triplem67

@cruisinsusin Thanks so much for that information. I was looking at yesterday's activities for your cruise on the App but I couldn't find any details listed on the Shuttle. Your help is appreciated. Have a great day.

Greetings to any passengers currently on Solstice who departed 19 Oct 2023 on the 15-Night Sydney to Singapore Cruise. I hope you're having a great cruise. Many of us that are on Edge's Great Barrier Reef Cruise leaving 25 Feb 2024 would love to get current information for planning purposes on Celebrity operations in the Queensland ports for this summer's Cruising season. My question today is about your Brisbane stop yesterday. Did Celebrity provided a Shuttle Bus into Brisbane city from the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal? I hope they did because as a local, I know the terminal is a long way from anywhere. We'd all love to know things like: How much did the Shuttle cost? How often did the Shuttle run? Where was the city drop off and pick up point? What time was the last Shuttle back to the Cruise Terminal? Thank you to anyone who can give us some insight and enjoy your day.

Hi Jon @exiledowl I think that's a great way to look at it. If you are docked at Fisherman Island, they will have to put a shuttle on. It's my pleasure to help and don't hesitate to contact me if you have any specific questions. I'm happy for you to email me direct. triplem67 @ gmail dot com

Thanks for that info Leigh @possum52 Nicole @nchr John & Ingrid @exiledowl Many people are posting information that I am sure is being shared in good faith, but I don't believe is accurate. Your ship will not dock at the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal (BICT) as Quantum of the Seas is scheduled as docked that day and now uses Brisbane as her base for the summer Cruising season. She will take up the whole dock and there will not be any other ship docked at the BICT on the same day as her. Also as has been said many times, you will not dock at Portside Wharf at Hamilton which is no longer operating as a Cruise Terminal despite many websites still stating Cruise Ships dock there. I believe that @possum52 is correct and your ship will be docked on the other side of the Brisbane River at the Port of Brisbane Shipping terminal. This is the only other option for docking in Brisbane. The Fisherman Island wharf is part of Brisbane's cargo shipping port and access in and out of the port will be tightly controlled. I don't think passengers would have any access to taxis, but I personally have never docked on a Cruise ship out of Fisherman Island. I would think that your cruise line will have to provide a shuttle into a central location in Brisbane for anyone not doing ship-arranged excursions. I recommend you go to your Cruise line and have them verify where you will be docked in Brisbane and if they confirm it is Fisherman Island, then ask what transport arrangements will be made. Any excursions that you want to plan for your Brisbane port day starts with that information. I hope this helps and you have an amazing cruise.

Hi Nicole @nchr I just looked on the Port of Brisbane Shipping schedule and can't find any information on where your ship is docked. It's not currently listed for the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal, with only Quantum of the Seas listed for Friday 8th March. Does your Cruise line itinerary tell you where in Brisbane your ship will dock? Maybe you're docking across the other side of the river at Port of Brisbane Fisherman's Island. This is the Shipping Port where large Cruise ships docked before the new Cruise terminal was built. The old Portside Hamilton Cruise terminal could only take small cruise ships but it is now fully closed down. If you can confirm where you are docking first, then we can help with advice getting you to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.

Hi there @fstuff1 I will check in with Tim. Sorry - I have a pet sitting business and school holidays have just started so haven't been online for the past two days. I'll message Tim today to check. I am confident in saying that he won't accept USD. My understanding of what he's doing for the Celebrity Edge Group he's taking to Lone Pine is simply that they have booked him. He will meet them at the Cruise terminal. I assume they will have a trip booked in the Uber app. I rarely use Uber so I'm not sure how this works. I will check and get back to you.

@fstuff1 Ooooh! You're on Solstice!🙂 I'm going to have some questions for you about the North Queensland stops on your itinerary. They are the same as Celebrity Edge next year. I'm really sorry but my honest opinion is even on a Saturday, I'm not sure it's doable if your "arrival" time is 8am. I'll explain why below. The things working against you is check-in and boarding for Miramar is 8:45am for 9am departure. The walk off the Ship along the gangway to the front of the cruise terminal, is approximately a 300 metre walk. Then you have to grab a taxi or rideshare. Once you're in the car, on a Saturday morning the travel time estimate is 28 to 35 minutes from the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal to the Southbank location of Miramar's Wharf. And then you also have to factor a short-ish walk down to the departure wharf from your drop off point. That's an awful lot to do in less than an hour. 😐 My recommendation for the easiest way to do Lone Pine yourself, is book a driver and have them waiting to pick you up and take you direct to Lone Pine then pick you up when you want to go back to the ship. That's what one group is doing on my Celebrity Edge cruise. I have a family friend who is an Uber Driver and he is booked to do exactly this. Another group from my Cruise has booked a shuttle bus service that I found. The company is a local private transport provider in my area and I put their details up in my Roll Call. So far one mini bus of 11 passengers is fully booked and they are selling a second one. I can put in contact with either of those options if you'd like. Once you have transport arranged, then you just have to buy your entry ticket online. As for $25 for a Koala photo... Sure if you like. I do the Animal Encounters at Australia Zoo and what I like about those experiences is you get to go behind the scenes and learn more about the animal's care. Also, funds raised go towards conservation work. So I think it's good to do those kinds of encounters. I hope that information helps. I feel really bad because the Miramar Cruise is a fabulous way to go to Lone Pine and back. It's just these bloody Cruise ship timings don't make it easy for people to organise their own plans.

Hi there @fstuff1 I am a Brisbane local and want to caution you about some issues you need to consider before booking Miramar... ONLY from the point of view that it can be challenging to get from the Brisbane Cruise Terminal to the Miramar departure point. You need to look at what day you're in Brisbane - weekday or weekend, and what time you can depart from your ship at the Brisbane Cruise Terminal. I am doing a Celebrity Edge itinerary in late Feb/early March. We have a Brisbane port day on Tue 5th March. Our "arrival time" is listed as 8am which will not give people enough time in Peak Hour Traffic to get from the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal across the city to the South side of the river to meet up with Miramar for the 9am departure. The boat won't wait if you're late. If your Cruise is "arriving" in Brisbane earlier and you can depart the ship earlier on a weekday, then it might be doable to get to the Miramar wharf in time. There would be some taxis and possibly ride shares to grab at the terminal. But keep in mind that a taxi or rideshare can't drop directly at the departure wharf. They would drop you nearby and then you need to walk down to the river walkway to get to the departure wharf. I have connected some people on my Celebrity Edge cruise with a rideshare driver (who I know personally) and he is pre-booked to pick them up and then bring them back from Lone Pine. I have also found a few private vehicle transfer companies that can do private transport or shuttle bus. I have contact details for them if you need them. Another tip is that I have seen people quoting travel times using the wrong Cruise terminal. Brisbane used to have a Cruise terminal at Portside Hamilton which is now closed. Some international sites still quote Portside as the Cruise terminal. All Cruise ships now dock at the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal which is right out at the mouth of the Brisbane River and is a long way from the city. There is no public transport to or from the terminal. I think all Cruise lines put on a paid shuttle service but they would only go to a central location in the Brisbane CBD (usually somewhere like ANZAC Square). Having said all that.... If you can make the Miramar Cruise to Lone Pine work for your Cruise Ship timings... it's a wonderful trip and a great way to see Brisbane from the River.

@GoTravelLife This would be a good post to follow information on GBR trips.

Add Celebrity Edge to this list for tendering at Yorkeys. I'm booked on Edge for 25Feb2024 Great Barrier Reef Cruise and it lists us as tendering at Yorkeys not docking in Cairns. Great list Julie. Thank you for putting it together as it's very helpful.