More upgrades for the OPT.

Channel Nine news Sydney last night announced that a new bollard system will be installed at the OPT to accommodate the bigger cruise ships berthing at the OPT. I could be wrong, :eek:but did they not just spend 50 million on an upgrade to the facility and part of that was to extend the wharf to enable ships of Oasis class to berth there, ie ships bigger than the Ovation and whatever ship Carnival are building to be based here so they must have forgotten to do it then:rolleyes:

Duncan Gay waffled on about the need for the terminal to "grow" but unfortunately,(as far as I can see)due to its location, it cannot physically do so. Even after the recent upgrade, the terminal "struggles" to handle the 3500 odd passengers on the voyager class ships, especially the debark, where there is just not enough space for luggage to be laid down and guests having to do "laps" of the place just to get out past Customs and having to negotiate four sets of vision impaired bumps between the two "different level" baggage halls. How many of you have had trouble pushing your luggage over them??

The Ovation has a new "tablet based" check in system but I believe the OPT does not have the WiFi capacity to utilise it and I cannot see Sydney Ports spending the money for just eight turnarounds a year but for some reason there is a fair bit is " secrecy" about what happens there so maybe they have this under control :rolleyes: but I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Went through the OPT on Diamond Princess last month and wasn't impressed at all. Not sure how much was the fault of Princess and how much was the OPT, but the shore-side operations for embarkation were a disaster.

Friends of mine were scheduled for a 130 embarkation. They barely got on in time for the 330 safety drill, having spent about 90 min waiting in the line just to get inside the OPT building. Absolute disaster.

Its clear Garden Island isn't really an option, at last for the near future. Why don't Royal Caribbean follow through with their plan to open up a terminal in Botany Bay and do scenic afternoon cruises through the harbour before departing.

Its clear Garden Island isn't really an option, at last for the near future. Why don't Royal Caribbean follow through with their plan to open up a terminal in Botany Bay and do scenic afternoon cruises through the harbour before departing.

Can't see how the "afternoon cruise" could work. The ship still needs basically the same amount of time for embark / debark / provisioning so would not get to Sydney Harbour until say 7:30-8 pm ish and then another hour or so to "cruise" up and down the Harbour (getting a bit dark by now) and not worth the hassle..... cannot see too many passengers being happy about having to get off the ship at 5am just so some else can have a harbour cruise :eek:....not to mention the cost to Royal as they would have to kick the can to help build the new terminal which they would only (at the present time) use for six months of the year.

Went through the OPT on Diamond Princess last month and wasn't impressed at all. Not sure how much was the fault of Princess and how much was the OPT, but the shore-side operations for embarkation were a disaster.

 

Friends of mine were scheduled for a 130 embarkation. They barely got on in time for the 330 safety drill, having spent about 90 min waiting in the line just to get inside the OPT building. Absolute disaster.

I think grahame will agree when this happens it is usually because the 6 immigration staff can't keep up with the 30 check in staff...then of course they have to get through the security scanners before passengers can board the ship... this causes a big back up and people are left standing outside...

Can't see how the "afternoon cruise" could work. The ship still needs basically the same amount of time for embark / debark / provisioning so would not get to Sydney Harbour until say 7:30-8 pm ish and then another hour or so to "cruise" up and down the Harbour (getting a bit dark by now) and not worth the hassle..... cannot see too many passengers being happy about having to get off the ship at 5am just so some else can have a harbour cruise :eek:....not to mention the cost to Royal as they would have to kick the can to help build the new terminal which they would only (at the present time) use for six months of the year.

Agreed, I think they're happy to see the government cough up with alternatives which is happening, whereas Botany Bay was a fallback - a decent one, but not preferred if things in the harbour are workable.

Interesting that it was on Nine, given they're recent 'promotional contributions' from RCL - wonder if this was related. Agree about the issues in debarkation at OPT, which is also where I think it struggles most after refurb.

As for the check-in, they're not using that capability at Shanghai despite being the base for Quantum and also a new terminal, so I agree it's not likely here. It seems that's only done for Anthem in the US. Given how people here don't seem to deal well with variation I think it's simpler to keep check-in here like the other ships as well.

What a joke is the OPT it is a shed nothing else!No facilities inside at all.

What a joke is the OPT it is a shed nothing else!No facilities inside at all.

No toilets?

How about curtains?

