Pacific Sun - how many days in Cairns? help!

[das1989]

hi!

 

my friends and i are leaving for our cruise on saturday the 28th (2 days!!) and at first we thought we were spending 2 days in cairns (we are doing the cruise that goes to whitsundays, cairns etc) but then our cruise personaliser said we are in cairns for one day and then port douglas the next. has anyone been on this route before?

 

we have called p&o 3 times and 2 people said we are in cairns for one day and the other said we are there for one day. we are not sure who to believe as we have paid for 2 tours in cairns (but havent booked them). one tour is the green island eco tour and the other is the skyrail tour.

does anyone know if it is at all possible to get to the skyrail from port douglas?

 

hopefully this all makes sense. we are starting to panic a bit because we have all left it to the last minute!

 

thanks!

[Riffraff]

When we were there a month ago on our cruise, we arrived at Cairns on Tuesday morning, and left Wednesday night.

They usually run the Port Douglas tours on the second day, from Cairns, when they also put on an optional tour bus to Port Douglas for those not doing tours. Some tours, like the Skyrail, are available on both days, and some just on the 1st or 2nd day.

 

They used to go to Port Douglas on the 2nd day and tender ashore, but because that was proving unreliable, the ships stays docked at Cairns for both days.

 

Hope that makes sense and answers your question.:)

[Ela 2]

The Skyrail terminus is on the northern outskirts of Cairns, so it is a fairly long drive from Port Douglas. Much better from Cairns. If you are doing the cable car/railway combo trip, the train comes back into Cairns.

Evon.

[das1989]

thanks heaps guys!

 

we have finally solved it all out!

 

we rang P&O one more time and actually got an operator who knew what we were talkin about! apparently there are 2 different cruises that go 2 Cairns, one stays there for 2 days and the other goes to port douglas on the second day. we are booked into the one that goes to port douglas on the second day. the P&O website is a bit confusing because as the picture tells a different story to the itinerary.

 

anyway we ended up booking the Green Is tour for the 1st day in Cairns and were planning to do the skyrail on the second day, but because we were gonna be in port douglas we thought we were not going to be able to do it.

So we rang the tour operator and wanted to see if we could get there from port douglas and they told us to call P&O. so we called P&O AGAIN and a really nice lady said that we could catch the P&O shuttle bus to the skyrail terminus even though we did not book our tour through P&O.

 

so everything has finally worked out and i can not concentrate on packing (seeing as we leave in about 20 hours!!). now all i have to do is get travel insurance!

 

thanks again for the help!

[turtlemichael]

thanks heaps guys!

 

we have finally solved it all out!

 

we rang P&O one more time and actually got an operator who knew what we were talkin about! apparently there are 2 different cruises that go 2 Cairns, one stays there for 2 days and the other goes to port douglas on the second day. we are booked into the one that goes to port douglas on the second day. the P&O website is a bit confusing because as the picture tells a different story to the itinerary.

 

Confirming what you were told, the Cairns Port Authority schedule has Pacific Sun arriving at 9.00am on Tuesday March 3 and leaving at 3.00am on March 4 for the trip up to Port Douglas where it will be first thing that same morning. So you can have a night on the town and still make your tour from Port Douglas :)

[Skyrules]

thanks heaps guys!

 

we have finally solved it all out!

 

we rang P&O one more time and actually got an operator who knew what we were talkin about! apparently there are 2 different cruises that go 2 Cairns, one stays there for 2 days and the other goes to port douglas on the second day. we are booked into the one that goes to port douglas on the second day. the P&O website is a bit confusing because as the picture tells a different story to the itinerary.

 

anyway we ended up booking the Green Is tour for the 1st day in Cairns and were planning to do the skyrail on the second day, but because we were gonna be in port douglas we thought we were not going to be able to do it.

So we rang the tour operator and wanted to see if we could get there from port douglas and they told us to call P&O. so we called P&O AGAIN and a really nice lady said that we could catch the P&O shuttle bus to the skyrail terminus even though we did not book our tour through P&O.

 

so everything has finally worked out and i can not concentrate on packing (seeing as we leave in about 20 hours!!). now all i have to do is get travel insurance!

 

thanks again for the help!

 

Bizarre. This will be the first cruise to Cairns since Pacific Sun returned from Auckland in August that hasn't overnighted in Cairns. My understanding from the brochure was that none of the Week Tropique cruises went to Port Douglas.

[nwad]

Hi there do they charge for the optional tour bus to Port Douglas. If so how much does it cost Thanks

[Loreli]

Bizarre. This will be the first cruise to Cairns since Pacific Sun returned from Auckland in August that hasn't overnighted in Cairns. My understanding from the brochure was that none of the Week Tropique cruises went to Port Douglas.

 

That's not quite true. We were on the same trip last week N908 Week Tropique. Docked in Cairns from Tuesday morning 9am till 3am Wednesday. Up anchored and arrived in Port Douglas 8am Wed and left at 6pm. It was a very lumpy trip back from Port D by tender to the ship in the afternoon and glad that we were able to get on the big "Palm Cat" for a much faster and smoother return.

