Majestic Princess is the biggest cruise ship we have travelled on with 19 deck levels and 3500 passengers. So, when it comes to town and ties up at a wharf, it is as if a 20 storey building has just arrived. Six years ago we cruised from Hong Kong to Brisbane on the Queen Mary and we thought it to be rather too large with a little more than 2000 passengers. But our favourite cruise ship has been Regent's Seven Seas Navigator with just 490 passengers in which we travelled from San Francisco on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 through the Panama Canal to New York.
This ship is so large that it cannot fit under the Gateway Bridge and would have great difficulty turning around in the Brisbane River. We docked at the Fisherman's Wharf Grain Terminal where there are 'temporary' (we docked there also with the QMary) buildings and a chaotic parking area all giving a poor first impression of Brisbane. Nevertheless we can see construction has begun on a new cruise terminal directly opposite the Grain Terminal which will resolve that issue. I have since contacted my local BCC and State Govt Representatives to suggest that a City Cat Terminal be integrated within the new port facility. What a wonderful opportunity to introduce international visitors to our wonderful city with Hop On, Hop Off City Cats operating to connect with cruise ships. This is precisely the kind of Shore Tour passengers value.
We were told at one of the presentations on-board that Australia has now surpassed the US in terms of per-capita cruises being taken. Many more cruise ships are now 'wintering' in Australia. In fact, Majestic Princess' trip to Sydney has been a relocation for our summer period. It will do some New Zealand and Pacific Island voyages over the next three or four months. I note that Sydney is proposing a new cruise terminal and that there are objections being raised. There is a point of 'saturation' where cities can get too much of a good thing putting pressures on services and infrastructure. In August this year, Venice banned cruise ships from entering its Grand Canal and City Centre. Local populations in Spain and Portugal are pushing back at the influx of tourists who are affecting their usual way of life.
As always, we are pleased to be back and the ever-reliable Dodgy 2 was there to return us home to the Lucky Country.
