flight arrives in Sydney at 8:30 am--what to do till embarkation time?

[RachelG]

My husband and I never arrive same day as embarkation--except this time as it was the only way to get our business class seats from LA to Sydney with miles. None available the previous day. So we arrive at 8:30 am. Can't embark on Regent Voyager till noon at White Bay.

 

What should we do in the meantime? I know we will be tired and just want to rest. But we are going to need to keep ourselves up and moving for 3 1/2 hours. We are fit, like to walk. Any suggestions for someone to pick us up at the airport and do some sort of city tour till we can embark would be lovely.

[beatleman]

My husband and I never arrive same day as embarkation--except this time as it was the only way to get our business class seats from LA to Sydney with miles. None available the previous day. So we arrive at 8:30 am. Can't embark on Regent Voyager till noon at White Bay.

 

What should we do in the meantime? I know we will be tired and just want to rest. But we are going to need to keep ourselves up and moving for 3 1/2 hours. We are fit, like to walk. Any suggestions for someone to pick us up at the airport and do some sort of city tour till we can embark would be lovely.

You probably have less time than you think. If plane lands on time Mascot is a very busy airport ,and you should allow 30 to 45 minutes to clear customs etc. White Bay is a taxi ride of 35 to 50 minutes depending on traffic.I would suggest going direct to the Cruise Terminal and dumping those suitcases and then head for Darling Harbour which is close by and nice to stroll around and have some refreshments. Just ease into your trip and enjoy Oz

[onyx007]

As beatleman wrote; you're not looking at 3 1/2 hours to "kill", but rather at maybe 1 1/2 hours or even less.

 

So clear customs, head to the pier, leave your luggage (though you might already board; I had it several times, that I could board hours earlier than the indicated boarding time; but the room was not yet ready of course.)

 

Darling Harbor is a nice place to spend your waiting time (without the luggage)

[portcbob]

Have a walk around the rocks and darling harbour for an hour or so.

[GUT2407]

Have a walk around the rocks and darling harbour for an hour or so.

The Rocks are a looooooong way from White Bay.

[RachelG]

One of my friends told me that there is not much to do or see at White Bay, but if you think all or most of the time will be eaten up with getting through customs and the taxi ride to White Bay, I won’t worry about it. And of course, all depends on the flight being on time. Regent will not let you board prior to 11:30 or noon. I am at 180 days on Regent so know this for sure.

[GUT2407]

One of my friends told me that there is not much to do or see at White Bay, but if you think all or most of the time will be eaten up with getting through customs and the taxi ride to White Bay, I won’t worry about it. And of course, all depends on the flight being on time. Regent will not let you board prior to 11:30 or noon. I am at 180 days on Regent so know this for sure.

Nope nothing at White Bay.

 

A small cafe at the terminal that’s it.

[beatleman]

Nope nothing at White Bay.

 

A small cafe at the terminal that’s it.

Spot on Mr Gut that's why I suggested Darling Harbour to unwind their long trek to Oz. I believe on Cruise Days a Ferry operates between King St. Wharf and White Bay a nice little trip for tourists. The Rocks is to far away.

[wishfulone]

You won't really have enough time to do anything. Sydney airport can be extremely busy at 8.30am and I'd be allowing at least an hour to clear customs at that time of day. A taxi from the airport to White Bay could possibly take more than an hour depending on the traffic as you're virtually crossing half the city. If you choose to go by public transport the travel time will escalate. Get yourself to White Bay, fill out the paperwork maybe have a relaxing coffee and with any luck you'll be straight onto the ship.

[buchhalm]

True. SYD is busy at that time of the morning.

Passport check tends to be quick, but waiting for the luggage can drag on and then there is customs and quarantine and THAT van take a long time, depending how keen the officials are on the day.

Speaking of Quarantine. Declare ANYTHING you can eat or drink. I used to tell my cabin crew to write down / declare ANYTHING they can stick in their mouths.

You can declare half a dead pig and Quarantine will very nicely tell you "sorry, but that us not allowed", but if you fail to declare your food items they can get very strict.

 

But back to the original question.

You'll probably take longer than you think . Perhaps relax for 1/2 hour at the airport. There are a few pretty decent coffee places there. Perhaps change or withdraw some cash and but a local paper to see what makes us tick.

If you can get on your ship between 11 and noon there wont be THAT much time to kill at White Bay

[The_Big_M]

Agree with the above. I'd say allow an hour to get to the gate, through immigration and customs, and collect your luggage. So that's 9:30. You can pad it out with a visit to the smallish duty free which you can buy at on arrival if that's of interest.

 

Then queueing for a cab, then the journey and out to White Bay, allow an hour generously. That's around 10:30 if you haven't padded at the airport.

 

That's only an hour and a half to go which isn't worth the effort of going somewhere else. Checkin will probably take half an hour anyway, so you're at 11, so if you just do some padding on the trip beforehand and take it leisurely everything should be nicely timed.

[RachelG]

Thanks so much everyone. I will not stress about finding something to fill the time then. If we do get there way early, and the ferry is running to Darling Harbor, we can do that.

 

Another quick question: How much approx. will the taxi fare be and do they take credit cards? or is there Uber in Australia?

[buchhalm]

There is Uber in Australia.

Well, in Sydney and Melbourne at least. Not sure about other cities.

At the international terminal the uber pickup area is at the Express Pickup area. Follow the signs. Only order your ride when you are AT the pickup area, as they are not allowed to wait . Plenty of cars around most of the time.

Taxi should be in the 60 to 80$ range.

