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Carnival Australia is working to ensure the transition to Sydney Ports Corporation’s new White Bay Cruise Terminal is as smooth as possible for its cruise passengers.
The company, which operates or
represents most of the cruise ships operating to or from Sydney, has also
developed a ‘good neighbour commitment’ that takes into account the interests
of the local community.
The transfer to White Bay
follows the State Government’s decision to relocate cruise ship operations west
of the Sydney Harbour Bridge from Barangaroo.
Pacific Pearl -- one of three
P&O Cruises’ superliners operated by Carnival Australia -- today became the
first cruise ship to berth at White Bay and her sister ship, Pacific Jewel, is
due there on Friday.
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Caption (l to r):
P&O Cruises Senior Vice President Tammy Marshall with the first Pacific
Pearl passengers to disembark at White Bay, Loren Beder and Moshe Belleli, and
Sydney Ports Lachlan Benson.
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“Once the decision was made to
relocate cruise ship operations to White Bay, we pledged to work cooperatively
with Sydney Ports Corporation to make the new terminal a success,” said Tammy
Marshall, P&O Cruises’ Senior Vice President.
“We have worked to make the
change as smooth as possible for our passengers including direct communication
advising them of the new arrangements. We also want the local community know of
our
intention to be a good neighbour.”
Carnival Australia’s ‘Good
Neighbour Commitment’ has the following guidelines:
- No surprise visits unless an emergency – Our
ship schedules are published up to two years ahead of time and can readily
be viewed at www.sydneyports.com.au/port_operations/cruise_schedule
- No planned late night arrivals – The vast majority
of our ships arrive between 6am and 7am, which means no late nights and a
reduced impact on afternoon peak hour traffic.
- Quiet disembarkation – Carnival Australia is taking
a number of steps to keep the inevitable noise of disembarkation to a
minimum. For example, our ships will refrain from making announcements
about disembarkation times and schedules while in port.
- Ship whistle minimised – We will do our best to stay
quiet, with our ship whistle used sparingly for evacuation drills or in
case of an emergency.
- Lights down low – External ship lighting will be
kept to a minimum when in port.
- Sail-away fun – We know our passengers love to start
their holiday the moment they step on board, but Carnival Australia will
keep music and announcements to a minimum until our ships are well on
their way.
- One day visit – Occasionally there will be
circumstances that require the ships to stay overnight, for example
extreme weather conditions or technical problems, however these are few
and far between.
- Ongoing communication – Carnival Australia will
update residents of any major changes to its operation via its website (www.carnivalaustralia.com)
or direct mail.
Ms Marshall said the start of
operations at White Bay highlighted the priority of improving cruise ship
access east of the Harbour Bridge to support cruise industry growth and its
increasing economic contribution.
“The next steps to maintain
the momentum of growth are the planned upgrade of the Overseas Passenger Terminal
at Circular Quay and the need to confirm long-term access to Garden Island,”
she said.
