Bonnie, need clarification on 3/21 docking in Sydney

Hi Bonnie, we are on 3/6 cruise on Journey Auckland to Sydney.

The ship arrives in Sydney on 3/21 at 11 am at White Bay Terminal, Port schedules show the ship moving to Overseas terminal the afternoon of 3/21.

Today I called Le Club Voyage and they say they contacted the Journey just last week for this question and the answer from Journey is that we are not leaving White Bay Terminal as they did last year.

Could you possibly double check this for us? The roll call for this cruise would appreciate it. Thanks so much for all your help. :)

I checked the port schedule and it seems to have changed from what we saw a few weeks ago.

http://www.sydneyports.com.au/port_operations/cruise_schedule

Bonnie, we would still appreciate any official word that you may be able to offer. Thanks.

Isn't it sad (but true) that we don't accept what we hear when calling Miami as "official"?

And now, we even have doubts about what we hear from someone on board. If they don't know, who in the world will? At least those of us who arranged transfers will know the evening before so we can contact the transportation folks to confirm. I hope that by the evening of the 21st somebody will know for certain. :eek:

Yes, clarification would be so good to have!

Our ship will be at White Bay Terminal for all calls to Sydney this year. We've had this confirmed by the Port Authority of NSW.

We apologize for any confusion!

P.S. if our website, or any other online source, is telling you otherwise, would you send me a link to it so I can get this fixed? Thank you!

Thank you so much Bonnie for confirming.

Do you think there will be a shuttle or ferry that takes us to any other parts of town?

Thank you so much Bonnie for confirming.

 

Do you think there will be a shuttle or ferry that takes us to any other parts of town?

I certainly hope so! Especially if it's far away from tourist areas

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We are boarding on 22 March and would also like clarification. A couple of weeks ago the Sydney cruise ship schedule (official NSW Port Authority) had Journey at White Bay for two days, then it changed to overnight at OPT and I see today they have changed back to the original plan, so White Bay it looks. Also our departure time has changed.

"Azamara Journey

21-Mar-2017 11:00 (Tue)

22-Mar-2017 20:00 (Wed)

White Bay Cruise Terminal"

I think we shall have to send you up to the roof of your hotel Vera to really confirm Azamara is not at OPT. Such a shame White Bay is an awful port call and not a good look for Azamara. Hopefully this might change back again! It,could be worse last week Radiance of the Seas was a tender in the harbour as she can't get under the bridge and they had to check in at White,Bay and then ferry out to the ship. See you all soon Shirley

I think we shall have to send you up to the roof of your hotel Vera to really confirm Azamara is not at OPT. Such a shame White Bay is an awful port call and not a good look for Azamara. Hopefully this might change back again! It,could be worse last week Radiance of the Seas was a tender in the harbour as she can't get under the bridge and they had to check in at White,Bay and then ferry out to the ship. See you all soon Shirley

Tender would be better in my view than White Bay. Last year transfers were not good especially at night and the view is of commercial storage tanks. However Sydney is the one place where being small works to Azamaras disadvantage, it is the big boys that get OPT because they cannot go under the Bridge.

Unless there's a last minute call, there aren't any big ships in Sydney when the journey arrives there in the 21st

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It is just so disappointing since there is no other ship at OPT. We will not be centrally located to tourist areas, there are poor transportation options at White Bay, and we will not have that lovely view of the Opera House for the overnight there. Hoping for a miracle that Azamara reconsiders their decision....

Bonnie can you see if Miami will reconsider?

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This decision is not being made by us (Azamara). White Bay Terminal is the dock we are assigned by the Port Authority of NSW.

This decision is not being made by us (Azamara). White Bay Terminal is the dock we are assigned by the Port Authority of NSW.

Well, it seems crazy that NSW is assigning us this port since we would love to go spend money in their port, but it will not be easy at White Bay! It hurts their economy!

Maybe we all need to petition the port authority :)

https://www.service.nsw.gov.au

I believe last year after so many unhappy comments about white bay that Azamara did go to OPT on the second day on one of the sailings, as the slot was vacant. It's vacant for the 22/3/17 so things can be changed. But my memory could be faulty!

I believe last year after so many unhappy comments about white bay that Azamara did go to OPT on the second day on one of the sailings, as the slot was vacant. It's vacant for the 22/3/17 so things can be changed. But my memory could be faulty!

No it's not faulty you are correct.

The problem on that cruise was all the marketing by Azamara had been about docking under the harbour bridge, sip drinks looking over to the opera house etc then guests found out otherwise. Be aware unless it's changed the transport is only one return ticket into the Rocks (to be fair its a nice ride in under the bridge). That frustrated many last year especially as it was a walk to the ferry (they did sort out a shuttle to the ferry later on) the ferry runs to a timetable and only two boats were in the evening and there were no taxis waiting at the terminal.