Went through the OPT on Diamond Princess last month and wasn't impressed at all. Not sure how much was the fault of Princess and how much was the OPT, but the shore-side operations for embarkation were a disaster.

 

Friends of mine were scheduled for a 130 embarkation. They barely got on in time for the 330 safety drill, having spent about 90 min waiting in the line just to get inside the OPT building. Absolute disaster.

Went through the OPT last December with Royal no problems at all less than 30 minutes from luggage drop off to being on board and it was a full ship on Voyager.I think a lot depends on what time you get there. We always get there early and never have an issue.

Its clear Garden Island isn't really an option, at last for the near future. Why don't Royal Caribbean follow through with their plan to open up a terminal in Botany Bay and do scenic afternoon cruises through the harbour before departing.

Why don't they? $$$$$$ that's why

I think grahame will agree when this happens it is usually because the 6 immigration staff can't keep up with the 30 check in staff...then of course they have to get through the security scanners before passengers can board the ship... this causes a big back up and people are left standing outside...

Did a short local cruise on Radiance recently and even though we had priority boarding (check in) there was only one line to enter the building from outside. In the past there were separate loyalty lines. Not so now.

Also bag drop signs were very confusing (poorly positioned). People were lining up in the entrance line with baggage still in hand and then being told to take the bags over to bag drop. These people then lost their spot or elected to take luggage with them.

Once through check-in (very efficient) we were delayed by 30 minutes before we could even proceed to security. Staff were only allowing small groups at a time. No immigration, so what was the big delay? Only took us 5 minutes to get through security and onto the ship.

Not complaining - just saying that the process is now slower than pre upgrade.

Went through the OPT last December with Royal no problems at all less than 30 minutes from luggage drop off to being on board and it was a full ship on Voyager.I think a lot depends on what time you get there. We always get there early and never have an issue.

Check in is not really the problem......debark is where the bottlenecks can be..just not enough usable space and poorly designed.

What a joke is the OPT it is a shed nothing else!No facilities inside at all.

If by "facilities" you mean cafes and retail shops etc then that is not what the OPT is designed for. It is a terminal building for processing passengers onto and off of cruise ships. The terminal is smack dab in the middle of Sydney with any amount of cafes,restaurants and retail outlets just outside the terminal doors..it does not need any more.

If by "facilities" you mean cafes and retail shops etc then that is not what the OPT is designed for. It is a terminal building for processing passengers onto and off of cruise ships. The terminal is smack dab in the middle of Sydney with any amount of cafes,restaurants and retail outlets just outside the terminal doors..it does not need any more.

Agreed, I go in to get processed quickly and comfortably.

If you want to wait beforehand, or get other supplies, there are ample options in the vicinity .

No need to pack even more in, which then makes its core purpose even slower. (Like going to a shopping centre, where they pack the corridors with stands/cafes to increase revenue so it's harder to get through, and remove seats and bins to replace with takeaways since they don't bring in revenue either.)

I think grahame will agree when this happens it is usually because the 6 immigration staff can't keep up with the 30 check in staff...then of course they have to get through the security scanners before passengers can board the ship... this causes a big back up and people are left standing outside...

No immigration staff involved. This was a domestic cruise to Melbourne and Tasmania.

As far as I can tell, the main problem was Princess staff only letting small numbers of people into the terminal at a time. Once people got inside the terminal things were fine, but they were stuck outside in the heat for no good reason.

Went through the OPT last December with Royal no problems at all less than 30 minutes from luggage drop off to being on board and it was a full ship on Voyager.I think a lot depends on what time you get there. We always get there early and never have an issue.

I suspect that the problem was incompetent Princess staff on the shore side operations. The queues inside the terminal were reasonably short. It was just the Princess staff at the entrance not letting enough people into the building.

Did a short local cruise on Radiance recently and even though we had priority boarding (check in) there was only one line to enter the building from outside. In the past there were separate loyalty lines. Not so now.

 

Also bag drop signs were very confusing (poorly positioned). People were lining up in the entrance line with baggage still in hand and then being told to take the bags over to bag drop. These people then lost their spot or elected to take luggage with them.

 

Once through check-in (very efficient) we were delayed by 30 minutes before we could even proceed to security. Staff were only allowing small groups at a time. No immigration, so what was the big delay? Only took us 5 minutes to get through security and onto the ship.

