Princess Cruises' round-trip itineraries include Queensland hotspots such as Port Douglas. Photo / 12rf
Princess Cruises' round-trip itineraries include Queensland hotspots such as Port Douglas. Photo / 12rf
Experience the best of Queensland on a summer cruise, writes Kristie Kellahan
Cruising is beautiful one day, perfect the next and convenient all week long. That’s especially true in the great state of Queensland, where distances are vast and the Coral Sea is the prettiest, bluest marine highway you’ll eversee.
To enjoy the best of the sunny state’s cities, beaches and islands in style, book an all-inclusive cruise, unpack once and leave the driving to the ship’s captain. This summer, Princess Cruises is sailing round-trip itineraries from Brisbane and Sydney, visiting Queensland hotspots Airlie Beach, Port Douglas, Cairns and Moreton Island, and there are ample other cruise lines soaking up the best of Queensland.
Mum and I embark on a 10-day Queensland cruise from Sydney’s Circular Quay, excited to visit some places for the first time and to revisit a few favourites that would normally require an airfare to get there and back.
In Airlie Beach, we tour around town in a tuk-tuk pedalled by Steve from Just Tuk’n Around. He does the legwork as we sit back, tootling past the community markets and the marina where multimillion-dollar superyachts are moored. Steve tells me the addictive reality TV series, Below Deck Down Under, is filmed in these waters.
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It’s hot here in summer and the turquoise water looks so inviting, but it’s stinger season and swimming in the sea is not a good idea. Instead, we head to Airlie Beach Lagoon for a refreshing swim.
Hungry now for lunch, we settle in at one of Coral Sea Resort’s prime poolside tables. A three-tiered seafood platter of fresh king prawns, salt-and-pepper squid, Moreton Bay bugs, whole fried barramundi, scallop ceviche and crispy hot chips is demolished in no time.
Eat your heart out while enjoying poolside views at Coral Sea Resort.
Surely the award for funniest cruise port name goes to Yorkeys Knob. That’s where the ship is headed next, to a tender port that’s the gateway to Cairns, the Great Barrier Reef and the Kuranda rainforest.
We take a scenic ride on the Kuranda Skyrail for a sweeping bird’s-eye view of the lush forest and abundant waterfalls below. Summer in North Queensland is “green season”, a time of higher humidity, temperatures and rainfall. The payoff is gloriously verdant scenes of nature’s cup running over.
Hop on the Kuranda Skyrail and have a bird's-eye view of the forest. Photo / Getty Images
Another day, another town to discover. Wandering along Port Douglas’s main drag, Macrossan St, we shop for local souvenirs and clothing before taking a break over a satisfying pub lunch.
We see signs for a croc-hunting boat ride and figure it might leave us with a tall tale to tell. The Lady Douglas scenic river cruise is a classic attraction in these parts, spawning tales of giant crocodiles that leap from the water for the perfect photo opportunity. Alas, we don’t spot any crocs during our cruise, but we’re entertained by the running commentary that may or may not have included a few furphies.
A couple of days later, we see Queensland’s capital in a new light from the back seat of a 1937 Dodge convertible. Moe Akgun, a vintage car enthusiast, caught the art deco bug after a visit across the ditch to Napier. From that spark of inspiration, he developed the Roaring Twenties Art Deco Tour of Brisbane.
Tour Brisbane in a 1937 Dodge convertible.
Queensland isn’t typically associated with art deco architecture, but Akgun assures me the inter-war decades were prime years for construction in the city.
We visit a tree-lined street in upscale Ascot to admire Chateau Nous, a 1939 home built for a local dentist. There’s a bomb shelter underneath the house, a relic of the time when air raids were anticipated. Driving around the suburbs of Teneriffe and Fortitude Valley, we see many other well-preserved buildings of the era.
View the house of a 1930 dentist at Chateau Nous.
Back on the ship, the good times are rolling and the service goes above and beyond. With an upgrade to the Princess Premier package, we enjoy Wi-Fi on four devices, an inclusive drinks package, unlimited juice bar, premium desserts, fitness classes, casual dining meals, room service delivery and OceanNow food and beverage delivery. Specialty dining at upscale Chinese restaurant Harmony and classic steakhouse dishes at The Crown Grill are delicious.
Princess Cruises makes things easy for cruise passengers with Medallion Class, a high-tech on-board system made possible by round, wearable medallions that replace traditional cruise ID cards. Clip it to your collar or wear it on a chain around your neck; the medallion links to the ship’s app on smartphones or tablets, enabling hands-free entry to your cabin and the option to see where your shipmate is at all times.
It feels very future-forward when I use it to order drinks and snacks to be brought to me wherever I am, even when I don’t know exactly where I am. Yet another reason to love the carefree style of summer cruising.
Fly non-stop from Auckland to Brisbane Airport in about 3 hours and 50 minutes with Air NZ, Jetstar and China Airlines. If your cruise departs from Sydney, the flight from Auckland is roughly 3 hours and 40 minutes.
Air New Zealand offers non-stop flights between Auckland and the Sunshine Coast (Maroochydore) seasonally between July and October.
From December 13, 2024, a year-round Auckland-Sunshine Coast Airport route will also be operated by Jetstar.
