Just for the Record - Disembarkation in Sydney Yesterday

[robncruise]

Just got off Majestic in Sydney yesterday.  1st cruise since covid hit.  Was on the ill fated Ruby Princess cruise and was always puzzled by the comments made by numerous disenchanted passengers.   Such as "they couldn't wait to get rid of us", "we were rushed off the ship", "didn't even check our passports", "didn't even ask for  transfer tickets for transport to airport"  etc etc. I felt at the time the disembarkation was the usual. And yesterday proved that it was.  All disembarkation groups off by 9.15 am,   no passports required to be shown,  and our transfer tickets not collected when we got on the bus to the airport !!   It made me so mad that people made accusations at that time.  Yesterday was no more than 10 minutes from our group being called through luggage collection and onto bus  and a really nice touch I hadn't experienced before .  Two young port/ bus staff travelled on our bus with us to unload our luggage at the airport.

[OzKiwiJJ]

26 minutes ago, robncruise said:

Just got off Majestic in Sydney yesterday.  1st cruise since covid hit.  Was on the ill fated Ruby Princess cruise and was always puzzled by the comments made by numerous disenchanted passengers.   Such as "they couldn't wait to get rid of us", "we were rushed off the ship", "didn't even check our passports", "didn't even ask for  transfer tickets for transport to airport"  etc etc. I felt at the time the disembarkation was the usual. And yesterday proved that it was.  All disembarkation groups off by 9.15 am,   no passports required to be shown,  and our transfer tickets not collected when we got on the bus to the airport !!   It made me so mad that people made accusations at that time.  Yesterday was no more than 10 minutes from our group being called through luggage collection and onto bus  and a really nice touch I hadn't experienced before .  Two young port/ bus staff travelled on our bus with us to unload our luggage at the airport.

Passport checks are only done if the ship has travelled to international port during the voyage, and usually take place at the first Australian port of call after that, e.g. Hobart if the ship came from NZ via Tasmania.  I believe Ruby arrived in Sydney direct from NZ that time so passports should have been checked.

 

Other than that Princess disembarkations have always been efficient in Sydney as far as I can recall. The bit that takes the longest is usually finding your luggage. 😀 Sometimes the customs clearance queue moves a bit slow but if the cruise hasn't been to an international port, or done the Willis Island cruise-by so duty free can be sold onboard, then there is no customs check.

 

I can't comment on the bus transfer situation. 

[robncruise]

I was just wanting to state for the record that  my experience of the Ruby Princess disembarkation in March 2020 was very much the usual procedure contrary to what a number of passengers reported to media at the time.

[Aus Traveller]

Our cruise a few weeks ago was on the Coral Princess to NZ. There was no passport check when we returned to Brisbane. It was the same procedure on several other cruises, even pre-COVID. Our passports were checked before we got on the ship.

[Aus Traveller]

8 minutes ago, robncruise said:

I was just wanting to state for the record that  my experience of the Ruby Princess disembarkation in March 2020 was very much the usual procedure contrary to what a number of passengers reported to media at the time.

Interesting. I am not surprised. The timing of the disembarkation from the Ruby Princess accorded with the usual and actually might have been slower than usual. I seem to recall that one of the guest entertainers said he was one of the last off and it was close to 11am.

[Cbtours]

1 hour ago, robncruise said:

Just got off Majestic in Sydney yesterday.  1st cruise since covid hit.  Was on the ill fated Ruby Princess cruise and was always puzzled by the comments made by numerous disenchanted passengers.   Such as "they couldn't wait to get rid of us", "we were rushed off the ship", "didn't even check our passports", "didn't even ask for  transfer tickets for transport to airport"  etc etc. I felt at the time the disembarkation was the usual. And yesterday proved that it was.  All disembarkation groups off by 9.15 am,   no passports required to be shown,  and our transfer tickets not collected when we got on the bus to the airport !!   It made me so mad that people made accusations at that time.  Yesterday was no more than 10 minutes from our group being called through luggage collection and onto bus  and a really nice touch I hadn't experienced before .  Two young port/ bus staff travelled on our bus with us to unload our luggage at the airport.

We were on that Ruby too! Had no problems even though we contracted covid day or two after we got home. Very mild case. 
I am presuming everyone on board, like us, had their total fare refunded by princess. Nothing seems to have ever been mentioned about that?

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

Our cruise a few weeks ago was on the Coral Princess to NZ. There was no passport check when we returned to Brisbane. It was the same procedure on several other cruises, even pre-COVID. Our passports were checked before we got on the ship.

How odd. On the HAL cruise we had a passpirt check in Hobart. That was a one way cruise though so may make a difference. But I'm sure we've had passport checks in the past when returning from other cruises that went to overseas ports. Now I'm confused!

