Underused destinations, Norfolk island. Etc

[diy dave]

I find the current "bus route" itineraries quite boring in the pacific, why arent Norfolk island, lord Howe island, even Townsville used more. Is Norfolk island too rough to anchor too often? Is lord Howe island a no go because it's on the world heritage list, or lack of transport, is Townsville too grubby. I know ships do go there, but why not more. We need a change of bus route.

[bazzaw]

Only one is every 2 ships that attempt to go to Norfolk Island are able to land passengers (possibly even less than this) . It is a circular island in the middle of a very big Sea :)

 

Lord Howe island has a VERY difficult to navigate channel into it's lagoon - totally unsuitable for ferrying thousands of landlubbers through in small open boats. Even if it were possible, there is very limited infrastructure on the island for such numbers. ( and I think that, by law, the island is limited to no more than 400 tourists at any one time at the resorts there.)

 

Townsville?? - I don't know.

 

Barry

[kuldalai]

Lord Howe Island would be an excellent tender port . BUT it is a World Heritage sight and LAW limits the permanent population to 400 maximum and max 400 tourists on the Island at any one time. So that rules out even little ships like OCEAN PRINCESS .

[karmac]

Lord Howe Island would be an excellent tender port . BUT it is a World Heritage sight and LAW limits the permanent population to 400 maximum and max 400 tourists on the Island at any one time. So that rules out even little ships like OCEAN PRINCESS .

 

They could go over 1 tender at a time for 15 mins:p

[diy dave]

Lord Howe Island would be an excellent tender port . BUT it is a World Heritage sight and LAW limits the permanent population to 400 maximum and max 400 tourists on the Island at any one time. So that rules out even little ships like OCEAN PRINCESS .

 

That's probably why I could only find that the Orion and coral princess have been there. Shame really. I had a sneaky suspicion Baz that Norfolk might have its fair share of rough weather which would ruin tender operations.

[rugbypopsie]

As an ex Townsville girl I would love to see cruise ships stop there....there is plenty to see, Magnetic Island, Mt. Spec Etc. But I think they have wharf difficulties too..

 

Pity about Lord Howe and Norfolk would pay to go there too..but for the reasons already listed..not much chance.

 

I want them to start some cruises in Darwin so we can have some different itineraries close to home...I wouldn't lose any sleep if I never saw Noumea again.

 

Sue

[diy dave]

As an ex Townsville girl I would love to see cruise ships stop there....there is plenty to see, Magnetic Island, Mt. Spec Etc. But I think they have wharf difficulties too..

 

Pity about Lord Howe and Norfolk would pay to go there too..but for the reasons already listed..not much chance.

 

I want them to start some cruises in Darwin so we can have some different itineraries close to home...I wouldn't lose any sleep if I never saw Noumea again.

 

Sue

 

The pacific sun was there last week, although she was at anchor which is a fair way out and involved catermaran transfer which probably took a fair while, the next day the "regatta" ex R2 was tied up alongside. So they do go there, my point is , is it being underutilized. My son was there at the same time on his RAN ship and they had to keep moving because comercial ships have priority.maybe that's the problem

[rugbypopsie]

My boy is in the Navy too..

 

I know Townsville has been eclipsed by Cairns but its a great city its in a rain shadow so it sometimes not a green as Cairns.

 

Turning it into a cruise port would be a great boost for the city.

 

Sue

[The_Big_M]

I was on Norfolk when the fortnightly mail/supplies ship came in. Crazy stuff the way they try to bring goods into the dock - they heavy waves were just tossing the supply lighter back and forth while they tried to tie it up. One of the people at the dock joked how it wouldn't pass OH&S requirements here.

 

We thought something bad was going to happen, but they managed somehow - but no way could passengers, particularly elderly and infirm safely get on or off. It's also hard to predict; the forecasts for conditions were frequently wrong.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

There is a redevopment plan for Townsville which will include berthage for large Navy ships and cruise ships.

It has been "floating around" ...(pun intended) ... for years and I was under the impression it was well under way.

 

Have they not started it yet?:eek:

 

 

 

[resordanis]

Many, many years ago when I cruised with my parents on the Orsova, we did a day scenic cruising around Balls Pyramid and Lord Howe as part of our cruise. I remember it fondly as being very interesting. This same cruise went to Tonga and Pago Pago. I would love to cruise from Sydney for a 14 night cruise (or similar) and do the similar destinations. I do love Mystery Island and Noumea but something different would be great!:)

[diy dave]

There is a redevopment plan for Townsville which will include berthage for large Navy ships and cruise ships.

