Hotels in Australia

hello fellow cruisers! Help please. I'm flying into Sydney the day before my March 10 cruise and staying one day after as the flight leaves too early on debarkation day. Princess wants to charge me over $1200 for two nights. When I pull the hotel up on Expedia it's only in the $230 CAD range...I'm already paying more for the cruise being single but it looks like they are trying with the hotel. How difficult and expensive is it to get to hotel then ship, then hotel then airport? Thanks!

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hello fellow cruisers! Help please. I'm flying into Sydney the day before my March 10 cruise and staying one day after as the flight leaves too early on debarkation day. Princess wants to charge me over $1200 for two nights. When I pull the hotel up on Expedia it's only in the $230 CAD range...I'm already paying more for the cruise being single but it looks like they are trying with the hotel. How difficult and expensive is it to get to hotel then ship, then hotel then airport? Thanks!

Book direct with hotels on there Websites.A room should cost you between $200 and $300 AUD unless you want to go into 5star. Use your keyboard and you will save a mint.

hello fellow cruisers! Help please. I'm flying into Sydney the day before my March 10 cruise and staying one day after as the flight leaves too early on debarkation day. Princess wants to charge me over $1200 for two nights. When I pull the hotel up on Expedia it's only in the $230 CAD range...I'm already paying more for the cruise being single but it looks like they are trying with the hotel. How difficult and expensive is it to get to hotel then ship, then hotel then airport? Thanks!

Australia/New Zealand board.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=712

have a look at https://au.hotels.com/

When I was looking to book pre and post hotel rooms through Princess for my Oz cruise, the first night of each stay was preposterous. On closer inspection, it looked like they were adding hotel transfers to and from the airport and to and from the cruise port into those first nights. That said, I found it much cheaper to book the hotels myself and I'll get an Uber, or a taxi for the transfers and spend nowhere near as much than if I went through Princess.

If your ship is leaving from the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay I highly recommend the Holiday Inn Old Sydney. I sailed solo from Sydney on the Diamond Princess a couple years ago and this hotel was perfect for me. I took the train from the airport to Circular Quay, then walked the few blocks to the hotel. It was a bit of a slog hauling a large suitcase, but not too difficult for a reasonably fit person.

In the morning, when I looked out my window I saw the Diamond right across the street - ready and waiting! I had plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast before strolling over to drop off my luggage. Good price, great location in "The Rocks", close to public transportation and to the pier - perfect!

How difficult and expensive is it to get to hotel then ship, then hotel then airport?

Very easy, to get ideas look at Expedia, Wotif etc Then book direct with the hotel you fancy.

hello fellow cruisers! Help please. I'm flying into Sydney the day before my March 10 cruise and staying one day after as the flight leaves too early on debarkation day. Princess wants to charge me over $1200 for two nights. When I pull the hotel up on Expedia it's only in the $230 CAD range...I'm already paying more for the cruise being single but it looks like they are trying with the hotel. How difficult and expensive is it to get to hotel then ship, then hotel then airport? Thanks!

Never, ever pay for Princess hotels, they are getting a huge commission. As has been said go onto Expedia, Trip Advisor, Wotif, Booking.Com etc. plenty there. Then even after choosing a hotel, enquire on the hotel website, probably even cheaper again. That is what I do anyway, anywhere around the world. Closer to the harbour, the more expensive they are. Above all enjoy.:cool:

hello fellow cruisers! Help please. I'm flying into Sydney the day before my March 10 cruise and staying one day after as the flight leaves too early on debarkation day. Princess wants to charge me over $1200 for two nights. When I pull the hotel up on Expedia it's only in the $230 CAD range...I'm already paying more for the cruise being single but it looks like they are trying with the hotel. How difficult and expensive is it to get to hotel then ship, then hotel then airport? Thanks!

