The boss of the NSW ports is pushing to make Port Kembla Sydney’s “third” cruise terminal, allowing overseas cruisers to enjoy the Opera House and Harbour Bridge views while Aussies sail out of the Illawarra.
Port Authority of NSW chief executive and director Phil Holliday is gathering support for the plan among political leaders and state bureaucrats so he can prepare a business case.
At the start of the biggest season since the pandemic, Mr Holliday told Cruise Passenger the two-year pause had created more space and allowed in new entrants like Virgin Voyages and Disney Cruises.
But it had not alleviated the lack of capacity that is keeping out companies like Norwegian Cruise Lines, whose head Harry Sommer has said he won’t bring his latest ships Down Under until he can get the right slots on Sydney Harbour.
Sommer’s claim is that American cruisers want that magical view of Sydney’s skyline and won’t settle for anything less. Whether Australians will feel the same is the big test.
For Holliday, it’s about reality. Attempts to win a share of the Sydney naval base Garden Island have failed, Yarra Bay has been turned down and there are simply no further options. Cruise continues to grow and NSW needs a place to put that growth.
“There are options and there are realistic options,” he says. “I think there’s a lot of mileage in Garden Island, for example. But I’m not as young as I used to be and I would like to see some new infrastructure delivered while I’m still alive!”
As a result, Holliday says his team is looking for viable solutions that would allow for expansion. The coming season will see some 70 ships sailing in Australia. But many global lines – MSC, Norwegian’s newer ships, for instance – won’t come to Australia unless they can give their guests the unique Aussie experience.
For most, that’s the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
So Holliday’s idea is simple. The Aussie-based ships with local passengers would be based at Port Kembla. Vessels with mostly overseas passengers would be at the Overseas Passenger Terminal or White Bay.
Having floated the idea, now he is busily gathering opinions before going to the NSW Government with a request for funding for the business case.
Nothing is cut and dried, of course. The same case was made for Port Botany. But aggressive campaigning by local residents and the politics sunk the plan.
Holliday believes Port Kembla is more supportive, and local politicians have already given the plan support.
“Let’s accept that that Port Kembler is a strong option – and it is important to put a little caveat in there that we don’t own the port.
“NSW ports are the port owners and, for anything to happen there, they need to be on board. It’s got to fit in with all their other aspirations.
“But I think that’s all achievable. We have had conversations with them, but there’s a long way for those conversations to go up.”
Terminals to operate in unison
Holliday believes that his organisation would run the cruise operations of Port Kembla “so the three terminals operate in a kind of unison, not in competition”.
So Port Kembla would become the turnaround port – where cruises start and end and where passengers get off – and Sydney would be for “transit” passengers who are on their way to other destinations.
And that would have a beneficial impact on pre- and post-experiences, offering the Illawarra the chance to suggest vacation experiences to cruise passengers in the region, while Sydney encourages overseas tourists to stay longer in the city.
“That’s a key part,” says Holliday. “There is a significant number of passengers that do pre- and post-cruise. If you take that model and say your cruise is going to start in Port Kembla, then you, you now have an option.
“You can spend that pre or post in Port Kembla and there’s plenty to do there and there are things to see. But if in your bucket list, you want to see the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, you can spend your pre- and post- in Sydney. We’re just an hour north and realistically what you’re most likely to do is do both.”
Holliday admits it is early days. But he has received some support.
“There’s a process for us to follow as a government entity to take others on the journey and say to people: we think this is a strong option.
“And if there’s agreement on it being the lead option, then we start to do a bit more or spend a bit more money, do a full business case on it and take it to its conclusion.”
Positives out of the pandemic
On the coming season, Holliday says “there are not too many positives you can pull out of the pandemic but one of them is that actually it did free up some capacity”.
“What we are seeing is greater diversity in the number of players that are here. Disney and Virgin being obvious examples of that. And I think the more the merrier – that’s a more sustainable model for us,” he said.
“I see that as a real positive that there are new players in the market, that’s not a criticism of the old players, but it’s a having new players in the market.
“It just shows that there is that demand there and that links into the conversation we’ve just been having about additional capacity.”
Holliday says his organisation is encouraging more cruise not just in Sydney but across NSW.
“We’re having these conversations with NSW ports where we’re going through the planning process to extend the capabilities down in Eden.
