Wharf 8 Darling Harbour..what's it like?

[Kinkacruiser]

Hello All,

I'm curious to know if the terminal has adequet facilites for a long wait pre-boarding. If it's anything like Brisbane's terminal, I can't imagine where 1500+ passengers will stand, let alone sit.:rolleyes: Our hotel check-out is at 10 am and boarding doesn't start till 1pm. Is there any place we can check in luggage early at the terminal and do some sightseeing etc? What do most others do re pre-boarding waiting time on sailaway day?

Thanks,

Anna

[sayaguru]

I'd say it would be pretty much the same. Plastic chairs. Nothing there. I'd check your bags in. (around the side) then wander to the pub across the road or up to the city. That's what we did. It was running late. We checked our bags in and rang friends and met them for lunch. We got back at 2.30 and checked in. I'm not sure what time you can check your bags in.

[aussiedisneyfan]

It's sort of different to Brisbane. A massive big hall that you can wait inside with about less than 100 chairs, I think a lot of people just stand around or park their bottoms on the ground. Not retail shops like Brisbane just a small overpriced kiosk inside. It is not a far walk to the city shops though or Darling Harbour. About 10 mins each. You can drop your luggage off at anytime and then return whenever. They haven't had the ticketed boarding groups like Brisbane. More of a queueing system.

 

Oh, there is a pub virtually across the road which is very popular. Security used to do a last minute sweep to make sure everyone was onboard. Not sure if that is still the case.

[bobsydney]

As others have indicated, Wharf 8 is not really a place to spend a day in!! It is basically a big shed with less than 100 plastic chairs and no drink or refreshment machines or booths.

 

I would certainly drop your bags off early (I think I read somewhere on this board that you can do so from about 9am) and then:

• go for a walk to around Darling Harbour (tourist attractions in this precinct include Sydney Aquarium, Wildlife World, Chinese Gardens, National Maritime Museum and Star City Casino as well as lots of restaurants, bars, shops, etc); or
  
• walk to the CBD shopping districy (only about 3 blocks away) or
  
• catch a ferry from Darling harbour to Circular Quay to see the Bridge, Opera House, Botanic Gadens and The Rocks; or
  
• spend some quality bonding time at the pub (aka the Moreton Hotel) across the road just as we Sydneysiders like to do while waiting to embark.
   
  By the way, if you want to drink, make sure you go to the Moreton rather than one of the tourist traps that are called bars in darling Harbour!!!

Cheers

Bob

[Kinkacruiser]

Hi Jane, Bob and Saya

Thanks for your tips. I won't be disillusioned now when we arrive. There certainly is enough to do about the area and the Moreton will definitely be on the agenda.

If you leave your luggage, do you have to collect it again when you're ready to board?

Cheers,

Anna

[bobsydney]

Hi Jane, Bob and Saya

Thanks for your tips. I won't be disillusioned now when we arrive. There certainly is enough to do about the area and the Moreton will definitely be on the agenda.

If you leave your luggage, do you have to collect it again when you're ready to board?

Cheers,

Anna

 

No Anna, once you dump your bags (and you do that at a large roller door entrance on the right side of the terminal - then you board through the glassed in area on the left of the building), you won't see them again until they are delivered to your cabin later in the day ... and that will potentially be a couple of hours after you board. Important then, just as you do when you check in luggage at the airport, to hang on to anything you might want during the day (handbag, purse, change of clothes, camera, tickets, passports, etc, etc).

 

By the way, I see that boarding starts at 1pm. I would try to avoid going on board then as you'll end up standing in a queue with 500+ other people who all have the same idea of getting onto the ship as soon as they are allowed. Better to relax and have another drink or two at the Moreton and then head on over at about 3 o'clock ... by then, there unlikely to be much of a lineup. The only problem of course is waiting that long to start your cruise ... on the other hand, standing in a queue is hardly the best way to start a holiday!!

 

Whatever you do, enjoy!

 

Cheers

Bob

[mochuck]

By the way, if you want to drink, make sure you go to the Moreton rather than one of the tourist traps that are called bars in darling Harbour!!!

I don't think of the bars at Darling harbour as "tourist traps" as most of the people that go to them are locals. Motetons looks OK but not sure if it has a water view.

 

This is a nice little reference:

http://www.ksw.com.au/default.aspx?page=3

 

My personal favourite is:

James Squire Tavern - you can sit right at the wharf have a drink, coffee or a bite to eat while watching your ship being loaded.

http://www.kingstreetwharf.com/bars/james-squire-brewhouse/

[gooch47]

The biggest problem is that there is only one x-ray machine for carry-ons. That is where the big backup happens. Once through that you sail through.

[Kinkacruiser]

Thanks Mochuck, there's even a map of the King street wharf ( James Squire Tavern's location) at that site. Certainly is very handy to Wharf 8.

[Kinkacruiser]

Thanks, Bob. I've filed your response for the trip. As you know Sydney, what street leads you to entrance of Wharf 8.Can you access it from the King Street Wharf where the James Squire Tavern is? We are staying at the Ibis DH and wonder if it's close enough to walk (with wheelie luggage).

[bobsydney]

Hi Kinkacruiser

 

Wharf 8 is in Sussex Street between Erskine and Napoleon Streets. It is probably an easy 15-20 minute walk from the Ibis across the pedestrian only Pyrmont Bridge and then past Sydney Aquarium and along King Street Wharf. There is a great map of Darling Harbour at http://www.shfa.nsw.gov.au/uploads/documents/DH_Map_Mar071.pdf that you might have a look at to get your bearings.

 

At the moment you can't walk directly from King Street Wharf to the Cruise Terminal due to building construction works ... so you have to walk around the construction site. Walk between the buildings opposite Wharfs 3 & 4 (right where the James Squire Tavern is) into Lime Street at the corner of Erskine Street. Walk 2 blocks along Erskine Street and turn left into Sussex Street ... the cruise terminal is then just a 100 metres or so down the street opposite the Moreton Pub.

 

Mochuck, my comment about the bars at King Street Wharf and elsewhere at Darling Harbour being tourist traps was simply a warning that their food/drink prices are more expensive than most Aussie pubs ... they (and therefore you) have to pay for their prime waterfront location. I agree that lots of locals go there and so do visitors to Sydney because. I've been to many of the bars/restaurants at Darling Harbour over the years, most recently just a couple of weeks ago for lunch (coincidentally at the James Squire) prior to our SS Gemini cruise. More often than not though, I've had pre-cruise and post-cruise lunch/drinks in Moreton's courtyard mostly because of its proximity to the terminal ... you can drop off luggage and then have a quiet drink in the pub while waiting for boarding to start, rather than hanging around in a shed that has very limited facilities. Sometimes people even have more than a quiet drink there ... I've seen the security guys from the cruise terminal come over to let people know it is time to board or else!!

 

Cheers

Bob

[Kinkacruiser]

Thanks Bob, I've printed off the map..good one.

Cheers,

Anna

[Tredebo]

I was in Sydney at the Rocks yesterday for a Christmas function and the cab drove past Wharf 8.

 

From Central Railway Station to George Street in the Rocks (the long way - cabbie went to the wrong pub) it cost $11.00. Given it was at peak time, midday on the last Friday before Christmas, I thought that wasn't bad, so a cab from the Ibis to the wharf would probably be about that, more likely less.