reasons the terminal was moved was that there was a curfew placed on the ships sailing from portside. The residents (who most of them moved there after the port was built, what happened to buyer beware?) complained about the noise from the ship. This meant that no sail away party music and no horns sounded. Only neighbour of new terminal is industrial.

[OzKiwiJJ]

26 minutes ago, Bizziecruzer said:

Can please some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time.

One of the reasons the terminal was moved was that there was a curfew placed on the ships sailing from portside. The residents (who most of them moved there after the port was built, what happened to buyer beware?) complained about the noise from the ship. This meant that no sail away party music and no horns sounded. Only neighbour of new terminal is industrial.

That would have been a very minor reason. The main reason is because the majority of ships operating in the Australian region these days are too big to fit under the Gateway Bridge and FI was only ever a temporary solution. Portside will presumably still be used for smaller ships like the luxury lines which blow through our region once a year.

[Aus Traveller]

40 minutes ago, Bizziecruzer said:

Can please some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time.

One of the reasons the terminal was moved was that there was a curfew placed on the ships sailing from portside. The residents (who most of them moved there after the port was built, what happened to buyer beware?) complained about the noise from the ship. This meant that no sail away party music and no horns sounded. Only neighbour of new terminal is industrial.

There wasn't a curfew on ships sailing from Portside. They sailed at the time they wanted to - usually 4pm - but they had to restrict noise for the sailaway. The same noise restriction applies at the White Bay terminal in Sydney.

 

Complaints from residents near Portside would not have been a major consideration. A new terminal was built because the vast majority of cruiseships cannot reach Portside and Fishermans Island was only a temporary and also a very unattractive alternative.

[arxcards]

We had some cruising friends come out to meet us at the terminal, and they loved that they had free parking on the day. Perhaps something similar will be available for the arrival of Coral Princess on Tuesday?

 

The terminal is impressive. Friends said the access road is currently horrible, well that wasn't their exact wording. As locals, they were entitled to take a shot at the state government, Brisbane Ports, and local council for not having the road upgraded. This will surely change soon once the terminal is in regular use.

 

There are major benefits to this terminal.

- There are no height or turning restrictions, so all ships can berth there.

- No river restrictions due to weather. We have been on a couple of cruises out of Portside that have been delayed due to strong winds adding a safety concern for navigation - one delay was for 4hrs which led to an evening arrival at Noumea.

- The time saved from departing from the new terminal translates into significant fuel savings to the next port. Environmentally, that also means less greenhouse gases.

 

The only think that will stunt cruise growth in the summers ahead is that there can only be 7 departures from there each week. 18 months from now, it would appear that each week will see a departure from P&O, Princess, Carnival & Royal Caribbean; and port visits from others.

 

It was great for a day visit, and we are looking forward to boarding there in August. We can fly to Brisbane as quick as we can train to Sydney, and we can get the same number of ports in QLD or the islands in 7 nights that takes a 9 or 10 night cruise out of Sydney.

[MMDown Under]

3 hours ago, arxcards said:

We had some cruising friends come out to meet us at the terminal, and they loved that they had free parking on the day. Perhaps something similar will be available for the arrival of Coral Princess on Tuesday?

 

The terminal is impressive. Friends said the access road is currently horrible, well that wasn't their exact wording. As locals, they were entitled to take a shot at the state government, Brisbane Ports, and local council for not having the road upgraded. This will surely change soon once the terminal is in regular use.

 

There are major benefits to this terminal.

- There are no height or turning restrictions, so all ships can berth there.

- No river restrictions due to weather. We have been on a couple of cruises out of Portside that have been delayed due to strong winds adding a safety concern for navigation - one delay was for 4hrs which led to an evening arrival at Noumea.

- The time saved from departing from the new terminal translates into significant fuel savings to the next port. Environmentally, that also means less greenhouse gases.

 

The only think that will stunt cruise growth in the summers ahead is that there can only be 7 departures from there each week. 18 months from now, it would appear that each week will see a departure from P&O, Princess, Carnival & Royal Caribbean; and port visits from others.

