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New Year’s Eve 2018 In Sydney


TxnAquarian
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I am booked on the Quest for the 2018 Christmas cruise, with NYE in Sydney. The website makes it sound as if the ship will be docked in the center of the festivities, and after looking the Port of Sydney website, it looks as if the Quest will be docked at White Bay for all 3 days. I don’t know anything about White Bay. I’ve only ever docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal.

 

Does anyone know if we can see the festivities from the White Bay location, or would it be better to get a hotel in the city for NYE?

 

 

Michael

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You will be able to see the fireworks. They are the main attraction. They occur at 9pm and of course midnight.

 

Arguably the best view of the fireworks however, is from the eastern side of the bridge.

 

You could book one of the many sight seeing harbour cruises that are on during the NYE party.

 

Hotels in the city during that period will likely require a minimum stay of 2-3 nights, and the expense is quite high being the peak of all peaks in terms of patronage.

 

 

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I am not sure you will see much of the fireworks from Whites Bay as you cannot really see the bridge. When we were docked there we were really disappointed (sorry to say) like you we’d been sold a trip with the impression we were booked at Circular Quay like the big ships are. Taxis were not easily come by at the terminal

 

 

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Thanks for all of the feedback. We are booked on this cruise and got a great price since we booked early. The itinerary is intriguing, but not sure about how NYE will pan out. We might stick with this trip and hope that Azamara will offer a night out or something for the fesitivities. Thanks again for the replies.

 

Michael

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We were docked at white bay and had no real issues with the location; there seemed to be plenty of taxis when we were there.

I think the suggestion of s harbor cruise is an excellent one!

 

 

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So I asked Larry Pimentel this question as I’m currently booked on this cruise as well. All the marketing photos show Quest and the Harbour Bridge, with fireworks right above. The dock however is indeed White Bay. Larry said he is “aware of the situation” and “the team is working on a plan”. It was suggested that the ship may reposition once or twice during the 3 day stay. I understood there would be clarity early 2018.

 

Floris

 

 

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Floris they’ve not managed to make any changes on the half world cruise and didn’t on ours which was sold as “spend two nights under Sydney Harbour bridge” and was their grand inaugural arrival into Sydney. They kept telling us they were working on a plan - it never materialised so it’s something to watch out for.

 

 

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I am booked on the Quest for the 2018 Christmas cruise, with NYE in Sydney. The website makes it sound as if the ship will be docked in the center of the festivities, and after looking the Port of Sydney website, it looks as if the Quest will be docked at White Bay for all 3 days. I don’t know anything about White Bay. I’ve only ever docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal.

 

Does anyone know if we can see the festivities from the White Bay location, or would it be better to get a hotel in the city for NYE?

 

 

Michael

 

Hi Michael. Im from Sydney and no ships utilize the overseas passenger terminal for new years eve. The space provides a good vantage point for the public. Azamara will be at white bay. You will not see much as mentioned from other posts. Last year Crystal were in a similar situation. I understand they hired harbour cruise vessels to transport the guests for viewing of the fireworks. Hopefully Azamara will use this idea as the azamazing offering.

 

I could suggest a few sites (public parks) which are not overcrowed and offer good vantage points. Accessable by sydney ferrys.

 

I think a hotel will be a mistake. They dont offer views and you already have accomodation.

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Floris they’ve not managed to make any changes on the half world cruise and didn’t on ours which was sold as “spend two nights under Sydney Harbour bridge” and was their grand inaugural arrival into Sydney. They kept telling us they were working on a plan - it never materialised so it’s something to watch out for.

 

 

That’s troublesome. Thanks for the warning. If Azamara doesn’t resolve this we’re cancelling as the double overnight in Sydney for New Year’s was the main reason for booking this cruise in the first place. I have no desire whatsoever to spend two nights in a container port and navigate the massive crowds to see the fireworks...

 

I hope Journey is treating you well Ann! Have a lovely Christmas on the ship.

