Sydney, Australia

Date: February 20, 2019
Location: Sydney, Australia

February 18th and 19th were spent crossing the Tasman Sea to reach Sydney, Australia. We had heard from crew members and other passengers who had crossed the Tasman Sea before that it could be very rough. We were lucky and the sea was calm for our crossing.

The ship stayed in Sydney Harbour and we had to take a tender to get to shore. This was the view from our balcony.

There is a place for one cruise ship to dock across from the Sydney Opera House, but another ship was there so we had to use the tender service. One benefit of being in a Concierge stateroom is that we received priority in getting on the tender boat to go to shore.

We were able to get on the next tender boat once ready, whereas other passengers had to collect a ticket and wait for their number to be called. Passengers who are Elite and above in the Celebrity Cruises loyalty program, Captain’s Club, also receive priority in getting on the tender boat to go to shore. To receive priority to get back on the ship you either need to be a Zenith member, the highest level of Captain’s Club, or stay in the penthouse suite.

The tender service dropped us off at Dawes Point just after going under the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

After walking under the Sydney Harbour Bridge we were able to get a closer view of the Sydney Opera House.

We saw the Anzac Memorial. It commemorates the soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who served in WWI.

We visited the Australian Museum. This is one of Brian’s favorite museums. The dinosaur exhibit was really interesting.

Across from the Australian Museum entrance is St Mary’s Cathedral.

We saw the Sydney Tower Eye but did not go up to the viewing platform since it was a cloudy day. It rained when we were in the Australian Museum.

The Sydney Tower Eye is the tallest structure in Sydney at 309 meters, 1,014 feet.

We walked to the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Walking towards Mrs Macquaries Point we had great views of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.

In the Royal Botanic Gardens we saw tons of people running, most with numbers on. We saw some faster runners at random times, so it didn’t look like a race where everyone started together. The runners were part of the Sydney Corporate Cup, a 14-week series of races. Races are held roughly every other week and run on one of three 6k courses.

Instead of everyone starting together, each runner has a timing chip that they tie to their shoelaces. Runners can start any time they want on the day of the race in the afternoon. For their time to count they must finish before the timing mat is turned off at 1:30 pm.

To get back to Dawes Point we walked around Farm Cove and went by the Sydney Opera House.

We enjoyed our day in Sydney even with the rain in the area.