Cruise ships are adjusting and informing guests as a tropical cyclone heads for the Sunshine Coast in Australia.
Unfortunately for P&O Cruises’ Pacific Encounter, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Sun, and Cunard’s all-new Queen Anne, the Port of Brisbane has closed due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
The good news for two of these ships is that they can simply reroute — while the other remains at port.
Norwegian Sun has rerouted to Cairns — while Queen Anne is heading to Airlie Beach where it will arrive March 4, shifting its schedule on its 111-night inaugural world cruise.
Meanwhile, the 108,865 gross ton Pacific Encounter spent several days dodging the tropical cyclone while out at sea on its March 1, 3-night sailing.
The vessel was forced to end this cruise early — and after getting special permission to dock in Brisbane, where the port is currently closed, 2,600 passengers disembarked.
The Pacific Encounter is set to depart for its next cruise on March 4, 2025 — with P&O Cruises’ even releasing a statement that the cruise would go on as planned.
The cruise line said in a communication to guests, “Guests should arrive at the terminal based on their check-in time selected in Cruise Control. All guests will need to complete check-in and board Pacific Encounter by 2pm.”
It continues, “as you would be aware, the southern Queensland coast is currently being impacted by Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Our highest priority is the safety and comfort of our guests and crew, and although we will remain clear of this weather system, there may be some residual impact as we first depart.“
Tropical Cyclone Alfred is currently impacting the southern Queensland coast — which happens to be exactly where this cruise is departing and heading through. No other ships are docked or sailing in this area at this time.
The quick 4-night round-trip out of Brisbane is heading north to its one stop in Airlie Beach on March 6 — returning on March 8.
Brisbane City Council issued a warning on Monday, March 3, at 10:45 am, urging residents to prepare their property for the storm.
Along Pacific Encounter’s route up to Airlie Beach are several counties that are all under level 3 advisories — which are telling residents to prepare now before things get bad.
“At this stage, based on the current weather forecast, we expect to make our call to Airlie Beach on Thursday 6 March, however we will keep guests updated if this changes,” P&O added in its communication.
P&O Cruises does expect that there will be some residual impact on the ship during departure — but insists the crew’s top priority is to keep passengers both safe and comfortable.
Further detailed by the update provided by P&O Cruises was a decision to also still visit Airlie Beach on March 6 — though they would keep guests updated.
Currently, Brisbane’s port remains closed — yet P&O Cruises has made no further changes to Pacific Encounter’s March 4 cruise. As the cyclone has been updated to a Category 2 storm, this cruise may be in jeopardy of not happening.
Tropical Cyclone Alfred Details
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the storm intensified to a Category 2 system as early as the morning of March 4, promising to be one of the most destructive storms Australia has seen in decades.
Tropical Cyclone Alfred will make landfall between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast late Thursday or early Friday. While it may be upsetting to miss a port you were excited for, a cyclone like Alfred is worth avoiding.
Byron Bay, which is more southern than Brisbane, is already starting to feel the effect of cyclone Alfred — with the region expecting up to 11 inches of rain, which is 25% of the annual rainfall.
Other reports are now expecting damaging winds and rain to begin as early as Wednesday, March 5 — lasting through the early weekend.
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Concerns are pouring in about flooding and power outages, as the damns in Queensland are not built to mitigate such intense storms.
Flooding is typical when this area gets about 7-11 inches of rain in less than 48 hours, and in many areas about to be hit by Alfred they are expecting 15 inches.
If the Pacific Encounter is still departing on March 4, it should expect low attendance — as passengers could be facing cancelled flights and flooded roads.