 

Cheers,

Floris

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I think the idea of a Sydney Harbour cruise on NYE is a good one.

 

We spent six months touring Australia a few years ago and this was our choice for NYE in Sydney. It was a beautiful night with a very good NYE buffet onboard and then dancing to a live band as we sailed all around the harbour. We had fantastic views of the fireworks...I would say much better than any land vantage point.

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I'm not sure I quite understand the comment about hotels near Sydney harbour "not offering views" but perhaps I missed something when we spent several nights including NYE in Sydney a couple of years ago.

First of all: actually GETTING a hotel room with any harbor views such as the Park Hyatt is difficult to do even a year out so there has to be some reason why people book early.

Perhaps it is just to be close to the action and believe me, the area is mobbed on New Years Eve. The city seemed to more or less close down around noon on the 31st. Loads of people crowd into the harbor area and various venues with views will have parties, etc., you pay to attend.

 

Watching from a ship would be ideal especially when the big performance at midnight kicks off. The fireworks from the bridge are, in a word, spectacular and hope you find a good solution.

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I'm not sure I quite understand the comment about hotels near Sydney harbour "not offering views" but perhaps I missed something when we spent several nights including NYE in Sydney a couple of years ago.

First of all: actually GETTING a hotel room with any harbor views such as the Park Hyatt is difficult to do even a year out so there has to be some reason why people book early.

Perhaps it is just to be close to the action and believe me, the area is mobbed on New Years Eve. The city seemed to more or less close down around noon on the 31st. Loads of people crowd into the harbor area and various venues with views will have parties, etc., you pay to attend.

 

Watching from a ship would be ideal especially when the big performance at midnight kicks off. The fireworks from the bridge are, in a word, spectacular and hope you find a good solution.

 

 

We’ve stayed at the Park Hyatt several times (most recently this past week), so I thought of that as a viable option and looked to book it for the 3 days the ship is in port, but it, along with most other hotels, are sold out. So I guess I’ll wait and see what Azamara plans with shore excursion options, etc. At least they are aware that it has been marketed as a NYE celebration viewing experience, so hopefully they’ll come to a solution.

 

Something similar happened last year with Celebrity with their Dubai NYE cruise. The ship was docked too far out to see much, the pricey NYE dinner cruise excursion they offered was cancelled due to lack of interest, so we had to jump through hoops to plan our own evening.

 

Michael

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Something similar happened last year with Celebrity with their Dubai NYE cruise. The ship was docked too far out to see much, the pricey NYE dinner cruise excursion they offered was cancelled due to lack of interest, so we had to jump through hoops to plan our own evening.

 

 

Not similar. In Dubai there’s only one cruise ship location. Millennium was where I was expecting it to be when I booked. In Sydney there are two locations. One next to the Harbour Bridge and White Bay. All Azamara’s PR shows Quest next to the Harbour Bridge with fireworks (photoshopped in) right above the ship. The assigned dock however is White Bay. In my opinion that is borderline false advertising...

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Not similar. In Dubai there’s only one cruise ship location. Millennium was where I was expecting it to be when I booked. In Sydney there are two locations. One next to the Harbour Bridge and White Bay. All Azamara’s PR shows Quest next to the Harbour Bridge with fireworks (photoshopped in) right above the ship. The assigned dock however is White Bay. In my opinion that is borderline false advertising...

 

I meant similar, as in we had to go through a lot of trouble and expense to get the experience that we had booked the cruise expecting.

 

I agree that this is different with the two different docking facilities. Hopefully by the early part of 2018, they will have some solid answers for those of us booked on this cruise. Maybe that’s when they will offer their Azamazing Evening.

 

Michael

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Not similar. In Dubai there’s only one cruise ship location. Millennium was where I was expecting it to be when I booked. In Sydney there are two locations. One next to the Harbour Bridge and White Bay. All Azamara’s PR shows Quest next to the Harbour Bridge with fireworks (photoshopped in) right above the ship. The assigned dock however is White Bay. In my opinion that is borderline false advertising...

