Coral Princess Brisbane to NZ review.

[Astro Flyer]

38 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Many of the around Australia cruises visit a port in Indonesia, but it looks like this one is totally domestic. Great news - no departure or arrival cards to complete, and if customs are present it should only be a walkthrough.

 

For the majority of passengers, Brisbane is just a port day. Many will be eating breakfast as you disembark, so much less hectic in the terminal. A bit of Monday morning meh and it is in the middle of school holidays, but nothing to predict a peak travel day at the airport. It all points in your favour, as long as it remains one of the good days.

That’s encouraging information!

 

I am now much better informed about what to expect & have all of the Australians & New Zealanders to thank. 😊

 

The circumnavigation of Australia cruise is at the top of our bucket list which was canceled during the pandemic. In 2009 from Sydney to LA we only visited the Sydney area but did see many places in NZ…we’re eager to visit Australia! Fourteen months down, only 10 months to go.

 

[Astro Flyer]

7 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

Don't be deceived by the map in post #28. It looks like the cruise ship terminal is right next to the airport. You can actually see parked planes close by. Unfortunately, to get to the terminal building from the BICT, you would have to drive across the runways. The road route goes around three sides of a square, and is about 12 kms. When I took the shuttle bus organised by the cruise line, it dropped us off a five minute walk from the terminal building.  I'd allow 30 minutes from the port to airport check in.

www.google.com.au/maps/dir/Brisbane+International+Cruise+Terminal+-+BICT,+1+Cruise+Terminal+Dr,+Pinkenba+QLD+4008/Brisbane+Airport+(BNE),+Airport+Dr,+Brisbane+Airport+QLD

 

If you have lots of luggage, make sure you buy some extra luggage allowance in advance. Buying it at check in is very expensive.  Also check the size/weight restrictions, which are stricter in Australia.

Good to know…guess BNE is not like in Gibraltar where a road crosses the runway midfield & they close the road’s gates for takeoffs & landings. 🥹

 

[Ondine]

22 hours ago, arxcards said:

Many of the around Australia cruises visit a port in Indonesia, but it looks like this one is totally domestic. Great news - no departure or arrival cards to complete, and if customs are present it should only be a walkthrough.

 

This cruise goes around Willis Island so there will be immigration/custom cards to fill in.  We went around Willis on the Grand in March and the ship forgot to give out these cards with the disembarkation info and was chasing everyone on disembarkation morning to get them filled in.  I have done this itinerary before so was prepared for it.  Yes it is part of Australia but the ship will be selling alcohol and smokes duty free (not cheap).

[arxcards]

4 hours ago, Ondine said:

This cruise goes around Willis Island so there will be immigration/custom cards to fill in.  We went around Willis on the Grand in March and the ship forgot to give out these cards with the disembarkation info and was chasing everyone on disembarkation morning to get them filled in.  I have done this itinerary before so was prepared for it.  Yes it is part of Australia but the ship will be selling alcohol and smokes duty free (not cheap).

It is just a walk through to hand over cards at most, to keep people honest with their duty free allowances and declaration. Our last one around Willis Island on Majestic, we were given cards, filled them out, then shredded them we we got home. There was nobody to collect them, on what was otherwise a domestic cruise. Over the years, it has been 50/50 for us.

 

@Astro Flyer

Note that according to the Brisbane terminal page, arrival is 8am. If that is accurate, you have lost a bit of valuable time toward a possible late AM flight.

https://www.portbris.com.au/cruise/cruise-ship-schedule

[capriccio]

On 5/13/2024 at 1:24 AM, Astro Flyer said:

Maybe with my cruise being exclusively within Australia roundtrip Brisbane it won’t be necessary to go through customs & immigration.

 

We did the Round Australia (Sydney to Sydney) cruise last year.  There was no immigration when disembarking.  Just grab your luggage and file out of the terminal.  I hope you have as great a time as we all (3 couples) did!

[Astro Flyer]

7 hours ago, capriccio said:

We did the Round Australia (Sydney to Sydney) cruise last year.  There was no immigration when disembarking.  Just grab your luggage and file out of the terminal.  I hope you have as great a time as we all (3 couples) did!

Thanks for sharing your experience. 🙂

 

We’ll have a great time on this bucket list itinerary that got canceled during the pandemic in 2020.

 

[ceeceeDee]

On 5/14/2024 at 6:40 PM, arxcards said:

It is just a walk through to hand over cards at most, to keep people honest with their duty free allowances and declaration. Our last one around Willis Island on Majestic, we were given cards, filled them out, then shredded them we we got home. There was nobody to collect them, on what was otherwise a domestic cruise. Over the years, it has been 50/50 for us.

 

@Astro Flyer

Note that according to the Brisbane terminal page, arrival is 8am. If that is accurate, you have lost a bit of valuable time toward a possible late AM flight.

https://www.portbris.com.au/cruise/cruise-ship-schedule

Unless both hubby and I have REALLY bad memories, we were not required to fill out any forms when we did a P&O cruise that sailed past Willis Island in June last year. I find it a bit strange to be required to fill in forms when Willis Island is an external territory of Australia. I'm not arguing the point, I just find it intriguing.

[arxcards]

27 minutes ago, ceeceeDee said:

Unless both hubby and I have REALLY bad memories, we were not required to fill out any forms when we did a P&O cruise that sailed past Willis Island in June last year. I find it a bit strange to be required to fill in forms when Willis Island is an external territory of Australia. I'm not arguing the point, I just find it intriguing.

When they do it, it is just to get you to declare and sign that you are abiding by the duty-free limits that wouldn't normally be available unless you are leaving the country. 

 

That rule around Willis Island is an informal one, just a convenient arrangement, as it doesn't apply to cruising around Lord Howe or other similarly distanced islands. Customs just do a random thing to keep us on our toes, as the cruise lines have no intention of limiting your "duty free" purchases. If you have no arrival card in your cabin on the last evening, it can be an opportune time to check out the drink prices in the shops.

Edited May 16 by arxcards

[ceeceeDee]

2 minutes ago, arxcards said:

When they do it, it is just to get you to declare and sign that you are abiding by the duty-free limits that wouldn't normally be available unless you are leaving the country. 

 

That rule around Willis Island is an informal one, just a convenient arrangement, as it doesn't apply to cruising around Lord Howe or other similarly distanced islands. Customs just do a random thing to keep us on our toes, as the cruise lines have no intention of limiting your "duty free" purchases. If you have no arrival card in your cabin on the last evening, it can be an opportune time to check out the drink prices in the shops.

Thanks, Geoff. Seems a bit hit and miss, but I'm happy to go with the flow. We didn't bother with 'duty free' anyway. The prices weren't all that great and we don't buy duty free just for the sake of it. Totally different story when we go the Port Vila. Prices there are well worth investigating.