Tropical cyclone Jasper: Cruise ships turned away from north Qld as storm bears down

Cyclone Jasper is still days away from hitting but it’s already proving a big blow for Queensland tourism, robbing the Sunshine State of thousands of big-spending cruise ship tourists.

Cyclone Jasper is still days away from hitting but it’s already proving a big blow for Queensland tourism, robbing the Sunshine State of thousands of big-spending cruise ship tourists.

Several cruises have been diverted as the superstorm bears down on the Sunshine State.

Vessels giving North Queensland a wide berth include one of the world’s biggest cruise ships, Quantum of the Seas, with almost 5000 passengers on board.

Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas at the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal. Picture: Nigel Hallett

The $1.4b, 348m mega-liner was meant to sail to Airlie Beach and Cairns as part of a six-day cruise that left Brisbane on Wednesday but was instead rerouted to Sydney.

Rubbing salt into the wounds of disappointed passengers, Sydney’s cruise terminal was full and they had to be taken to shore by tender.

Royal Caribbean told passengers in an email that it was “terribly sorry” for the late itinerary change “but your safety is our top priority”.

Another Royal Caribbean ship, Brilliance of the Seas, has also scuttled a planned 11-day Great Barrier Reef cruise due to the looming Category 4 cyclone which is expected to slam into the North Queensland coast by the middle of next week.

Brilliance of the Seas, with about 2500 passengers on board, was due to visit Airlie Beach on Monday before docking in Cairns, Port Douglas and Willis Island.

The cruise will instead travel to Eden, Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart before ending in Sydney.

Meanwhile, the Carnival Luminosa has cancelled a planned four-day cruise from its home Port of Brisbane to Airlie Beach due to depart on Sunday.

The ship, which can accommodate up to 2700 passengers, has also been rerouted to Sydney.