More than 4000 passengers in town as Queen Elizabeth and Noordam dock in Cairns

Cairns is once again flooded with tourists as the cruise industry continues its recovery from Covid-19. Read about the two latest additions to the Cairns skyline.

Cairns is once again flooded with tourists as the cruise industry continues its recovery from pandemic restrictions.

Sunday saw the arrival of more than 4000 passengers as both the Queen Elizabeth (QE) and Noordam docked in the Far North.

Brian and Mary Day have travelled from the Northeast United States for a 35 day Sydney to Sydney cruise around Australia and are seven days into their experience on board Noordam.

“Its been great so far to be able to experience different parts of the country from smaller docks like Gladstone and bigger cities like Sydney and up here to Cairns,” Mr Day said.

While they have been slowly travelling up the coast they were still not used to the heat of the tropics.

Mary and Brian Day are seven days into a 35 day around Australia cruise and are excited to see all that Australia has to offer. Picture: Dylan Nicholson

The couple said they have travelled the south of the country before but this is the first time they will get to see the north and west of the country as they circumnavigate Australia.

“We are looking forward to spending a few days on the reef while we are here.” Mr Day said.

Between them the Noordam and QE carry 4053 passengers, with both measuring just under a massive 300 metres in length and weighing in at well over 80,000 tonnes.

The Queen Elizabeth is travelling from Airlie Beach to Port Douglas with its stop in Cairns and the Noordam is currently cruising to Darwin.

MS Noordam is a member of Holland America Line's Vista class at just under 300m in length this impressive ship can carry 1972 passengers on its journeys. Picture: Dylan Nicholson

The ships’ arrival comes after a dispute between tug boat operator Svitzer and workers – which threatened to halt cruising activity – was pushed back six months by order of the Fair Work Commission on Friday.

While the local economy gets a boost from an influx of passengers, workers at cafes on the waterfront said the boats themselves are a draw for locals looking to do a bit of ship-spotting.

“We find the passengers will leave the boat to go on their day trips so we don't see a huge number of them come through, but what we do see is people coming down to have a look at the boats and getting a coffee and a bite to eat while they have a look at the big ships,” Wharf One Cafe waitress Grace O’Connell said.

Originally published as More than 4000 passengers in town as Queen Elizabeth and Noordam dock in Cairns