More upgrades for the OPT.

[mr walker]

For our EOS departure 30-Mar, arrived at terminal around noon, dropped bags off, straight into terminal (only single line), up the escalator & then directed to correct C&A line - no one waiting there.

 

We let a couple of groups go ahead of us as we waited for the gbenjo check-in experience :) Thanks mate!

 

Then around the corner where we got a coloured card. Waited a few minutes (maybe 10), most used this time to complete their forms etc, & then our colour was called. As we went thru we were directed to a separate line based on C&A and straight up to immigration official and then on and thru security and suddenly on-board :D

 

For our arrival 12-Apr, walked off ship around 7:45, grabbed our bags (Group #3), handed in our forms to customs official, thru to outside & tapped-on at Circular Quay station at 7:58.

 

All good for us. Give me boarding & departing a cruise ship anytime over taking a flight!!!!!!!!!

Edited April 21, 2016 by mr walker

[avalon007]

Good news that your boarding went well - although if the line had been a mile long out front you may have a longer time of it.

 

Hopefully they have sorted any glitches out but they really do need two lines out front I think.

[mr walker]

Yes, agreed - there should be someone out front directing 'traffic' to ensure those with priority do get thru & maybe also to bypass the coloured card groups.

[Sparky74]

We disembarked from Explorer of the Seas yesterday having been on board for 11 days.

 

Boarding - Tuesday 12th April

 

We arrived at the OPT after 2pm which is quite late for us. There was a short line outside the terminal and we were glad it wasn't raining or too hot. Family members who were there earlier reported a very long line but apparently boarding was delayed due to extra cleaning on the ship necessitated by a Noro outbreak on the previous cruise. :confused:

 

Once inside the terminal we joined the express line for Diamond Crown & Anchor members and were checked in very quickly. We were surprised to be given a coloured card and asked to wait to see immigration as we had not encountered this system at the OPT before (and we sailed on Radiance OTS in February). The coloured card system seemed to work quite well and once our colour was called (after about a 10-15 minute wait) we were again able to join an express line due to our Diamond status and were soon onboard.

 

Disembarking - Saturday 23rd April

 

Fortunately we weren't in a great hurry to get off the ship. The ship was either late getting to the terminal or had issues with clearance. For whatever reason, disembarkation didn't start until late. We had wandered up to the buffet after 7am and it wasn't overly crowded so we took our time over breakfast and after collecting our hand luggage (overnight bag) from our stateroom a crew member directed us to the deck 4 gangway explaining that it was less congested than deck 1.

 

Things went fairly smoothly on deck 4 and we were soon off the ship. Then the "fun" began. I THINK that the ship MAY have just let anyone and everyone off rather than staggering passengers according to luggage tag number. At any rate, IMO they had let too many people off the ship too soon resulting in crowding and congestion inside the OPT.

 

One of the biggest mistakes was that the luggage was not sequential order and we spent ages in the crowded baggage hall looking for luggage tag 27 before eventually making our way through the crowd to a staff member who told us that 27 was in the next room. We joined a que and once in the next luggage hall the search commenced again. There was absolutely no rhyme or reason as to where the different luggage numbers were placed. What a zoo!:eek: Why oh why wasn't the luggage placed in sequential tag order? :confused: It's not rocket surgery!

 

When we eventually found our luggage we then joined a long line which slowly snaked its way back and forth through the OPT to immigration which was a breeze.

 

This was our worst disembarkation experience to date (our 11th cruise and our 8th time disembarking at the OPT). We have previously commented that using a cruise terminal is a smoother process than using a airport. Not so this time! I just hope and pray that they get their act together before the Ovation of the Seas arrives at the end of the year. Having experienced the shamozle of 3,800 passengers disembarking I shudder to think of the absolute chaos of 5,500 people all searching for their bags.

Edited April 23, 2016 by Sparky74

[GUT2407]

A big issue on disembark seems to be that there is little if any effort to keep bags together.

 

It maybe that the logistics to do do aren't worth the effort to the ship.

 

But gee it'd help the passengers.

