Parking at Brisbane International cruise terminal

[Gwendy]

Can’t find any reviews so just wondering if anyone has any comments.

We are “dipping our toes” in the water again, first since 2019 for the Melbourne Cup cruise.

There are 3 parking areas at Wilson’s who run the parking.  Can’t find any contact No for them.  We are thinking of booking P1 which is closest to terminal.  All done on line, I have an on line account with them for the few times I visit the city centre and wonder if it is the same eg all automated.

Any comments welcome. Thanks in advance.

[Hogbay]

3 minutes ago, Gwendy said:

Can’t find any reviews so just wondering if anyone has any comments.

We are “dipping our toes” in the water again, first since 2019 for the Melbourne Cup cruise.

There are 3 parking areas at Wilson’s who run the parking.  Can’t find any contact No for them.  We are thinking of booking P1 which is closest to terminal.  All done on line, I have an on line account with them for the few times I visit the city centre and wonder if it is the same eg all automated.

Any comments welcome. Thanks in advance.

The undercover is just a high sloping awning that is really a solar panel collector. Any storm or hail that always comes in on a angle your car would be exposed. Not for my car .hope that helps .

[temani]

Hi Gwendy,

We are cruising from the BICT in November and have booked our car in with Andrews Airport Parking which is close to Brisbane Airport. They do shuttles to the cruise terminal as well. We always use their undercover parking and have had no problems. This will be the first time for the cruise terminal and we had to pay a bit extra because the trip is longer. They will also pick us up on return.

Their contact number is 07 3268 4222.

[Aus Traveller]

We have used the P1 section of Wilsons Parking at the BICT for two cruises already. We were very happy with it. We were able to choose our parking spot. We wanted the cover to protect from hail. I believe that it falls pretty well straight down because of the weight of the ice, whereas rain often drives in at an angle.

 

I tried to book for our next cruise only to find that for P1 and P2, the spaces available for on-line booking are booked out. Bookings open 3 months ahead of the date. Our options are to pay more at Portside (an extra $60) or go to the BICT on the day and pay the casual rate that is higher than the on-line pre-booking price.

[joejoe 59]

3 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

We have used the P1 section of Wilsons Parking at the BICT for two cruises already. We were very happy with it. We were able to choose our parking spot. We wanted the cover to protect from hail. I believe that it falls pretty well straight down because of the weight of the ice, whereas rain often drives in at an angle.

 

I tried to book for our next cruise only to find that for P1 and P2, the spaces available for on-line booking are booked out. Bookings open 3 months ahead of the date. Our options are to pay more at Portside (an extra $60) or go to the BICT on the day and pay the casual rate that is higher than the on-line pre-booking price.

We have a cruise in March & as booking doesn't open until 3 months out for BICT I put a reminder on my phone. I figure if I can't book yet nobody else can. 

We found it very convenient to park there last time.

 

[Aus Traveller]

Just now, joejoe 59 said:

We have a cruise in March & as booking doesn't open until 3 months out for BICT I put a reminder on my phone. I figure if I can't book yet nobody else can. 

We found it very convenient to park there last time.

 

I have put a note in my diary to book parking for our January cruise.

[Gwendy]

Thanks for information.  Went for a drive out there today and have booked P1 on line.  Thought about P2 but liked the shorter walk from P1 even though it was $50 extra (8 days).  I still don’t understand why this is out in the middle of nowhere. Lol

[Aus Traveller]

10 hours ago, Gwendy said:

Thanks for information.  Went for a drive out there today and have booked P1 on line.  Thought about P2 but liked the shorter walk from P1 even though it was $50 extra (8 days).  I still don’t understand why this is out in the middle of nowhere. Lol

It is obvious that the terminal was built where it is so the large cruise ships can dock there. There is a wide turning basin at the mouth of the river and the water is deep to fairly close to the shore. There would not have been much point in building it in a place that is more convenient to reach, if only the smallest ships could use it. We already have that with the Portside Cruise Terminal.😁 Large ships can't turn in the river at Portside and some can't get under the Gateway Bridge.

 

I have to ask, where else could it have been built?🙂

[MMDown Under]

48 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

It is obvious that the terminal was built where it is so the large cruise ships can dock there. There is a wide turning basin at the mouth of the river and the water is deep to fairly close to the shore. There would not have been much point in building it in a place that is more convenient to reach, if only the smallest ships could use it. We already have that with the Portside Cruise Terminal.😁 Large ships can't turn in the river at Portside and some can't get under the Gateway Bridge.

 

I have to ask, where else could it have been built?🙂

Yes it was built for the large cruise ships.  My friend said the weather has to be quite flat before the ship can come into the new port.  They cruised an extra two days.  She is concerned about the cyclone season for her next cruise. The major reason a cruise ship terminal is not recommended on the GC by the experts is because there is no protection from the rough ocean seas.

[Aus Traveller]

Just now, MMDown Under said:

Yes it was built for the large cruise ships.  My friend said the weather has to be quite flat before the ship can come into the new port.  They cruised an extra two days.  She is concerned about the cyclone season for her next cruise. The major reason a cruise ship terminal is not recommended on the GC by the experts is because there is no protection from the rough ocean seas.

I disagree with your friend's statement "the weather has to be quite flat before the ship can come into the new port". If that was the case, we would have hardly any ships (cruise or otherwise) docking in Brisbane. When the Coral Princess was delayed returning to Brisbane, the Port was closed to all shipping by extreme weather. The last time I can recall that happening was in early December three years ago. 

 

Where else could a terminal have been built? The Port of Brisbane is somewhat sheltered by Stradbroke and Moreton Islands. A port built on the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast would not have such protection and it would be much further from the main centre of population.

[MMDown Under]

40 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I disagree with your friend's statement "the weather has to be quite flat before the ship can come into the new port". If that was the case, we would have hardly any ships (cruise or otherwise) docking in Brisbane. When the Coral Princess was delayed returning to Brisbane, the Port was closed to all shipping by extreme weather. The last time I can recall that happening was in early December three years ago. 

 

Where else could a terminal have been built? The Port of Brisbane is somewhat sheltered by Stradbroke and Moreton Islands. A port built on the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast would not have such protection and it would be much further from the main centre of population.

I can't comment because I haven't been to the new port whereas my girlfriend has.   Both the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast are tourist cities and would dearly love to have a port if they were suitable.  Mooloolaba has been unreliable.  

[Aus Traveller]

Just now, MMDown Under said:

I can't comment because I haven't been to the new port whereas my girlfriend has.   Both the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast are tourist cities and would dearly love to have a port if they were suitable.  Mooloolaba has been unreliable.  

Neither the Gold Coast nor the Sunshine Coast are suitable for a major port. As we know, they front directly onto the Pacific Ocean that sometimes isn't pacific. 🙂 Any port there would be closed much more often than the Port of Brisbane is currently.

 

BTW, the position of the Portside terminal meant that only fairly small cruise ships could berth there and it was not unusual that they had to delay leaving. If there were strong afternoon winds (and this isn't a major weather event) they were not permitted to turn in the river because of the danger caused by windage.

 

I cannot see any reasonable alternative for a cruise terminal for Brisbane other than where BICT was built.