Friday, 23 Oct. 2020

Brisbane is to have four cruise ships homeport at the new International Cruise Terminal at Luggage Point. The new $177 million cruise facility was to open on 03 October 2020 but has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some reports are not expecting the opening until at least March or April 2021.

The four ships that are planned to homeport in Brisbane are:

Ship:	Pacific Encounter	Coral Princess
Operator:	P&O Australia	Princess
Parent:	Carnival Corpoation	Carnival Corpoation
Previous known as:	Star Princess	N/A
Registry:	Bermuda	Bermuda
Builder:	Fincantieri	Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Launched:	2001	2002
Maiden voyage: (for current operator)	2021 (expected)	2003
Class:	Grand-class	Coral-class
Tonnage:	108,865 GT	91,627 GT
Length:	290m	294m
Beam (waterline):	36m	32m (Panamax)
Height:	61.3m	62m
Draft:	8.05m	8.2m
Decks:	17	16
Speed:	23 knots	22 knots
Passengers:	2,600	2,000 (1,000 cabins)
Crew:	1,100	895
Ratio:	2.4:1	2.2:1
IMO number:	9192363 (currently)	9229659
MMSI number:	310361000 (currently)	310376000
Planned homeport: (as at 23 Oct 20)	Brisbane (May 2021)	Brisbane (Nov 2021)
Web cam:
Previous Brisbane homeport ship:	Pacific Aria (sold); Pacific Dawn (sold)	Sea Princess (sold)
Reference:	Wikipedia; P&O Australia	Wikipedia; Princess

The Brisbane International Cruise Terminal at Luggage Point is at the mouth of the Brisbane river and 19 km by road from the Brisbane CBD. The facility is in addition to the original cruise terminal at Portside Wharf (used by smaller ships and located a short 7 km drive from Brisbane). With none of the four homeported ships able to fit under the Gateway Bridges and too long for Portside (must be less than 270m long), they can only use the new facility or the commercial grain wharf at Fisherman Island (opposite the new facility and 24 km from Brisbane).

Reference:

• Past blogs: Brisbane cruises

23 - 26 August 2020

Christine and Malcolm (friends and owners of Amamoor Lodge B&B) invited us to stay for a few nights and to take part in a photo/video shoot to refresh Amamoor Lodge’s image. It’s been over 12 months since our last visit, so we were more than happy to oblige.

We arrived in Amamoor on Sunday afternoon and stopped at the General Store for the obligatory hamburger ... always very tasty and a must if you’re ever visiting the Mary Valley. Malcolm was kind enough to drive to Cooroy (about 25 mins from the Lodge) for dinner at the Copperhead Brewery. The venue was trendy, the food was delicious, and the company very enjoyable.

On Monday we drove to Gympie to pick up some groceries and had lunch at the Jockey Club. Our afternoon was very relaxing ... listening to the birds and enjoying the tranquility.

Tuesday ... photo/video shoot day ... started at 7am with breakfast on the verandah followed by photos and video in the Lodge, around the pool (dipped our ties in but weather and water way too cold for swimming) and in the rainforest. We were also asked if we would mind being interviewed, which took us by surprise.

Late afternoon we saw a beautiful sunset from the top of the hill, appreciated another of Malcolm’s delicious dinners in the Lodge, and enjoyed a couple of wines beside the fire and fire pits. Wow ... we didn’t realise how big a day it would be, but we certainly had a lot of fun and laughs.

Before heading back on Wednesday, we visited Amamoor Station to see the steam train arrive and turnaround for its trip back to Gympie. We drove home along the Tourist Route via Kenilworth.

Another very enjoyable few days at our favourite B&B. Thanks Christine and Malcolm for your friendship, hospitality and lots of laughs.

All photos

Other Amamoor blogs

19 March 2020

We arrived at White Bay Cruise Terminal at one minute past midnight today, two days earlier than scheduled.

Disembarkation was easy and Princess provided free buses for us to the airport. Princess has been fabulous during these difficult times and we look forward to cruising with them again.

It was a short flight back home to Brisbane (and probably the most dangerous part of our whole trip thanks to COVID-19)...

Photos

Reference:

Previous | 2020 - Indian Ocean Cruise | The end!

17 - 18 March 2020

The rest of the cruise has been cancelled and we are at sea travelling from Kangaroo Island, South Australia directly to Sydney (missing Burnie and Melbourne).

Tuesday, 17 March 2020 - St. Patrick's Day

Wednesday, 18 March 2020 - Ukulele concert (and last day at sea)

We weren’t planning on it, but we were asked if we’d perform another ukulele concert in the Atrium. Unlike our Indian Odyssey cruise, there were only 14 of us ... luckily most were not beginners. It turned out to be a lot of fun and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Thank you again to Aslan (a wonderful guitarist and a member of the Sun Princess orchestra) for your instruction and dedication. Thanks also to Ewan for your assistance.

Photos

Saint Patrick's Day
A cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland.

Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early 17th century. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It also celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general. Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, céilís, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks.
Source: Wikipedia

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