Brisbane Cruise Terminal to City - stopover help required

[sweetp12]

We have a day at Brisbane on the 2nd of January as part of our cruise.  We were hoping to visit elderly relatives that don't drive but could meet us in the city ok. 

 

I have read a bit about no public transport but most of the reports are focused on embarkation / disembarkation rather than as a port of call.

 

Princess doesn't seem to have many excursions for here, certainly no transport to the city or anything similar.

 

Is anyone able to shed some light on what options might be available for us? 

[Jangerie]

Sadly the new terminal has been built in a difficult area for public transport, but useable for large ships. Can only suggest you go on Translink journey planner site and look at options. There may be a shuttle available on the day??? Taxis will be there but make sure they use their metres.  

[Aus Traveller]

I suggest if there isn't a shuttle bus available on the day, that you catch a taxi to the CBD.

[gbenjo]

11 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

I suggest if there isn't a shuttle bus available on the day, that you catch a taxi to the CBD.

Is there a port levy charged by the taxi??????????              Only joking 😂😂😂😂
.

[MMDown Under]

You might like to consider catching a taxi to Bretts Wharf ferry terminal at Hamilton, then catch the city cat ferry into the City for a scenic trip on the Brisbane River.  TransLink.com.au for timetables and cost of fares. 

[Bubbeh]

The last time we stopped in Brisbane we were on an Royal Caribbean ship and there was a shuttle bus to the city provided.  If you're lucky..... 

[sayaguru]

I just got off Coral. I got an Uber ($32) to Eagle Junction station. Taxi is $42. You can get the train from there to the city. 

Don't go to the airport (roughly same price in taxi) but you pay $30 if you go to or from the airport on the train.  The ship had shuttles but $40pp. 

It is the most ridiculous setup. Lots of people on the ship said they'd rather cruise out of Sydney. 

I'm on the Gold Coast and that will be my preference from now on. 

[joejoe 59]

On 11/22/2022 at 8:33 PM, sayaguru said:

I just got off Coral. I got an Uber ($32) to Eagle Junction station. Taxi is $42. You can get the train from there to the city. 

Don't go to the airport (roughly same price in taxi) but you pay $30 if you go to or from the airport on the train.  The ship had shuttles but $40pp. 

It is the most ridiculous setup. Lots of people on the ship said they'd rather cruise out of Sydney. 

I'm on the Gold Coast and that will be my preference from now on. 

I can't believe people would rather pay for a return flight, maybe hotels as well, sit in an airport & fly to Sydney, then pay to get to opt rather then going out of Brisbane. Some people must have too much time & money on their hands. 

We have a 3hr drive to the Port but it beats the above.

[Snaerff]

On 11/22/2022 at 9:33 PM, sayaguru said:

I just got off Coral. I got an Uber ($32) to Eagle Junction station. Taxi is $42. You can get the train from there to the city. 

Don't go to the airport (roughly same price in taxi) but you pay $30 if you go to or from the airport on the train.  The ship had shuttles but $40pp. 

It is the most ridiculous setup. Lots of people on the ship said they'd rather cruise out of Sydney. 

I'm on the Gold Coast and that will be my preference from now on. 

I’m with you on the Sydney thing. First time cruising out of Brisbane and it’s an absolute nightmare getting to and from Roma St station … better ships use Sydney (IMHO) and the small additional cost more than offsets the transfer dramas. Probably won’t book a Brisbane cruise again until they get public transport sorted. 

[Aus Traveller]

11 minutes ago, Snaerff said:

I’m with you on the Sydney thing. First time cruising out of Brisbane and it’s an absolute nightmare getting to and from Roma St station … better ships use Sydney (IMHO) and the small additional cost more than offsets the transfer dramas. Probably won’t book a Brisbane cruise again until they get public transport sorted. 

I don't think many people go by public transport to the cruise terminal at the start of a cruise. We have always gone by taxi/shuttle bus/car.

[aussielozzie18]

24 minutes ago, joejoe 59 said:

I can't believe people would rather pay for a return flight, maybe hotels as well, sit in an airport & fly to Sydney, then pay to get to opt rather then going out of Brisbane. Some people must have too much time & money on their hands. 

We have a 3hr drive to the Port but it beats the above.

It may be my first & last time doing this - we live relatively close to the OPT Sydney - we are flying up to Brisbane to board a ship,  swayed by cheap fares & less days on board in times of Covid and less time needed off work.  
 

Sorry OP, can’t help with Brisbane stop.  Our cruise line had a paid coach shuttle to Brisbane but that was precovid….

[MMDown Under]

20 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I don't think many people go by public transport to the cruise terminal at the start of a cruise. We have always gone by taxi/shuttle bus/car.

I travel by public transport in Sydney.  Because of the isolation of the new Brisbane Port, the Government should provide suitable transport for passengers or insist cruise lines povide paid transfers from the city..  

[Snaerff]

24 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I don't think many people go by public transport to the cruise terminal at the start of a cruise. We have always gone by taxi/shuttle bus/car.

