Disembarkation in Sydney

[Baynanno1]

Looking for some input from cruisers who have previously disembarked in Sydney, as well as cruisers who have disembarked elsewhere in the world since cruising recommenced.

 

Due to dock at 0630.

We will be in a suite and our flight options are 1035 or 1500.

We anticipate the airport will be quite busy just a few days before Christmas.

 

Is there still an option to stay on board later for a fee?

[emmas gran]

This isn't an option at the moment for other ports, who knows what the situation will be in December.

[Mark_T]

The other option is to consider one of the departure tours that typically run on the last day ending at the airport.

 

Always check the time they get there though as the two I'm looking at now on our Sydney cruise suggest they would only be suitable for international flights from 4pm onwards.

[cruisestitch]

Take the later one.  Why end the cruise with stress?

[LGW59]

40 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

Take the later one.  Why end the cruise with stress?

Agree!  I always do this , even when it means hanging out at the airport for more hours than I’d prefer.  

[mikewomb]

You should stay in Sydney for a few days. Don’t leave the day you get there. We have been there three times. We got off the ship and just walked over to the Park Hyatt. 

[mahdnc]

8 hours ago, Baynanno1 said:

Looking for some input from cruisers who have previously disembarked in Sydney, as well as cruisers who have disembarked elsewhere in the world since cruising recommenced.

 

Due to dock at 0630.

We will be in a suite and our flight options are 1035 or 1500.

We anticipate the airport will be quite busy just a few days before Christmas.

 

Is there still an option to stay on board later for a fee?

 

We have taken two cruises that disembarked in Sydney in 2018 and 2020 (pre-pandemic).  In 2018 we had to catch an 11:30 am international flight out of SYD and in order to do it, we opted for the self-walk off which gets you off the ship first.   There were other passengers that had flights that left earlier than ours and so the self walk off line was very long.   Long story short, Solstice had the same docking time as you (6:30 am) and our cab got to SYD by 7:13 am and we got thru security by 8:35 am.  Here is my trip review where I detail how long each step took on disembarkation day if you are interested.  So yeah, you should be able to make a 10:30 am flight based on that single data point.

 

In 2020, our flight out of SYD was not until 1:00 pm.  Because we had time, we did not do the self walk off.  We got off the ship (gangway) at 8:46 am, got in our cab at 9:12 am, arrived SYD by cab at 9:45 am, and got thru security at 10:18am.   So if you have your heart set on the 10:30 am flight, you better do the self walk off!

 

David

 

Solstice docked at Sydney on Dec 23 2019

Edited June 13, 2022 by mahdnc

[emmas gran]

The OP is from NSW the same state as Sydney, I think he will be familiar with the area 😃

Edited June 13, 2022 by emmas gran

[mahdnc]

1 minute ago, emmas gran said:

The OP is from NSW the same state as Sydney, I think he will be familiar with the area 😃

 

Good point

[Baynanno1]

@mahdnc and @emmas gran

Thank you both for your responses.

 

Yes, we live about 300k (approx 186 miles) south of Sydney and are familiar with many parts of the city, including Circular Quay.

 

Certainly some food for thought in your responses and the link to your review @mahdnc

 

As we dock on a Tuesday, just five days before Christmas, we anticipate traffic will be considerably heavier than on a Saturday morning. At our ages we could not consider a self walk off.

 

We will be flying domestically and our previous experience of Sydney Domestic Airport around Christmas / New Year is utter chaos. Might settle on a bus ride from Sydney Central to Canberra for the drive home to the south coast.

 

And there is the potentially big unknown . . . after the Ruby Princess debacle in 2020, just what extras may be required by our country for passengers disembarking from a cruise ship???

Edited June 14, 2022 by Baynanno1

[Baynanno1]

Thank you also to other posters. You will by now realise we live in the same state.

 

While Sydney is a wonderful city with many great attractions we have no desire to spend extra time in Sydney as we have seen much of the city and have no desire to visit the same places yet again.

 

It would be really good to have some input regarding disembarkation anywhere in the world from anyone able to compare pre and post covid disembarkation.

[mahdnc]

9 minutes ago, Baynanno1 said:

@mahdnc and @emmas gran

Thank you both for your responses.

 

Yes, we live about 300k (approx 186 miles) south of Sydney and are familiar with many parts of the city, including Circular Quay.

 

Certainly some food for thought in your responses and the link to your review @mahdnc

 

As we dock on a Tuesday, just five days before Christmas, we anticipate traffic will be considerably heavier than on a Saturday morning. At our ages we could not consider a self walk off.

 

We will be flying domestically and our previous experience of Sydney Domestic Airport around Christmas / New Year is utter chaos. Might settle on a bus ride from Sydney Central to Canberra for the drive home to the south coast.

 

And there is the potentially big unknown . . . after the Ruby Princess debacle in 2020, just what extras may be required by our country for passengers disembarking from a cruise ship???

 

One other comment.  If you end up rolling the dice and choosing the 1035am flight, you will probably be assigned to one of the earlier groups to get off the ship.  It will be after the self walk off crowd (what I did in 2018) but before the group of passengers with flights in the afternoon (what I had in 2020).

 

I realize that it is a matter of preference, but it would seem that the 1500 domestic flight would be an ideal choice.  

[BuzzBuzzen]

Definitely 1500 flight, we have disembarked in Sydney many times and have had delays in arrival time back in port. Then it depends if our Border Force are operating smoothly or in chaos as happens sometimes. Enjoy your cruise, cheers, Buzz.

[xamsx]

We did B2B cruises out of Sydney in January and February 2020. We did a walk off since we stayed in Sydney a few days after the cruise ended. It was the easiest disembarkation we have ever done. 
 

Since we stayed a few days we did not worry about what time we left the ship. Many people boarded tours, others went straight to the airport. A 3pm flight would be easy to make. 
 

Have a great cruise.

 

 

Edited June 14, 2022 by xamsx

[chemmo]

Does the domestic terminal offer a pay for business lounge? This is something we have done with an arrival at the airport significantly before flight…At least you can sit somewhere comfortable with a drink in your hand and reminisce about your cruise. Just a thought if you choose the later flight option.

Edited June 14, 2022 by chemmo

[mikewomb]

My error. Did not see where the OP lived. However we see so many people who travel a great distance and get on and get off the ship and never stay in some of the interesting ending ports.

[Baynanno1]

15 hours ago, chemmo said:

Does the domestic terminal offer a pay for business lounge? This is something we have done with an arrival at the airport significantly before flight…At least you can sit somewhere comfortable with a drink in your hand and reminisce about your cruise. Just a thought if you choose the later flight option.

 

Good suggestion.

We have lounge access, but currently there is a limit to the pre-flight time one can spend in the lounge. Also, on our recent return to Canberra from Brisbane, the Brisbane lounge was absolutely packed! Not a lot different to the areas at the boarding gates (except of course for free food and drink).

[Baynanno1]

10 hours ago, mikewomb said:

My error. Did not see where the OP lived. However we see so many people who travel a great distance and get on and get off the ship and never stay in some of the interesting ending ports.

 

We will always stay a couple of days at least, both pre and post cruises at places we have not seen before. What is the point of traveling so far and not seeing at least part of a previously unseen city. Unless there is a time constraint.

Other places where we have disembarked in Europe many times we often fly home (or at least the first leg) on the day of disembarkation.

[Boatharbour]

Definitely opt for the later flight. Due to staff shortages at Sydney Airport current recommendations are to arrive 2 hours before domestic flights. Even then there are stories of people missing their flights due to security and check in queues. 

No guarantees the situation will improve by Christmas when you’ll be traveling during the school holidays.