[avalon007]

This is the reason why we always do the self disembarking - we have a policy that if we can't move our own luggage easily then we get smaller luggage.

 

We also prefer to have our bags with us the night before & the next morning.

 

We don't usually go & wait in the theatre or wherever either, we have a quick breakfast, return to the cabin to collect our bags & assuming the ship has started disembarking people we just go straight to the lift well nearest the exit point & then off the ship. We have never encountered any delay.

 

We don't always quite make it off in the designated time either & sometimes passengers are collecting their luggage inside the terminal & it does look like a bit of a cattle call. But we just walk straight past all that.

 

Usually the whole process from deck to outside the OPT takes us literally under 5 minutes.

 

I highly recommend it! :)

[Kiwi Kruzer]

We disembarked from Explorer of the Seas yesterday having been on board for 11 days.

 

Boarding - Tuesday 12th April

 

We arrived at the OPT after 2pm which is quite late for us. There was a short line outside the terminal and we were glad it wasn't raining or too hot. Family members who were there earlier reported a very long line but apparently boarding was delayed due to extra cleaning on the ship necessitated by a Noro outbreak on the previous cruise. :confused:

 

Once inside the terminal we joined the express line for Diamond Crown & Anchor members and were checked in very quickly. We were surprised to be given a coloured card and asked to wait to see immigration as we had not encountered this system at the OPT before (and we sailed on Radiance OTS in February). The coloured card system seemed to work quite well and once our colour was called (after about a 10-15 minute wait) we were again able to join an express line due to our Diamond status and were soon onboard.

 

Disembarking - Saturday 23rd April

 

Fortunately we weren't in a great hurry to get off the ship. The ship was either late getting to the terminal or had issues with clearance. For whatever reason, disembarkation didn't start until late. We had wandered up to the buffet after 7am and it wasn't overly crowded so we took our time over breakfast and after collecting our hand luggage (overnight bag) from our stateroom a crew member directed us to the deck 4 gangway explaining that it was less congested than deck 1.

 

Things went fairly smoothly on deck 4 and we were soon off the ship. Then the "fun" began. I THINK that the ship MAY have just let anyone and everyone off rather than staggering passengers according to luggage tag number. At any rate, IMO they had let too many people off the ship too soon resulting in crowding and congestion inside the OPT.

 

One of the biggest mistakes was that the luggage was not sequential order and we spent ages in the crowded baggage hall looking for luggage tag 27 before eventually making our way through the crowd to a staff member who told us that 27 was in the next room. We joined a que and once in the next luggage hall the search commenced again. There was absolutely no rhyme or reason as to where the different luggage numbers were placed. What a zoo!:eek: Why oh why wasn't the luggage placed in sequential tag order? :confused: It's not rocket surgery!

 

When we eventually found our luggage we then joined a long line which slowly snaked its way back and forth through the OPT to immigration which was a breeze.

 

This was our worst disembarkation experience to date (our 11th cruise and our 8th time disembarking at the OPT). We have previously commented that using a cruise terminal is a smoother process than using a airport. Not so this time! I just hope and pray that they get their act together before the Ovation of the Seas arrives at the end of the year. Having experienced the shamozle of 3,800 passengers disembarking I shudder to think of the absolute chaos of 5,500 people all searching for their bags.

 

As well as getting 5,500 off , they will getting 5,500 on...:eek:

...even more chaos ???????

I trust those booking have lots and lots of patience.:D

[Brisbane41]

I think Botany Bay needs to be considered as a second alternative. With P&O's new ship coming there will be no use for White Bay in the future when all ships cannot fit under the bridge.

 

One problem that can be fixed with Circular Quay is terminating the lease of all the restaurants and cafes in that building and making it a designated cruise terminal.

 

Apart from that the next best hope for cruising in Sydney is waiting until the Sydney Harbour Bridge is so old that it needs replacing.

[gbenjo]

We disembarked from Explorer of the Seas yesterday having been on board for 11 days.

 

Boarding - Tuesday 12th April

 

We arrived at the OPT after 2pm which is quite late for us. There was a short line outside the terminal and we were glad it wasn't raining or too hot. Family members who were there earlier reported a very long line but apparently boarding was delayed due to extra cleaning on the ship necessitated by a Noro outbreak on the previous cruise.