OMG Princess are ripping you off. I've just had 4 nights in Sydney CBD and I managed to get 2 hotels at $111, and $107 each per night. They were 3 1/2 star but they were both clean, and comfortable. I used a number of websites to find the best deals, including and just booked the best rate with free cancellation, so that I could keep checking in for better rates becoming available.

The public transport system around Sydney is very good and you'll easily be able to get from your hotel to the pier, either by train or taxi. I've only taken a taxi once to the airport from the Sydney CBD but it was only around $25 since its not far away.

Trish

hello fellow cruisers! Help please. I'm flying into Sydney the day before my March 10 cruise and staying one day after as the flight leaves too early on debarkation day. Princess wants to charge me over $1200 for two nights. When I pull the hotel up on Expedia it's only in the $230 CAD range...I'm already paying more for the cruise being single but it looks like they are trying with the hotel. How difficult and expensive is it to get to hotel then ship, then hotel then airport? Thanks!

If you book into a hotel at Circular Quay where the ship docks - there are quite a few within spitting distance to where the ship pulls in, it may be a 5 minute walk. This is also where you catch the train to and from the airport so its very very easy to get to everywhere from there. We have stayed in a few hotels at Circular Quay prior to going on a cruise out of Sydney. We always fly in the day before. Its all very easy and convenient. Mummsie

There are two aspects to this question, which hotel and how far to the ship.

Dealing with the first - which hotel?

Last Christmas / New Year we cruised out of Sydney and we stayed at the Four Seasons.

http://www.fourseasons.com/sydney/

We booked through hotels.com and paid extra for a De Luxe Full Harbour view which meant that we were looking down at both the Sydney Harbour Bridge and across Circular Keys to the Sydney Opera House.

Rooms are smallish by US standards, but that is rather normal over there.

We arrived with no local currency, we always find it better to use an ATM, than to obtain it before we leave home, but did our research on ATM at the airport before we left. We were able to get cash from an ATM at the airport, (use the ANZ terminal as they don't take a commission - though your bank may - mine doesn't) and took a taxi off the rank to our hotel which was reasonably priced (think it was around $25AUD).

Dealing with the second point - how far from the hotel to the ship?

Well the problem in answering this is that there are two cruise terminals in Sydney and it all depends which one your ship uses.

We left from the Ocean Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay, but returned to the new White Bay Cruise Terminal, but I am not sure that the latter is an option if you are on one the larger ships (we were on Dawn Princess which has now left the fleet, so Sun Princess could use White Bay).

This worked out fine for us, as it is around 500 metres from the Four Seasons to OPT and we could see our ship from our room.

In fact, before checking out, I made two trips to wheel our three suitcases and one cabin bag along the pavement (sidewalk to you) from the hotel to the ship. This took no longer than 5 minutes per trip and meant that we could spend the rest of the morning with just a back pack strolling around Circular Quays.

We had four days in Sydney and had already been to the Opera House to see the ballet Copellia, but had we only had one night in Sydney, then there would have been ample time to drop off our bags and stroll around to the Opera House before boarding the ship.

White Bay Terminal is in a redeveloped commercial dock and you will need a taxi to get there and one to leave no matter where you stay. The advantage of going into or out of White Bay, is that you have to pass under the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

In our case, after disembarking from our cruise at White Bay, we spent one night at Coogee Beach and took a taxi from White Bay which was very easy to obtain as there was a long line of taxis and it was all well organised. You simply joined the line, which moved very quickly, and the dispatcher matched you with a taxi when you got to the front of the line. There was no queue jumping as taxis would only take folks from the line. (I can't remember how much it cost, but it was not unreasonable otherwise I would have remembered).

My only comment is that it is a pity you only have one day in Sydney.

We had four days, which we felt was just about right. We did a day trip to the Blue Mountains, went to the ballet at the Opera House (though I had to book months in advance to get seats), took a Captain Cook evening dinner cruise (and paid a little extra for guaranteed window table), and made good use of the Ho-ho open topped buses, to get around and see the sites.