I understand that it is the Captain's decision if weather is bad in P/D, to stay in Cairns for the two full days and passengers sent to P/D by coach, but that did not happen with our trip.

 

A little note for some - Cairns was great and we did the SkyRail but saved about $240 total on family of 5 over the PO excursion cost as the SkyRail has family passes on their own site at much reduced prices. Booked before leaving home, arrived in Cairns and walked about 200 mtrs from the wharf into Abbott St to the front of the Sebel Hotel where the pre-arranged SkyRail bus picked us up. We enjoyed the Cairns night markets (on every night under cover), just up the same street from 5pm to late. Other people at the SkyRail had caught their tour from Port Douglas and returned back there, so that's possible too.

Another word of warning that the Tour Director failed to mention. We tendered into Airlie Beach on the Monday and grandkids were dying for a swim in the beachfront lagoon. It was closed and fenced off and work being done that doesn't look like it will be open again for some weeks/months (so don't bother to take swim gear ashore!!).

 

Could write more on the trip but struggling to get over the worst bug I've had in years and could only have been caught on board!! Have had six days in bed since we docked last Saturday. A year ago on PS we had a super holiday and everything was magical. Somehow, this time PS has lost some gloss in several ways and this virus is obviously making me feel jaded but.............. A year ago every move we made in the public areas (food areas that is) was accompanied by an attendant with the obligatory hand cleanser!! Last week, there were only three (dripping and messy) self use wall units in the Lido area that I could see and none at the restaurants. Very few people and most of the kids didn't even bother to use those ones available. Funny that the only time we had crew dispensing and insisting on hand cleansing was while people were queued up to shake the Captain's hand at the Past Passengers Cocktail party!!!!!!!!! Smart new Captain, that one! And yes, if you were wondering, I was careful, never used the public toilets, took my own anti-bacterial hand wash and used it but was unlucky. Wonder how many others were too! Could write about several other not so pleasant happenings but don't want to whinge too much and spoil others who are hoping for a great trip.

 

Personally, I'm happy to wave PS off to Perth and look forward to the Jewel. Sorry to sound like a grouch :(:(

Loreli.

[croydonCruiser]

That's not quite true. We were on the same trip last week N908 Week Tropique. Docked in Cairns from Tuesday morning 9am till 3am Wednesday. Up anchored and arrived in Port Douglas 8am Wed and left at 6pm. It was a very lumpy trip back from Port D by tender to the ship in the afternoon and glad that we were able to get on the big "Palm Cat" for a much faster and smoother return.

I understand that it is the Captain's decision if weather is bad in P/D, to stay in Cairns for the two full days and passengers sent to P/D by coach, but that did not happen with our trip.

 

A little note for some - Cairns was great and we did the SkyRail but saved about $240 total on family of 5 over the PO excursion cost as the SkyRail has family passes on their own site at much reduced prices. Booked before leaving home, arrived in Cairns and walked about 200 mtrs from the wharf into Abbott St to the front of the Sebel Hotel where the pre-arranged SkyRail bus picked us up. We enjoyed the Cairns night markets (on every night under cover), just up the same street from 5pm to late. Other people at the SkyRail had caught their tour from Port Douglas and returned back there, so that's possible too.

Another word of warning that the Tour Director failed to mention. We tendered into Airlie Beach on the Monday and grandkids were dying for a swim in the beachfront lagoon. It was closed and fenced off and work being done that doesn't look like it will be open again for some weeks/months (so don't bother to take swim gear ashore!!).

 

Could write more on the trip but struggling to get over the worst bug I've had in years and could only have been caught on board!! Have had six days in bed since we docked last Saturday. A year ago on PS we had a super holiday and everything was magical. Somehow, this time PS has lost some gloss in several ways and this virus is obviously making me feel jaded but.............. A year ago every move we made in the public areas (food areas that is) was accompanied by an attendant with the obligatory hand cleanser!! Last week, there were only three (dripping and messy) self use wall units in the Lido area that I could see and none at the restaurants. Very few people and most of the kids didn't even bother to use those ones available. Funny that the only time we had crew dispensing and insisting on hand cleansing was while people were queued up to shake the Captain's hand at the Past Passengers Cocktail party!!!!!!!!! Smart new Captain, that one! And yes, if you were wondering, I was careful, never used the public toilets, took my own anti-bacterial hand wash and used it but was unlucky. Wonder how many others were too! Could write about several other not so pleasant happenings but don't want to whinge too much and spoil others who are hoping for a great trip.

 

Personally, I'm happy to wave PS off to Perth and look forward to the Jewel. Sorry to sound like a grouch :(:(

Loreli.

 

Loreli, what bad luck! It must have been a really nasty bug to put you in bed for six days.:(

No wonder you're feeling a bit grumpy about the whole thing. At least it hasn't put you off cruising altogether, if you're looking forward to the Jewel :)

I hope you're feeling a lot better now.