Celebrity moving cruise departure pt. in Sydney Australia

[timbom]

I booked my Hotel stay in downtown Sydney some time ago so I could walk from the Hotel to the cruise line. Today I found out that they are not using this terminal for my cruise and instead will have to find our own way to a new terminal across the bay where they will transport us to the ship anchored in the bay .

 

I realize they have no control over this but you would think they would arrange free transportation to the new departure location.

 

As it stands now (as reported) taxi fare will cost each passenger an additional $30 to get to the cruise line. In addition my plan was to get rid of my bags early and the spend most of the day in Sydney. Now I have to worry about what to do with my bags till I leave for the ship.

 

Hopefully Celebrity will think this out better and at least supply free travel from the down town area.

[Chunky2219]

It's a pity, because the OPT on Circular Quay is a super spot to board a ship. Unfortunately, there's only space for 2 ships, so when full something else is needed, at least until the developments around the corner are completed. I know that Cunard have sometimes used a nearby naval base but the solution of choice is to drop anchor and tender..

 

It strikes me as totally bizarre to join a cruise by tender. As someone with mobility problems I could handle it in good weather but would be banjaxed in choppy water. I can't imagine how they will deal with the elderly, infirm or people in big electric chairs. Heaven knows what happens with the luggage.

 

You can see who's stolen your berth if you look on the Sydney Harbour cruise ship calendar.

 

.

Edited October 17, 2014 by Chunky2219
typo

[gek]

Technically they are not moving the departure point, just the check-in point. The terminal building is closed so they need to send you somewhere else for customs and baggage handling. The ships still leaves from Circular Quay.

 

Either way it is a pain in the neck.

 

I guess you could take the risk and just turn up at the ship and hope they have free shuttles to White Bay. I believe this is their intention but they are keeping quiet about it so that as many people as possible make their own way to White Bay.

[AntjeG]

The terminal building is closed

 

Do you know when the terminal building will be re-opened? My Celebrity cruise is scheduled to start from Overseas Terminal Jan 27, 2015

 

Thanks.

[timbom]

Below is copy of e mail I received

 

Royal_Caribbean_Cruises Celebrity_Cruises Azamara_Club_Cruises

 

 

 

 

UPGRADE WORKS AT THE OVERSEAS PASSENGER TERMINAL

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

October – November 2014

 

The following changes apply to the cruise listed below:

 

- Rhapsody of the Seas 11 night Tropical Queensland cruise departing 28 October 2014

- Celebrity Century 8 night South Australia cruise departing 11 November 2014

 

Sydney Ports are currently upgrading the cruise terminal facilities at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney, Australia. Due to renovation works the cruises listed above will experience changed conditions at the Overseas Passenger Terminal.

 

Please note, during the upgrade works the Circular Quay West road that provides private vehicle access will be limited. Please ensure you arrange an alternative location for any private pick up or drop off transfers.

 

EMBARKATION

Check-in and guest processing will take place at the White Bay Cruise Terminal - Address is James Craig Road, Rozelle. Once you have completed check-in at White Bay, you will be transported to the cruise ship which will be docked in Sydney Harbour. Please note, you will not be required to carry your luggage on the transfers, we will have a baggage drop at the White Bay Terminal and will process luggage as usual.

 

Due to the changed conditions, it is very important that all guests adhere to their allocated check-in times to ensure guests can be processed as quickly as possible. Please check your travel documents for your allocated check-in time.

 

We also strongly advise that all passengers check-in online, which can be completed from now until 4 days prior to your departure.

 

Royal Caribbean International check in, click here.

 

Celebrity Cruises check-in, click here.

 

DISEMBARKATION

Disembarkation will take place at the Overseas Passenger Terminal. However, due to reduced luggage facilities during the upgrade works, in addition to our regular luggage collection service we will also be offering a fast and efficient self-assist disembarkation process, where guests can walk off the ship with their luggage. We highly recommend this option for guests wanting a quick disembarkation alternative and avoiding any possible delays.

 

Please note, during the upgrade works the Circular Quay West road that provides private vehicle access will be closed. Please ensure you arrange an alternative location for any private pick up or drop off transfers.

 

While we will endeavour to make the embarkation and disembarkation process as smooth as possible, we appreciate your patience and understanding during this time as the safety of our guests and crew is paramount.

 

We recommend guests review our Frequently Asked Questions for any queries or concerns. For further information on the Overseas Passenger Terminal upgrade, visit sydneyports.com.au. For further information on White Bay Cruise Terminal, click here.

 

We look forward to welcoming you on board soon.

 

Sincerely,

 

Royal Caribbean International

[Bobocasey]

White Bay terminal has NO public transportation nearby. You must take either the ships transfer(if available) or a taxi.

[timbom]

Just spent a half hour on hold with celebrity and found out they are not supplying transfers to the terminal or offering them. I am on a back to back on this ship and they still do not know what they will be doing on second part of sailing. I guess I will find out when I get to port.

 

Very disappointing way to start a cruise I would think they would be better organized than this.

[panthermikey]

I wonder if this impacts my Celebrity Century cruise on 19th November?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[jono mono]

It,s impacting my cruise on the 3rd November on celebrity so as it looks like the work is not finishing until early 2015 it will effect your cruise,i received an e-mail today.

[jancy]

I am leaving on 30 October and received notification today about Port maintenance but we are still checking in at Circular Quay ...They are just telling us that one of the roads are closed and allow extra time...also encouraging us to walk off with all our bags.

