Cruise Ships Being Rerouted as Tropical Cyclone Inches Closer to Brisbane

Cruise ships along the Southeastern Queensland coast of Australia are being forced to alter their itineraries as Tropical Cyclone Alfred, a Category 2 system, intensifies and approaches the Port of Brisbane, traveling at 9 miles per hour (14 kilometers per hour).

Cunard’s Queen Anne and the Norwegian Sun have both skipped their scheduled visits to Brisbane, as the Norwegian Cruise Line ship headed straight to Cairns instead, while Queen Anne sailed toward Airlie Beach in North Queensland, where she will arrive on Tuesday.

Queen Anne will then call on Yorkeys Knob on March 6, and the adjusted schedule will allow the Cunard ship to arrive in Darwin a day early on March 10.  This will help make sure the ship is back on schedule to continue her 112-day world cruise that is set to arrive in Germany on April 29, 2025.

As Alfred intensified into a Category 2 cyclone, the Port of Brisbane was closed, and commercial shipping was directed to evacuate. The Bureau of Meteorology warned of high tides and potentially hazardous swells in the area.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli reassured the public that assistance was being provided to the impacted cruise ships and stated the following:

“I’ve just received some information only in the last couple of minutes: two of those are looking for alternative ports and we will assist them in that. One will be endeavouring to come into the Port of Brisbane and offloading those passengers.  We will do everything we can to assist them in that regard as well as those other two.”

Steve Hardaker, Maritime Safety Queensland’s Manager of Vessel Traffic Services in Brisbane, warned that the cyclone’s impact would continue to disrupt the itineraries of cruise ships for days to come.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Thursday or Friday and is likely to bring strong winds and major rainfall.   A flood watch has been issued for northern and south-east Queensland

The storm’s seven-meter swells would not only make for a very uncomfortable ride for cruise passengers but would be a safety concern as well.

Typically, the Port of Brisbane sees a steady flow of cruise traffic, with 21 port stops scheduled for the month of March alone.

Carnival Luminosa and Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas are currently scheduled to visit Brisbane on March 6 and 7 respectively.  There currently has not been any word on alterations to the itineraries on those ships, but passengers are encouraged to check with their cruise line for any recent updates.