Question for Bonnie re-Shuttles in Sydney

Hi Bonnie, would you be able to confirm whether there will be a shuttle service from the White Bay Terminal in Sydney please and if there is, the times of service please.

There are a number of people who are on back to back cruises from Cairns (5th January)to Sydney and then Sydney to Auckland and we would like to make plans for the days we are there.

From what people have said the White Bay terminal is quite a distance from the centre of Sydney and it would be nice to know how easy it will be to get into town. I appreciate any information you might be able to get for us. Thank you. G Grey

Thanks for asking. The berth is very disappointing- have docked at Circular Quay twice before, it's a great location and makes Sydney so accessible and the views so iconic. Trouble with this berth as its website says, no train station, no bus routes etc so I do hope there will be shuttles

White Bay is about 7km to the Queen Victoria Building (Near Town Hall Station) or the Sydney Aquarium at Darling Harbour. Depending on the time of day it could take 10 minutes or half an hour plus to drive there. It would probably take 45 minutes to an hour to walk.

If you would like me to call the office here in Australia please don't hesitate to ask and I will see if they will tell me about the shuttles.

On the plus side, you will be cruising under the Sydney Harbour Bridge! :)

Also, White Bay is very close to a suburb called Balmain which has a lot of nice boutique shops and restaurants.

Cheers Sandra

White Bay is about 7km to the Queen Victoria Building (Near Town Hall Station) or the Sydney Aquarium at Darling Harbour. Depending on the time of day it could take 10 minutes or half an hour plus to drive there. It would probably take 45 minutes to an hour to walk.

 

If you would like me to call the office here in Australia please don't hesitate to ask and I will see if they will tell me about the shuttles.

 

On the plus side, you will be cruising under the Sydney Harbour Bridge! :)

 

Also, White Bay is very close to a suburb called Balmain which has a lot of nice boutique shops and restaurants.

 

Cheers Sandra

Thank you for giving us this info. it would be nice to know this info. it could be put on the Quest roll call for the 5th of Jan and the 15th of Jan cruise too. i am one of the cruisers here and I am doing 2 cruises and thinking of a hotel room.. thank you again -Robin

Hi G2G,

I would be surprised it there was not a shuttle scheduled. But the ship personnel arrange them and deal directly with each port.

When you board the first cruise, ask at the Tour Desk.

Very disapointing, i am on the b2b also, so we have 4 nights in Sydney and we were making plan being in the opera house Area. i hate shuttles and this the main reason I choose Azamara, as they have smaller ships and dock closer to downtown, well big mistake. I hope there is at least car rental at the pier. We paid our final payment last week so we are now stuck. Very very disapointed

I agree 100%

Bonnie please can you escalate this, it's no good checking once we are on board to make plans for 8-9 days hence particularly with the challenges of the Internet on board

Here is the port flier

http://www.sydneyports.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/28641/WB_Cruise_Terminal_Info_Sheet_24052013_FINAL.pdf

Hiring a car is not possible I do not think, no rental desk and no parking.

I appreciate the cruise line is not in control of the berths they get all the time, but sailing under the bridge at 5-6 am or so is no compensation for being stuck out in a suburb with no real transport links. The beauty of Sydney in the past has been walking over to Circular Quay to get a ferry to Manly, walking the few hundred yards to The Rocks and dining in one of the magical restaurants beside the ship.

I see we are probably paying the price for being a smaller ship the big boy who can't go under the Bridge has the better berth, so I never thought I'd say this re Azamara, small is not good.

Not only do we not have as good a berth , we do not know if or where shuttles will go to make alternative plans. It's a far from ideal situation for what will be Azamaras first visit to Sydney on 5th Jan.

I hope to help guests more information can be added now - in the past via these boards shuttle information was available - is this a change of policy leaving it to the ships to arrange?

Sorry to hear that you are disappointed by this issue.

I spoke to Eddie at Azamara Club and he told me that there are no shuttles to the city - only for tours and also for airport transfers.

He also told me that the Quest was in NZ on the date (14-16 Jan) I mentioned (which it clearly is not if you look at the attached White Bay schedule). He had me doubting myself.

I will try to find out from the terminal themselves to see what information I can. However, it is nearly 7pm here so it will need to wait until tomorrow. I think it would be easier to find out from them rather than checking buses, taxis and UBER (or even water taxis) as the people who work at the terminal would hopefully be the best source of information.

This terminal is only a couple of years old so I have not been to it myself.

Please let me know if you have other questions and I will try to call them later in the day tomorrow.

By Sydney standards 7km is not that far. Also, it is even closer to the Fish Markets as well as Darling Harbour which is worth a look. Going in the other direction, there is a shopping outlet called Birkenhead in Drummoyne as well as sailing in the area (although I have never been sailing).

Cheers Sandra

Passenger_Vessel_Schedule_Final_v392_06_Oct_2015.pdf

Thanks for your help Sandylea much appreciated

We really need to know Azamara how we are now getting to Circular Quay, The Rocks etc as its that part of the town we want to explore and had planned an evening around/at The Opera House - so it's the drop off point that matters most for us

Bonnie the port guide also says there is no access overnight- can we get confirmation that will not apply for Azamara overnights

I just noticed there is a new ferry service to White Bay. I will find out the hours (and costs if I can) that it runs.

http://www.cruisepassenger.com.au/white-bays-new-ferry-service/

I just noticed there is a new ferry service to White Bay. I will find out the hours (and costs if I can) that it runs.

