triplem67

Thanks Mark @Madson16 I'll follow up with Tim my Uber Driver friend this weekend. I have also reached out to the Shuttle Bus company to see if they are available to do a shuttle like they did for my Celebrity Edge shore day in Brisbane back on 5th March. I'll get back to you once I have info. 👍

@mauimary Try Red Cat Adventures for a non-ship Airlie Beach excursion to Whitehaven Beach. If you've been reading our Roll Call from Edge GBR 25Feb, you'll know that Red Cat came to the party at the last minute for our Cruise, but as far as I know they pulled it off. I think they had capacity for 38 people on their boat. The guy at Red Cat was Luke and he can be found by searching Luke Red Cat on that other social media platform that is not allowed to mentioned here at CC. 😉

Hello @Carolina Cruisr It was me that had the Brisbane Uber driver contact. I'm catching up on posts as I'm not here as often now the my cruise is over. 😢 I am Brisbane based and happy to answer questions. I'm still waiting to hear back from my Uber driver contact but know he was selling his house and moving so he's probably pre-occupied with that. I'll follow up with him in the next couple of weeks. I also have a local Shuttle Bus company contact. If you think there's more people in your cruise group that also might like to self-organise a Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary trip, this could be a good option. The company offered a return shuttle for my cruise group in early March. They offered a set price (in Aussie dollars) to be picked up from and return to Brisbane Cruise Terminal. I can help connect you with them if think this might be a good option. As you are visiting Brisbane on a WEEKDAY, please caution anyone who might be talking about booking the Mirramar Brisbane River Lone Pine Cruise for that day. It's very tricky to get from the Brisbane ICT to the Mirramar departure point in Brisbane on a weekday morning through peak hour traffic. If your ship "arrival time" is 8am, getting to Mirramar Wharf for 9am is pretty much not possible. Let me know if you have any questions.

Hi Mark @Madson16 I'm catching up on posts as I'm not here as often now the my cruise is over. 😢 I am Brisbane based and happy to answer questions. I'm still waiting to hear back from my Uber driver contact but know he was selling his house and moving so he's probably pre-occupied with that. I'll follow up with him in the next couple of weeks. I also have a local Shuttle Bus company contact. If you think there's more people in your cruise group that also might like to self-organise a Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary trip, this could be a good option. The company offered a return shuttle for my cruise group in early March. They offered a set price (in Aussie dollars) to be picked up from and return to Brisbane Cruise Terminal. I can help connect you with them if think this might be a good option. As you are visiting Brisbane on a WEEKDAY, please caution anyone who might be talking about booking the Mirramar Brisbane River Lone Pine Cruise for that day. It's very tricky to get from the Brisbane ICT to the Mirramar departure point in Brisbane on a weekday morning through peak hour traffic. If your ship "arrival time" is 8am, getting to Mirramar Wharf for 9am is pretty much not possible. Let me know if you have any questions.

Hi there @mauimary I did the Celebrity GBR itinerary in late Feb / early March at Yorkey's Knob. There was a Shuttle bus provided and I think it was free, but some people weren't happy with the service. The challenge was/is that there is a shortage of buses in the area post-COVID. So on the first day of our Yorkey's overnight stop, many people were caught short when they had lined up for the shuttle bus in mid-afternoon to return to Yorkey's... but then the buses arrived, dropped off and left without taking anyone back to Yorkey's. The problem was that the buses have long-standing bookings for the after school pick ups in the area and had to leave to meet that commitment. For some passengers who had been waiting in line for some time... this REALLY upset them... and I get it. January is wet season and this year it was a REALLY WET season. There was also false gossip spread in our cruise group about Celebrity being "too cheap" and not paying to dock at the Cruise Terminal in Cairns. If you're on Celebrity Edge, she's too big to dock so tendering at Yorkey's is the only option. I personally know the Marine Pilot we used on our cruise and chatted to him onboard about it. The person who spread the "I spoke to someone in the know who told me blah blah" was total BS 😑🤦‍♀️ So you just need to be careful in planning what you're doing on those two days in Cairns. I'm happy to answer questions and I can also ask others from my cruise how they arranged things. You can also check the Roll call for the Celebrity Edge 25th Feb GBR Cruise for lots of great info. Let me know if you need any information.

Hey there @Jaymom I can get all this info to you and share how it worked for us on the day. Send me an email at triplem67 @ gmail.com (take out the spaces) and I'll send you all the info and the contact details for the Transport I used. We started with a large-ish group and booked an 11-seat mini bus which was cheaper, but the group grew and we ended up adding another THREE private cars. The service was excellent and I would definitely recommend them. I'm happy to share our experiences from the day. 😃👍

Hello Pat @Carolina Cruisr I've only just seen your message. I'll check with Tim today and let you know. I also have a local Shuttle Bus company contact. If you think there's more people in your cruise group that also might like to self-organise a Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary trip, this could be a good option. The company offered a return shuttle for my cruise group earlier this month. They offered a set price (in Aussie dollars) to be picked up from and return to Brisbane Cruise Terminal.

