Celebrity Solstice Sydney to Bali 19Oc to 3Nov23 - Question on Brisbane port stop 21Oct

[triplem67]

Greetings to any passengers currently on Solstice who departed 19 Oct 2023 on the 15-Night Sydney to Singapore Cruise.  I hope you're having a great cruise.

Many of us that are on Edge's Great Barrier Reef Cruise leaving 25 Feb 2024 would love to get current information for planning purposes on Celebrity operations in the Queensland ports for this summer's Cruising season.  My question today is about your Brisbane stop yesterday.  

Did Celebrity provided a Shuttle Bus into Brisbane city from the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal?  I hope they did because as a local, I know the terminal is a long way from anywhere. 

We'd all love to know things like:
How much did the Shuttle cost?
How often did the Shuttle run?
Where was the city drop off and pick up point?
What time was the last Shuttle back to the Cruise Terminal?

Thank you to anyone who can give us some insight and enjoy your day.  

[cruisinsusin]

Yes there was a shuttle. The Celebrity Today reported an approximate travel time of 45 min.,last shuttle leaving city center at 430. It cost  $20 US per person 

[triplem67]

1 hour ago, cruisinsusin said:

Yes there was a shuttle. The Celebrity Today reported an approximate travel time of 45 min.,last shuttle leaving city center at 430. It cost  $20 US per person 

@cruisinsusin  Thanks so much for that information.  I was looking at yesterday's activities for your cruise on the App but I couldn't find any details listed on the Shuttle.  

Your help is appreciated.  Have a great day.  

[cruisinsusin]

12 minutes ago, triplem67 said:

@cruisinsusin  Thanks so much for that information.  I was looking at yesterday's activities for your cruise on the App but I couldn't find any details listed on the Shuttle.  

Your help is appreciated.  Have a great day.  

You’re welcome!

[triplem67]

14 minutes ago, cruisinsusin said:

You’re welcome!

@cruisinsusin Another quick question if I may?  What time were passengers able to disembark?  The ship arrived early (before 6:30am) but Gangway down was listed as 8:30am.  Did they stick to that time?

[cruisinsusin]

Hi- it was before 8 am but not sure of the exact time

[triplem67]

6 minutes ago, cruisinsusin said:

Hi- it was before 8 am but not sure of the exact time

Thank you!  

[Wineaux007]

There were 4 of us together so we took an Uber.  We took the River City Cruise w/lunch, and Uber cost $28 (USD)(44 AUD) to the River City Cruise dock.   Cruised down the river and stopped for lunch at Breakfast Creek Hotel.  What a great place for lunch.  Best steak in town and a great place to drink beer.  After lunch and a few brews, Uber back to the ship cost $20 (USD)(32 AUD).  Cheaper than $80 for the 4 of us and not crammed on a 50 pax bus.  There were also lots of taxis at the terminal.

 

P.S. No visit to Brisbane should be without a visit to Breakfast Creek.  It's a truly amazing place with great food & beer and atmosphere.

[triplem67]

21 minutes ago, Wineaux007 said:

There were 4 of us together so we took an Uber.  We took the River City Cruise w/lunch, and Uber cost $28 (USD)(44 AUD) to the River City Cruise dock.   Cruised down the river and stopped for lunch at Breakfast Creek Hotel.  What a great place for lunch.  Best steak in town and a great place to drink beer.  After lunch and a few brews, Uber back to the ship cost $20 (USD)(32 AUD).  Cheaper than $80 for the 4 of us and not crammed on a 50 pax bus.  There were also lots of taxis at the terminal.

 

P.S. No visit to Brisbane should be without a visit to Breakfast Creek.  It's a truly amazing place with great food & beer and atmosphere.

I totally agree! The Brekkie Creek Hotel is a Brisbane institution 💖😍 The best steaks in Brissy. 😋
 

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. 💖

[Wineaux007]

Just an FYI for those following this thread, we tendered in Airlie Beach at Shute Harbor.  The ship (or whoever) provided free 10-15 min shuttle to/from Airlie Beach.

[JLMcruise]

20 hours ago, Wineaux007 said:

P.S. No visit to Brisbane should be without a visit to Breakfast Creek.  It's a truly amazing place with great food & beer and atmosphere.

"Just don't make a meal of it" - LOL - glad your having a great time!! 

[triplem67]

1 hour ago, Wineaux007 said:

Just an FYI for those following this thread, we tendered in Airlie Beach at Shute Harbor.  The ship (or whoever) provided free 10-15 min shuttle to/from Airlie Beach.

@Wineaux007 Thank you for this information.  I've been watching Solstice off and on all day on the Marine Traffic website.  They've been using a big Passenger Catamaran for the tendering by the looks of it.  

