Brisbane was our last port before we return to Sydney, our arrival time was set at 8:00 and the departure was 5:00. It’s three hours shorter than we had with Celebrity so did limit what we could achieve given that the 8:00am is actually 8:30am because you need to allow for the securing of the gangway and getting clearance from the local authorities. All aboard is 4:30pm so if we had pushed it to the maximum, we would have had 8 hours with a transfer time of approximately 1 hour into Brisbane.
I would like to say that I feel very short changed by Princess with their port timings, with the exception of Melbourne and Darwin, they have all seemed quite compressed. It will certainly make me think about sailing with them again in the future.
Last time we were here, we docked at Fisherman’s Island but today it was on the opposite side and we used the newer cruise terminal.
Anyway, back to today and how our day transpired. In order to go ashore, we had to take a ticket with us to say we were B2B passengers so as not to confuse us with the disembarking passengers and only one gangway was in use so that slowed things up too.
When we eventually got off at 9:00 we booked an Uber to take us to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, it took 15 minutes to arrive then a further journey time of 35 minutes.
After buying our tickets we set off to explore the compact but amazing little zoo. Obviously the star attraction are the Koalas of which there are over 100 of them to enjoy. Their welfare is of utmost importance and they are totally pampered with the eucalyptus leaves constantly being refreshed. What a life!!!!
There are also lots of other animals in the zoo but another big attraction is to be able to walk in the Kangaroo enclosure and hand feed them. Nicole totally enjoyed the chance to get up close and feed a couple of the Kangaroo’s as did yours truly.
We kept ourselves amused until around 1:30pm before ordering another Uber back to the ship which got us to the terminal at just after 2:00pm. After a quick bite we just chilled in the cabin and recapped the day’s activities. The ship has a different feeling to it this afternoon, as all the newcomers are only on for 2 nights, there seems to be a younger/party vibe onboard. There are also a lot of Japanese school children onboard doing of all things a school trip. We never had the option of a cruise for a school trip, quite how their teachers are going to keep them in check in the evening remains to be seen. One more sea day before we disembark in Sydney so we are a bit melancholy tonight.
Fitbit Steps 15,721
Lone Pine Excursion Price Comparison
Privately
1 x $66.39 Uber Out
2 x $54.00 Entrance fee
1 x $68.30 Uber Back
$242.69 total for two
Ship Tour
2 x $179.95
$359.90 for two
Can’t wait to hear about the Japanese school children group. Can you say, “Help, I need an adult’s only cruise line?” Best of luck.
Great pictures,thanks for posting them. Enjoying your blog, great info for anyone planning a cruise to Australia. Enjoy the rest of your trip.
Janet