Waitlisted for Hotel in Sydney

I just got off the phone with Princess, and the Sun Princess 1/22/2019, sailing will be from the OPT (Overseas Passenger Terminal). Any advice for hotels near there? We're coming in on the 18th leaving from SFO and connecting from LAX to Sydney. We booked through EZAir. Looked into nonstops but it was too $$$$. Thanks for any help or advice.

Oh! you already found out about OPT. ::blush::

For picking hotels, you're not restricted to the CBD, there is a subway stop about 700' from the OPT.

So I have a question for the OP. Why are you even using Princess for your hotel? Do it on your own and you will likely save a substantial amount of money. In our experience (forty + years) cruise line pre and post cruise packages can cost as much as twice the price of doing it on your own. Just go on a decent hotel search engine like Kayak and find out what that same hotel (or another that might even be better) will cost. As to transfers, using a taxi should cost you no more than $40 Aus which is probably less expensive then a cruise line transfer. And unlike cruise line transfers you do not have to wait while they fill their bus or mini bus. When you use a taxi you just walk outside, get into your taxi, and go to your hotel.

 

Hank

I would just like to add that our experience in having a taxi take us from the airport to the CBD was more like $70 Aus because our driver neglected to use the tunnel, saying that he had heard it was very slow. Our route through the city ended up being extremely slow but because it was our first time in Sydney, we had to abide by the driver's experience and therefore ended up paying way too much. We arrived on a weekend, so how bad could the traffic have been. I felt we were taken advantage of by being a first time visitor. Also, our driver chatted us up and said he had relatives in the city we were from. Now, I'm wondering if this was just a ploy, to take our mind off of the long drive and high fare.

Barb:(

I would just like to add that our experience in having a taxi take us from the airport to the CBD was more like $70 Aus because our driver neglected to use the tunnel, saying that he had heard it was very slow. Our route through the city ended up being extremely slow but because it was our first time in Sydney, we had to abide by the driver's experience and therefore ended up paying way too much. We arrived on a weekend, so how bad could the traffic have been. I felt we were taken advantage of by being a first time visitor. Also, our driver chatted us up and said he had relatives in the city we were from. Now, I'm wondering if this was just a ploy, to take our mind off of the long drive and high fare.

 

Barb:(

I visited Trip Advisor website to get info on getting from the Sydney Airport to the Holiday Inn and someone posted that the taxi cost would be around $50. That post was in 2013. Others said to take the train and then a short walk to the hotel, but there's no room on the train for luggage. They also said don't even think about taking the hotel shuttle, it's not dependable. So, it looks like we'll take our chances with the taxi. Do taxis in Sydney take credit cards? I heard you don't want to exchange US $$ at the airport due to higher fees charged.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g255060-i122-k6569154-Airport_transfers_to_Holiday_Inn_Old_Sydney-Sydney_New_South_Wales.html

It was great to be picked up by Princess in Sydney, after a 10+ hour flight from Honolulu. The Four Seasons hotel was OK, but the pickup at the airport on arrival made it worth every penny. Get the hotel package if you can.

It was great to be picked up by Princess in Sydney' date=' after a 10+ hour flight from Honolulu. The Four Seasons hotel was OK, but the pickup at the airport on arrival made it worth every penny. Get the hotel package if you can.[/quote']

 

We're flying in on the 18th and hotel/transfer through Princess is for 1 night only at the 4 Seasons, the other hotel is sold out. so, it looks like I'll have to book the hotel on our own and take a taxi to the hotel. Would probably be cheaper doing it that way than going through Princess.

 

I just checked the Four Seasons website for Sydney and it's more than I am willing to pay - $411 Australian a night.

We had heard the same horror stories about the shuttles from the Sydney Airport and so decided not to book anything ahead of time. DH found a shuttle once we arrived and it worked out great.

Here’s my blog post for our flight to and transfer in Sydney:

http://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/2017/10/were-here.html

I visited Trip Advisor website to get info on getting from the Sydney Airport to the Holiday Inn and someone posted that the taxi cost would be around $50. That post was in 2013. Others said to take the train and then a short walk to the hotel, but there's no room on the train for luggage. They also said don't even think about taking the hotel shuttle, it's not dependable. So, it looks like we'll take our chances with the taxi. Do taxis in Sydney take credit cards? I heard you don't want to exchange US $$ at the airport due to higher fees charged.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g255060-i122-k6569154-Airport_transfers_to_Holiday_Inn_Old_Sydney-Sydney_New_South_Wales.html

Yes taxis in Sydney and everywhere else here take credit cards. After a long flight I personally can never be bothered with train travel. If you are still looking for a hotel near the OPT just search for hotels at Circular Quay and quite a few will come up. I'd expect a few would have shuttle arrangements but a taxi will cost $50-60 which is more like $US35 on current $ rates. I would never change money at an airport and there are plenty of money exchanges in the city area. Enjoy my old home town, the harbour area and the surrounding walks are great.

We're going to take the train. You can catch it in the airport terminal and take it to the Circular Quay Station. From there it is a 6 minute walk to the Holiday Inn Old Sydney.