 

It was great for a day visit, and we are looking forward to boarding there in August. We can fly to Brisbane as quick as we can train to Sydney, and we can get the same number of ports in QLD or the islands in 7 nights that takes a 9 or 10 night cruise out of Sydney.

It always surprised me that more cruises didn't commence from Brisbane, which is closer to the South Pacific islands.  Many Queenslanders fly to Sydney to join a cruise or to fly overseas.  I fly on airlines which fly direct from Brisbane overseas. Bon Voyage from Brisbane in August. 

[SinbadThePorter]

13 hours ago, arxcards said:

Friends said the access road is currently horrible, well that wasn't their exact wording. As locals, they were entitled to take a shot at the state government, Brisbane Ports, and local council for not having the road upgraded.

 

There was a multi-million dollar road upgrade in 2020.

 

If you ask me where the money went I'd guess at the Cayman Islands, because you can't see it in the road. 😉

 

Although the problem is more likely to be road damage due to heavy vehicles, exacerbated by the roads being a built on a swamp.

[Aus Traveller]

43 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

There was a multi-million dollar road upgrade in 2020.

If you ask me where the money went I'd guess at the Cayman Islands, because you can't see it in the road. 😉

Although the problem is more likely to be road damage due to heavy vehicles, exacerbated by the roads being a built on a swamp.

I understand that the money was spent on the last kilometre of road before the terminal. The existing road that leads to this new section is really terrible.

[arxcards]

51 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

There was a multi-million dollar road upgrade in 2020.

 

If you ask me where the money went I'd guess at the Cayman Islands, because you can't see it in the road. 😉

 

Although the problem is more likely to be road damage due to heavy vehicles, exacerbated by the roads being a built on a swamp.

And floods plus lots of rain to soften the base. I drove the road virtually this morning, and it looked pretty good from the bottom of the airport through to the Qantas hanger, but gradually deteriorated after that. I didn't realise what a great plane spotting road it was until I did my google drive.

[Jandex]

We are flying to Brisbane the night before our cruise in August, is it better just to stay at the airport rather than CBD as this seems closer to the port? 

[MMDown Under]

24 minutes ago, Jandex said:

We are flying to Brisbane the night before our cruise in August, is it better just to stay at the airport rather than CBD as this seems closer to the port? 

Yes.  You could stay at the airport or one of the motels in Ascot. There are good restaurants on Racecourse Road. 

[Aus Traveller]

27 minutes ago, Jandex said:

We are flying to Brisbane the night before our cruise in August, is it better just to stay at the airport rather than CBD as this seems closer to the port? 

I don't know if there is accommodation at the airport. I suggest one of the motels in Racecourse Road Hamilton. There is nothing closer to the cruise terminal.

[arxcards]

There is accommodation near the airport (Novotel & Ibis), which is close to a Woolies and DFO.

 

We won't go into the city for an overnight, but stay at the complex at Portside Wharf, the previous cruise terminal - Alcyone Apartments. There are some good restaurants, takeaways, mini supermarket, theatre, etc.

 

It is a bit of a 2 bob each way regarding cab fare - cheaper near the airport, but much more expensive from the city.

[Aussieflyer]

55 minutes ago, Jandex said:

We are flying to Brisbane the night before our cruise in August, is it better just to stay at the airport rather than CBD as this seems closer to the port? 

We booked the Ibis at the airport as coming in during the afternoon. It was a toss up between it and Pullman but for one night only, it will be fine. We figure much easier than going into the city. 

[Jandex]

Hi. Thanks for all your replies - really helpful. 
I’ve actually stayed at the Ibis at Domestic Terminal and it is a pretty decent hotel. Would certainly save a taxi/Uber to any other hotel on the day we arrive in Brisbane. 
The cruise terminal is so close to the airport as the crow flies but such a round about way of getting there! I guess we can’t really expect to head across the tarmacs and runways to get there 🤔.