[gek]

Do you know when the terminal building will be re-opened? My Celebrity cruise is scheduled to start from Overseas Terminal Jan 27, 2015

 

Thanks.

 

A closure of two weeks has been mentioned assuming everything goes to plan. I think your cruise in January should be unaffected.

[gek]

Just spent a half hour on hold with celebrity and found out they are not supplying transfers to the terminal or offering them. I am on a back to back on this ship and they still do not know what they will be doing on second part of sailing. I guess I will find out when I get to port.

 

Very disappointing way to start a cruise I would think they would be better organized than this.

 

This whole issue is out of Celebrity's hands. It has been forced upon them at short notice by the Ports Corporation. Shuttle buses are probably not an option for Celebrity because vehicle access to the terminal will be restricted.

 

However seeing as they are using ferries to shuttle passengers from White Bay to the ship I can't see why they wouldn't use those same ferries to take passengers to White Bay if required.

 

Yep, it's a mess.

[The_Big_M]

A closure of two weeks has been mentioned assuming everything goes to plan. I think your cruise in January should be unaffected.

 

Well, it may be affected in that the works are likely still underway.

 

But not affected to the extent that they need to check in elsewhere.

[Desert Cruizers]

We left from Circular Quay last March and the road going down by the Terminal is a narrow two lane road, all vehicals coming in are directed to the end of the street and turn around to bring you up to the burb by the ship, if construction is being done in that area then I can understand why they are having you check in elsewhere.Big M is that road affected at all alongside the Overseas Cruise Terminal

Edited October 18, 2014 by Desert Cruizers

[Goodysj]

This whole issue is out of Celebrity's hands. It has been forced upon them at short notice by the Ports Corporation. Shuttle buses are probably not an option for Celebrity because vehicle access to the terminal will be restricted.

 

However seeing as they are using ferries to shuttle passengers from White Bay to the ship I can't see why they wouldn't use those same ferries to take passengers to White Bay if required.

 

Yep, it's a mess.

Good point the ferry over to white bay seems logical to me as well, maybe commonsense will prevail :)

[Tokyo Carolyn]

I am leaving on 30 October and received notification today about Port maintenance but we are still checking in at Circular Quay ...They are just telling us that one of the roads are closed and allow extra time...also encouraging us to walk off with all our bags.

 

Hi Jancy, I am also on Oct 30 departure and received same email. I wonder how close we can get in a taxi? I may have a lot of luggage ;-)

[The_Big_M]

if construction is being done in that area then I can understand why they are having you check in elsewhere.Big M is that road affected at all alongside the Overseas Cruise Terminal

 

It's not so much the road (although that is used by the standard builder's vehicles so won't be empty), but that they're doing work inside the terminal. They are doing this to have a block of time where they can do terminal work without it being used for regular purposes.

[Desert Cruizers]

Thank you Big M. We spent 2 days Pre cruise in Sydney for our March 19th NZ cruise then 9 days post cruise and thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Since we were there that long, we opted to go with the Meriton Apts on Pitt Street. We also enjoyed the Ferry transportation in getting around, like to Manly and the Zoo.:) They were also working around the Opera House, not sure what they are doing there.

Edited October 18, 2014 by Desert Cruizers

[TLCOhio]

It's not so much the road (although that is used by the standard builder's vehicles so won't be empty), but that they're doing work inside the terminal. They are doing this to have a block of time where they can do terminal work without it being used for regular purposes.

 

Too bad for those not being able to use the handy and so well located Overseas Passenger Terminal. We were fortunate earlier this year to have a day and a half on the Solstice in this spectacular setting. So much very nearby and around this site. For larger ships such as the Solstice, they cannot cross under the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Too tall! Makes things challenging. Good luck to all!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and lots of wonderful pictures on these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 81,894 views for this fun posting.

[Hammer61]

Called a friend here in Sydney who works at the OPT, although not for the Port Authority itself, yes there are some changes to check in for SOME cruises as the work is being carried out, if your cruise is affected you will be notified by the cruise line to check in at White Bay, work has been ongoing for a few months already and will continue until end of January/early February next year.

 

As far as he knows, they are trying to have as little impact as possible and most people boarding or disembarking will have only minimal disruption or inconvenience, but as the Terminal operates the whole year, some Cruises particularly at the start of the busy summer season will be more affected than others, so end of October through November as more ships (big ships that cant use white Bay) arrive from the Northern Hemisphere and Asia.

 

Hope that helps but on the same note, this is from someone who works in the area, BUT NOT for the Port Authority so don’t take it as fact, as he said himself, things have changed since the work started in what they have been told, changes to work schedules/closures etc as work takes a little longer or less to complete in different areas.

[3littlepigs]

There is quite a lot of discussion about this issue on the Australian/New Zealand Cruisers part of the forum, if you have a look there they appear to have been told that there will be shuttle buses from the OPT to the White Bay Terminal for people who turn up at the OPT.

 

The ferry ride along the harbour and under the bridge will be very nice, take your camera!

[The_Big_M]

They were also working around the Opera House, not sure what they are doing there.

 

As a tangent, it's been going for a few years and made things a bit of a mess for that time, but is at last winding up now.

 

It's all around creating an underground loading dock and re-routing traffic. Once finished, it should be an improvement, but it unfortunately hasn't looked its best for visitor for a while (a bit like the OPT disruption!)

 

(More info, for anyone interested: http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/about/corporate_information/vehicle_access_pedestrian_saftety_project_overview.aspx )

Edited October 19, 2014 by The_Big_M