Renovations underway at Sydneys Cruise Terminal

[bazzaw]

One of the photos said it was of the future disembarking place -- but will there be an embarking area -- in other words, not the queue in the sun/rain outside as it has been??

 

Barry

[gbenjo]

One of the photos said it was of the future disembarking place -- but will there be an embarking area -- in other words, not the queue in the sun/rain outside as it has been??

 

Barry

 

Yes there will, they are putting in a whole new mezzanine level so there will be an open lounge area and the terminal will be the same as White Bay in as much as it will be open to the public ( with a coffee shop I believe) and not a restricted area as is the case at the moment so those wonderful long queues out the front will be a thing of the past

Edited July 4, 2014 by gbenjo

[MicCanberra]

Yes there will, they are putting in a whole new mezzanine level so there will be an open lounge area and the terminal will be the same as White Bay in as much as it will be open to the public ( with a coffee shop I believe) and not a restricted area as is the case at the moment so those wonderful long queues out the front will be a thing of the past

 

Let us hope, that there will be no long lines inside as well.:)

[gbenjo]

Let us hope, that there will be no long lines inside as well.:)

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad:

 

So you MIGHT stand in a line for twenty minutes so you can go on a luxury cruise for a week....big deal

Edited July 4, 2014 by gbenjo

[OzKiwiJJ]

But you have to realise that 1 minute when waiting to start a trip is the equivalent of 10 minutes normal time ;)

[gaechann]

Let us hope, that there will be no long lines inside as well.:)

 

 

We cruised from the White Bay terminal in April and yes, we had the snaking queues to the check-in counters like at the airports. We were then assigned a number so sat inside until our number was called.

Fairly smooth procedure all in all without any "high loyalty level" passengers with egos to match to factor in :)

 

 

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[BuzzBuzzen]

Good one Gae ! I don't mind lining up outside , across the Bridge , up the M1, I am going on a cruise :)

[MicCanberra]

AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad:

 

So you MIGHT stand in a line for twenty minutes so you can go on a luxury cruise for a week....big deal

 

I was actually hoping for plenty of check-in counters and people actually observing the staggered check-in times they are given. I don't mind waiting 20 mins or even an hour, it is the 2 hour waits (thank fully I haven't had that issue in Australia) that can happen occasionally.:D

Edited July 5, 2014 by MicCanberra

[MicCanberra]

We cruised from the White Bay terminal in April and yes, we had the snaking queues to the check-in counters like at the airports. We were then assigned a number so sat inside until our number was called.

Fairly smooth procedure all in all without any "high loyalty level" passengers with egos to match to factor in :)

 

 

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If the line moves relatively quickly even if it is long, that is still good.:D

[ratacake]

Afternoon everyone,

 

Does all this mean that we'll still be able to use the OPT in late October for our cruise on the Celebrity Century?

 

Great grief, I hope so, as we're booked into the Hyatt Park Hotel the night before we leave, and we can't afford the taxi charge of $50,000.00 to get to the White (Elephant) Bay Terminal......... :rolleyes:

[Bodogbodog]

Does all this mean that we'll still be able to use the OPT in late October for our cruise on the Celebrity Century?

 

Great grief, I hope so, as we're booked into the Hyatt Park Hotel the night before we leave, and we can't afford the taxi charge of $50,000.00 to get to the White (Elephant) Bay Terminal......... :rolleyes:

If you can afford to stay at the Park Hyatt you can certainly afford the taxi fare to White Bay :rolleyes: - which is easily less than $50,000, even with the Cabcharge surcharge

But don't worry - the OPT is open then and Celebrity Century is listed as using it

You can check out expected usage here

Edited July 19, 2014 by Bodogbodog

[dancinman66]

Let's hope the new terminal is fully running in ictober and not just partial as that will be a head ache

 

But anything will be a improvement on what was there. Which wasn't too bad generally

 

 

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[KarateMan]

So I am assuming all the restaurants and bars are gone from that terminal for good and its back to a cruise ship terminal as it should be???

 

It seemed awfully silly to purchase restaurant space under the terminal offering harbour views in full knowledge that it is an imperative cruise ship terminal in Sydney harbour.

[gbenjo]

Let's hope the new terminal is fully running in ictober and not just partial as that will be a head ache

 

But anything will be a improvement on what was there. Which wasn't too bad generally

 

 

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The terminal will be "operating " in October however it will be far from finished they are talking about a January / February date for completion now but from what I hear the level where we now check in , which I believe will become the " lounge" area as well as customs will not be done until the next off season. The new level which is to built between the ground floor and the existing upper level will become the check in area.

[The_Big_M]

So I am assuming all the restaurants and bars are gone from that terminal for good and its back to a cruise ship terminal as it should be???

 

It seemed awfully silly to purchase restaurant space under the terminal offering harbour views in full knowledge that it is an imperative cruise ship terminal in Sydney harbour.

