Turn Around Day on B2B in Sydney

[dcmom]

We are doing B2B2B cruises out of Sydney and we’re planning on doing sightseeing in Sydney in between cruises. I’m wondering realistically how much time would we have once we get off the ship and before we have to be back on board. Departure time on all cruises is 6:45 although I’m guessing all aboard will be around 5:00. We don’t have to change cabins so that won’t be an issue. I understand the cruises aren’t linked and we have to disembark and be processed again and since this is our first B2B not sure how long this process takes or even if we are able to go sightseeing at all. Thanks for any advice!

[mauimary]

We’re doing the same thing. We are also wondering what the process will be there.  Do we physically have to get off for Immigration. 

We will be changing rooms and we know do how that process goes. 

[Pvscott]

Just responding to this thread so I can follow it. We are in the same boat.  (Ha no pun intended!)

[MBN33025]

We are also on a B2B2B out of Sydney starting Feb 25 and I had the same questions! The thread below provides some details:
https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2965058-b2b-from-sydney-procedures/

 

It seems that we do have to disembark for at least an hour or two per Australia regulations, but can get back on anytime before all aboard using a special fast pass that bypasses most of the process. Once on board you can’t get off again, but there’s nothing preventing us from sightseeing for the day before re-embarking. We’ve booked a bridge climb on the first turnaround day, and plan to take a ferry over to the zoo on the second turnaround day. 

[Pvscott]

I'm pretty sure our paths will cross as we are also doing the B2B2B starting Feb 25th.  Not to be to cheesy but I never guessed what a  privilege or blessing it would be to simply need to type the letter number combination of B2B2B.  Life is good!

[dcmom]

2 hours ago, MBN33025 said:

We are also on a B2B2B out of Sydney starting Feb 25 and I had the same questions! The thread below provides some details:
https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2965058-b2b-from-sydney-procedures/

 

It seems that we do have to disembark for at least an hour or two per Australia regulations, but can get back on anytime before all aboard using a special fast pass that bypasses most of the process. Once on board you can’t get off again, but there’s nothing preventing us from sightseeing for the day before re-embarking. We’ve booked a bridge climb on the first turnaround day, and plan to take a ferry over to the zoo on the second turnaround day. 

 

Thanks so much for this thread….it answered all my questions and some I didn’t even know I had! 

[Northern Aurora]

Through the years we have done a number of turnaround days in Sydney, most recently being a B2B2B2B with all turnarounds in Sydney.  

 

Australian Border Force regulations mandate that all B2B passengers must physically be off the ship so the process is not done on an outer deck.  Your succinct instruction letter, which will be delivered a day or so before the actual turnaround day, will outline the process and contain a transit pass.  That transit pass allows folks to simply walk past much of the lines, but once you are back on board the ship you will not be allowed to leave again.

[BrianLo]

Apparently there are 1500 people doing a back to back next cruise. Which I balked and swear I misheard (from the captain). 38 only on the Auckland turnaround a few days ago.

 

I didn’t back to back, but plenty of signage was up for it in Sydney on the 4th.

[D. B.]

I did this 3 years ago.

 I just walked across the  pier and sat with some other Guests until Boarding started and got in line and were back onboard quickly.

[K Cross]

We just got off our Australia & New Zealand B2B. Celebrity has the turn-around day down to a science.

 

One or two days before the end of the first leg you will be invited to a meeting in the theatre where they cover the process.

 

All B2B passengers will be given a "Transit Pass". Once the ship clears customs (probably by 8:00am) you can leave the ship. (You MUST leave the ship by 9:30am). All you need to take is your Passport, Transit Card, and cabin card. Celebrity will keep you cabin card when you leave the ship since you will receive a new card when you reboard... even if you are in the same cabin. You can reboard the ship anytime after 11:00am up until final boarding time (you mention 5:00pm). When boarding there is a SEPERATE LINE for B2B passengers with a Transit Pass. Just walk through security, then customs (which takes like 30 seconds) and basically back onto the ship. The whole process is 10 minutes at the most. Go to your cabin where your new cabin cards will be waiting and you are good to go. 

 

 

[Pvscott]

Thank you K Cross.  Very kind of you to summarize the process!

[Jim_Iain]

We did a B2B in December on Edge - December - 

 

They did the B2B processing on-board instead of using a Transit Pass.   This was the 2nd half of the World Cruise so there were a large number of B2B's.     For Suites they did it in Eden and was very quick.   Just sat down - an agent come over did the normal check in using a Pad.   Went into the backroom and came back with our new seapasses.   Non-Suite Cruiser -  There was a line of about 500 that were being processed in one of the MDR's not sure how long that took.