We're going to take the train. You can catch it in the airport terminal and take it to the Circular Quay Station. From there it is a 6 minute walk to the Holiday Inn Old Sydney.

The Opal card fare is $16.90 and it is slightly more for an Opal Card single trip. For two people it will cost about $35-40 by train and a taxi is say $50-60, without the walk, buying tickets, and lugging your bags on to the train. After a long flight I know what method I'd choose.

I’m suprised that nobody is suggesting UBER. It’s an excellent option in a foreign port & the fare is a flat rate. It’s my first choice.

I just checked the UBER rates to Potts Point & it’s $10-11 AUD.

Thanks!

Tom😎

Visited Sydney before our Auckland to Sydney cruise on Diamond Princess, Holiday Inn Old Sydney is a perfect location. Plenty of shopping nearby. Delicious Italian restaurant right across the street and Hoho bus on the corner.

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Just book your own.

We are currently waitlisted for a Princess Hotel in Sydney. Has anyone had this experience before and do rooms "open up" typically?

I would not tolerate such a thing and think it is a terrible risk to take for your holiday. What if the hotel does not come to fruition and all other reasonable hotels sell out leaving you with a choice of hotel you do not want.

Princess is a cruise line and as much as I like them they are not experts on land based hotels and I would never trust them to manage my hotel booking.

It would be far better for you to do your own hotel booking. Also find out what hotel Princess has booked and self book your own room if you are that desperate. There are bound to be still rooms at the hotel.

To me I can think of nothing worst than booking a hotel where I know many other guests from the ship will be staying. It is asking for trouble with excessive amounts of check-ins and departures on the same day as your stay. Its best to go with a totally random hotel and avoid known congestion.

We're going to take the train. You can catch it in the airport terminal and take it to the Circular Quay Station. From there it is a 6 minute walk to the Holiday Inn Old Sydney.

Kenswing somebody posted that there is no room for the lugage on the Airport train.

This is correct in that there are no lugage racks (I can't understand why) but what we do on this train is to stay in the area where you first enter the train and NOT go up or down the stairs. Here we find that there is plenty of room for your suitcases with the seats against the wall.

There are lifts at both stations you will be using.

During our last trip to Sydney for our NZ cruise, we stayed at the Meriton Apartments on Pitt ST and there was a market around the corner on George street so we didn't eat out much, merely bought our food and brought it back to the apartment.

I would not tolerate such a thing and think it is a terrible risk to take for your holiday. What if the hotel does not come to fruition and all other reasonable hotels sell out leaving you with a choice of hotel you do not want.

 

Princess is a cruise line and as much as I like them they are not experts on land based hotels and I would never trust them to manage my hotel booking.

 

It would be far better for you to do your own hotel booking. Also find out what hotel Princess has booked and self book your own room if you are that desperate. There are bound to be still rooms at the hotel.

 

To me I can think of nothing worst than booking a hotel where I know many other guests from the ship will be staying. It is asking for trouble with excessive amounts of check-ins and departures on the same day as your stay. Its best to go with a totally random hotel and avoid known congestion.

I did just that yesterday when I was looking around. Called Princess then had to call my T/A. Four Seasons was the only option through Princess and they would not accommodation me for 4 days, only the 1 night at $411 a night! Nope, I'm not going to pay that. I then looked at Four Seasons on line and there were rooms available for around $200 a night. I ended up just booking Holiday Inn.. Though I don't want a "dive", it's just a place to lay my head and take a shower, wifi and it's clean. I'm not that hard to please....as long as there's no dirty diapers laying around....:D (joke, one of my past threads about dirty diapers laying on the balcony).

During our last trip to Sydney for our NZ cruise, we stayed at the Meriton Apartments on Pitt ST and there was a market around the corner on George street so we didn't eat out much, merely bought our food and brought it back to the apartment.

Huge fan of the Meriton Apt Hotels. We stayed at their Kent St location when we took our last Aussie vacation. Kitchenette, washer / dryer, one block from supermarkets and Town Hall Station. High floor room with a view of Darling Harbour and only 10 mins to Circular Quay. Would recommend over a master suite (aka a hotel) any day of the week. We're sailing the Majestic from Sydney to Auckland where we'll embark on our tour of the North Island - again we've booked Apt Hotels there. We're light travellers - if it doesn't fit in a roller-bag it doesn't get to come on vacation - got a few AUD left on our last Opal Cards so we'll train to Town Hall, drop off our bags and then ferry to Manly to blast-off those jet-lag cobwebs...

There were 4 of us, DH, myself, daughter and his sister so pricing was far better for us in a 2 bdrm on the 47th floor. Our 9 days post cruise was a bit more expensive but we split it in half then the daughter & her aunt split their half. I would stay in them again if the daughter & I were to go over again. Our first trip was in 2014 for the 13 day NZ then 9 days later, the Transpacific & 12 day Hawaii. That was my husbands dream trip & so glad we were able to do it. It was a fabulous trip.The daughter did return two year later and drove around with a lady she befriended and stayed in touch with from the NZ cruise for 3 weeks.