 

Not so silly when they leased that space years ago when there were very few cruise ships, and it provides the same very scenic vista that so many cruisers say delights them!

 

Location, location, location!

[OzKiwiJJ]

So I am assuming all the restaurants and bars are gone from that terminal for good and its back to a cruise ship terminal as it should be???

 

It seemed awfully silly to purchase restaurant space under the terminal offering harbour views in full knowledge that it is an imperative cruise ship terminal in Sydney harbour.

 

Quay is still there, as is another restaurant/cafe on the top level, MOMA end. Not sure what it's called.

[gbenjo]

So I am assuming all the restaurants and bars are gone from that terminal for good and its back to a cruise ship terminal as it should be???

 

It seemed awfully silly to purchase restaurant space under the terminal offering harbour views in full knowledge that it is an imperative cruise ship terminal in Sydney harbour.

 

As Big M has said, when the leases (not sales) for the restaurants were issued twenty or thirty years ago the OPT was vastly under utilised in regard to cruise ship turnarounds and would not have been paying its way so the restaurant leases which generated, I believe, seven figure incomes (each) were far from being silly. As the cruise industry "exploded " in recent years the need for the original space that the restaurants took up became critical so they had to go. I think a fair chunk of the fifty odd million they are spending on the refurb went to buying back the leases.

 

So yes the restaurants, at least the two on the ground floor in the middle of the terminal plus Doyles are gone for good. The Cruise Bar and the ones on the top level above the terminal are staying. The Cruise Bar is closed till January for "refurbishment"

 

 

Here is a photo of where the two restaurants in the middle used to be. Bottom right hand corner of the photo are the doors in front of the escalators...so,as you can see ...... they will not be back

 

[BuzzBuzzen]

Thanks for the photos Gbenjo , I have been looking around for some progress type photos without success . I still can not see my private access point no matter how hard I look , cheers , Buzz.

[Flipper133]

The terminal will be "operating " in October however it will be far from finished they are talking about a January / February date for completion now but from what I hear the level where we now check in , which I believe will become the " lounge" area as well as customs will not be done until the next off season. The new level which is to built between the ground floor and the existing upper level will become the check in area.

 

We are arriving at the OPT on 21st December on Solstice. I am expecting that disembarkation will be a bit chaotic, esp. with pax seeking to get on board early. I hope they can bring some sanity to things.

 

cheers

[gbenjo]

Thanks for the photos Gbenjo , I have been looking around for some progress type photos without success . I still can not see my private access point no matter how hard I look , cheers , Buzz.

 

That's because I have not seen that "coloured currency" incentive yet.;);):D:D What time are you checking in? Don't forget to give me a reminder closer to the cruise.

 

I will take photos whenever there is something significant to see . At the moment there is mainly demolition happening with lots of jackhammer noise but not much to look at.

[gbenjo]

We are arriving at the OPT on 21st December on Solstice. I am expecting that disembarkation will be a bit chaotic, esp. with pax seeking to get on board early. I hope they can bring some sanity to things.

 

cheers

 

The debarks have been going pretty smoothly so far, it may get a little congested outside the terminal as we have lost a bit of space and the coaches have to load where the general pick up area is but overall it has gone well.

Embark does not really effect the debark as it is normally cleared a good hour or two before embark starts and by December there should be some reasonable progress (we hope:))

[dancinman66]

The debarks have been going pretty smoothly so far, it may get a little congested outside the terminal as we have lost a bit of space and the coaches have to load where the general pick up area is but overall it has gone well.

Embark does not really effect the debark as it is normally cleared a good hour or two before embark starts and by December there should be some reasonable progress (we hope:))

 

 

That's good to hear but was hoping by then it would all be complete or is it a larger extrntion than that

Anyone got pics they can post

 

 

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[gbenjo]

That's good to hear but was hoping by then it would all be complete or is it a larger extrntion than that

Anyone got pics they can post

 

 

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See my posts #39 -#42 in this thread

[MicCanberra]

If you can afford to stay at the Park Hyatt you can certainly afford the taxi fare to White Bay :rolleyes: - which is easily less than $50,000, even with the Cabcharge surcharge

But don't worry - the OPT is open then and Celebrity Century is listed as using it

You can check out expected usage here

 

Just cruised out and back into the white bay terminal. $15 shuttle from central and a $40 cab ride back to central on the return leg. Check-in and check-out was a breeze, very impressed with how smooth it all went. Just a shame they have no public transport options (ferry, bus etc.).:D

[MicCanberra]

The debarks have been going pretty smoothly so far, it may get a little congested outside the terminal as we have lost a bit of space and the coaches have to load where the general pick up area is but overall it has gone well.

Embark does not really effect the debark as it is normally cleared a good hour or two before embark starts and by December there should be some reasonable progress (we hope:))

 

Good to hear, will let you know of my experience of disembarkation on 22 of Dec with embarkation on 15 Dec.

keep any progress photos coming.:D