Bus Rentals in Australia & New Zealand

Getting Groups To and From the Brisbane Cruise Terminal

Cruise ships in Brisbane berth at a purpose-built terminal on Luggage Point, Pinkenba. It opens only when a ship is alongside, and it controls which coaches come onto the site. Settle access first; the rest of the plan follows.

Site access decides the plan

Only coaches and buses pre-booked by the cruise lines using the terminal that day may enter the site. Any other charter must first be cleared with Port of Brisbane and the site's parking contractor, or it cannot move passengers in or out. Raise this at enquiry stage, not the week of sailing: without the agreement, the coach cannot load on site.

Once approved, anything longer than 6.5 m, towing a trailer, or classed as a coach or shuttle uses the Coach & Shuttle Area. None of those may enter the short-stop loop out front, where the limit is two minutes.

Iveco midi coach, side view
Iveco midi coach, side view

Connecting airports

Terminals

  • 450 m berth pocket with two passenger boarding bridges, built so ships longer than 270 m no longer have to use the port's cargo terminals
  • Brisbane International Cruise Terminal (BICT), 1 Cruise Terminal Drive, Pinkenba (Luggage Point), opened in June 2022
  • Run by Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd and open only on days when a ship is at berth

Smaller vehicles and split groups

Shorter vehicles are treated differently: a limousine or executive car below 6.5 m can load in the two-minute loop, provided its driver stays with it. That suits a VIP travelling ahead of the main group. The far end of that loop has two accessible bays.

Taxis and rideshare load about 120 m from the entrance, reached by an undercover walkway. There is no public transport to the terminal, so every passenger without a booked vehicle depends on those ranks.

Distances that shape the timing

By road the terminal is roughly 12 km, around a quarter of an hour, from Brisbane Airport, and some 21 km, close to 30 minutes, from the city centre. Short runs make same-day ship-to-flight connections workable, provided the flight leaves time for disembarkation and bag collection.

Questions

Can we book our own coach to meet the ship?

Only once the port and its parking contractor have agreed to it. Entry is open to coaches the lines themselves have booked for that sailing; an independent charter needs that agreement first.

Where does a full-size coach park?

In the Coach & Shuttle Area. Coaches and anything over 6.5 m are not allowed in the two-minute loop.

Can people leave cars at the terminal?

On-site parking is prepaid, with a few drive-up spaces in Car Park 3 only. A transfer is often simpler for a group.

Cities

Vehicles