 

Not complaining - just saying that the process is now slower than pre upgrade.

This is exactly the process I experienced on the Diamond Princess last month. Utterly hopeless.

We boarded VOS last month fairly quickly once inside, although they did give us the wrong coloured card apparently, not the priority boarding one for Diamond members, but it got sorted & we were sent up front to the side of the queues & processed quickly from there.

The slower part was getting in the terminal as someone else said they only had one line - whereas in the past priority boarding was a separate line.

We arrived at about 11am & the line wasn't too long, but what happens if you arrive & it's a mile long - as a priority boarding passenger are you just supposed to go to the front of the line & show the person your boarding pass & basically push in, or join the queue - which isn't priority boarding?

Gbenjo, that would be good to know now they just have one entry line. :)

We boarded VOS last month fairly quickly once inside, although they did give us the wrong coloured card apparently, not the priority boarding one for Diamond members, but it got sorted & we were sent up front to the side of the queues & processed quickly from there.

 

The slower part was getting in the terminal as someone else said they only had one line - whereas in the past priority boarding was a separate line.

 

We arrived at about 11am & the line wasn't too long, but what happens if you arrive & it's a mile long - as a priority boarding passenger are you just supposed to go to the front of the line & show the person your boarding pass & basically push in, or join the queue - which isn't priority boarding?

 

Gbenjo, that would be good to know now they just have one entry line. :)

Thanks Avalon007 I did know we only have one line for entry into the terminal:D:D.

To be honest though, when doing check in we have no idea what the lines outside the building are like and apart from the usual midday rush there are never really any long lines ( if at all) upstairs in the Priority areas. Nothing to do with me and Packetau doing Priority check in of course :D:D

The suggestion of a Priority " access" line outside the terminal makes sense to me and I will mention it to the powers to be. Sorry all those Princess/ Carnival cruisers .....I cannot help you:D

Thanks Avalon007 I did know we only have one line for entry into the terminal:D:D.

To be honest though, when doing check in we have no idea what the lines outside the building are like and apart from the usual midday rush there are never really any long lines ( if at all) upstairs in the Priority areas. Nothing to do with me and Packetau doing Priority check in of course :D:D

 

The suggestion of a Priority " access" line outside the terminal makes sense to me and I will mention it to the powers to be. Sorry all those Princess/ Carnival cruisers .....I cannot help you:D

Gbenjo, i also referred to this problem as well as Vader111. Would be good to see the red carpet restored:)

We boarded VOS last month fairly quickly once inside, although they did give us the wrong coloured card apparently, not the priority boarding one for Diamond members, but it got sorted & we were sent up front to the side of the queues & processed quickly from there

Staff knew we were Diamond ,showed them our seapass card, made no difference, still had to wait with everybody else. Was going to push the issue but dw did not want to create a scene for the sake of 30 minutes.

This is the line that goes behind the bariers after check in.

Staff knew we were Diamond ,showed them our seapass card, made no difference, still had to wait with everybody else. Was going to push the issue but dw did not want to create a scene for the sake of 30 minutes.

 

This is the line that goes behind the bariers after check in.

Seems maybe some new staff at the OPT need some training? Check in for Celebrity the year before in the newly renovated OPT went a lot smoother.

For the VOS cruise last month - we were in the area where you sit & wait with your coloured card & the people next to us who were newbie cruisers were called based on their card colour prior to us. So we went & asked if we had the correct cards considering we are Diamond & are supposed to get priority boarding.

We were advised we had the wrong cards & to just move up to the left side of the main queue in front of the customs, on the way there a woman stopped us & we explained the situation & she let us proceed although not graciously, there was another couple waiting there as well & they then ushered us both ahead of the main queue passengers. to the customs desk.

So seems some confusion both outside & inside the terminal regards priority boarding.

I wouldn't create a big fuss in my manner or raise my voice, but I if they had denied us I would have politely asked to speak to the person in charge or went & quietly spoke to someone else, because on principal we should be given what we are entitled to & not denied it due to the ignorance of some individual OPT staff.

Also, as already noted several of us have noticed there used to be 2 lines out front of the building entrance before the OPT makeover, one standard & one priority - why has that changed? The priority has to be from the start to the finish of the boarding process to work, not just haphazard in it's application otherwise it is no longer priority boarding IMO.

