Second Brisbane terminal??

[bazzaw]

8 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

I think Royal will have a ship all year round out of Brisbane once Lelepa Island is functional.

Lilepa Island??? I recall a real estate billboard sign which said "New land Coming!".  I wondered where it was going to come from. 

[Sparky74]

19 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

More likely an older ship like Adventure of the seas

Brilliance OTS was launched in 2002

Adventure OTS was launched in 2001, she’s not much older. 
DW has a preference for smaller ships but I think I could talk her into sailing on a Voyager class ship again. 

[MicCanberra]

22 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

Brilliance OTS was launched in 2002

Adventure OTS was launched in 2001, she’s not much older. 
DW has a preference for smaller ships but I think I could talk her into sailing on a Voyager class ship again. 

I didn't know it was that close, just that she was older.

[MicCanberra]

35 minutes ago, bazzaw said:

Lilepa Island??? I recall a real estate billboard sign which said "New land Coming!".  I wondered where it was going to come from. 

From the locals, reclaimed I suppose.

[arxcards]

3 hours ago, Sparky74 said:

Brilliance OTS was launched in 2002

Adventure OTS was launched in 2001, she’s not much older. 
DW has a preference for smaller ships but I think I could talk her into sailing on a Voyager class ship again. 

Similar difference between the class leaders as well, Voyager slightly older than Radiance.

 

For a year round ship, I could even see it dropping back to Vision class, at least for the initial season(s).

[Sparky74]

36 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Similar difference between the class leaders as well, Voyager slightly older than Radiance.

 

For a year round ship, I could even see it dropping back to Vision class, at least for the initial season(s).

DW & I would love to see a Vision class ship home porting, year round, in Brisbane. Our very first cruise was on the Legend OTS and we sailed on the Rhapsody OTS several times. 

[MMDown Under]

15 hours ago, arxcards said:

A bit of a one-off season to be here locally, because it was covidly impossible to do a world cruise. It would be awesome for them to find a spare ship to stay and do local cruises over the winter months.

 

Those past days were good with a Princess ship doing some local cruising in & around 35 night Hawaiian and Pacific/Indian ocean circle cruises. Plenty of 14 night Fiji itineraries during the winter were great.

 

P&O does operate two ships in Australia over the winter months, plus another in NZ. While they are struggling to fill them, they are not about to add competing brands to the market. Future port bookings show Carnival basing a full time ship in Brisbane in 2025. That was their initial plan for Spirit when BICT was originally scheduled to open in 2020.

 

For Royal I am not so sure. If Lelepa is an ongoing concern, they are being very quiet about it.

I did a cruise on Superstar Leo from Sydney to Darwin in 2003.  The ship was returning to Asia after the SARS Epidemic twenty years ago.  

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, MMDown Under said:

I did a cruise on Superstar Leo from Sydney to Darwin in 2003.  The ship was returning to Asia after the SARS Epidemic twenty years ago.  

Another cruise line that has come & gone. It is rare to have any relocations or port calls on world cruises here during our winter months.

 

So many of the seasonal ships are here because of a shared use with Alaska. Alaska is much more profitable to them, as they are burning way less fuel in a week than they do here - the $$ difference is massive. If Royal could somehow have a ship here year-round, it would put some pressure on the Carnival brands to offer something different. Till then, the Brisbane terminal will be used 6 to 7 days in summer, 1 to 2 days in winter.

[MMDown Under]

5 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Another cruise line that has come & gone. It is rare to have any relocations or port calls on world cruises here during our winter months.

 

So many of the seasonal ships are here because of a shared use with Alaska. Alaska is much more profitable to them, as they are burning way less fuel in a week than they do here - the $$ difference is massive. If Royal could somehow have a ship here year-round, it would put some pressure on the Carnival brands to offer something different. Till then, the Brisbane terminal will be used 6 to 7 days in summer, 1 to 2 days in winter.

My first cruise overseas was on two half world cruises in 1969/70.  Chandris Lines' Queen Frederica to UK and P&O Chusan return to Australia.  My next cruise from Sydney to Perth in 1971 on Lauro Lines' Angelina Lauro turned me off cruising for thirty years.  

[Ozwoody]

1 hour ago, MMDown Under said:

My first cruise overseas was on two half world cruises in 1969/70.  Chandris Lines' Queen Frederica to UK and P&O Chusan return to Australia.  My next cruise from Sydney to Perth in 1971 on Lauro Lines' Angelina Lauro turned me off cruising for thirty years.  

That was sad, is there a story that your willing to share?

[beatleman]

15 hours ago, bazzaw said:

Lilepa Island??? I recall a real estate billboard sign which said "New land Coming!".  I wondered where it was going to come from. 

Lelepa has become as dead as Julius Caesar, and will remain that way for the future; Royal are battling to fill the Quantum out of Brisbane. Oasis class out of Brissy is a pipe dream.

[arxcards]

52 minutes ago, beatleman said:

Lelepa has become as dead as Julius Caesar, and will remain that way for the future; Royal are battling to fill the Quantum out of Brisbane. Oasis class out of Brissy is a pipe dream.

Do you think Lelepa is going ahead Julius?

[MicCanberra]

I disagree, the island resort park will go ahead once funding has been agreed to.