Not sure. This is my third cruise, the first two being out of Sydney, and for each of them the number of people arriving at the terminal by train to Circular Quay was incredible. It’s certainly much easier IMHO but we will see in 10 days when I hop aboard the Luminosa. 😁

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, Snaerff said:

I’m with you on the Sydney thing. First time cruising out of Brisbane and it’s an absolute nightmare getting to and from Roma St station … better ships use Sydney (IMHO) and the small additional cost more than offsets the transfer dramas. Probably won’t book a Brisbane cruise again until they get public transport sorted. 

In time, private operators will get their act together to provide a more seamless way of connecting the city to the port. Unlikely that public transport links will ever be developed.

 

OPT is one of those rare exceptions where the wharf is right next to a public transport hub. As a comparison though, Sydney's other terminal at White Bay has now been in operation for nearly 10 years, and no public transport links have evolved. Coming from Central station, the airport or the city all require a similar connection via shuttle or cab. 

 

We can travel nearly door to door to OPT via 3 trains from Newcastle, and yes, it is really convenient except for the 3hrs of travel each way. It depends where we want to cruise though, as Nth Queensland and Pacific Island cruises can both be done ex-Brisbane for just 1 weeks holiday which isn't possible from Sydney. For those times, we are more than happy to fly to Brisbane and take a cab to the terminal.

[arxcards]

On 11/20/2022 at 6:43 PM, sweetp12 said:

We have a day at Brisbane on the 2nd of January as part of our cruise.  We were hoping to visit elderly relatives that don't drive but could meet us in the city ok. 

 

I have read a bit about no public transport but most of the reports are focused on embarkation / disembarkation rather than as a port of call.

 

Princess doesn't seem to have many excursions for here, certainly no transport to the city or anything similar.

 

Is anyone able to shed some light on what options might be available for us? 

On Majestic Princess last month, we could have taken a ship ticketed shuttle to Anne St in the city. The return price was $30+pp, and we didn't use the service, so unable to confirm any more than that.

[sayaguru]

20 hours ago, joejoe 59 said:

I can't believe people would rather pay for a return flight, maybe hotels as well, sit in an airport & fly to Sydney, then pay to get to opt rather then going out of Brisbane. Some people must have too much time & money on their hands. 

We have a 3hr drive to the Port but it beats the above.

Think outside the box.

Lots of people have family in Sydney. I would visit my kids before or after the flight.  Kills 2 birds with one stone. 

[sayaguru]

20 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

I don't think many people go by public transport to the cruise terminal at the start of a cruise. We have always gone by taxi/shuttle bus/car.

Actually there were loads of people getting taxis to train station. From the Gold Coast and outer Brisbane. If you don't have a car or transfers you have no option but to get a taxi/Uber but it's a bit cheaper if you train it first. Even the closest train station is $40 in a taxi. 

[MMDown Under]

3 minutes ago, sayaguru said:

Actually there were loads of people getting taxis to train station. From the Gold Coast and outer Brisbane. If you don't have a car or transfers you have no option but to get a taxi/Uber but it's a bit cheaper if you train it first. Even the closest train station is $40 in a taxi. 

If you have time, a ferry from CBD to Bretts Wharf Hamilton would be a nice scenic tourist trip along the Brisbane river.  ,Then taxi from Bretts Wharf to Brisbane Wharf. It is a short walk from Bretts Wharf to Portside (the old wharf), which has restaurants, supermarket, movie theatre, etc. if you have time to fill. 

[Wastegirl]

Had a day in Brisbane recently on our Grand Princess cruise. Having been to Brissie before on cruises expected a shuttle bus to be available. Did not find out til the night before that the shuttle was now called a ‘Brisbane on your own’ tour and cost $39.95 each. Made a last minute booking and nabbed a couple of only a few seats left. The buses were limited and a lot of passengers got caught out and either had to stay on the ship or pay for very expensive taxi rides. We were crammed on the buses, dropped off at 8.00, 8.30 and 9.am respectively and had to be back for our corresponding return all around the 12.30, 1.30 mark. I don’t know how it works on other cruise lines but it had certainly changed from the regular shuttle service going back and forth whenever you wanted that we had previously. Also a lovely elderly single lady, on her own next to me, was very confused as she thought she had booked an actual tour and was quite lost. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

12 minutes ago, Wastegirl said:

Had a day in Brisbane recently on our Grand Princess cruise. Having been to Brissie before on cruises expected a shuttle bus to be available. Did not find out til the night before that the shuttle was now called a ‘Brisbane on your own’ tour and cost $39.95 each. Made a last minute booking and nabbed a couple of only a few seats left. The buses were limited and a lot of passengers got caught out and either had to stay on the ship or pay for very expensive taxi rides. We were crammed on the buses, dropped off at 8.00, 8.30 and 9.am respectively and had to be back for our corresponding return all around the 12.30, 1.30 mark. I don’t know how it works on other cruise lines but it had certainly changed from the regular shuttle service going back and forth whenever you wanted that we had previously. Also a lovely elderly single lady, on her own next to me, was very confused as she thought she had booked an actual tour and was quite lost. 

I noticed that "excursion" on one of our recent cruises. No way would that suit us. If we're going ashore in somewhere like Brisbane we want time to have a leisurely lunch before coming back to the ship. We just stayed onboard.