I'd love to get some information from you after tomorrow's events tendering into Yorkey's Knob.  There's a group of us who have self organised our Kuranda excursion.  So would love to know how the Tender process worked for independent passengers with non-ship excursions.  

Enjoy your sail away through the Whitsunday Islands.  🍹
 

[Wineaux007]

1 hour ago, triplem67 said:

@Wineaux007 Thank you for this information.  I've been watching Solstice off and on all day on the Marine Traffic website.  They've been using a big Passenger Catamaran for the tendering by the looks of it.  

I'd love to get some information from you after tomorrow's events tendering into Yorkey's Knob.  There's a group of us who have self organised our Kuranda excursion.  So would love to know how the Tender process worked for independent passengers with non-ship excursions.  

Enjoy your sail away through the Whitsunday Islands.  🍹
 

The huge Cats seemed to move everyone out quickly.  We boarded one even taking a ship's tour.  Taking the ship's tour tomorrow AM to Palm Cove, so will probably not get into Cairns.  The ship is charging $20pp for bus from Yorkey's Knob to Cairns.

[Wineaux007]

1 hour ago, JLMcruise said:

"Just don't make a meal of it" - LOL - glad your having a great time!! 

Miss you guys -- wish you had been on this leg.   We've got 9-10 for TRASH on the sea days.

[Wineaux007]

22 hours ago, triplem67 said:

@Wineaux007 Thank you for this information.  I've been watching Solstice off and on all day on the Marine Traffic website.  They've been using a big Passenger Catamaran for the tendering by the looks of it.  

I'd love to get some information from you after tomorrow's events tendering into Yorkey's Knob.  There's a group of us who have self organised our Kuranda excursion.  So would love to know how the Tender process worked for independent passengers with non-ship excursions.  

Enjoy your sail away through the Whitsunday Islands.  🍹
 

They had four large cats.  No problem getting people off the ship.  Just get your tender tickets when they begin giving them out.  Only problem with Yorkey's Knob was space for busses to park to pick up ship excursion tours.  Only about 4-5 spaces, so people were crowded around the pier area.  They had to wait for one bus to fill for another one to take its place.  If you have a private tour waiting, you shouldn't have any issue.

 

 

[triplem67]

1 minute ago, Wineaux007 said:

They had four large cats.  No problem getting people off the ship.  Just get your tender tickets when they begin giving them out.  Only problem with Yorkey's Knob was space for busses to park to pick up ship excursion tours.  Only about 4-5 spaces, so people were crowded around the pier area.  They had to wait for one bus to fill for another one to take its place.  If you have a private tour waiting, you shouldn't have any issue.

 

 

@Wineaux007 Thanks so much for taking time to provide these updates.  They are very much appreciated.  Enjoy your journey up to Darwin and beyond 🥂

[kwokpot]

I just came back from disembarking a cruise at Brisbane on another cruiseline. A few things I can recommend. City Hall has an interesting art museum inside and it's free. The building is itself is beautiful. The Botanical Garden is in the city center and is a wonderful place for a walk and it's also free. It will seem you're away in a remote tropical island in the middle of the city! There's a municipal ferry system that runs a free leg called Brisbane City Hopper. It makes about 6 stops and you get to view the city from the river. Google it and it's another great thing to do that's free. Brisbane Queen Street Mall is the main shopping street and it resembles  a pedestrian only shopping street in Europe. Tons of stores from inexpensive to the top luxury brands. It's where all of Brisbane will be located. 

You won't need any Australian $/cash. Everything can be done with credit cards or Apple Pay/Google Pay (both are actually called Wallet). Use the tap feature with your CC and you won't need to sign any receipts. This applies works wide.

Some photos of Brissy. 

Edited October 24, 2023 by kwokpot

[triplem67]

7 hours ago, kwokpot said:

I just came back from disembarking a cruise at Brisbane on another cruiseline. A few things I can recommend. City Hall has an interesting art museum inside and it's free. The building is itself is beautiful. The Botanical Garden is in the city center and is a wonderful place for a walk and it's also free. It will seem you're away in a remote tropical island in the middle of the city! There's a municipal ferry system that runs a free leg called Brisbane City Hopper. It makes about 6 stops and you get to view the city from the river. Google it and it's another great thing to do that's free. Brisbane Queen Street Mall is the main shopping street and it resembles  a pedestrian only shopping street in Europe. Tons of stores from inexpensive to the top luxury brands. It's where all of Brisbane will be located. 

You won't need any Australian $/cash. Everything can be done with credit cards or Apple Pay/Google Pay (both are actually called Wallet). Use the tap feature with your CC and you won't need to sign any receipts. This applies works wide.

Some photos of Brissy. 

@kwokpot  Thank you so much.  Those are great tips and your photos of my beautiful home town Brissy are beautiful.  I hope you had an amazing cruise and enjoyed your time in Brisbane.