Cairns Yesterday

[Melkaracam]

HAL Volendam in Cairns yesterday! First ship for our summer cruise season.:)

[rkmw]

HAL Volendam in Cairns yesterday! First ship for our summer cruise season.:)

 

can it dock at Cairns or does it tender at Yorkeys Knob

[GUT2407]

can it dock at Cairns or does it tender at Yorkeys Knob

 

 

Sure looks like it's docked in the 4th photo.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

She is a good size for Australia as she can dock at ports like Cairns instead of having to tender to Yorkeys. Aria and Eden will be the same and I note they have some overnights at Cairns which I am sure will be very popular. Lets hope we see more overnights. It will be great for cruise passengers and for Cairns.

 

 

[Melkaracam]

Yes she was docked at Cairns Port Terminal and we have Rhapsody of the Seas docking next weekend for two days.

 

It's a lovely sight to look from the town centre and see a ship at the end of the street.:)

 

Seems most ships 70,000 ton and under can dock ok. It's only a five minute stroll into the city centre.

 

I've been watching the P&O ships tendering up at Yorkeys Knob and cannot understand why?

 

The cruise terminal was built for a considerable amount of money and is very under utilised.

 

I have a feeling they are charging to much for their port fees?:(

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Yes she was docked at Cairns Port Terminal and we have Rhapsody of the Seas docking next weekend for two days.

 

It's a lovely sight to look from the town centre and see a ship at the end of the street.:)

 

Seems most ships 70,000 ton and under can dock ok. It's only a five minute stroll into the city centre.

 

I've been watching the P&O ships tendering up at Yorkeys Knob and cannot understand why?

 

The cruise terminal was built for a considerable amount of money and is very under utilised.

 

I have a feeling they are charging to much for their port fees?:(

 

 

I believe two things come into play at Cairns.

The channel into the port is very long and narrow and can only accomodate certain sized ships. Its needs constant dredging. Pacifc Dawn and Jewel find it difficult to navigate and one of them hit the side of the channel once.

Also the length of a ship is critical as to the amount of room they have to turn at the dock.

[MMDown Under]

 

Seems most ships 70,000 ton and under can dock ok. It's only a five minute stroll into the city centre.

 

I've been watching the P&O ships tendering up at Yorkeys Knob and cannot understand why?

 

The cruise terminal was built for a considerable amount of money and is very under utilised.

 

I have a feeling they are charging to much for their port fees?:(

 

Are the P&O ships of a size that they could dock in Cairns in lieu of tendering at Yorkeys Knob?

 

I guess if the cruise terminal was built for a considerable amount of money, it will take them a long time to recoup the cost via port fees.

[Melkaracam]

The P&O ships used to dock a couple of years ago and I always wondered why they stopped.

 

I had not heard about them hitting the channel? Maybe that's why they decided not to risk it again and stay safe at Yorkeys Knob.

[yatchet]

When Pacific Dawn was Regal Princess she ran aground at Cairns due to her propulsion design, Pacific Jewel has identical system.

 

You can read all about it here.

http://www.atsb.gov.au/media/24999/mair166_001.pdf