 

Once we were process we were free to depart the ship.   There was another option that you could go ashore as early as 7:00 AM and do your B2B checkin at the pier on your return.

 

All B2B's had to be off the ship by about 9:15 and could not return to the ship until general boarding began around 11 AM.   I think we left the ship about 8:30.   Just walked off.    Since we had already cleared immigration on our first port of entry into Australia we just walked past Customs who just waved us through.

 

We were in no rush.    We were meeting friends of ours who live in Sydney but had been on the  first leg with us.   We were meeting them up at the at Art Gallery NSW to view a couple exhibitions and then have lunch Crafted by Matt Moran (Rated best restaurant in Sydney 2* Michelin).   We had plenty of time to walk around Sydney and up to the Botanic Gardens before meeting for lunch.   

 

Our cruise was departing at 5:00 PM and we didn't have to rush to get back to the ship by 3:30.  Once back to the Terminal we just flashed our sea pass and they directed us around the checkin process.   At that point I thing there was more staff than passengers.  

 

 

[CardowMD]

Jim, weren’t you all on the first Edge visit to Australia for the season? It sounds like you all got VIP service! Is there more than one Celebrity ship in Australia? 

[dcmom]

Thanks to everyone for their detailed answers! It sounds like the process isn’t bad at all and we will have plenty of time for some touring on turnaround days. 

[jamscckmc]

Can you purchase a bottle of wine on turn around day and bring it onboard?

[Bklynbill]

On 2/18/2024 at 2:28 PM, jamscckmc said:

Can you purchase a bottle of wine on turn around day and bring it onboard?

Yes, same rules for bringing one bottle per passenger still apply.

 

[chemmo]

On 2/18/2024 at 1:03 AM, dcmom said:

Thanks to everyone for their detailed answers! It sounds like the process isn’t bad at all and we will have plenty of time for some touring on turnaround days. 

Sydney is a beautiful city and easy to get around. You are moored in the harbour where you are only steps away from where you can get a ferry to Manley Bay or a bus to Bondi Beach if you fancy a bit of sun. We found the Ferry times very reliable the buses less so. The Ho Ho bus is also always a good option to see as much as you can in limited time.

 

You are within easy walking distance of the Botanic Gardens, the Opera house and a wide range of places to enjoy lunch with a view. The Opera house has a one hour tour with lunch which could be another option….If you need to shop for anything there are pharmacies and and small supermarkets close by but often not easy to spot as they are often in one of the many city buildings. 
 

Enjoy!

 

 

Edited February 19 by chemmo

[Jim_Iain]

On 2/17/2024 at 4:53 PM, CardowMD said:

Jim, weren’t you all on the first Edge visit to Australia for the season? It sounds like you all got VIP service! Is there more than one Celebrity ship in Australia? 

 

I believe Edge is the only ship in Australia for the Cruise Season.   Solstice did a TP from Hawaii and then on to Singapore for the Hong Kong / Viet Nam season.   

 

Solstice will be returning to Sydney in April and we will be joining her for the TP and Hawaii to Vancouver.

 

Not sure how much of a VIP treatment we got.   The Captain had announced we have a Fireboat water greeting at 6AM - didn't happen.  The only thing different.   Our cabin was adjacent to the bridge and noticed two guests on the bridge.    I took a picture and asked a friend from Sydney if he knew who the guys were.     He said it was one of the News Anchors from one of their TV Stations and he did  a live segment from the bridge.

 

When our cruise ended,  we had to go through a long line to get through immigration.   Walk offs were in front of us and as a suite guest we were the first on line after them.    Line had about 500+ in front of us.    The line did move fast and we were trough in about 20 minutes. 

[Boatharbour]

On 2/18/2024 at 11:47 AM, Jim_Iain said:

We were meeting them up at the at Art Gallery NSW to view a couple exhibitions and then have lunch Crafted by Matt Moran (Rated best restaurant in Sydney 2* Michelin).  

I think the Matt Moran restaurant that is nominated as one of the best in Sydney is Aria, not Crafted.  The Good Food guide awards are probably the closest we have to Michelin which isn’t  used here. The number of chefs hats awarded is equivalent to stars. 

[Tudy]

Thoughts on need to to check in for consecutive cruises in Sydney? Yes? No? Maybe? What has your recent experience been?

 

[terrydtx]

On 2/17/2024 at 5:39 PM, K Cross said:

We just got off our Australia & New Zealand B2B. Celebrity has the turn-around day down to a science.

 

One or two days before the end of the first leg you will be invited to a meeting in the theatre where they cover the process.