Hey Chrissy, I'm from Sydney though don't live there now. The Grace Hotel is excellent and quite close, there is a Hyatt regency closer and I would recommend any of the Accor owned hotels. There's plenty of hotels in town that won't cost $1200, From the airport there is the train or bus service, Also plenty of taxis. Got on the golden this year and the taxi from Mascot was $50, which is odd since the cab back was $26. Anyway, shop around and you'll be fine.

I live in a suburb of Sydney and for something special before a cruise I have stayed at Holiday Inn Old Sydney - 55 George Street The Rocks a few times. It is very close to the Overseas Passenger Terminal - maybe 2/300 metres distance and an easy walk.

I have just been on the Wotif website and also the hotel site for 10th March and it would seem you may have to pay around $450 for the night which is a bit more than I last paid. I thought you would get it for around $300. A Taxi to/from the airport can change a bit but say $35/50.

Just make sure you are leaving from The Overseas Passenger Terminal and not White Bay Cruise Terminal. There is no accommodation at White Bay and you would have to stay in the city and get a taxi or a shuttle ferry.

hello fellow cruisers! Help please. I'm flying into Sydney the day before my March 10 cruise and staying one day after as the flight leaves too early on debarkation day. Princess wants to charge me over $1200 for two nights. When I pull the hotel up on Expedia it's only in the $230 CAD range...I'm already paying more for the cruise being single but it looks like they are trying with the hotel. How difficult and expensive is it to get to hotel then ship, then hotel then airport? Thanks!

Hi Chrisygirl

The only Princess Cruise (according to their website) leaving Sydney on 10th March is a NZ cruise on the Diamond Princess. The cruise schedule on the Port Authority website says the Diamond leaves from the Overseas Passenger Terminal so you have quite a few hotels to choose from. (not like White Bay).

Just have a look on one of the major booking engines like wotif/trivago/booking.com etc and they will show quite a few hotels near the dock, find one in your price range, (look on tripadvisor for reviews) get the address then use google earth to zoom in on the dock. A box should come up at the side that gives directions, asks if you want to walk or drive etc and you put in from & to and it will give you walking directions, with a little walking map and the time it takes to walk there. Some ogf the hotel booking engines do that too. Its very helpful. The google map will also show you the 2 nearby train stations, one right near the Terminal.

hello fellow cruisers! Help please. I'm flying into Sydney the day before my March 10 cruise and staying one day after as the flight leaves too early on debarkation day. Princess wants to charge me over $1200 for two nights. When I pull the hotel up on Expedia it's only in the $230 CAD range...I'm already paying more for the cruise being single but it looks like they are trying with the hotel. How difficult and expensive is it to get to hotel then ship, then hotel then airport? Thanks!

We stayed at the Swissotel last year off of George St. About 15 minute walk to the pier and very nice accomodations

We stayed at the Swissotel last year off of George St. About 15 minute walk to the pier and very nice accomodations

We stayed at the Marriott, across the street from the cruise terminal, a few minutes walk.

It was a great hotel. Don’t know the cost. We stayed for five days on points.

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If your ship is leaving from the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay I highly recommend the Holiday Inn Old Sydney. I sailed solo from Sydney on the Diamond Princess a couple years ago and this hotel was perfect for me. I took the train from the airport to Circular Quay, then walked the few blocks to the hotel. It was a bit of a slog hauling a large suitcase, but not too difficult for a reasonably fit person.

 

 

In the morning, when I looked out my window I saw the Diamond right across the street - ready and waiting! I had plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast before strolling over to drop off my luggage. Good price, great location in "The Rocks", close to public transportation and to the pier - perfect!

I agree. And the view of the Harbour Bridge and Circular Quay from the roof top is spectacular!

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I stayed at and can recommend The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel -

http://www.lordnelsonbrewery.com/

It's right 'on The Rocks', reasonably priced (for Sidney), is unique and you can walk to the OPT.