 

Once inside the terminal we joined the express line for Diamond Crown & Anchor members and were checked in very quickly. We were surprised to be given a coloured card and asked to wait to see immigration as we had not encountered this system at the OPT before (and we sailed on Radiance OTS in February). The coloured card system seemed to work quite well and once our colour was called (after about a 10-15 minute wait) we were again able to join an express line due to our Diamond status and were soon onboard.

 

Disembarking - Saturday 23rd April

 

Fortunately we weren't in a great hurry to get off the ship. The ship was either late getting to the terminal or had issues with clearance. For whatever reason, disembarkation didn't start until late. We had wandered up to the buffet after 7am and it wasn't overly crowded so we took our time over breakfast and after collecting our hand luggage (overnight bag) from our stateroom a crew member directed us to the deck 4 gangway explaining that it was less congested than deck 1.

 

Things went fairly smoothly on deck 4 and we were soon off the ship. Then the "fun" began. I THINK that the ship MAY have just let anyone and everyone off rather than staggering passengers according to luggage tag number. At any rate, IMO they had let too many people off the ship too soon resulting in crowding and congestion inside the OPT.

 

One of the biggest mistakes was that the luggage was not sequential order and we spent ages in the crowded baggage hall looking for luggage tag 27 before eventually making our way through the crowd to a staff member who told us that 27 was in the next room. We joined a que and once in the next luggage hall the search commenced again. There was absolutely no rhyme or reason as to where the different luggage numbers were placed. What a zoo!:eek: Why oh why wasn't the luggage placed in sequential tag order? :confused: It's not rocket surgery!

 

When we eventually found our luggage we then joined a long line which slowly snaked its way back and forth through the OPT to immigration which was a breeze.

 

This was our worst disembarkation experience to date (our 11th cruise and our 8th time disembarking at the OPT). We have previously commented that using a cruise terminal is a smoother process than using a airport. Not so this time! I just hope and pray that they get their act together before the Ovation of the Seas arrives at the end of the year. Having experienced the shamozle of 3,800 passengers disembarking I shudder to think of the absolute chaos of 5,500 people all searching for their bags.

 

Yes.... Unfortunately yesterday was a bit of a shambles due to the ships late arrival ( must have been an accident or traffic jam at the heads or something :D) and everyone wanting to get off at once and this sadly will be the case whenever a "big" ship has an "unscheduled" arrival. The baggage hall/s are totally inadequate in both size and layout to handle the bigger ships, something that seems to have been sadly overlooked when they planned the recent upgrade.Once you have your luggage the line to customs is constantly slowed down by guests stopping to fill in Arrival cards (NO PASSPORTS REQUIRED) and any number of other reasons and we only get three customs officers for the big ships (I guess there is not much room for any more anyway, even if they were available:mad:)

Efforts are made to lay the luggage out in "sequential "order but as we can never know the exact amount of bags are in each luggage tag number (passengers yes --pieces of luggage no) it can get a little messy sometimes. It normally goes a "little" smoother than yesterday but still not ideal.

By the way, I believe it is only about 4500 pax for the Ovation not 5500:D but it will still be a challenge.:eek: As I have said before.. don't let an hours inconvenience spoil a great cruise....you can't change it and it is only an hour out of your life. The cruise lines have to work with what is there and ,believe me, if there were ways to fix it they would...they do not like having unhappy guests. I know there will be a lot meetings and planning for the Ovation next season to overcome the terminals "shortfalls" and I am confident they will sort things out.

[gbenjo]

As well as getting 5,500 off , they will getting 5,500 on...:eek:

...even more chaos ???????

I trust those booking have lots and lots of patience.:D

 

I believe that is only 4500 not 5500 (4900 at "full cabin" capacity) but probably around 4500 on average....so a piece of cake for check in:D:D:D

[gbenjo]

I think Botany Bay needs to be considered as a second alternative. With P&O's new ship coming there will be no use for White Bay in the future when all ships cannot fit under the bridge.