“We’re working hard to increase the, the attractiveness of New South Wales.”
We have to travel to Sydney when we cruise. 9 hours on bus and train from Merimbula. We would like Eden to become a terminal, when they’re able to accommodate the bigger ships. Even if we could just disembark there, instead of having to sail on to Sydney at the end of a cruise would be great. We’ve asked a couple of times, no, not allowed. Don’t think Port Kembla would suit us.
What’s wrong with Newcastle? They seem to want a terminal and even had plans drawn up. To be frank though, so what. Why do we need to accomodate mega cruise ships. Not everything is about money.
Great idea. So much to offer in the Illawarra, South Coast, Southern Highlands. This would hopefully encourage the other liners to come to Sydney as there’d be space for them . They’ll always be detractors but we have to think outside the box & make our opportunities.
This is utterly ridiculous. I cruise all the time and can’t see any merit in the proposal, I love going out of the harbour and seeing the bridge and the opera house. The thought of going to Port Kembla and replacing the view with dilapidated steel works. Having to hire a chauffeur driven car to drive us there and back would cost just as much as the cruise. The same as people coming from the airport. I found people fly to Sydney to catch cruise ships, from all over the world for the experience of the harbour.
we would not be interested in catching a cruise ship from Port Kembla.
That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard, I’ve sailed into Port Kembla on a cruise ship looking into the dirty steelworks, hey Phil, why don’t you try and move the Opera House to Wollongong
I’m doing a cruise out of Sydney early next year and arriving 2 days early so I can visit friends who live a short ferry trip from Circular Quay. I have cruised into Sydney but this will be my first cruise out through the heads. I also want to visit NSW State Library to look up some records not available elsewhere before returning to the airport for flight home. None of my interests can be accommodated in Port Kembla so I’ll probably only look at cruises out of Brisbane after this one.
Part of the thrill of being on a cruise ship is entering or leaving the port of Sydney (assuming that is the cruise line schedule). An alternative of Newcastle or Port Kembla is not an answer given the myriad logistical issues that go with it.S ydney has options of White Bay (subject vessel sizes), Circular Quay and mooring off buoys in the Harbour which should be further explored and canvassed (after all cruise lines are used to this option in many places in the world and if cruising the issue of embarking or disembarking new/old passengers is a non event.). For 70 vessels a year and careful planning it should be possible to meet all requirements. However if certain lines all want to berth at Circular Quay (or instance) on New Years Eve then obviously someone will be disappointed. Perhaps implement a policy of first vessel at the Fairway Buoy has priority on the berth. An interesting concept but does work!!! Quite frankly an interesting concept and good luck negotiating with the shipping industry (and the travel agents etc etc )
No way. I have done many cruises and I am put off ports that are out of the way. I wouldn’t take a cruise if it didn’t leave from Sydney.
Garden Island is the most practical. Move them away.
Has anybody been to see Port Kembla? It’s a steel port surrounded by heavy industry. It is no way an attractive town as has been neglected for decades. The coast is spectacular but there is no decent train link suitable for tourists and to arrive in the middle of an industrial area after a cruise is a ludicrous idea. I am all for bringing business to the area but the reality would be very challenging.
As a regular cruiser there no way I’d want to sail out of Port Kembla the the transport links are terrible and it’s over ninety minutes from Sydney and it’s an industrial port with absolutely no amenities around it
This has to be one of the stupidest suggestions I’ve heard for a long time.
I’m completely confused by the relationship between Ports NSW and the Port Authority.
The key stakeholders that Holliday should be considering is the cruisers. Forcing them to travel upwards of 2 hours to a different region of NSW is not an option
Why not make us drive to Coffs Harbour?
There is no way I would cruise out of Port Kembla. Too far to travel and added expense/ time to a holiday I was born in Sydney and love to be able to share the magic of cruising under the bridge with my family and friends. If this is nolonger possible I will be finding other places/ ways to explore and nolonger cruising. Therefore my holiday money will likely be feeding other countries tourism dollar.
I CAN NOT BELIEVE THIS IS EVEN AN IDEA. SUPPORTER OF SHARING OUR HARBOUR BUT NOT GIVING IT WAY.
I personally think it is a great option, of course they will put parking in place. There isn’t any parking in Sydney that is affordable for cruisers.