 

I am Spartacus 

[OzKiwiJJ]

On 10/29/2023 at 1:37 PM, Sparky74 said:

We sailed on the Coral Princess out of Brisbane at the end of June last year. 

I know, I was there too!

 

Last year was a very special set of cruises. Pre-Covid the only ship that "wintered" here after Golden went was Sea Princess and she did the big runs inclund the world cruises. Since Coral was the next replacement for Sea they brought her over to do the restart cruises. We liked her so much we ended up doing 66 nights on her last year.

[Zetta83]

On the side note, which may have been mentioned. Can they fix up the road getting into BICT. Always have to snake left and right to avoid potholes. I do not think that this is the impression Brisbane wants tourist to have. 

 

As for a RCL ships, Quantum has itineraries up to 28 March 2025 and no Transpacific after. Ovation does. Is this a hint of things to come? Or does anyone know why?

[sewgood]

 

12 minutes ago, Zetta83 said:

Can they fix up the road getting into BICT. Always have to snake left and right to avoid potholes. I do not think that this is the impression Brisbane wants tourist to have. 

Being unfamiliar with the area it was just as well for the roadside signs saying BICT as I was starting to get worried as to where our taxi driver was taking us.😄

Edited October 30, 2023 by sewgood

[MMDown Under]

9 hours ago, Ozwoody said:

That was sad, is there a story that your willing to share?

Nothing exciting.  My benchmark was two superb half world cruises, followed by this cruise, which was such a disappointment. 

Solo share in Six berth inside cabin.  What was I thinking?

Nothing opened or started until the ship left Fremantle, when I disembarked. 

Great Australian Bight was so rough, passengers were being sick everywhere.  

 

[Sparky74]

1 hour ago, Zetta83 said:

… Can they fix up the road getting into BICT. Always have to snake left and right to avoid potholes. I do not think that this is the impression Brisbane wants tourist to have. ..

59 minutes ago, sewgood said:

Being unfamiliar with the area it was just as well for the roadside signs saying BICT as I was starting to get worried as to where our taxi driver was taking us.😄

As we’ve driven to the BICT I have commented to DW, "Imagine an international tourist. They fly in and have a couple of days in a nice hotel in Brisbane. Then they jump in a taxi (or Uber). They’d probably think they were about to have their throats cut in an industrial waste land. 
 

Last year we had to take an Uber to the BICT to retrieve our car following isolation in a COVID hotel. The driver hadn’t been their before and as there was no ship docked that day there wasn’t much traffic. I think we started to wonder where we were going and if we had nefarious intentions! 😱

[SinbadThePorter]

1 hour ago, Zetta83 said:

Can they fix up the road getting into BICT.

 

You should have seen it before they fixed it up. 😱

 

They actually did spend several million on fixing up and widening the road just before covid hit.

 

Anyway the BICT is where it is because it was the only suitable riverside land left, and it was the only land left because nobody else wanted it. The government can't just tell all the businesses and industries along the road to pack up and get out because cruisers would like a better view. 🤑

[MicCanberra]

It isn't great but it is not that bad especially compared to some overseas port areas which have you going between rows and rows of containers stacked 4 or 5 high. It is straight out of a crime novel/ movie.

[Ozwoody]

1 hour ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

You should have seen it before they fixed it up. 😱

 

They actually did spend several million on fixing up and widening the road just before covid hit.

 

Anyway the BICT is where it is because it was the only suitable riverside land left, and it was the only land left because nobody else wanted it. The government can't just tell all the businesses and industries along the road to pack up and get out because cruisers would like a better view. 🤑

Actually the reason its located there is because they can't turn larger ships further up the river.

Also, I believe the run to the BICT, is a dream to get to, compared to the alternative back at the grain terminal across the other side of the river.

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, Ozwoody said:

Actually the reason its located there is because they can't turn larger ships further up the river.

Also, I believe the run to the BICT, is a dream to get to, compared to the alternative back at the grain terminal across the other side of the river.

Agreed, and much safer, everyone knows how dangerous silos can be.

[arxcards]

4 hours ago, Sparky74 said:

As we’ve driven to the BICT I have commented to DW, "Imagine an international tourist. They fly in and have a couple of days in a nice hotel in Brisbane. Then they jump in a taxi (or Uber). They’d probably think they were about to have their throats cut in an industrial waste land. 
 

Last year we had to take an Uber to the BICT to retrieve our car following isolation in a COVID hotel. The driver hadn’t been their before and as there was no ship docked that day there wasn’t much traffic. I think we started to wonder where we were going and if we had nefarious intentions! 😱

And all the bitumen in the world isn't going to fix that.

[Zetta83]

3 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

It isn't great but it is not that bad especially compared to some overseas port areas which have you going between rows and rows of containers stacked 4 or 5 high. It is straight out of a crime novel/ movie.

Agreed. However, we also have to look at other ports in Australia. Being the second most cruised after Sydney, tourist would expect better. The terminal itself is great, don't get me wrong. But we are already so far from civilisation compared to OPT, MEL Wharf, Cairns wharf, Hobart, at the very least, fix up the road. Have some better signages and make it less like your driver is going to jack you and dispose your body for the bull sharks.

 

The staff onboard the ships used to come down and go to Woolies at Portside. Now it is too costly for they to do so.

[beatleman]

12 hours ago, arxcards said:

Do you think Lelepa is going ahead Julius?

Commodus also said nope😁