Turk1 Posted June 14, 2018 #1 Share Posted June 14, 2018 We are currently waitlisted for a Princess Hotel in Sydney. Has anyone had this experience before and do rooms "open up" typically? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdngrl Posted June 14, 2018 #2 Share Posted June 14, 2018 if its before final payment, people will cancel and rooms may become available. how far down are you on the waitlist? at least they're still waitlisted and not sold out. princess must think there will be some movement. perhaps make a reservation at your own hotel (with free cancellation) just in case princess doesn't come through. i booked on my own as the hotel was also waitlisted for my cruise and super expensive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LACruiser88 Posted June 14, 2018 #3 Share Posted June 14, 2018 We have upcoming cruise out of Sydney in March of 2019. The Princess hotels were limited to one very expensive choice. We booked great hotel, at fair price on our own... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micahs Grandad Posted June 14, 2018 #4 Share Posted June 14, 2018 Is there any advantage of booking hotels via Princess? Keep hearing about limited choices and very high pricing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Hag Posted June 14, 2018 #5 Share Posted June 14, 2018 I have no thoughts on whether or not you'll clear the waitlist, but if I were you, I'd sure want an alternate plan B just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven_&_Daniel Posted June 14, 2018 #6 Share Posted June 14, 2018 If you decide to book your own, we loved staying at the Holiday Inn, Old Sydney. Reasonably priced and walking distance to everything, including the ship when you're ready to board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinSoCal Posted June 14, 2018 #7 Share Posted June 14, 2018 When is the cruise and what's the hotel? Personally, we always book out own hotels - just take a look on Trip Advisor, home in on a neighbourhood (when in Sydney we aim for the CBD within walking distance of a station - given how extensive and cheap public transport is) and book direct. Be aware that hotels will pass on credit card fees (typ. 1.5% visa / mastercard, 3% Amex). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeW Posted June 14, 2018 #8 Share Posted June 14, 2018 Is there any advantage of booking hotels via Princess? Keep hearing about limited choices and very high pricing. Sure - you get to pay the rack rate for each person on the booking. Typically more than double what booking direct will cost. But they do a good job of handling transfers between airport/hotel/ship, even if the flight comes in 7 hours late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diane.in.ny Posted June 14, 2018 #9 Share Posted June 14, 2018 If you want to stay at that particular hotel, have you considered booking it directly? If available, you'll probably save more than enough money to pay for taxis from the airport and to the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted June 14, 2018 #10 Share Posted June 14, 2018 So I have a question for the OP. Why are you even using Princess for your hotel? Do it on your own and you will likely save a substantial amount of money. In our experience (forty + years) cruise line pre and post cruise packages can cost as much as twice the price of doing it on your own. Just go on a decent hotel search engine like Kayak and find out what that same hotel (or another that might even be better) will cost. As to transfers, using a taxi should cost you no more than $40 Aus which is probably less expensive then a cruise line transfer. And unlike cruise line transfers you do not have to wait while they fill their bus or mini bus. When you use a taxi you just walk outside, get into your taxi, and go to your hotel. Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Coral Posted June 15, 2018 #11 Share Posted June 15, 2018 (edited) Turk1 - you can call Princess and see where you are on the waitlist. If you are #1 or #5, you probably have a good chance depending on when the cruise is. You may want to state where you are on the waitlist and when your cruise is. If you booked through a TA, have them call Princess. Edited June 15, 2018 by Coral Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micahs Grandad Posted June 15, 2018 #12 Share Posted June 15, 2018 So I have a question for the OP. Why are you even using Princess for your hotel? Do it on your own and you will likely save a substantial amount of money. In our experience (forty + years) cruise line pre and post cruise packages can cost as much as twice the price of doing it on your own. Just go on a decent hotel search engine like Kayak and find out what that same hotel (or another that might even be better) will cost. As to transfers, using a taxi should cost you no more than $40 Aus which is probably less expensive then a cruise