Cairns cruise crowd calendar

Cairns, Queensland Australia

How many cruise ships and people are in Cairns today and on the days ahead, and which days are quietest to sail or visit.

Saturday 7 November 2026 · all times local (Australian Eastern Standard Time)

Today · Sat 24Sun 25Mon 26Tue 27Wed 28Thu 29Fri 30
Cairns port guide and schedule

In port on Sat 7 Nov

Peak

4,114

people in port · 3,014 guests + 1,100 crew

69% busier than a typical day in Cairns.

Ships
1
Turnarounds
0
Most ships at once
1
Ships alongside
09:00 – 19:00
See the crowd calendar

How busy Cairns is on Sat 7 Nov

Saturday 7 November 2026 · 1 ship · 4,114 people · all times local (Australian Eastern Standard Time)

Full ship schedule and terminals
  • Costa Serena
    Costa Cruises
    09:00 – 19:00 · Port of call
    4,114 people

People are guests at standard occupancy (two per cabin) plus crew. Turnaround ships also move about as many boarding guests through the terminals as the ones leaving.

When the port is busiest on Sat 7 Nov

Most people in port 09:00 – 19:00: 4,114 people on 1 ship.

Costa Serena
09:00 – 19:00 · Port of call
People in port
06:0009:0012:0015:0018:00

How busy is Cairns? Crowd calendar

People in port each day, guests plus crew, compared with a typical Cairns day. Select a day to see its ships.

Earlier monthsLater months
  • No ships nothing scheduled
  • Quiet under half a typical day
  • Light 50–85% of typical
  • Typical 85–115%
  • Busy 115–150%
  • Peak over 150%

Numbers are thousands of people. Earlier days this month are faded and today is outlined.

Busiest and quietest days of the week

Wednesdays are the busiest and Tuesdays the quietest over the next 90 days.

  • Monday
    674
  • Tuesday
    292
  • Wednesday
    1.4K
  • Thursday
    776
  • Friday
    831
  • Saturday
    924
  • Sunday
    638

Average people in port, next 90 days

Quietest and busiest days ahead

Quietest days with ships

Next 90 days · fewest people in port

  1. Sat 24 Oct
    1 ship · 1 turnaround
    364
    Quiet
  2. Sat 19 Dec
    1 ship · 1 turnaround
    364
    Quiet
  3. 1,007
    Quiet
  4. 1,102
    Quiet
  5. 1,296
    Light

Busiest days

Next 90 days · most people in port

  1. Mon 18 Jan
    2 ships
    5,971
    Peak
  2. Thu 10 Dec
    2 ships
    5,244
    Peak
  3. 4,290
    Peak
  4. Sat 7 Nov
    1 ship
    4,114
    Peak
  5. Sat 5 Dec
    1 ship
    3,760
    Peak

Cairns port traffic, next 90 days

People in port per day · Sat 24 Oct – Thu 21 Jan

Ship calls
26
Daily average
791
people in port
Busiest day
5,971
Mon 18 Jan · 2 ships
Days with ships
28 of 90

Today is outlined. Hover a bar for the day.

Ships calling at Cairns

Next 30 days · by cruise line

Cairns crowd calendar questions

Each ship counts its guests at standard occupancy (two per cabin) plus its crew. A ship without a published capacity is listed in the schedule but not counted.

It compares the day with a typical Cairns day with ships. Quiet is under half of that, Light 50–85%, Typical 85–115%, Busy 115–150% and Peak more than one and a half times. Each port is compared with itself, so a Busy day in a small port has far fewer people than one in a big homeport.

Most ships call at Cairns for the day: they arrive in the morning and leave in the late afternoon, so the town and its sights are busiest in between.

The calendar covers this month and the next 11 months of published itineraries. Lines add and change calls, so dates further out can still move.

Yes. Arrival and departure times move with weather and port operations. Always confirm with your cruise line and the port before you travel.