We moved to the south coast a year ago from Sydney, and cruise often, so have to drive up to Sydney to get the ship.
Of course there is a train line and I see a lot of people catching train to Sydney, agree it could be a little more reliable.
Also Wollongong has a lot of accommodation and great restaurant options, even Port Kembla has some boutique options, Shell Cove will have a big hotel in 2025. The Illawarra and south coast has a lot of options for tourism.
I would do lots weekend cruises if I didn’t have to go to Sydney to board ships.
It’s a great idea for the big overseas ships to come into Sydney, as the overseas tourists love the Bridge and Opera House.
Bring it on, Port Kembla.
How ridiculous, why should we have to travel to Port Kembla so overseas cruisers can use Sydney terminals.
I agree NO DEAL
As a frequent cruiser who lives in Perth, Western Australia has a lot less cruises post-COVID. I have had to fly to Brisbane or Sydney mostly to cruise. As another reviewer mentioned, the Brisbane Cruise Terminal has no public transport and taxis or Uber are expensive. I prefer Sydney but there is no way I would cruise from Port Kembla.
As a frequent cruiser who lives in Perth, Western Australia has a lot less cruises post-COVID. I have had to fly to Brisbane or Sydney mostly to cruise. As another reviewer mentioned, the Brisbane Cruise Terminal has no public transport and taxis or Uber are expensive. I prefer Sydney but there is no way I would cruise from Port Kembla.
I’m not totally against this if they get it right.
Many other major ports are out of the way and do just fine (Southampton, Kiel, fort Lauderdale).
Dedicated bus services from Sydney and airport would come up etc.
It could mean genuine cheaper fares, smaller ships doing interesting Australia and regional sailings that were otherwise not viable.
Port Kembla might be a good idea if you want to inconvenience cruisers but what about transport to the Port from Sydney.
We have to travel 8hrs to get to Sydney then what? another slow train and then try and get to the Port from the rail station with luggage and possibly small children or elderly or are the cruise ships running transfers from Sydney at No cost or very reasonable cost as their berthing fees should be less than Sydney???? Consider passengers as well as $$$$.
You only have to look at Brisbane cruise port. No public transport at all. If you want to sight see you are at the mercy of the cruise lines at a cost to get to the city.
You and Alan Joyce should be in partnership, putting Australians LAST>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Totally unfeasable, its 100 ks from sydney, no parking, limited train services, what sre hotel.options near the port? Then on return , cruisers have to drive back to sydney. One option would be to close circuksr quay, move all ferry services to Darling harbour and build circular quay into an international cruise terminal for all ships , by dredging that harbour area.
City of Newcastle was funded for a cruise terminal. Bollards were done, the building design was submitted approved. It was under funded,11.7 Million Dollars was not enough to finished the project. Our state member of Newcastle was ONLY ASKING AN EXTRA 3 MILLION
Newcastle Cruise Terminal was a proposed cruise terminal in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. The cruise terminal was proposed to be built at the Channel Berth in the Port of Newcastle.
Newcastle got duded under the LIBS AND NOW GOING TO DUDED UNDER LABOR.
SEE WIKIPEDIA
Funding was to be provided by the Government of New South Wales’s Restart NSW Hunter Infrastructure Investment Fund.[1][2][3] The project was cancelled in 2019 after Infrastructure NSW advised funding would no longer be available.[4]
As a regular cruiser out of Brisbane, one of my bucket lists is to cruise in and out of Sydney Heads, and cruise under and around the Opera House. Port Kembla holds no attraction to me!
Why is it the Overseas Terminal rarely seems to be used during the week but mainly only on weekends? Surely with better management it could be used by overseas passengers as well as we Aussies. I for one don’t want to be cruising out of Port Kembla. I don’t want to have to travel to Sydney from country New South Wales or anywhere else in Australia only to have to travel nearly another 100km to board my cruise ship. For the information of Mr Halliday, not every Australian lives in Sydney.
That plan is rubbish.
So Australians will be second class citizens in their own country!!
NO DEAL
Sounds like a good option. What about long term parking? That should be a lot cheaper and more available at port kembla. Just needs to be a big piece of tarmac. Also, having checper pre/post cruise accomodation, would be a great option.