Busselton cruise days, 2026–27 Busselton cruise ship schedule, and what's a walk from the jetty

Busselton is a tender port. Ships anchor out in Geographe Bay, and tenders bring passengers in to Busselton Jetty. MRBTA says the first tenders reach the shore about an hour to an hour and a half after the ship anchors, and stop running an hour before it leaves. If you've booked one of the ship's own shore tours, you'll often get first go at the tenders.

On a Crown Princess day, at anchor from 9 am to 6 pm, that works out at ashore from about 10 am, last tender about 5 pm. That's our sum from MRBTA's rule, not a published time, so go by your ship's all-aboard time.

On the foreshore, the Busselton Visitor Centre and a team of cruise volunteers run a welcome tent with maps, brochures and advice. Last season, 32 volunteers worked the cruise days. The Visitor Centre itself is at 17 Foreshore Parade, beside the jetty. For ships carrying more than 1,000 passengers, MRBTA says a free City Hopper bus runs hop-on, hop-off around the town centre from 10 am to 3 pm, subject to change. Ask at the tent where it stops.

About 400 metres along the foreshore, Little Otto's Big Choc Shop makes its chocolate and its gelato on site, in what was the tennis club building. It opened in 2025 and takes its name from Otto, a blue whale that washed up in the Vasse River inlet in 1897. Free tours of the production room run every day, for up to 15 people at a time, and end with a tasting. The shop suggests booking.

For chocolate that travels, look at the dark chocolate pretzels, the honeycomb in dark chocolate, or the Dark Signature Rocky Road, with marshmallow and roasted nuts. The maker says its chocolate starts to melt at 22 degrees, so keep the bag out of the sun. The gelato is sold only from the shop's takeaway window, which means it gets eaten on the foreshore.

This is the walk worth planning. Origins Market is an indoor market at 86 West Street, with more than 50 makers under one roof. It's about 1.4 km from the Visitor Centre, beside the jetty, in a straight line, or roughly 2 km and 25 minutes on foot. The market lists Thursday to Sunday as its days, which covers every call this season except Grand Princess, on a Monday. Check before you go, especially on New Year's Eve.

A local coffee business has a stall here. Obison Coffee Roasters is a Busselton family business, named after the family's two sons, Obi and Hudson. Wakey Wakey! is its medium roast of Brazilian and Colombian beans, and Rocket Surgery is a medium roast made to suit milk and black drinkers alike. It sells loose-leaf tea, chai and drinking chocolate too.

For soap, Elamoore Natural Soaps is at stalls 107 and 108. Its bars are cold-process, made in small batches and cut by hand, scented with essential oils and made without palm oil. Herbs from the maker's own garden are infused into some of them. Sweet Orange + Rosemary is a good place to start, and Cedarwood & Crushed Walnut Shell has the crushed shell in the bar.

Capricopia started with a goat called Smudge. On a goat and bee farm in the Margaret River region, her milk went into the first bars of soap in 2014, and the goat's milk soap still carries her name. The farm's own beeswax goes into its candles. Cath, who makes them, has run a craft co-op stall here since November 2021.

Vasse Valley Hemp Farm, at stall 112, is Chris and Bronwyn Blake's hemp farm at North Jindong. The cold-pressed hemp seed oil tastes nutty and suits a salad or a bowl of pasta, the hemp hearts are hulled seeds for scattering over food, and there's a shea and hemp shampoo bar scented with peppermint.

Past the town centre, you'll need wheels. MRBTA says public transport is limited and infrequent, and that taxis and hire cars are best booked before you arrive. Shore tours are sold by the cruise line. The distances here are in a straight line from the Visitor Centre, beside the jetty.

Closest, about 11 km away at Vasse, Margaret River Roasting Co has its cafe inside the working roastery, so you can watch a batch roast while you drink. About 15 km out on Caves Road, Happs Pottery has its showroom and studio. Myles Happ's plates and mugs come in glazes named for local places, Bunker Bay and Shelly Beach among them.

Around Dunsborough, about 22 km away, Simmo's Ice Creamery has made its own ice cream on Commonage Road since 1993, and there are about 60 flavours. It's all frozen, so eat it there. Corrynne's Natural Skincare began as a soap maker in Fremantle in 1995, now makes most of its range in Dunsborough, and has a shop in town. About 27 km out, Eagle Bay Olives has a farm shop on Cape Naturaliste Road with olive oil tastings.

The Margaret River makers are further south, 27 to 45 km away, which is a lot to fit into one cruise day. If yours is a long one, our Busselton to Margaret River day trip has them.