 

One problem that can be fixed with Circular Quay is terminating the lease of all the restaurants and cafes in that building and making it a designated cruise terminal.

 

Apart from that the next best hope for cruising in Sydney is waiting until the Sydney Harbour Bridge is so old that it needs replacing.

 

I believe a decent percentage of the recent OPT upgrade budget was spent on paying out the leases for the restaurants that did go and I am sure that if the remaining restaurants did not leave then for what was offered (if that was the case)then they are not about to leave now. It makes sense what you say and is the only way they will get more space but unfortunately I cannot see it happening.

 

Botany Bay would be an option but once again would come down to value for money for the cruise lines as they would I assume have to contribute to its building cost and they still lose Sydney Harbour.

[GUT2407]

I believe a decent percentage of the recent OPT upgrade budget was spent on paying out the leases for the restaurants that did go and I am sure that if the remaining restaurants did not leave then for what was offered (if that was the case)then they are not about to leave now. It makes sense what you say and is the only way they will get more space but unfortunately I cannot see it happening.

 

Botany Bay would be an option but once again would come down to value for money for the cruise lines as they would I assume have to contribute to its building cost and they still lose Sydney Harbour.

 

I see the loss of Sydney Harbour as a huge restraint on them moving anywhere.

 

Widely regarded as one of the premiere harbours in the world I'm sure that they don't want to lose it as a destination.

[Wellard]

I've really enjoyed reading this interesting discussion.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[avalon007]

UPDATE: Regards the email I sent to the Port Authority at the OPT regards the breakdown in the priority boarding system.

 

They forwarded my email to Royal & today I received a call from their C&A people in Miami thanking me for my feedback & apologising for the breakdown in the procedure.

 

They will be discussing the issue with the relevant people at the OPT to ensure it doesn't happen in future.

 

I stressed to them the importance of 2 lines outside the OPT & the need to also have a priority line in the customs check in.

 

Fingers crossed this solves the issue ongoing. :)

[cassamanda]

UPDATE: Regards the email I sent to the Port Authority at the OPT regards the breakdown in the priority boarding system.

 

They forwarded my email to Royal & today I received a call from their C&A people in Miami thanking me for my feedback & apologising for the breakdown in the procedure.

 

They will be discussing the issue with the relevant people at the OPT to ensure it doesn't happen in future.

 

I stressed to them the importance of 2 lines outside the OPT & the need to also have a priority line in the customs check in.

 

Fingers crossed this solves the issue ongoing. :)

 

Thank you for doing this. We had the services before so why were they removed is the issue.

 

So the immediate simple fixes i can see for next season on embarkation are

1. Better signage outside to clearly show where the bag drop is - before you stand in a line for 20 minutes then discover the bag drop is behind you!

 

2. Separate C&A/loyalty express line outside.

 

3. Check in good as is with separate lines. No changes needed.

 

4. Express lane ex checkin all the way to security.

 

Regards, Hugh

[avalon007]

Thank you for doing this. We had the services before so why were they removed is the issue.

 

So the immediate simple fixes i can see for next season on embarkation are

1. Better signage outside to clearly show where the bag drop is - before you stand in a line for 20 minutes then discover the bag drop is behind you!

 

2. Separate C&A/loyalty express line outside.

 

3. Check in good as is with separate lines. No changes needed.

 

4. Express lane ex checkin all the way to security.

 

Regards, Hugh

 

You're welcome.

 

Hopefully next cruise we will both see an improvement & the system will work as it should. :)

[gbenjo]

Thank you for doing this. We had the services before so why were they removed is the issue.

 

So the immediate simple fixes i can see for next season on embarkation are

1. Better signage outside to clearly show where the bag drop is - before you stand in a line for 20 minutes then discover the bag drop is behind you!

 

2. Separate C&A/loyalty express line outside.

 

3. Check in good as is with separate lines. No changes needed.

 

4. Express lane ex checkin all the way to security.

 

Regards, Hugh

 

1. There is already quite a large baggage drop off sign above where you drop your luggage but I guess you may not see it till you get to it.

