Ok so I am not sponsored in anyway to write this post today. But if you are an affiliate of James Craig Tall Ship and want to throw me a free cruise I'll take it ;) This article is for Sydney NYE for general Sydney tips check out the first time I went in 2009 here.
New Years 2019 was going to be big for me. It was my goal to first see 6 of the 7 continents before I turned 30. I slid into that goal in the nick of time 4 months short of my 30th birthday with a trip to China as my brother famously argued that Japan didn't count for Asia since it was an island. Fair enough. After that I realized that seeing 6 of the 7 continents was never going to be the end. I don't know when this will stop, at some point I imagine age or money will stop me, but when that happens is beyond me. So during this journey of seeing the world after seeing 6 of the 7 was achieved I continued to traveled. And since 2007 I have always traveled on New Year's. It's my favorite holiday without a doubt, maybe I'll do a blog post on this one day. Somewhere in these journey's a new mission/bucket list item was born, to continue my 6 of the 7 theme and do New Year's on 6 of the 7 continents. Antarctica once seemed like it would never happen, thus the name of this blog and the NYE mission, but that may change, anyway for now at the time of this writing...
North America: Chicago probably my best domestic NYE but of course celebrated multiple others.
South America: Colombia
Africa: Egypt
Asia: China
And so the lone bird waiting was of course Australia. I don't think there's any option as a traveler to Oz to go for New Year's without going right to Sydney. I booked my flights and accommodation, then of course, getting to the title of the blog here, I booked the James Craig Tall Ship.
My New Year's count now is around 12 spots... Although of course every spot is special and has it's own flavor, it's own feel, and taste... I don't want to be cliche, but I have to say it, there is NOTHING like Sydney New Year's Eve. You are the first big city to reign in the New Years. Your hangover is done before your friends in California have even celebrated. You are seeing the Opera House, the Harbor Bridge, eating meat pies or in world class restaurants, drinking great wine from Yarra Valley or a simple Ozzy Beer. You and 1.6 million people physically there watching while 1 billion people tune in on the television to see the sky turn red in fireworks as a new year & a new beginning for the world takes place. And for myself, as 2018 turned into 2019, I was at the absolute center of the show aboard the James Craig Tall Ship.
New Year's Sydney is an expensive venture almost anyway you cut it unless you are already there. Since I had already been to Sydney once 10 years prior I decided to save money by not staying in the center. I stayed in an Airbnb guest room in the beautiful suburb of Maroubra for only $35 a night (15 minute $15 dollar Uber to the Harbor). I got to squeeze in a surf lesson on that beach the morning of December 31st which was a nice addition to the trip. Since I had already extensively traveled Sydney the first time I went I decided early on that Sydney would be short (the 30th and 31st of December in this case) and I would spend about a month exploring the rest of the country. That was the easy part, choosing the exact place I would be on New Year's was where the work came in.
In my opinion, the Harbor is the only place to be for Sydney New Years. Then you have 5 options to reign in New Year's in Sydney, a private party, a public party, a hotel with a view, a restaurant with a view, or a ship on the harbor. I'll sum up the ones I didn't choose quickly:
Private Party: Night clubs/bars, rich friends, or private parties in parks/vantage points along the Harbor will all have parties. These can range from a couple of hundred dollars to thousands. The benefit if you are land side is they ideally limit the crowds. I didn't go with this option because the price to me verse the James Craig didn't remotely compare, and you are on the Harbor, but not quite in the middle. 3 of my friends did, and had a great time at a place with an open bar. And of course, no lines, and you are guaranteed a spot.
Public Party: Free, sometimes no drinking, sometimes bring your own. There are several places all over the Harbor to choose from. The best vantage point will of course have the longest queues and inevitably close the doors at some point due to crowds, and they will be crowded, so your view at midnight may be obstructed One guy I met however got lucky, it began to rain at 8pm or so and people went for coverage, he had an umbrella and secured a fantastic spot for the show. Also warning, people were camping the night of the 30th for a spot at a public party. So if you go with this option, remember it's not guaranteed, so you will have to get there early.
