To put it simply, it really isn’t much. The building itself is nice, well laid out and you seem to be able to move from one area to the next quickly and with minimal fuss. The terminal is in the middle of an industrial area. It can smell, there is nothing to look at (besides the ship) and there are no facilities at the port itself if you are there early and needing to pass some time. Hopefully in the future they may be able to fix some of these things but for now, unless you know you can definitely get on the ship when you arrive, it’s probably not the place you want to hang out for a few hours.
It is very close to Brisbane Airport, although to get there you do need to drive down and around so it’s about a 15 – 20 minute taxi ride. You can also organise transfers from the airport or likely through your cruise company as well. We personally find it’s just easier to organise a taxi or uber (and often cheaper if you have more than 2 people) as that way you can change your mind and do something else while you wait if you want to.
I have heard and read about people saying that the taxi service in Brisbane on cruise days can be an absolute nightmare. We didn’t find this ourselves, although will continue to be mindful of it.
We flew in early on the morning of our cruise departure date (very early, getting to Brisbane at 7am). If you’re doing this, my recommendation would be:
Jump on the free shuttle bus to Skygate. Skygate is a shopping centre and the DFO building is right there. The shops don’t open until 10am but the bus will stop just down from The Coffee Club which is a comfortable space if you’re looking to spend a couple of hours and want coffee and something to eat. There is also a food court within the DFO building.
What is very convenient here is that it has a Dan Muprphy’s (alcohol shop) and Woolworths (supermarket). With Royal Caribbean you are allowed to take up to two bottles of wine per stateroom (provided there is at least 1 adult in the stateroom). I’d leave the purchase of alcohol for a quick trip to Dan Murphy’s to avoid dragging it around the countryside and on the plane and include a stop at Woolworths for any last minute things you may want.
The taxi ride from the Woolworths car park (there is a taxi rank there or you can order a taxi or Uber to pick you up) to the cruise terminal is about the same time as it is if you were to catch a taxi directly from the airport to the cruise terminal . If you don’t have a few hours to spare then I’d be looking to head to the cruise terminal directly from the airport.
Royal Caribbean give you a booking time and they recommend you don’t come earlier than that. We’ve found that they will generally let you on earlier anyway if you’re there but in a port like this, we didn’t want to risk it and arrive too early incase they were busy and requested you wait. In a port like Sydney, you could drop your bags and go for a walk but it’s not the same here in Brisbane. You’d have to catch a taxi back again.
The last thing I would say is if, like us, you fly in and out on departure and arrival dates of the cruise, make sure you give yourself enough time to get there. Getting up at 3.30 in the morning and having a family of tired grumps for the day is an absolutely pain but missing the cruise would be worse. Make sure you have given yourself time incase of flight delays and you’re not flying in two hours before the cruise is due to depart. It’s just too close.
