SinbadThePorter

I think I'm disappointed enough to cancel the excursion. 😢

I just booked this train for the Coral cruise next month. I balked at the $300pp vs $60 for non-cruise excursions, but I thought hey it may not be running for much longer but at least it picks you up at the port. 😡 So much for that.

None that will fit into the ship's schedule. I think you're out of luck at Airlie Beach as far as the GBR goes. I assume Coral is then heading to Cairns and Port Douglas. Those are your best bets. Once again ship excursions would be the way to go.

You could avoid the airport train surcharge by taking the GC train to Eagle Junction station and catching a taxi from there. It's about the same distance.

There's also the cost of dredging the turning basin at Portside. Due to the mud and pollution stirred up, dredging is generally seen as not very environmentally friendly these days. So I suppose that's another reason to shut the port down.

I don't know that you have to have a smartphone to sail on Princess. You only need it if you want to run the app. The app has never worked properly for me, so I don't use it on board. The Medallion doesn't really have much to do with smartphones, except maybe for ordering via the app, and there are several alternative methods of ordering.

They did for me. Although with Princess it's best never to assume consistency.

The BICT was built by the Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd (PBPL). This is a private company that operates a 99 year lease on all port facilities in Brisbane. It is part owned by Canadian, Abu Dhabi, QIC and IFM Investors. Carnival Corp made guarantees to PBPL in terms of useage of the BICT for the next 15 years. They get priority berthing rights for up to 4 times a week. This enabled PBPL to get financial backing for the BICT and to build the terminal. There could be several reasons for Portside shutting down. The residents of Portside have complained about cruise ship docking for years. PBPL doesn't want to maintain a port that would get very little use. PBPL wants to maximise usage of the BICT. We don't know why the small cruise lines have skipped Brisbane. It may be a matter of convenience, or of cost. In either case I suspect they will get over their misgivings eventually.

Only if your ship is docked on the wharf next to the terminal building. If you are on a second ship in port then you are docked away from the terminal and have to be escorted through the industrial dock to the terminal.

There are (or were) two cruise terminals in Brisbane. One at Portside near the city which catered for ships up to about 250m length and a new one at Luggage Point on the mouth of the river which can take all sizes of ships. It looks like all ships will now be required to dock at Luggage Point. This is much more out of the way than the old Portside terminal, which is probably why the small ship lines don't like it.

Yes, and tell them that it's much better than their own money. Then run.

That's strange. On all my Princess cruises around Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific on Diamond, Ruby, Majestic and Coral, the Sanctuary has always been like a ghost town. Never seen more than one or two couples in there.

I'd love to book it, but as far as I can see the only schedule they show is for ship excursions. According to that schedule I should be able to book via Princess for the 10th Dec, but Princess is not showing Taieri as an option in their Dunedin excursions.

I thought so too, but it seems to say otherwise on their website, so I'm not sure.

I can tell you what I like in those ports, which may or may not be your cup of tea. Noumea - Amedee Island. Historic lighthouse on coral cay. Great snorkeling, turtles, sea snakes, etc. Port Vila - Fung Kuei Duty Free. Blue Hole. Mystery Island - The island is uninhabited and undeveloped. Great snorkeling, beautiful beaches. Wellington - Cable car to Botanic Garden. Te Papa Museum. Lyttelton - Gondola up, Bridle Path down. Dunedin - Taieri Gorge train. Sydney - Ferry from Circular Quay to Manly or Watson's Bay. Taronga Zoo.

But it's very useful for scrubbing the decks.

They have a White Party (aka Bianco Night) on P&O Australia. Never on Princess as far as I know.

I'm always willing to give a new ship a go, which is why I'm on Pacific Encounter next month. Ships coming to Oz that I'd like to try are Celebrity Edge, Resilient Lady and Brilliance of the Seas. I don't know if I would like them, but I'd like to find out. But they only get one go, I don't come back for second opinions. There are too many ships in the sea for that. 😎

The ship designers underestimated the effect of the weight of the steel Skywalkers on the stern of the ship. It made the Grand go bow up into the waves, giving an uncomfortable ride. The Skywalkers on later ships was constructed of lighter materials like aluminium, which did not affect the trim of the ship.

There is a glass bottom boat.

Some years ago Holland America used to visit Sherrard Island up near Princess Charlotte Bay. I don't know how they did it because as far as I know it's always been part of the Marine Park. Nhulunbuy is a possibility as far as infrastructure goes. It has a deep water port and a sizable town. Which at the moment is a bit depressed since the refinery shut down. From there it is good access to eastern Arnhem Land. A few cruise ship visits would do wonders for the town. The Wessels are one of those places that you hear about, but are almost impossible to get to. They are a series of long narrow rocky islands stretching out nearly 200km from eastern Arnhem Land into the Arafura Sea. Never been there, will probably never get to go.

If this is a wish list and without regard to practicalities, I'd like Thursday Island, Weipa, Nhulunbuy and a close sail past of Hinchinbrook Island. 😁 Also some scenic cruising through the Wessel Islands.

Even if you can see land there are several dead spots along the east coast. Areas around Fraser Island, Shoalwater Bay and anywhere north of Cooktown, have no reception.

If the crew couldn't smoke, they'd probably mutiny! There were two guest smoking areas. A windswept one forward on the starboard upper deck and an area on the starboard promenade deck outside the Universe Lounge.

To put it more bluntly it was a cabal of corrupt developers who paid to have the Joh government in their back pocket.