lauren_s_kahn

So the bottom line is there will still be fruits and veggies loaded at Circular Quay but only for ships that pay a premium for the privilege, so your view will still be blocked. Have I got that correctly?

dreamon

Throw my two cents in.... Agree that the cruise ships at Circular Quay are so huge that that they do block the iconic views of Sydney Harbour. I think they should cap the size of ships which dock there. That would be better for both tourists and locals, both of whom want to see more than what, I agree, looks like a large block of apartments.

Bokhara2

Ok Lauren, let's say you have bought a house on a beautiful bay & there's a scenic road in front of it which leads to a carpark beyond your house.

Huge double decker tourist buses come & park right in front of your house. The tourists disembark to see the sights of your town, but the bus stays there. You can't see most of the bay - only the buses. The tourists only return to the buses to sleep and then depart in 1 or 2 days. And then another bus arrives & the same thing happens.

The tourists on the buses would still have the scenic entry and drive around the bay if the buses parked in the carpark beyond your house. It would only cost the tourists, who have paid thousands for their bus trip, $10 -$15 to go from the carpark to the city.

Yet the buses stand empty in front of your house all day.

How would you feel about that?

Bokhara2

And the tourists complain because they can't see the beautiful buildings for which the Bay is famous once they leave the buses. They have bookings at top flight restaurants, part of whose charm is the view of the Bay's iconic buildings. But they can't see anything because their buses are parked in front of the view.

Had their bus parked in the carpark, they'd have paid $10-$15 to come into the city and everyone, including you, would be able to enjoy the beautiful Bay to its full extent.

lauren_s_kahn

Look all cities with mega amounts of tourists have the same problems and most deal with them poorly. I live in Washington DC. They provide almost no parking for tour buses and then complain that they constantly circulate spewing fumes. When parking is provided it is at an exorbitant price.

New York City has similar problems.

Again, if you live in a city as a resident that is a tourist magnet, you have these problems. Maybe you could get Sydney to build a bus garage that didn't charge exorbitant prices. If the price is too high, the buses simply won't use the garages. It is exactly what happens in Washington, DC--and it is stupid. As a resident I cannot solve the problems of too many tour buses (much worse than Sydney, by the way) but I can be helpful to tourists when then ask for directions and live with it without a lot of complaining.

I don't know. I did plenty of walking around Circular Quay and ate in a lot of restaurants when I was there. I visited many viewpoints around the Harbor and had no problem seeing anything. I sort of liked the large cruise ships as part of the scenery. As a tourist, I had no complaints about the cruise ships at all. I did eat at some of the top flight restaurants (but only a couple--including the one on the island in the middle of Sydney Harbor).

If you buy a house on the Harbor, you know what is there before you buy.

And that is my view.

lauren_s_kahn

For the record, this thread was originally about cruise ships docking in Sydney Harbor. It has veered off into tour bus complaints. Take it up with your local government. The solution is free parking for tour buses at locations so convenient that they will use them. Everyone loves the money tourists bring in everywhere and everywhere you hear the same complaints about tour buses. I have guide licenses in both DC & NYC and have heard it all. It's all the same.

Bokhara2

I was using the tour bus & your bayside house as an allegory.

I thought you may then be able to see both points of view.

Clearly I was wrong.

lauren_s_kahn

I don't live in Sydney but I have visited twice from the US. No, I don't see the anti tourist point of view. It's like buying a house next to a baseball stadium and then complaining about traffic and noise. You know what is there when you buy.

Bokhara2

No one is expressing an anti-tourist viewpoint.

Having SOME cruise ships motor down the Harbour, past the Opera House, under the Harbour Bridge to a berth a $10-$15 can ride from Circular Quay is neither a hardship nor anti-tourist.

Stating the FACT that the views from west Circular Quay are obscured by large cruise ships is not anti-tourist.

The fact that you have not eaten at any of the restaurants whose views are blocked does not mean some of the passengers on those ships do not wish to do so.

Any one of those cruise passengers booking at Quay, the MCA cafe, Doyle's or any of the other restaurants because they wanted the total experience, including the views normally available, will be very disappointed.

Wishing to have the views open for EVERYONE, including all the tourists who are NOT part of the small % who arrive by cruise ship, those who do and the locals is not anti -tourist.

I understand that you are unable to grasp that.

However, it's a somewhat moot point: 1. some cruise ships are too big to fit under the Harbour Bridge and will continue to berth at Circular Quay.

2. White Bay Cruise Terminal will continue to host other cruise ships.

BTW, given that Fort Dennison is east of the Opera House & has a direct line of sight to it and the Harbour Bridge, it is hardly surprising that your view was not obscured by a ship berthed in the curve of west Circular Quay.