line transfer. And unlike cruise line transfers you do not have to wait while they fill their bus or mini bus. When you use a taxi you just walk outside, get into your taxi, and go to your hotel. Hank That is what I thought. thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PescadoAmarillo Posted June 15, 2018 #13 Share Posted June 15, 2018 I also highly recommend booking the Holiday Inn Old Sydney on your own. We booked directly with IHG.com after joining their loyalty club online for the best rate. It’s VERY close to the pier (assuming you’ll be at the Overseas Passenger Terminal). If your ship is in Darling Harbour, it’s a quick taxi ride away. Which ship are you on? Grand Class ships and larger must dock at the OPT. View from our room. View from our room after the ship arrived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliair Posted June 15, 2018 #14 Share Posted June 15, 2018 I also highly recommend booking the Holiday Inn Old Sydney on your own. We booked directly with IHG.com after joining their loyalty club online for the best rate. It’s VERY close to the pier (assuming you’ll be at the Overseas Passenger Terminal). If your ship is in Darling Harbour, it’s a quick taxi ride away. Which ship are you on? Grand Class ships and larger must dock at the OPT. View from our room. View from our room after the ship arrived. Thanks to all for the info. We are booked on the Sun Princess for January 2019. Does anyone know what pier the Sun will be docked at? My booking info does not say other than the two piers mentioned but not which one. I think I will book the Holiday Inn Old Sydney. I'm new to foreign travel like this. So much to learn, any help is much appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
land lover Posted June 15, 2018 #15 Share Posted June 15, 2018 (edited) Turk1 - you can call Princess and see where you are on the waitlist. If you are #1 or #5, you probably have a good chance depending on when the cruise is. You may want to state where you are on the waitlist and when your cruise is. If you booked through a TA, have them call Princess. wrong quote..HI Theresa... helpful reply Edited June 15, 2018 by land lover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
land lover Posted June 15, 2018 #16 Share Posted June 15, 2018 (edited) Thanks to all for the info. We are booked on the Sun Princess for January 2019. Does anyone know what pier the Sun will be docked at? My booking info does not say other than the two piers mentioned but not which one. I think I will book the Holiday Inn Old Sydney. I'm new to foreign travel like this. So much to learn, any help is much appreciated! https://www.portauthoritynsw.com.au/cruise/cruise-schedule/ Sun Princess5-Jan-2019 07:00 (Sat)5-Jan-2019 16:00 (Sat)White Bay Cruise Terminal sun Princess 9-Jan-2019 07:00 (Wed) 9-Jan-2019 16:00 (Wed) Overseas Passenger Terminal if other dates u can click on link Edited June 15, 2018 by land lover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
land lover Posted June 15, 2018 #17 Share Posted June 15, 2018 Thanks to all for the info. We are booked on the Sun Princess for January 2019. Does anyone know what pier the Sun will be docked at? My booking info does not say other than the two piers mentioned but not which one. I think I will book the Holiday Inn Old Sydney. I'm new to foreign travel like this. So much to learn, any help is much appreciated! U are making me smile...I guess I never thought of Australia as foreign.....:D;) I am on an Oct. sailing on Sea....our cruise terminal did change, so no guarantees on above post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PescadoAmarillo Posted June 15, 2018 #18 Share Posted June 15, 2018 Although things can change, it sounds like you’ll be at Darling Harbour. If you are spending several days pre-cruise, I’d still stay at the Holiday Inn Old Sydney for its excellent location, close to the sites along the waterfront and to ferries, trains and buses. If you’re just spending a night before the cruise, check Sydney’s Pyrmont neighborhood on a hotel search engine. There are several nice ones there on Darling Harbour and you’d basically have to take a taxi just a short way across the ANZAC bridge to the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bardou544 Posted June 15, 2018 #19 Share Posted June 15, 2018 U are making me smile...I guess I never thought of Australia as foreign.....:D;) I am on an Oct. sailing on Sea....our cruise terminal did change, so no guarantees on above post. Oh I hope I didn't offend you, we're next to Mexico and I call that a foreign country too. Even if I've been there before it's still lands unknown to me. I'm looking forward to this trip, trying not to make any mistakes. Our ship leaves on 1/22/2019. According to the link above the Sun leaves out of OTC. We booked EZAir, the price was reasonable. We're flying in on the 18th of Jan. Sent from my SM-T550 