@Andyroo75 Brisbane local here. No buses unfortunately. Taxi or ride share only. There’s also some private shuttles that offer tranfers.

We got the news over the weekend Leigh @possum52 Kuranda Scenic Railway is now out until 1st May at this stage. 😔 Skyrail is running and available up and back. All of the private bookings on my Edge Cruise for 29th February or 1st March are getting the official emails now. I also chatted to my private transport company today. Port Douglas road has reopened today... but now they have no water. 😑 Please let this new cyclone stay south of Cairns and Port Douglas. These poor people need a break. 🤞🤞

OMG!... Yes Leigh @possum52 you are spot on! The Hokey Pokey ice cream is divine 😍😋

Hey Laurie @cookiersmom If you love Pearls, you might also consider the world renowned Paspaley Pearls. They originate from Broome Western Australia but they have boutiques around the country. Their flagship boutique is in Sydney CBD. This website will show you their collections. Their products are very high end and they have a stunning array of designs in their collections. The USD exchange rate will work in your favour. www.paspaley.com If you scroll to the bottom of their website, there is a link for "Boutiques" which will give you the locations. See you soon 😃

@cargig21 You're welcome. I didn't know about the slippery tracks either but doing this journey in wet season, I think it's good to know about the potential for problems / delays. Let me know if you need a great contact for private transport. My contact Nicky, has been amazing to work with. We have a large group and booked out her entire fleet on the day. She has an 11 Seater mini bus, as well as vehicles that can seat 4 and up to 6 people comfortably.

Hello @cargig21 Can I make a suggestion for you to consider? This comes from a lot of personal research I've done for my own privately arranged Kuranda excursion in late February (also arriving into Yorkey's Knob by a tender). Consider switching to Skyrail up and Scenic Train back if that combination is available. I was told by a friend that on her excursion, she did train up and they had issues with the train losing traction due to wet slippery conditions. The staff were constantly having to stop and put sand on the tracks so the train could get traction. My friend had booked the 9:30am train that was due to arrive at 11:25am but the trip up took much longer than usual. Once they arrived in Kuranda, they had very little time and had to go back as they had booked the 2:00pm train back. Keep in mind that Wet Season runs from November to May. By taking Skyrail up to Kuranda first, it gives you flexibility that if the the Tender situation from your Ship has you running late, you will not miss the Skyrail. There are Gondolas leaving every 30 seconds. You may just have to wait for some free space to board a Gondola in between other bookings. When you book Skyrail, the departure windows are spaced 15 minutes apart and it's okay if you miss your booked time. March April is low season so it won't be that busy and they can easily slot you in once you arrive. This was the advice I was given directly from Skyrail staff. Then, you can book the the Scenic train back (if seats are available on your date). There is a 2pm Train departure arriving Freshwater Station 3:32pm or Cairns 3:55pm. Or a 3:30pm Train departure arriving Freshwater Station 5:02pm or Cairns 5:35pm. You will need to line all this up with your Cruise Ship Tender arrival and departure times. On my cruise we have an overnight stop in Cairns (anchored off Yorkey's Knob) and I have planned to do Kuranda on Day 1 so we're not racing to get back to ship before it departs. I have also arranges private transport for our group so we're not stressing about catching taxi's or Uber which can be hard to come by at Yorkey's Knob. * Note that it should affect you with March / April but the Scenic Railway is currently closed until 11th February while track and bridge damage is repaired after the Cyclone that hit in mid-December * I happy to answer any questions you might have.

@sandinmyshoes As a Queenslander (and Brisbane local) who is sailing on Celebrity Edge to the Great Barrier in Feb / Mar next year... here is my bit of advice for you to consider. If choosing to go with a cruise taking in the Great Barrier Reef ports, there will be a lot Tendering as these locations don't have anywhere to dock the large ships. If you are Tendering and want to experience the Great Barrier Reef or somewhere like Whitehaven Beach, seriously look at the Ship-arranged excursions in stops such as Airlie Beach and Cairns (could be listed as Yorkey's Knob if you are tendering). With ship arranged Reef excursions they will be expensive but they will pick you up directly from the ship and return you direct which will save time, and also guarantee that the ship waits if the tour is late getting back. You MIGHT be able to book Reef tours cheaper yourself, BUT the tendering process largely eliminates a lot of tour providers because you won't arrive onshore in time, or the tour gets back too late and you would miss the last Tender back to the ship. You've found the right place to ask for advice as there are so many great people here who can help. If it's at all possible and you'll only get down here once... Can you do both? The New Zealand destinations (especially the Fjords) are spectacular and Picton is another favourite of mine.

@Kozimoto1209 Oh wow! That will be amazing. I think that is still one of my favourite soundtracks (and movies) of all time.