 

All B2B passengers will be given a "Transit Pass". Once the ship clears customs (probably by 8:00am) you can leave the ship. (You MUST leave the ship by 9:30am). All you need to take is your Passport, Transit Card, and cabin card. Celebrity will keep you cabin card when you leave the ship since you will receive a new card when you reboard... even if you are in the same cabin. You can reboard the ship anytime after 11:00am up until final boarding time (you mention 5:00pm). When boarding there is a SEPERATE LINE for B2B passengers with a Transit Pass. Just walk through security, then customs (which takes like 30 seconds) and basically back onto the ship. The whole process is 10 minutes at the most. Go to your cabin where your new cabin cards will be waiting and you are good to go. 

 

 

We also just got back from our B2B Edge cruises in Australia. And what you say is exactly how it worked for us on January 25th. The only exception is we were in the retreat and we got our sail pass cards for the second cruise from the retreat managers the night before we got back to Sydney.  We had booked a private walking tour of the Rocks which we did after we got off the ship and cleared Australian customs at 9:30 and retuned before 1pm. Our second crise departed Sydney at 4pm and everyone both old and new passengers had to be back on board by 90 mins before departure or 2:30pm. We also had to repeat the muster procedure for the second cruise after we reboarded. 

[terrydtx]

3 hours ago, Tudy said:

Thoughts on need to to check in for consecutive cruises in Sydney? Yes? No? Maybe? What has your recent experience been?

 

Yes you have to complete all check ins online for all cruises. Each B2B leg is treated like a new cruise.

[Jim_Iain]

On 2/19/2024 at 6:47 PM, terrydtx said:

We also just got back from our B2B Edge cruises in Australia. And what you say is exactly how it worked for us on January 25th. The only exception is we were in the retreat and we got our sail pass cards for the second cruise from the retreat managers the night before we got back to Sydney.  We had booked a private walking tour of the Rocks which we did after we got off the ship and cleared Australian customs at 9:30 and retuned before 1pm. Our second crise departed Sydney at 4pm and everyone both old and new passengers had to be back on board by 90 mins before departure or 2:30pm. We also had to repeat the muster procedure for the second cruise after we reboarded. 

 

@terrydtx

I was looking for you Live post for Edge earlier this year and couldn't find it.  

 

I believe you joined Edge in Sydney for the first leg of your B2B.    Was curious how embarkation was in Sydney.     Specifically do they have a Retreat Lounge and if you know when Luggage Drop off opened.  

 

When I was there I was on a B2B out of Singapore so didn't go through the process..

[terrydtx]

12 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

@terrydtx

I was looking for you Live post for Edge earlier this year and couldn't find it.  

 

I believe you joined Edge in Sydney for the first leg of your B2B.    Was curious how embarkation was in Sydney.     Specifically do they have a Retreat Lounge and if you know when Luggage Drop off opened.  

 

When I was there I was on a B2B out of Singapore so didn't go through the process..

Hi Jim, I didn’t do a live feed for the 2 cruises, took a break from CC to just enjoy our 6 weeks down under. We stayed at the Shangri-La hotel at the port on Circular Quay, dropped our luggage off at 11am, and checked in. There were lines to check in for Retreat guests and as soon as we checked in we were told to board, so couldn’t ’say if there was a Retreat lounge waiting area. At 11:00 there were hundreds of people in lines dropping off luggage and checking in ahead of us, so my guess is luggage drop off opened much earlier. There was no Retreat luggage drop off lines, so the longest wait was that line. Next longest wait was customs and Secuity scans and checks. We were on the ship by noon as I remember. Overall, I would say it was an organized and efficient embarkation process.

Edited February 25 by terrydtx

[jelayne]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Hi Jim, I didn’t do a live feed for the 2 cruises, took a break from CC to just enjoy our 6 weeks down under. We stayed at the Shangri-La hotel at the port on Circular Quay, dropped our luggage off at 11am, and checked in. There were lines to check in for Retreat guests and as soon as we checked in we were told to board, so couldn’t ’say if there was a Retreat lounge waiting area. At 11:00 there were hundreds of people in lines dropping off luggage and checking in ahead of us, so my guess is luggage drop off opened much earlier. There was no Retreat luggage drop off lines, so the longest wait was that line. Next longest wait was customs and Secuity scans and checks. We were on the ship by noon as I remember. Overall, I would say it was an organized and efficient embarkation process.

Good info.  Thanks!  We board in Sydney in April.  The first arrival time for our cruise was Noon. Hopefully we will be able drop off our luggage at 11.