Sydney...port to airport

[Psoque]

Hi. We are looking forward to our cruise from Auckland to Sydney. We have never visited New Zealand or Australia before, and we are wondering if the cruise ship port in Sydney is any different from any other major ports we have visited before.

 

We are specifically wondering if it would be a total zoo trying to hail a cab to the airport right after we disembark from our ship. If our previous experience at various ports (Miami, San Juan, Tampa, Honolulu, for example) are any indication, we are wondering if if should either pre-purchase airport transfer (a bit expensive for a crazy bus ride...and reuniting with our luggage after that might be a challenge), or to reserve a cab for ourselves online.

 

I would appreciate any firsthand report on this issue. Thanks.

[SheilaNC]

Psoque,

There are several other threads that might provide you with the information you are seeking. As I understand it, transportation is readily available and the price of a taxi is just a few dollars/person more that a shuttle/bus that may stop at many places before arriving at your hotel. We had planned to take a bus initially but have now decided to take a taxi based on the good information that we've found on this board.

[bobsydney]

Hi Psoque

 

I see you are sailing on the Mercury, which will be docking at the International Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay. This is right in the city so getting a taxi should not be a problem. There are likely to be taxis queued up at the terminal, particularly as you are arriving on Saturday morning at very a civilised time (9am accorsing to the cruise schedule on the Sydney Ports web site). If by some chance there are no taxis there, you will definitely get one at the Four Seasons Hotel or the Marriott Hotel which are both just a couple of minutes away (in George and Pitt Street respectively).

 

A cab to the airport on a quiet Saturday morning will take about 10 minutes and probably cost about $25.

 

Cheers

Bob

[SheilaNC]

Sorry that I misunderstood and thought you were asking about transportation FROM the airport. Usually taxis, etc. know when cruise ships are unloading passengers and line up for fares. We've not had the problems OP describes. Hopefully, you will not have a problem in Sydney. If you don't see easily available transportation, I agree that dragging your luggage to one of the nearby hotels is a good solution. Doormen are great about calling a taxi and it's certainly worth the price of a gratuity to have assistance getting one. Good luck!

[sddsddean]

Our hotel was just across from Circular Quay in April when we were boarding the Sapphire Princess. This link will take you to a photo of disembarkation. http://photos.orange.co.uk/album/album_photo.html?c_photo=1318307765

Left click to enlarge.

Now you can see loads of white taxis and not many people...this was about 6.30am. By 7.30 am the queue of people was past the 3 vertical pipes to the end of the balcony and round the other (ship side) side of the balcony. Must have been 150+ people queuing. The main problem was there is room on the roadway to load about 10 taxis at a time, but they were only loading one at a time; this is what caused the hold up. There are plenty of taxis, so either get down early or try and be one of the last off. If you can, I highly recommend you stop in Sydney for at least a couple of days. You don't need a taxi to get to our hotel (Old Sydney Holiday Inn). As you can see its about a 100 yard walk. One couple we saw in the hotel got a taxi to the hotel (as they didn't know where it was) and the taxi driver was not best pleased at having queued for a fare for over 30 mins only to do a 30 second ride!

 

Feel free to look at the rest of my photos...may give you some ideas.

Have fun!

 

Simon

[Psoque]

Thanks for inputs from all of you.

 

It's always interesting to receive a variety of responses from people on this board when I pose a question.

 

So, I guess I will find out exactly how easy/hard it is for us to hail a cab, either at the port or at the hotels across the street.

[mochuck]

One couple we saw in the hotel got a taxi to the hotel (as they didn't know where it was) and the taxi driver was not best pleased at having queued for a fare for over 30 mins only to do a 30 second ride!

 

I'll bet!

 

This might help

 

http://www.taxiscombined.com.au/index.htm

[aussiedisneyfan]

We actually had 2 cabs refuse to take us up to the Menzies from the Quay.