 

 

http://www.cruisepassenger.com.au/white-bays-new-ferry-service/

Again many thanks!

I agree 100%

 

Bonnie please can you escalate this, it's no good checking once we are on board to make plans for 8-9 days hence particularly with the challenges of the Internet on board

 

Here is the port flier

http://www.sydneyports.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/28641/WB_Cruise_Terminal_Info_Sheet_24052013_FINAL.pdf

 

Hiring a car is not possible I do not think, no rental desk and no parking.

 

I appreciate the cruise line is not in control of the berths they get all the time, but sailing under the bridge at 5-6 am or so is no compensation for being stuck out in a suburb with no real transport links. The beauty of Sydney in the past has been walking over to Circular Quay to get a ferry to Manly, walking the few hundred yards to The Rocks and dining in one of the magical restaurants beside the ship.

 

I see we are probably paying the price for being a smaller ship the big boy who can't go under the Bridge has the better berth, so I never thought I'd say this re Azamara, small is not good.

 

Not only do we not have as good a berth , we do not know if or where shuttles will go to make alternative plans. It's a far from ideal situation for what will be Azamaras first visit to Sydney on 5th Jan.

 

I hope to help guests more information can be added now - in the past via these boards shuttle information was available - is this a change of policy leaving it to the ships to arrange?

Well said, Ann!

Hi Bonnie, as you can see there are a lot of people who are unhappy with the lack of info regarding transport from the cruise terminal to downtown attractions.

People really need better information so that they can coordinate their plans. Hopefully the ship will have made tentative plans by now?? Is it possible someone, ie the concierge on board, may have some up to date information?? We would really appreciate any help you could give us. Thank you

Sorry to hear that Azamara is getting stuck with such an undesirable location for docking. I'm surprised, as Azamara prides itself on getting preferred locations. I know that when Crystal can't dock at Circular Quay, they anchor in the harbor and tender to Circular Quay and then move to the pier when it becomes available. Maybe AZ can consider something like this. I hope AZ can rectify this for all of you on this voyage. I'll be sailing out of Circular Quay this upcoming weekend on Celebrity and I consider myself lucky because it seems as if ships are using the other location more and more.

Michael

I am not getting too excited yet about a ferry. Captain Cook's webpage doesn't have it listed yet as a destination. https://www.captaincook.com.au/sydney-harbour-cruises/ferries

When I did a search for White Bay I found a statement https://www.captaincook.com.au/captains-crew/

"White Bay Cruise Ship Ferry Service

We are currently waiting on final approval from the Government and as soon as we have this information available, we will be posting full details on all forms of communication including our website, social media and third party distributors. Stay tuned."

It never occurred to us that we would not be in the main harbor but in a suburb with no shuttle. This is not good for those of us going from Cairns to Auckland.

Hope Uber works there!

It never occurred to us that we would not be in the main harbor but in a suburb with no shuttle. This is not good for those of us going from Cairns to Auckland.

 

Hope Uber works there!

no one said no shuttle. said ship plans it out. and they never run late enough. looking into a hotel. rather pay for it than be stressed out.

 

no one said no shuttle. said ship plans it out. and they never run late enough. looking into a hotel. rather pay for it than be stressed out.

But Quest is our hotel in Sydney..... And budgets are based on that!

But Quest is our hotel in Sydney..... And budgets are based on that!

Ann, i totally agree. but based on theatre, dinners etc most of us could be doing 2 or 3 RT a day.. they will never run shuttle to midnight. you go to the opera house for theatre -then eat it will be around 11 or so when done.

one day i am just walking and the other the beach. .plus they will not do shuttle on turn around day and that day we have to late afternoon. you get off that day i think but many do not.

would you believe feb 12th and 13th-the day I get off is where we need to be the Quay. hen it really does not matter.

everything i want to do ot go back to is with in 10 minute walk there.

So far, here is what I found out after speaking with the port authority.

The ferry has not received approval but it could happen any day (sadly, that means nothing in Sydney but I will see what else I can learn).

Taxis are available all the time and, if not, there is a Cabphone. I asked how much a taxi costs and she said depending on traffic it could be $10 to $20 each way. Most of our taxis take four people but I

I went to a couple of sites for water taxis but then decided to call one and I am glad I did because even though they pick up at White Bay it is not at the terminal and they are not allowed there. That White Bay drop off is not near the terminal and mainly is used by tradesmen.

If taxis are too small you could get quotes from the following:

http://www.maxitaxibookings.com.au

http://www.maxitaxionline.com.au

http://www.maxi-taxicabs.com.au

http://www.maxitaxisydney.com

There are many others of course.

Getting a taxi from the city (especially The Rocks area) back to the ship should be easy anytime of day or night.

sandyleas

this has been very nice of you to take all this time. the sad part when the ship comes back to Sydney it is at the Quay when i get off.

I would also like to say thank you to Sandylea 18 for the information she has given us. I am hoping that Bonnie will give us some more information as per my last request. Fingers crossed. :)

I have no new information to share. Sorry.

I have no new information to share. Sorry.

Do you have a timeline then for when you will have information? Thanks

Do you have a timeline then for when you will have information? Thanks

I am hearing there will be a shuttle but I have no other details. If I hear more I'll be sure to post.