Your cruise line may have a shuttle available. I often see cruise line reps holding up signs at the airport

[GUT2407]

Thanks so much everyone. I will not stress about finding something to fill the time then. If we do get there way early, and the ferry is running to Darling Harbor, we can do that.

 

Another quick question: How much approx. will the taxi fare be and do they take credit cards? or is there Uber in Australia?

 

 

There is Uber.

 

Taxi will take Credir Card.

 

Prices.... to White Bay? About $50-$60 Australian.

[RachelG]

Thanks guys!

[Camelia-]

True. SYD is busy at that time of the morning.

Passport check tends to be quick, but waiting for the luggage can drag on and then there is customs and quarantine and THAT van take a long time, depending how keen the officials are on the day.

Speaking of Quarantine. Declare ANYTHING you can eat or drink. I used to tell my cabin crew to write down / declare ANYTHING they can stick in their mouths.

You can declare half a dead pig and Quarantine will very nicely tell you "sorry, but that us not allowed", but if you fail to declare your food items they can get very strict.

 

But back to the original question.

You'll probably take longer than you think . Perhaps relax for 1/2 hour at the airport. There are a few pretty decent coffee places there. Perhaps change or withdraw some cash and but a local paper to see what makes us tick.

If you can get on your ship between 11 and noon there wont be THAT much time to kill at White Bay

 

Interesting to know about the quarantine. I never realized that it existed! What about if you are a transit passenger or if you arrive by ship? Next spring I'm hoping to fly to Sydney and connect to Auckland to pick up a cruise which will sail back to Sydney. I usually like to bring snacks with me but I suppose if I declare everything it won't be a problem?

[GUT2407]

Interesting to know about the quarantine. I never realized that it existed! What about if you are a transit passenger or if you arrive by ship? Next spring I'm hoping to fly to Sydney and connect to Auckland to pick up a cruise which will sail back to Sydney. I usually like to bring snacks with me but I suppose if I declare everything it won't be a problem?

Factory sealed usually no problem if you declare and it’s not allowed usually the worst will be it’s takeb from you

[Kreutzer]

I had a similar arrival time at SYD and the Voyager of the Seas was to depart around 5pm.

The best thing was that once out of Customs, the RCI bus was almost ready to depart. We only waited at the airport half an hour or so, then rode right to the ship. Easiest luggage drop off ever....and remember, there’s no tipping in Australia. We walked all around the harbor walk and ate at a nearby restaurant. Watched the comical street performers, then walked around the Sydney Opera House. Lots of photo opportunities since the ship was docked right across from there.

You’ll have no trouble there,,,,enjoy the relaxation before going aboard your vessel. Happy Healthy Sailing!

 

 

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[Northern Aurora]

I had a similar arrival time at SYD and the Voyager of the Seas was to depart around 5pm.

The best thing was that once out of Customs, the RCI bus was almost ready to depart. We only waited at the airport half an hour or so, then rode right to the ship. Easiest luggage drop off ever....and remember, there’s no tipping in Australia. We walked all around the harbor walk and ate at a nearby restaurant. Watched the comical street performers, then walked around the Sydney Opera House. Lots of photo opportunities since the ship was docked right across from there.

You’ll have no trouble there,,,,enjoy the relaxation before going aboard your vessel. Happy Healthy Sailing!

 

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Kreutzer is describing the area around the Overseas Passenger Terminal. I don't think that Regent uses the Overseas Passenger Terminal, but have seen them at the White Bay terminal.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I had a similar arrival time at SYD and the Voyager of the Seas was to depart around 5pm.

The best thing was that once out of Customs, the RCI bus was almost ready to depart. We only waited at the airport half an hour or so, then rode right to the ship. Easiest luggage drop off ever....and remember, there’s no tipping in Australia. We walked all around the harbor walk and ate at a nearby restaurant. Watched the comical street performers, then walked around the Sydney Opera House. Lots of photo opportunities since the ship was docked right across from there.

You’ll have no trouble there,,,,enjoy the relaxation before going aboard your vessel. Happy Healthy Sailing!

 

 

The White Bay cruise terminal is not the same as the Overseas Passenger Terminal where Voyager departs from. There is very little at White Bay other than a coffee kiosk in the terminal building.

[NoWhiners]

You won't really have enough time to do anything. Sydney airport can be extremely busy at 8.30am and I'd be allowing at least an hour to clear customs at that time of day. A taxi from the airport to White Bay could possibly take more than an hour depending on the traffic as you're virtually crossing half the city. If you choose to go by public transport the travel time will escalate. Get yourself to White Bay, fill out the paperwork maybe have a relaxing coffee and with any luck you'll be straight onto the ship.

 

We were in a similar situation last year, but we were staying in Sydney for 3 days pre-cruise. I agree with the others who posted you won't have as much time as you think, given the distance to White Bay.

 

I wonder if this idea would work--won't be hard but more work than just grabbing a taxi or Uber from SYD to White Bay. You could take the train from SYD to Circular Quay, then catch a taxi (or uber) there up to White Bay. Train would cost $15 pp, plus maybe the cost of an Opal card (maybe you can buy a single trip fare, no Opal card required). This would get you maybe halfway to White Bay via train, maybe save some money?

 

I'm not saying this is the best or fastest way, maybe not even desirable, but it would kill time and wake you up :) If you can manage your bags, it is easy to take the train (15 minutes to Circular Quay) and a short walk out to the street. There may even be better places to get off the train and take a shorter cab ride. Others may know.

 

Just another option. Or, you could just kill some time in the airport, as already noted, then go to WB via cab. If you won't be spending any time in Sydney, a ferry ride to/from Darling Harbour would be a very pleasant way to see some of Sydney.

 

Good luck

ML