A Hotel With a View: Or Airbnb etc. To me if you are with small group of friends this can be a great option, I'm sure the hotel will want all guests registered, but no crowds, no lines, you have your own bar with whatever you like. The downfall, is cost, and how quickly these will sell out. I checked in March and almost everything with a balcony was either gone or unavailable. If they became available unless you were sitting in front of the computer that second, you lost it. And we are talking pricey here, $1,000 minimum.
A Restaurant With A View: Another great option, the Opera House itself offers this, while I love the idea, I also loved being further away to see the Opera House under the fireworks. There are several other places that will do this. The benefit is view, no line, great food I'm sure, the disadvantage is cost and the risk of sell out if you don't book soon enough.
A Ship On The Harbor: And last, my top choice of course, a ship on the famous Harbor. There are really dozens of mainstream options and maybe another dozen when you look into this. From little water taxi's byob but no bathrooms to ships like the Star Ship Sydney, which literally looks like it could be in Star Trek. The prices were around $400 to well over $5,000. I booked the James Craig for about $700 USD.. Here are the main factors I chose the James Craig:
From the moment I checked in at the pier for the night I knew I made the right choice. We were treated like a king, queen, or noble person would have been treated boarding the historical ship in 1874. There are two firework shows, one at 9pm for parents/kids or people who want to call it an early night, and of course the second at midnight. For the first show we were just to the side of the Opera House, ironically 50 or so meters in front of the bar my friends were at, I raised a glass to them at 9pm although obviously we couldn't see each other. The dinner was fantastic, the beer and wine excellent. And then of course, at midnight 2019, a dream that had been born was finally accomplished.
The countdown began and the fireworks erupted. The show is plenty long! I had time to take some photos, take some video, then just put my camera in my pocket and raise my glass to the future of 2019 that lie ahead. That epic moment was worth the hours of research, and the missed friend days, missed little trips, missed moments etc of the year that I had to forgo to save for the trip. I could have flown home the next day a happy man from the first two days of the month venture, but luckily instead flew to Alice Springs to start 2019 off riding a camel through the Outback. The moment from boarding the ship to the fireworks finally settling down is something I will treasure forever. There is no place I would have rather been for the start of this year than in Australia, at the center of the Sydney Harbor, on the James Craig Tall Ship.
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| The James Craig before we disembarked |
My New Year's count now is around 12 spots... Although of course every spot is special and has it's own flavor, it's own feel, and taste... I don't want to be cliche, but I have to say it, there is NOTHING like Sydney New Year's Eve. You are the first big city to reign in the New Years. Your hangover is done before your friends in California have even celebrated. You are seeing the Opera House, the Harbor Bridge, eating meat pies or in world class restaurants, drinking great wine from Yarra Valley or a simple Ozzy Beer. You and 1.6 million people physically there watching while 1 billion people tune in on the television to see the sky turn red in fireworks as a new year & a new beginning for the world takes place. And for myself, as 2018 turned into 2019, I was at the absolute center of the show aboard the James Craig Tall Ship.
New Year's Sydney is an expensive venture almost anyway you cut it unless you are already there. Since I had already been to Sydney once 10 years prior I decided to save money by not staying in the center. I stayed in an Airbnb guest room in the beautiful suburb of Maroubra for only $35 a night (15 minute $15 dollar Uber to the Harbor). I got to squeeze in a surf lesson on that beach the morning of December 31st which was a nice addition to the trip. Since I had already extensively traveled Sydney the first time I went I decided early on that Sydney would be short (the 30th and 31st of December in this case) and I would spend about a month exploring the rest of the country. That was the easy part, choosing the exact place I would be on New Year's was where the work came in.
In my opinion, the Harbor is the only place to be for Sydney New Years. Then you have 5 options to reign in New Year's in Sydney, a private party, a public party, a hotel with a view, a restaurant with a view, or a ship on the harbor. I'll sum up the ones I didn't choose quickly:
Private Party: Night clubs/bars, rich friends, or private parties in parks/vantage points along the Harbor will all have parties. These can range from a couple of hundred dollars to thousands. The benefit if you are land side is they ideally limit the crowds. I didn't go with this option because the price to me verse the James Craig didn't remotely compare, and you are on the Harbor, but not quite in the middle. 3 of my friends did, and had a great time at a place with an open bar. And of course, no lines, and you are guaranteed a spot.
