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Sydneys NEW White Bay Terminal

gaechann

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cruiselover53

cruiselover53

Posted
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Not enough Taxi's, and this is when there is no demand on a working day.:mad:

 

Good to read that Princess and P&O are offering shuttles to Central Railway Station ($12) and Airport ($20). This would be my choice, as it appears Taxi's and public transport have their issues. ;)

 

There were plenty of taxis.They had them all parked in a vacant block of land just before the terminal.They directed them in as the full taxis left,so I don't think the issues were caused by the taxis

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gbenjo

gbenjo

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It's good to see positive reports on the operational set up at White (Elephant)Bay although you would hope that things "worked" at a new purpose built terminal. I guess you will always have problems with taxis when everyone wants a taxi at the same time, it would be the same at an airport or anywhere else. My only beef is about the location as it does not have the WOW of the OPT and can only handle the "smaller" cruise ships so its potential is somewhat limited. It's just a pity that the terminal is so far from

public transport . Oh well not much anybody can do about it but take in the "sheer beauty" of that 3 km approach road:eek: or maybe they could "build a bridge" and get over it ....as I will.

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MicCanberra Holiday Sharing Rare

MicCanberra

Posted
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It's good to see positive reports on the operational set up at White (Elephant)Bay although you would hope that things "worked" at a new purpose built terminal. I guess you will always have problems with taxis when everyone wants a taxi at the same time, it would be the same at an airport or anywhere else. My only beef is about the location as it does not have the WOW of the OPT and can only handle the "smaller" cruise ships so its potential is somewhat limited. It's just a pity that the terminal is so far from

public transport . Oh well not much anybody can do about it but take in the "sheer beauty" of that 3 km approach road:eek: or maybe they could "build a bridge" and get over it ....as I will.

Yeah, I suppose one way of avoiding this terminal is to only cruise on the larger ships but I pick a cruise by the itinerary first not the ship. We will have to see waht pans out in the future nad just live with it. The good news is that with multiple terminals Sydney is well capable of handling multiple ships without too much congestion in one location.:D

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aussiedisneyfan

aussiedisneyfan

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The OPT isn't much good when it is raining. There is hardly any undercover area and no seating. When we got of the Voyager in January it was pouring and we disembarked on the ground floor. The luggage was in an area that I think is usually for supplies. The ground was uneven and lots of puddles and our suitcases were sitting in water. One passenger had put her tote bag out (silly thing) and it was saturated.

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Aus Traveller

Aus Traveller

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I think the OPT is too small for present-day ships. It was great for the Fairstar with fewer passengers. Now the passengers often have to queue for a long time in the open air - sun or rain. I liked the terminal at Wharf 8 or even the Big White Tent at Wharf 5. We haven't cruised from White Bay yet.

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MicCanberra Holiday Sharing Rare

MicCanberra

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The OPT is useless when the weather is hot or cold or raining.Being forced to stand outside in this day and age is really not acceptable.

We didn't have any queues boarding or disembarking - there were 2800 pax onboard the Solstice. :D

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rkmw

rkmw

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We didn't have any queues boarding or disembarking - there were 2800 pax onboard the Solstice. :D

 

i suppose if you arrive after lunch time you shouldnt have a problem embarking but some people arrive earlier and no where for them to sit and wait.....if the OPT was like White Bay it would be fine

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gbenjo

gbenjo

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Just imagine how bad it would be at the OPT if you did not have all those fantastic,wonderful, helpful (and good looking;)) check in people for RCI & Celebrity.......Sorry what's that?........Well ..yes.. OK ....I am one of them:D:D:D..... And I do apologise for those who have to stand in the rain(or sun) but we can only work with what we are given and unfortunately until they renovate that's all we can do...... But I do believe there may be some light at the end of the tunnel now that White Elephant is complete but we must wait & see.

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Sutho

Sutho

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I have just experienced the new White Bay on Sunday after doing Tasmania on Dawn Princess. My first impression was quite negative as the ship was sailing through Sydney heads at 5:30, under the bridge at 6:12 and was not fully tied up until 7:15 and by 7:40 passengers were ready to disembark. As I had hand luggage I was express walk off.

 

My impression of the taxi stand and leaving was favourable. That was well planned with many stopping places all numbered for taxis with guides directing passengers to a bay to be picked up. It all worked well.

 

Personally I like the Circular Quay terminal better. It is easier to get to and has better views and has a quicker time to dock and leave Sydney. All the precious darlings complaining about standing out on the rain need to follow the rules and they will not be rained on. I was on Celebrity Solstice in March with 2,800 passengers. It was a hot day and my time was 4:00pm and I did not turn up till that time and walked straight on. If you follow the rules you will be fine. If you all arrive early and deliberatly form a queue before embarkation has started of course you will be rained on and out in the sun. Just a bit of better personal planning would not hurt.

 

I think the terminal looks ok for managing supply and embarkation and disembarkation. The luggage collection area does not seem any bigger than the overseas passenger terminal as I walked past it. I think long queues could form if customs wanted to scan all the baggage.

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The_Big_M

The_Big_M

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For me, I'm glad that the wharf 5 and 8 terminals are gone. They felt too remote, too isolated and cheap due to the materials/design for their temporary nature. I'm not a fan of terminals surrounded by large car parks as it just makes them look ugly.

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gbenjo

gbenjo

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For me, I'm glad that the wharf 5 and 8 terminals are gone. They felt too remote, too isolated and cheap due to the materials/design for their temporary nature. I'm not a fan of terminals surrounded by large car parks as it just makes them look ugly.

 

So you haven't seen White Elephant yet? It's certainly isolated, remote and has a big car park in front of it. It kind of looks like they built it inside the steel framework of another old building oh thats right ...they did. I think you will love it:D:D

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aussiedisneyfan

aussiedisneyfan

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Sutho, don't be so critical to people here. I commented on the weather at OPT because it is an issue and am not a precious darling. It was a simple statement of fact that when it is raining it is a problem. We disembarked when we were told and then had to wait for taxi's with hundreds of others with only have very small area that was undercover. It wasn't that we turned up prior to our boarding time etc.

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Sutho

Sutho

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Sutho, don't be so critical to people here. I commented on the weather at OPT because it is an issue and am not a precious darling. It was a simple statement of fact that when it is raining it is a problem. We disembarked when we were told and then had to wait for taxi's with hundreds of others with only have very small area that was undercover. It wasn't that we turned up prior to our boarding time etc.

 

Its not a personl attack on anyone as such so dont take it like that, however point being made is there are people who will queue for anything for no particular reason.

 

While I am aware of space problems at the Circular Quay terminal it does have the capacity to handle ships if used properly. Perhaps all the restaurants and bars there should be stripped of their lease rights and the entire building be put to use as it should be.

 

Though embarkation I have personally done a large ship and know if you have a late time allocated and you turn up at that time you do walk right on the ship without having to queue up at all.

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gbenjo

gbenjo

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Looking at Sutho's photo t looks like something out of a Mad Max movie.

 

 

Maybe they will get Mel Gibson to do the official opening ( Sorry Packetau (Jo) one step ahead of you..... I know what you are going to say......I,m busy that day........ sorry inside joke folks)

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