Airlie Beach and Port Douglas

[SunnyinDubai]

Hi All, 

 

Posted this question on the Australia Ports of Call section and got no responses - so am posting here given there is more traffic in this section - 

 

We have a cruise booked in Nov which stops at Airlie Beach and I believe its a tender port so I have a couple of questions - 

 

1. Does anyone know how choppy the waters are? One of us is prone to sea sickness and so I am wondering if he will find it a bit too much? 

2. The ship docks at 7am and we have book a tour where we need to meet at 10.20am - do you think that it is too risky? I am wondering if we should move to the next time available which is probably 12ish? 

 

 

Also, does anyone have any recommendations for GBR tours operating out of Port Douglas which work with cruise timings? I looked into one provider but they only get back to Port Douglas at 4.30pm which is cutting it too fine for us as the ship leaves at 5pm....they did offer a return helicopter option...which of course ain't cheap 🙂 

 

Thanks. 

[ceeceeDee]

Hi SiD

 

Airlie is a tender port. We didn't find the tender ride choppy at all. There are usually catamarans as well as the ship's tenders ferrying passengers to and from shore. Last year we had a catamaran to shore and a ship's tender for the return journey and were comfortable both times.

 

Not sure about your shore tour timing question, I'm assuming you didn't book through the cruise line? It hasn't happened to us, but I have heard of people being in line for a tender who waited well over an hour. The ship may well drop anchor at 7am, but that doesn't mean disembarkation starts at that time. In your situation, I'd opt for the later time for the excursion to avoid any stress, though others may have personal experience and be better able to advise you.

 

We haven't 'done' the GBR out of Port Douglas so I'm not in a position to advise. Personally, I'd be looking at booking through the cruise line. At least if there is a delay, the ship will wait.

 

The GBR is well worth seeing BTW. I lived in Cairns for over 15 years and it was just amazing.

[Ozwoody]

25 minutes ago, SunnyinDubai said:

 

Hi All, 

 

Posted this question on the Australia Ports of Call section and got no responses - so am posting here given there is more traffic in this section - 

 

We have a cruise booked in Nov which stops at Airlie Beach and I believe its a tender port so I have a couple of questions - 

 

1. Does anyone know how choppy the waters are? One of us is prone to sea sickness and so I am wondering if he will find it a bit too much? 

2. The ship docks at 7am and we have book a tour where we need to meet at 10.20am - do you think that it is too risky? I am wondering if we should move to the next time available which is probably 12ish? 

 

 

Also, does anyone have any recommendations for GBR tours operating out of Port Douglas which work with cruise timings? I looked into one provider but they only get back to Port Douglas at 4.30pm which is cutting it too fine for us as the ship leaves at 5pm....they did offer a return helicopter option...which of course ain't cheap 🙂 

 

Thanks. 

 

As for Airlie Beach, yes it is a tender port but the ship tenders are supplementary supported by two large catamarans from Airlie Beach, which speeded up the tendering process significantly.

Also when we were there it was not very choppy.

 

Never been to the GBR so can't help you there, sorry.

 

Edited September 6 by Ozwoody

[SunnyinDubai]

Thanks...I am thinking it might be a good idea to move the excursion to the later one for Airlie beach as it means we are less stressed about "making it to the shore on time" and if we do get there earlier, I am sure we can find something to do...

 

We have booked the cruise line excursion for GBR as they had an offer recently but was also looking at other options...but the only one I found for Port Douglas was more expensive (if we wanted to get back to the Port earlier than the 4.30pm time)...

[Sparky74]

2 hours ago, SunnyinDubai said:

Thanks...I am thinking it might be a good idea to move the excursion to the later one for Airlie beach as it means we are less stressed about "making it to the shore on time" and if we do get there earlier, I am sure we can find something to do...

 

We have booked the cruise line excursion for GBR as they had an offer recently but was also looking at other options...but the only one I found for Port Douglas was more expensive (if we wanted to get back to the Port earlier than the 4.30pm time)...

Which ship will you be sailing on? That can make a difference to tendering time. 

[SunnyinDubai]

3 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

Which ship will you be sailing on?

Crown Princess

[Jean C]

Hi, I recommend queuing for the tenders to Airlie Beach, but when you get to the front, stepping aside until a catamaran pulls up, it will be so much more comfortable, especially for the traveller prone to seasickness.

 

We did the tender ride to Airlie Beach, with children. I spotted the open "window" at the back of the tender and thought it would be a good place for our group to sit - fresh air. What I didn't realise was that the exhaust fumes would come in through that opening while the tender sat before it moved off, and one of our group turned decidedly green. So, if you use an actual tender, don't sit down the back inside, sit up the top or by the two side openings for fresh air. We caught the catamaran back and it was luxurious and smooth in comparison.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Port Douglas is also a tender port. I don't think any of the private GBR excursions would work given there could be delays in tendering. Best to use a Princess excursion in this case. 

