Monday 15 December 2025
500th cruise ship sails into Brisbane International Cruise Terminal
The Brisbane International Cruise Terminal (BICT) celebrated a milestone on Sunday 14 December 2025, welcoming its 500th cruise ship since opening in June 2022.
The 500th vessel was the home-ported Carnival Luminosa, with a cake cutting with PBPL CEO, Neil Stephens and Carnival Luminosa Captain Adriano Binacchi.
Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd (PBPL) CEO, Neil Stephens, said it’s been an action-packed three years.
“Since opening, we’ve hosted some of the largest ships to visit Australia, had over 2.5 million passenger movements through the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal, and even weathered a cyclone earlier this year,” said Mr Stephens.
“Queensland is Australia’s second-largest cruise market, and 500 calls in just over three years shows how central the BICT is to the state’s cruise tourism industry.
“Every call into the BICT contributes over $1 million in economic value to Queensland; over 10 years from FY24, that could reach around $1.5 billion.
“The benefits go beyond Brisbane – many cruise ships also visit other destinations along the Queensland coast, creating economic and tourism opportunities for local communities.
“The success of the BICT comes down to people – the 130+ staff and partners who make every call happen, our cruise line customers and the Port of Brisbane team. And, of course, the passengers that have passed through the BICT since opening – without you we wouldn’t be celebrating this milestone.”
Carnival Corporation & plc Country Manager Peter Little said, “As the only year-round operator, Carnival has played a major role in the growth of cruise tourism in Queensland and is proud of our long-term commitment to Australia’s only purpose-built cruise facility and partnership with the Port of Brisbane – making the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal world class.”
The 2025/26 season is expected to see more than 140 cruise calls from 11 different cruise lines, including nine maiden callers.