Now it may have improved but as Bonnie seems to say there will be no change end of, thought it was better to highlight now how. It was. At least forewarned is forearmed as we say.

If the current situation re the White Bay docking/departure of Azamara Journey remains, this is a shocker by Azamara as previous literature referred to the Opera House etc., and the suggestion by Bonnie (sorry) that any remaining be amended only compounds that as unless I am wrong this cruise is fully booked, so no point doing that. While those of us on Cruise Critic now know what seems to be the situation, I would think that the majority of passengers will still be expecting to be located in the scenic location. Transport to and from White Bay is poor to non existent, and the contrast from sitting on board in a scenic location to being marooned in an industrial location is extreme and ruins the departure completely. Like many others I suspect, we are staying pre cruise in a hotel at Darling Harbour and have arranged transport accordingly, and to meet Australian friends ashore in the afternoon after embarkation. Again our online and agent documentation for this cruise shows a departure at 2100 hrs, but it seems this may be changed also.

Not good enough Azamara. You pride yourselves on listening to passengers, so still time to do the right thing rather than have a ship load of disgruntled passengers from day one.

It sounds though as it is the port authority, not Azamara that has created this change. We too are meeting people after we dock; this will just make it more difficult. More do for you though

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We booked the Sydney New year's eve 2018 voyage and one of the selling points on the website is 3 days docked in the heart of Sydney for the NYE fireworks. Now there is uncertainty which location the ship will be docked in. I understand some things are beyond the control of the cruise line but Azamara really should check these facts before advertising being docked in Sydney Harbour and also charging a premium price which we are willing to pay for such a unique experience but being docked out at an industrial port is not so appealing.

Hope Azamara won't let us down on this one.

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We booked the Sydney New year's eve 2018 voyage and one of the selling points on the website is 3 days docked in the heart of Sydney for the NYE fireworks. Now there is uncertainty which location the ship will be docked in. I understand some things are beyond the control of the cruise line but Azamara really should check these facts before advertising being docked in Sydney Harbour and also charging a premium price which we are willing to pay for such a unique experience but being docked out at an industrial port is not so appealing.

Hope Azamara won't let us down on this one.

 

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I saw this cruise and I was wondering the same thing!

I hope that Azamara stands by what they have advertised for you! And for us, for that matter! Our cruise will not be docking at Sydney, yet all the advertisements on the web site and on Facebook show the beautiful setting with the Azamara ship looking at Sydney Opera House in the background.....not some industrial port with absolutely no view of anything but tankers and shipping containers!

Very disappointing!

Thanks, I hope so too. I checked the Sydney port authority website and our cruise is listed for White Bay at the moment so I am hoping that Azamara will be able to sort something out for us, they are usually pretty good at responding to guests concerns.

Hope you also get a satisfactory resolution.

I mostly agree with you Alfredo1.

We always do everything we can to get the Overseas Cruise Terminal. However, Sydney is one of the most popular cruise destinations in the world. Unfortunately there are only two piers available where you can turn a cruise ship around. One is the Overseas Cruise Terminal and the other one is the White Bay Terminal. Frankly they need more space to land cruise vessels.

Because there aren't any other locations in Sydney, the Port takes reservations years in advance. The final decision of which pier we are assigned is the decision of the port authority, not the cruise line. They take the decision based on the best economics for the region. We are their guests and as visitors we gladly accept what is assigned. The alternative is simply not going to the destination. Furthermore, our Sydney docking position can be changed prior to arrival by regulation. Again the decision is up to local authorities, not the cruise line.

I also want to interject a notion that our staff at sea and land are very experienced. Our deployments are created with both shore side and shipping staffs involvement. Why would I even reference this? Because when I see postings suggesting we either did not know or failed to select the best terminal, nothing could be further from the truth.

In the case of our calls to Sydney in March, we have currently been assigned to White Bay. While we would prefer to be at the Overseas Cruise Terminal, we are fortunate that we are confirmed at White Bay. The alternative would be to not have any pier assignment which would be an even worse situation. Please note that we do provide a shuttle in the city when at White Bay, and there is also a really nice ferry ride from the terminal in to the city center. These fee based services are created for our voyage. The onboard team will provide all of the details when you get onboard.

Should something change prior to our arrival, we will certainly let you know.

Safe Travels!

Thank you for listening to what we all have said and for responding. I appreciate the explanation of how the decision is made to dock at White Bay. Glad to hear there will be shuttles and ferries available....hopefully they will run past 5 pm on the evening of March 21st, so we can venture onshore in the evening?

Again, thank you for your response in person.:)