 

2. Agree there should be a dedicated line outside the terminal for C&A members.

 

3. Check in is as good as it gets (especially with certain people working there :D:D:D)

 

4. Express lane from check in to security is a bit hard as there is only one escalator up to the level three which is used by all guests. Customs and security are not the function of the cruise line so we do not have much influence on that. There already is an "express" lane to customs for wheelchairs and I believe C&A members but unless the guests show their sea pass to staff they do not know...........agree that maybe there should be some signage so we shall see what happens next season.

My comments obviously only apply to RCCL . Don't know what Carnival etc do.:confused:

Edited April 26, 2016 by gbenjo

[avalon007]

1. There is already quite a large baggage drop off sign above where you drop your luggage but I guess you may not see it till you get to it.

 

2. Agree there should be a dedicated line outside the terminal for C&A members.

 

3. Check in is as good as it gets (especially with certain people working there :D:D:D)

 

4. Express lane from check in to security is a bit hard as there is only one escalator up to the level three which is used by all guests. Customs and security are not the function of the cruise line so we do not have much influence on that. There already is an "express" lane to customs for wheelchairs and I believe C&A members but unless the guests show their sea pass to staff they do not know...........agree that maybe there should be some signage so we shall see what happens next season.

My comments obviously only apply to RCCL . Don't know what Carnival etc do.:confused:

 

You are correct - check in was perfect! :D

 

Regards the security section - It's not a separate line needed as you enter I don't think. The process fell down for us as they just gave us a coloured card without checking if we were C&A members.

 

But they do need to have a sign posted separate line at the right side of the main line in front of the customs desks, which is the place we ended up being sent to only after we enquired about it.

 

Maybe passengers at check in who are identified as priority boarding could be given a different coloured card there & then which they show on entering security & then get directed straight away to the priority line at customs?

 

I know this would add another task to the check in job but would eliminate the issues with passengers not knowing to ask about priority in the security area & also the lack of staff knowing to check peoples sea passes before handing the same coloured cards as you enter??

 

My concern was that some of the security area staff seemed clueless about priority boarding so when you ask them if you have the correct card for priority boarding they don't have an answer. I also found one woman's attitude a bit negative like we were asking for something we shouldn't have been. Maybe she was just a bit miffed that she wasn't cruising that day. :)

[Wellard]

Q: can you drop your bag off, then return to check-in & board later in the day. ?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[GUT2407]

Q: can you drop your bag off, then return to check-in & board later in the day. ?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Yep no worries

[cassamanda]

This is the approach to the entrance at Sydney OPT. At this stage, the location of the Baggage Drop is not clear. An overhead sign or a sign beliw the blue "Quay" restaurant sign pointing the way would help.

 

As you get closer to the entrance you can see a baggage drop sign indicating to keep going straight ahead whereas in fact the baggage drop area is tucked away to the right.

[Wellard]

Great! thanks!...

It would be such a shame to wast a Sydney day by being on board the ship by lunch time.

It's nice to know I can drop my bags off, rather than storing them at the hotel, only to have to return back to collect them.

 

 

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[crochetcruise]

This is the approach to the entrance at Sydney OPT. At this stage, the location of the Baggage Drop is not clear. An overhead sign or a sign beliw the blue "Quay" restaurant sign pointing the way would help.

 

As you get closer to the entrance you can see a baggage drop sign indicating to keep going straight ahead whereas in fact the baggage drop area is tucked away to the right.

 

Newbie cruiser here, and I'm also Legally Blind and on a walking frame.

 

In the photo above, showing the entrance, there seems to be a steep ramp between the 2 supports at the far right of the picture. If I am right, does this go up to where I would need to go please? I will have my cousin with me until I need to go into a "secure access" area, so she'll help with sign reading.

[Womble99]

Entry is through the glass doors on the ground level near the bag drop in the second picture. Probably why lots of people don't see the bag drop area, too focused on the entry?

[cassamanda]

There is a lift on the right next to the glass entrance doors. Immediatly after the entrance there is an escalator taking you up to the mezzanine level.

 

In you case, probably best to take the lift.