After hearing you also had issues I have emailed the port authority people who run the OPT & advised them how the priority boarding procedure basically broke down in 2 of it's 3 stages & asked what is supposed to happen.

I have asked them to outline how priority boarding should work - if they reply & it's positive I will print out that email & take it with me next cruise to show any staff that didn't get the memo! :D

Seems maybe some new staff at the OPT need some training? Check in for Celebrity the year before in the newly renovated OPT went a lot smoother.

 

For the VOS cruise last month - we were in the area where you sit & wait with your coloured card & the people next to us who were newbie cruisers were called based on their card colour prior to us. So we went & asked if we had the correct cards considering we are Diamond & are supposed to get priority boarding.

 

We were advised we had the wrong cards & to just move up to the left side of the main queue in front of the customs, on the way there a woman stopped us & we explained the situation & she let us proceed although not graciously, there was another couple waiting there as well & they then ushered us both ahead of the main queue passengers. to the customs desk.

 

So seems some confusion both outside & inside the terminal regards priority boarding.

 

I wouldn't create a big fuss in my manner or raise my voice, but I if they had denied us I would have politely asked to speak to the person in charge or went & quietly spoke to someone else, because on principal we should be given what we are entitled to & not denied it due to the ignorance of some individual OPT staff.

 

Also, as already noted several of us have noticed there used to be 2 lines out front of the building entrance before the OPT makeover, one standard & one priority - why has that changed? The priority has to be from the start to the finish of the boarding process to work, not just haphazard in it's application otherwise it is no longer priority boarding IMO.

 

After hearing you also had issues I have emailed the port authority people who run the OPT & advised them how the priority boarding procedure basically broke down in 2 of it's 3 stages & asked what is supposed to happen.

 

I have asked them to outline how priority boarding should work - if they reply & it's positive I will print out that email & take it with me next cruise to show any staff that didn't get the memo! :D

Unfortunately you will not get much satisfaction from Sydney Ports as they have absolutely nothing to do with how the terminal is set up. They merely "lease" the terminal building to the cruise line for the day and what they do with it, as far as guest processing, is up to the individual companies. The cruise lines have contracts with portside agencies whom they employ to handle all their portside activities ie, luggage, check in, provisioning etc....(that is who I work for) and obviously we are guided by what the cruise line wants and we need to follow their policies. They are always looking for ways to improve and suggestions like yours could be simply used providing they have the staff available etc.

A lot of the delays "post check in" are caused by customs or security or some ship board situation and are mostly out of our control ( but normally short lived) and can happen without much notice. Not an excuse but just the reason.

Our company is rated for every turnaround based on guests comments etc in the post cruise survey you do so maybe if enough of you let them know they will be aware and do something about it....the surveys are read.

 

Unfortunately you will not get much satisfaction from Sydney Ports as they have absolutely nothing to do with how the terminal is set up. They merely "lease" the terminal building to the cruise line for the day and what they do with it, as far as guest processing, is up to the individual companies. The cruise lines have contracts with portside agencies whom they employ to handle all their portside activities ie, luggage, check in, provisioning etc....(that is who I work for) and obviously we are guided by what the cruise line wants and we need to follow their policies. They are always looking for ways to improve and suggestions like yours could be simply used providing they have the staff available etc.

 

A lot of the delays "post check in" are caused by customs or security or some ship board situation and are mostly out of our control ( but normally short lived) and can happen without much notice. Not an excuse but just the reason.

 

Our company is rated for every turnaround based on guests comments etc in the post cruise survey you do so maybe if enough of you let them know they will be aware and do something about it....the surveys are read.

Hi Gbenjo,

Yes I though it wasn't the exact place to email but figured they may pass it on to whoever it's relevant to.

I have already completed my survey & wasn't associating it with the OPT check in as I don't think of that as being part of the cruise line I suppose. So can't get that message through now as it's too late.

So what is the name of the company you work for - I can look them up & find an email address to contact them directly if you think it will be valuable feedback for them?

Update - I just received this back from the Port Authority:

Thank you for your feedback which we have forwarded onto Royal Caribbean who will respond to you directly in the coming days.

Best Regards,

Port Authority of New South Wales

Level 4, 20 Windmill Street | Walsh Bay NSW 2000 Australia

So - will be interesting to see if Royal does contact me - will advise the outcome in due course. :)