Pre cruise advice :London - Sydney

Flying from the UK to join a cruise departing Sydney.

Have any other Brits suggestions on pre cruise arrangements?

Does one need a couple of days to get over the inevitable jet lag, or is arrival on day of cruise an option?

Not sailing until 2015, so plenty of time to plan.

Advice on pre cruise packages not available this far ahead.

Would say two night pre cruise stay would be minimum. You will be fit for nothing day of arrival after travelling for 24 hours and time difference. Arrange early check in at hotel as you will prob arrive early morning. We stayed at four seasons which was a great location. We could walk to Circular Quay where our ship was docked.

Sydney is amazing place and you must see it before boarding ship.

We are new to cruising, having only done one thus far. However, we have travelled to Aus and agree with the previous post, give yourselves a couple of days. Sydney is really "cool", even at our ages! Darling harbour a great place to experience and a lot more besides. We stayed at The Boulevard, a distance but within view. Somewhere in The Rocks, on the doorstep! We spent a New Year's Eve in a restaurant there - the best ever! We are planning a similar trip ourselves. Enjoy!

Flying from the UK to join a cruise departing Sydney.

 

Have any other Brits suggestions on pre cruise arrangements?

Does one need a couple of days to get over the inevitable jet lag, or is arrival on day of cruise an option?

Not sailing until 2015, so plenty of time to plan.

Advice on pre cruise packages not available this far ahead.

Last year we did Celebrity Sydney to Hawaii and flew to Sydney from Manchester. Sydney is such a wonderful place allow yourself time to see the sights - Opera House, the Quays, ride on the ferries. Two days is minimum after such a long journey - take ear plugs, we tried to sleep but the plane can be noisy.

We did this a few years ago. Flew out of Heathrow at 11pm on Thursday and after a fuel stop in Bangkok, landed in Sydney 6.30am Saturday (what happened to Friday!!??). Walked through the airport like a zombie and got a taxi to the Holiday Inn right beside Circular Quay (our room overlooked the terminal). Had 3 days in and around Sydney, which was nothing like enough...must go back one day. One tip is if you are thinking of doing the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb (and its well worth it), do it on embarkation day about 11am. You can drop your bags about 10am, do the climb and its only a 5 minute walk to the cruise terminal. We got to the terminal at 3pm and everyone was gone, so had 20 odd booking agents to ourselves...never checked in so quick before!

Simon

Flying from the UK to join a cruise departing Sydney.

 

Does one need a couple of days to get over the inevitable jet lag, or is arrival on day of cruise an option?

I would not fly in the day of a cruise even if it was only an hour flight. Too many things can (and do) go wrong. I've flown Sydney to London and it is a long, tiring flight even if you do sleep on the plane. I would say fly in at least three days before the cruise. If you have never been to Sydney and can do it, go a week ahead of time. Sydney is a wonderful city with lots to see and it is easy to get around.

Enjoy your cruise.

Thanks for all the replies to my question.

Looks like an extended holiday is required!

What about the return from Honolulu to London??

Any experiences to relate?

Flying from the UK to join a cruise departing Sydney.

 

Have any other Brits suggestions on pre cruise arrangements?

Does one need a couple of days to get over the inevitable jet lag, or is arrival on day of cruise an option?

Not sailing until 2015, so plenty of time to plan.

Advice on pre cruise packages not available this far ahead.

When I read this my first thoughts were to recommend my long haul airline

of choice - Emirates. To which I would have added a suggestion to break your journey with a stopover in Dubai and then a couple of days in Sydney before the cruise.

However your later post regarding Honolulu puts a different light on flights, as your return would be on a completely different airline which may not be cost effective. Speaking of Honolulu and Hawaii in general, you could also do the week long cruise on NCLs Pride of America before you fly home.

We also looked at the Trans Pacific, but couldn't make the flights work at sensible prices without doing B2B to Vancouver, overnighting and then flying via Seattle and Reykavik back to the UK. Be interested to know how you eventually get on with flights?

You really do not want to fly in the day of your cruise. Sydney is a great city to DIY and you want at least 2-4 days there and you need several days to get your energy back.

If you are not used to these long haul flights, have a break in the middle of it, say Singapore or Kuala Lumpur and book an airport hotel in the transit lounge for a 10 hr block. That way you will have a sleep while your body clock is adjusting and be refreshed for the second haul.