It has been "floating around" ...(pun intended) ... for years and I was under the impression it was well under way.

 

Have they not started it yet?:eek:

 

 

 

 

Yes the $118 million redevelopment is under way. They are currently working on three different wharfs so there is some congestion happening. It's all due to be finished mid 2013.including a cruise ship terminal. Apparently the arrival of the two cruise ships last week was a big deal with 2000 passengers spending money.

[room010]

Our Regent Voyager ship docked in a very basic Townsville commercial dock last year but we were up against the aftermath of cyclone Yasi so a lot of tours were cancelled and it happened to be a Sunday so there wasn't much happening in the town anyway. To be honest I wish we'd stopped in the Whitsundays instead but not many cruise ships do so for some reason as it's a fabulous desination IMO.

[rugbypopsie]

As you said you were there when the area was still recovering from Yasi. There is a lot to see and do in Townsville I dont think the cruise lines put enough effort into organising tours. I would be interested to know what they had suggested as tours.

 

Sue

[room010]

A popular excursion was the railway trip (can't remember the exact name, sorry) but it was cancelled because it was all washed out post-cyclone. Fair enough. There were various 'cuddle a koala' trips offered but as an Aussie I wasn't particularly interested to be honest so obviously I wasn't a prime potential customer LOL. The whole of Queensland was still reeling from the cyclone aftermath so it was good to see things even half back to normal but even so I have to say that as a destination Townsville needs to think about itself as a tourist destination when there are other places with more to offer.

[Aus Traveller]

A popular excursion was the railway trip (can't remember the exact name, sorry) but it was cancelled because it was all washed out post-cyclone. Fair enough. There were various 'cuddle a koala' trips offered but as an Aussie I wasn't particularly interested to be honest so obviously I wasn't a prime potential customer LOL. The whole of Queensland was still reeling from the cyclone aftermath so it was good to see things even half back to normal but even so I have to say that as a destination Townsville needs to think about itself as a tourist destination when there are other places with more to offer.

I can't think of a rail trip from Townsville. The Kuranda trip from Cairns is very popular.

 

In Townsville, a trip to Magnetic Island is good. Other good options are Reef HQ (giant aquarium) and the nearby Museum of Tropical Queensland, walk along the Strand, and of course take a trip to the top of Castle Hill. Unfortunately the heart of Townsville has died. Five or so years ago the Mall was lovely, but on our last couple of visits half the shops were empty and the others were virtually all 'cheap' shops. I have heard that the mall no longer exists as it has been re-converted to a road.

[diy dave]

There have been coach trips out to Charters Towers, worth while if you haven't been to an authentic outback town with WW2 historical sites and the old stock exchange arcade.

[Bella cruiser]

It's a pity they can't bring back Honiara, Solomon Islands but I guess the unrest is still problematic. Shame though as it's an interesting port and no tendering.

[diy dave]

Good suggestion Jenny. See what I mean, the destinations are out there.

[bazzaw]

Good suggestion Jenny. See what I mean, the destinations are out there.

 

Dave

 

The facts are that there are NOT many suitable and practical destinations that are not already being used. Honiara is NOT a good suggestion - as Jenny pointed out the problems there.

 

It would be interesting to see how a ship based in Darwin would go - with destinations in Asia. I believe that some here who have had quite a few cruises throughout the Pacific would be attracted to such a thing (in spite of the expense of having to travel to Darwin) - but I am not sure that overall, they would be able to fill shiploads up there.

 

Barry

[Raison]

A ship based in Darwin doing cruises from there would be terrific. Whilst the South Pacific is lovely, I am also looking for different places to cruise to.

It seems at the moment that we need to fly to get something different most of the time, so a flight to Darwin would not be an issue for me.

[rugbypopsie]

Here is a link to Magnetic Island

 

http://www.magnetic-island.com.au/

 

I am sad that Townsville has been somewhat (well a lot) taken over as a tourist destination by Cairns but it really does have a lot to offer. I spent a lot of my very young years there.

 

The local chamber of commerce should get their heads down and put together an attactive package to lure the cruise companies.

 

The town centre has died with the suburban malls and spread out of the populations but Sth Townsville has nice hotels, good cafes etc. Magnetic Island is a great place for the day with jet ski hire, good swimming and snorkelling and stinger safe bays. The fishing out of Townsville is good too and would be popular. There is wreck diving on the Yongala..like I said lots to do for a day or longer.

 

Hope the cruise line is listening.

 

Sue