[Jean C]

PS, PD used catamarans too. Just to add, we saw one couple do the hold off and step aside from the queue just inside the ship at the tender platform, so you wouldn't be the first ☺️

[buchhalm]

Question 1: it depends on the crocodile activity. If they have just caught sight of a tourist in the water, there tends to be a lot of thrashing around. That of course causes choppy waters.

Edited September 7 by buchhalm

[ceeceeDee]

4 hours ago, SunnyinDubai said:

Thanks...I am thinking it might be a good idea to move the excursion to the later one for Airlie beach as it means we are less stressed about "making it to the shore on time" and if we do get there earlier, I am sure we can find something to do...

 

We have booked the cruise line excursion for GBR as they had an offer recently but was also looking at other options...but the only one I found for Port Douglas was more expensive (if we wanted to get back to the Port earlier than the 4.30pm time)...

If you do get ashore at Airlie with time up your sleeve before your excursion, it is a nice walk around the foreshore. Also at the time we were there, we had a leisurely stroll around the markets. The big markets are held on the weekend, but I was told by a stallholder that they do a 'mini market' when there is a cruise ship in. There are also some nice cafes if you just want to sit and watch the world go by.

[MicCanberra]

if it is too choppy or windy, the port will be cancelled as we just had happened for Tangalooma.

[arxcards]

Airlie is usually pretty good for tendering, and as mentioned, even smoother on the cats.

 

On the other hand, we have found Port Douglas can get a bit bumpy of an afternoon, due to a cross swell getting stirred up by an afternoon sea breeze. Timing for Port Douglas is indeed risky. If you have Cairns on your cruise, I would suggest doing the same reef excursion while docked. If late back, it is less than an hour by road to get to Port Douglas to get back to the ship the next day.

 

If I had issues with seasickness, I would be more concerned about a choppy trip to the reef than a tender ride.

[SunnyinDubai]

12 minutes ago, arxcards said:

If I had issues with seasickness, I would be more concerned about a choppy trip to the reef than a tender ride.

Thanks - the person who gets seasickness is not doing the Port Douglas excursion...I just did not want them to not be able to enjoy the Airlie Beach excursion which is a scenic flight....

[Aus Traveller]

For a Reef trip from Port Douglas I can recommend a company called Reef Sprinter. They operate small jet boats giving a couple of advantages - no risk of getting seasick on the jet boat because it skims over the water and you don't spend a couple of hours just to get to the reef. I have gone with the company a couple of times and found them excellent. You can check out their website. Their office is in the marina where the tenders from the ship drop you off.

[Broncofan941]

Cruised AUS/NZ October 2023.

 

Airlee Beach is fun. We rented electric scooters from Whitsunday Fun located in the main shopping area. Look them up on You Tube or here: Whitsunday Fun | #1 Scooter Hire Airlie Beach, Bike & Electric Scooter. They are stable and easy to operate but slow on the hills. They also have electric bikes for rent. Make sure to look for George (the monkey statue on a bench.) We took a one-hour Tuk Tuk ride as well with Just Tukin Around Tuk Tuk Tours | Just Tuk'n Around (justtuknaround.com.au)

 

There are really friendly volunteers at the shore terminal to give you advice and directions. It's about a 15-minute walk to the main shopping area. 

 

The ships' tender wasn't too bad but because it is a tender port you have to be careful of timing. If you have Elite status you can get first off the ship.

 

We went on an enjoyable cruise ship excursion to GBR. We chose the ships' tour because we wanted to make sure we got in and back on time. There really isn't a passenger dock per se at Port Douglas, the ships' send their tenders to docks used by a local yacht club. 

 

Be advised that the waters around the GBR can be quite choppy. 

 

[Mycruiseobsession]

Hi @SunnyinDubai

 

As a general rule I book shore tours through the cruiseline on tender ports.

 

Why?

 

I get a set time and move faster onto the tenders. I hate lines.

 

If the booked excursion is late coming back, the ship will wait for me.

 

As for sea sickness on tenders one of our family members gets travel sickness - well used to get it quite badly, until we discovered the lowest dose tablet of  Phernergan the night before travelling and a trava calm Original at least 45mins before getting on a boat, tender, windy road up a hill ... etc etc

 

Cheers! 

[Jean C]

Another thing to keep in mind re the ship's tenders (not the catamarans), is that they usually fill them to the brim with passengers, so you can sit, bobbing in the water, and belching exhaust, until it's full or another one is waiting to take its place. Being in such close confines with other pax, I would highly recommend wearing a mask, especially since Covid has overstayed its welcome and shows no signs of exiting stage left any time soon 😷