Just make sure you have all you need for the stop over in your carry on, because your main luggage will stay with the plane.

Another option is to actually stay one or two days in your layover stop. Check with your TA, sometimes there are special deals with hotels that include these stops. Had one of these many years ago now, it was the year of the tourist in Malysia and for $100 I received a transfer from airport to the Sheraton and a night there, a sumptious breakfast, then a city tour for 3 hours before transfer back to airport.

In this scenario your luggage stays with you (i.e you have to collect it from the carousel), because your are leaving the airport.

Not sure how long it is to fly back from Honolulu, but if it is about 11 hours or so, you could go back in one go.

If more then break it up a bit.

Since we live in the middle of Alaska we fly to every cruise port -- even when we did two Alaska cruises. We never ever ever even consider flying into the port the day of the cruise.

We spent a week in Sydney following a cruise from Honolulu to Sydney in 2011. Sydney is a great city with so much to do. We will be spending more time there in October 2014 following a San Francisco to Sydney cruise, and are so looking forward to visiting the area again.

We stayed at the Sir Stamford at Circular Quay, and plan to book there again. The Circular Quay location is great for visitors, as it is close to major attractions and also offers transportation options.

Sailed Sydney to Honolulu last month - just reiterating some of the info already here. Took the train ( underground) from the terminal to Circular Quay and walked right past the ship terminal to the Holiday Inn, which is only a couple blocks away. It's probably 300-400 M but it's a pleasant walk along the waterfront if you can handle your luggage. We also did the bridge climb - the day before we left, but we could have easily done it the am of embarkation if we had wanted.

First of all, beware of 'pre-cruise packages'. Since they charge per person (vs. a cab or hotel which charge a flat rate) it is invariably more expensive than booking on your own, and an unnecessary additional expense IMO.

Also, be sure to check Choice Air for your flights--look at booking two one way tickets rather than a round trip ticket; it may surprise you.

And of course I agree with all other posters--because you will need time to adjust, and because Sydney is a wonderful cosmopolitan city, you definitely will want to fly in a few days early at a minimum.

Happy planning!!

What a lovely lot you are!

Now I have a good idea of what to do.

Thank you all for your response.

Last year we did Celebrity Sydney to Hawaii and flew to Sydney from Manchester. Sydney is such a wonderful place allow yourself time to see the sights - Opera House, the Quays, ride on the ferries. Two days is minimum after such a long journey - take ear plugs, we tried to sleep but the plane can be noisy.

Did you do your own pre cruise stay.

We are on Celebrity Solstice bound for Honolulu.:)

Thanks for all the replies to my question.

Looks like an extended holiday is required!

What about the return from Honolulu to London??

Any experiences to relate?

We flew Honolulu to Seattle and stayed there for 2 nights; Seattle to Manchester via Reykjavic. This is probably not suitable for you but we wanted to break the journey and Seattle was very interesting. Stay in Honolulu if you have the time - so much to see.:)

Now I have a good idea of what to do.

Did you do your own pre cruise stay.

We are on Celebrity Solstice bound for Honolulu.:)

Yes, we booked our own pre-cruise stay (3 of us went, myself, DW and DM Khepri). Sydney is expensive for hotels, we stayed at the Travelodge Wynyard which is really central to everything and a good rate.

My travel tip wold be to take a flight that arrives early evening. That way you can clear the airport, check in to the hotel, have a brief stroll out (the thought of the first glimpse of the Opera House usually puts the fatigue aside briefly) then have an early night. Next day you'll be tired but not completely wiped out.

When you've booked your one month ;) pre-cruise stay in Sydney, don't forget the CC guide to things to do there.

Just a month?

Will that be enough??

Just a month?

Will that be enough??

If at all possible, try to stay at least 10 - 14 days before or after your cruise. The cruises, of course, can only visit a few cities on the coast (presumably the East Coast for your cruise) and there's so many interesting places in the interior and on the other coasts that are worth a visit.

I have booked my third cruise to Australia. The first time, I missed the Blue moutains and the Red rock. The second time I missed Queenstown. We are sailing again in 2014. I will continue to return until I see'do as much as I can fit into each trip.

We are planning a week pre-cruise just to sight see. Never :eek:take a chance and fly in on the day of the cruise, there is a chance you may watch the ship sail away:eek:. If possible book an event at the Sydney

Opera house. You will be amazed.