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bardou544 Posted June 15, 2018 #20 Share Posted June 15, 2018 Although things can change, it sounds like you’ll be at Darling Harbour. If you are spending several days pre-cruise, I’d still stay at the Holiday Inn Old Sydney for its excellent location, close to the sites along the waterfront and to ferries, trains and buses. If you’re just spending a night before the cruise, check Sydney’s Pyrmont neighborhood on a hotel search engine. There are several nice ones there on Darling Harbour and you’d basically have to take a taxi just a short way across the ANZAC bridge to the ship. I better check this out with Princess tomorrow. I want to book the hotel and get that out of the way. The ports are confusing. Thank you for your help. It's much appreciated. Sent from my SM-T550 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribill Posted June 15, 2018 #21 Share Posted June 15, 2018 Is there any advantage of booking hotels via Princess? Keep hearing about limited choices and very high pricing. Sure - you get to pay the rack rate for each person on the booking. Typically more than double what booking direct will cost. But they do a good job of handling transfers between airport/hotel/ship' date=' even if the flight comes in 7 hours late.[/quote'] To some extent the value depends on how easy it is for you to get around the embarkation city. Although relatively high priced, we found it to be a good option when we cruised out of Shanghai the first time, a city we had never been to and with a language we did not speak (or read) at all. Having a Princess transfer from airport to hotel and again the next day from hotel to the cruise terminal meant we did not have to deal with this on our own after nearly 24 hours of travel getting to Shanghai. (As a bonus, for an almost reasonable cost, we were able once at the hotel to purchase from Princess a tour of Shanghai as part of the transportation to the ship.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
land lover Posted June 15, 2018 #22 Share Posted June 15, 2018 Oh I hope I didn't offend you, we're next to Mexico and I call that a foreign country too. Even if I've been there before it's still lands unknown to me. I'm looking forward to this trip, trying not to make any mistakes. Our ship leaves on 1/22/2019. According to the link above the Sun leaves out of OTC. We booked EZAir, the price was reasonable. We're flying in on the 18th of Jan. Sent from my SM-T550 using Forums mobile app I was just teasing, because I thought that post was so "cute":D...It certainly is a foreign port.... However, I consider a country foreign when I do not speak the language. Simply because, I can easily call a hotel to a reservation, most signs on the streets I can read etc, so I would feel very comfortable traveling in Australia, the environment would not feel "foreign to me." Enjoy your cruise.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micahs Grandad Posted June 15, 2018 #23 Share Posted June 15, 2018 To some extent the value depends on how easy it is for you to get around the embarkation city. Although relatively high priced, we found it to be a good option when we cruised out of Shanghai the first time, a city we had never been to and with a language we did not speak (or read) at all. Having a Princess transfer from airport to hotel and again the next day from hotel to the cruise terminal meant we did not have to deal with this on our own after nearly 24 hours of travel getting to Shanghai. (As a bonus, for an almost reasonable cost, we were able once at the hotel to purchase from Princess a tour of Shanghai as part of the transportation to the ship.) thanks for the info can understand why you would do it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliair Posted June 15, 2018 #24 Share Posted June 15, 2018 I just got off the phone with Princess, and the Sun Princess 1/22/2019, sailing will be from the OPT (Overseas Passenger Terminal). Any advice for hotels near there? We're coming in on the 18th leaving from SFO and connecting from LAX to Sydney. We booked through EZAir. Looked into nonstops but it was too $$$$. Thanks for any help or advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haboob Posted June 16, 2018 #25 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Thanks to all for the info. We are booked on the Sun Princess for January 2019. Does anyone know what pier the Sun will be docked at? My booking info does not say other than the two piers mentioned but not which one. I think I will book the Holiday Inn Old Sydney. I'm new to foreign travel like this. So much to learn, any help is much appreciated! The Sun is scheduled to dock at Overseas Passenger Terminal on Jan 9 and Jan 22. https://www.portauthoritynsw.com.au/cruise/cruise-schedule/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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