[Aus Traveller]

1 minute ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

How odd. On the HAL cruise we had a passpirt check in Hobart. That was a one way cruise though so may make a difference. But I'm sure we've had passport checks in the past when returning from other cruises that went to overseas ports. Now I'm confused!

We haven't had our passports checked on returning from a cruise for years, but the cruises have all originated in Australia. I can recall  one cruise a year or two pre-COVID when we had our passports in hand when we approached the officer who was taking the Incoming Passenger Cards. He said "No. We don't need those. It was all done from the ship." We took that to mean that the ship supplied Aust Border Force with the details of all the passengers on board. No further checking took place.

 

When the Ruby Princess issue blew up, I was surprised that people were implying that the fact they didn't have their passports inspected was suspicious. It wasn't. It was normal procedure and had happened to us two weeks earlier.

[valantine80]

No passport checks in Brisbane after two recent cruises to South Pacific. Told only incoming passenger cards needed. These were checked after one of the cruises and after the other they were collected and stuffed in a plastic bag.

[Yaya_in_Oz]

Got off the Coral in Feb after a cruise to PNG. BICT was set up like an airport. You had to go through Passport Control and then into another room where if you had goods to declare you were directed to the right, if not straight out the door. I imagine there would be lots of people with wooden articles etc. to declare on that cruise.

[korky1]

My husband and I have done over 40 cruises departing from Sydeny, leaving our country, then returning to Sydney.  Never have we had to show passports at Customs check when disembarking.   Your passport is scanned by immigration officers when you go through immigration before boarding the ship and is not required to be shown to anyone when disembarking.  Of course if it is a cruise that does not visit any other country like the cruise we came off yesterday which went up to Cairns and back, then you don't need to take your passport at all as you do not go through the immigration process.

So you are definitely correct when you say that it was no different to all other cruises departing from Australia and returning to Australia when you got off the Ruby Princess. 

[ScottishRobbie]

14 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Passport checks are only done if the ship has travelled to international port during the voyage, and usually take place at the first Australian port of call after that, e.g. Hobart if the ship came from NZ via Tasmania.  I believe Ruby arrived in Sydney direct from NZ that time so passports should have been checked.

Are you sure about that? I've had 2 cruises on Ovation this summer, November to the Islands and went to NZ last month. On both occasions, we were told there was no need for passports and we only needed the incoming passenger cards

[korky1]

39 minutes ago, ScottishRobbie said:

Are you sure about that? I've had 2 cruises on Ovation this summer, November to the Islands and went to NZ last month. On both occasions, we were told there was no need for passports and we only needed the incoming passenger cards

Hi Scottie

 

If you read my post (one before yours)  you will see my experiences concur with yours.

[possum52]

We haven't had to show passports when disembarking a cruise that commenced in Australia and returned to the same port. 

Edited March 9, 2023 by possum52

[boeckli]

Just returning to Oz from NZ on Noordam (boarded in Auckland) and had face-to-face inspection in Hobart. 

I seem to remember that Graham (@gbenjo) mentioned it depends on where you board. If in Oz. then no face-to-face,  but yes if you boarded I'm an o/sea's port.

[NSWP]

Passports are not required for domestic cruises, just ID.

 

[christodan]

21 hours ago, robncruise said:

Just got off Majestic in Sydney yesterday.  1st cruise since covid hit.  Was on the ill fated Ruby Princess cruise and was always puzzled by the comments made by numerous disenchanted passengers.   Such as "they couldn't wait to get rid of us", "we were rushed off the ship", "didn't even check our passports", "didn't even ask for  transfer tickets for transport to airport"  etc etc. I felt at the time the disembarkation was the usual. And yesterday proved that it was.  All disembarkation groups off by 9.15 am,   no passports required to be shown,  and our transfer tickets not collected when we got on the bus to the airport !!   It made me so mad that people made accusations at that time.  Yesterday was no more than 10 minutes from our group being called through luggage collection and onto bus  and a really nice touch I hadn't experienced before .  Two young port/ bus staff travelled on our bus with us to unload our luggage at the airport.

And if they were delayed it would have been, "we had to wait ages and that's probably why we caught COVID. They should have let us off quickly". Honestly some people are just pains, having worked in hospitality myself. Ironically, I now work with people who have mental illnesses and I haven't met anyone who is anywhere near as bad as some of the customers I served.

[cruiser3775]

I had my passport checked in Brisbane last November when disembarking from a cruise to PNG. I think they selected a sample of people, not every passenger. And, yes, I declared the wood carving I had purchased, but the customs man said "is it the same sort of thing that everyone is declaring?"  When I said yes, he didn't even want to look at it, just waved me through.