 

I own an ad agency it is not borderline false advertising. It is false advertising. If they are selling something for profit and it is advertised as a price point or something you receive and you do not receive it it is false advertising. I have been reading Azamara threads for almost a year now. It seems to me that is their norm rather than the exception. That is why on my cruise coming up I am one and done.

 

Kathy

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I'm not sure I quite understand the comment about hotels near Sydney harbour "not offering views" but perhaps I missed something when we spent several nights including NYE in Sydney a couple of years ago.

First of all: actually GETTING a hotel room with any harbor views such as the Park Hyatt is difficult to do even a year out so there has to be some reason why people book early.

Perhaps it is just to be close to the action and believe me, the area is mobbed on New Years Eve. The city seemed to more or less close down around noon on the 31st. Loads of people crowd into the harbor area and various venues with views will have parties, etc., you pay to attend.

 

Watching from a ship would be ideal especially when the big performance at midnight kicks off. The fireworks from the bridge are, in a word, spectacular and hope you find a good solution.

 

I was refering to the limited number of them (hotel rooms) that would provide a decent view of the fireworks. (Which would be sold out by now). Tbh I dont think having your face pressed against the glass of the four seasons would be a wild experience.

 

If you wanted to go down the accomodation path. I would consider hiring an air bnb in a local area such as kurraba point. The kurraba point park others excellent view of fireworks the only negative is the bridge is partitally obstructed. Because of this the park gets busy but you can still freely roam around.

 

They do provide ferry services after midnight however the quay would be where your finding the mass crowds.

 

Another less attended spot is watsons bay but further from the cbd than kurraba. Sure there are plenty more with a little research.

 

Ideally the harbour cruise would be first choice however these spots would be my second.

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Wouldn't Watson's Bay be too far out from the CBD to get a good view of the fireworks?

 

I love Watson's Bay and if I ever win the Lottery I intend to buy a house there ....quite near to Doyle's! 😄

 

I still remember the spectacular view of The Coathanger and the Fireworks from that harbour cruise ship. I really don't think it can be bettered....although if you had a room in The Shangri La Sydney then I bet you would have a great view. Probably booked out at least two years in advance though!

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Wouldn't Watson's Bay be too far out from the CBD to get a good view of the fireworks?

 

It depends on the type of view you are after. As i mentioned the harbour cruise is the first choice if traveling from overseas and your first time seeing the fireworks.

 

However watsons bay offers a unique view as you are far enough away to see all the firework points in one view and the bridge.

 

Kurraba point is a lot closer and directly in front of the first pontoon with the bridge to your right and 3 more pontoons beyond the bridge.

 

I would suggest going to utube and typing in "NYE fireworks from kurraba point" or "NYE fireworks from watsons bay" to make a more informed decision on what suits you best

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  • 2 months later...

Hi

 

My husband and I are also booked on the Quest with the stay in Sydney for New Years Eve 2018.

 

I booked this cruise in January 2017 when the docking schedule was not available but like others assumed that the ship would be docked in close proximity to the Harbour.

 

When I realised that the Quest was scheduled to be docked at White Bay Cruise Terminal I contacted Azamara and asked them to confirm (with the exception of any unforeseen events) my perfect vantage point as per their descriptor below.

 

"From a perfect vantage point on the Sydney Harbour, this New Year’s Eve starts early with an air show, followed by the magical Harbour of Light parade. At midnight, the famous fireworks explode over the bridge and the Sydney Opera House. Millions of people will be watching on television and online. You, on the other hand, will be right in the middle of it all. Happy New Year!

 

I have not yet had a response from Azamara but have informed them that if they do not respond I will be making a report to the UK Advertising Standards Authority for misleading advertising as this was the main reason I booked this cruise and not the Oceania round Australia cruise.

I will post any information I receive from Azamara, but so far it does not sound like they have any kind of a plan for New Years Eve. If this is the case then unfortunately I feel the cruise has been mis-sold.

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