Public Party: Free, sometimes no drinking, sometimes bring your own. There are several places all over the Harbor to choose from. The best vantage point will of course have the longest queues and inevitably close the doors at some point due to crowds, and they will be crowded, so your view at midnight may be obstructed One guy I met however got lucky, it began to rain at 8pm or so and people went for coverage, he had an umbrella and secured a fantastic spot for the show. Also warning, people were camping the night of the 30th for a spot at a public party. So if you go with this option, remember it's not guaranteed, so you will have to get there early.
A Hotel With a View: Or Airbnb etc. To me if you are with small group of friends this can be a great option, I'm sure the hotel will want all guests registered, but no crowds, no lines, you have your own bar with whatever you like. The downfall, is cost, and how quickly these will sell out. I checked in March and almost everything with a balcony was either gone or unavailable. If they became available unless you were sitting in front of the computer that second, you lost it. And we are talking pricey here, $1,000 minimum.
A Restaurant With A View: Another great option, the Opera House itself offers this, while I love the idea, I also loved being further away to see the Opera House under the fireworks. There are several other places that will do this. The benefit is view, no line, great food I'm sure, the disadvantage is cost and the risk of sell out if you don't book soon enough.
A Ship On The Harbor: And last, my top choice of course, a ship on the famous Harbor. There are really dozens of mainstream options and maybe another dozen when you look into this. From little water taxi's byob but no bathrooms to ships like the Star Ship Sydney, which literally looks like it could be in Star Trek. The prices were around $400 to well over $5,000. I booked the James Craig for about $700 USD.. Here are the main factors I chose the James Craig:
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| The calm before the show |
- Cost, while $700 is more than I spent on my total LA New Year's, it was about the median for ships on NYE with open bar, & food. I also knew it was a once in a lifetime thing, the cost was obsolete. After experiencing it I would have gladly paid double. Remember for dinner and drinks on NYE you are looking at $200 easy anywhere on the Harbor.
- Open bar, as stated this was important, I didn't plan on getting wasted but wanted to have a good time and not worry about money after booking. What made it great was you NEVER waited for a drink. They had beers and wines all night. Never a line for the bar more than 2 people deep.
- Food: same thing, one less thing to think about. The food was incredible, cheese and various snack trays the second you boarded the ship. A buffet dinner with taste for anyone's palate with casual seating under the deck.
- The Parade Of Lights: during New Year's you have the inclusion/exclusion zones. Being in the Parade Of Lights where several boats light up and circle the inclusion zone and stay for the fireworks was extremely important. The James Craig which is part of the Sydney Heritage Fleet is guaranteed to be in the Parade Of Lights. There are some other great ships out there, some of which have been in the Parade for years, but it's not guaranteed until around October. The Heritage Fleet is all guaranteed.
- Entertainment: The James Craig had the band Venus. I looked them up on YouTube and got to meet them after the show, great songs, and lively band members to get the crowd riled up.
- Group: It wasn't a big concern, but James Craig had age groups from early 20's to seniors. The atmosphere was dress up, but not suit and tie.
- Being on a deck: I researched some great ships, I didn't even consider ships that didn't have a deck. To me watching the show behind glass would have been like watching it on a television set. The James Craig has an under deck for bathrooms and dinner, but otherwise everyone is standing on deck for the show. They limit the crowd so there is plenty of room, and you do not need to have an inch of worries about seeing the fireworks.
- Position at midnight: This was the final selling point for me.I found the photo below on the Sydney Heritage Fleet sight, and pretty much knew then where I was going to be at midnight. The photo didn't lie for me. And although it may not be there every year, in almost every YouTube video or aerial shot I've researched in years past, the James Craig is the center piece of the Parade of Lights and is the only ship directly in front of the Harbor Bridge at midnight. My voyage was no different.
From the moment I checked in at the pier for the night I knew I made the right choice. We were treated like a king, queen, or noble person would have been treated boarding the historical ship in 1874. There are two firework shows, one at 9pm for parents/kids or people who want to call it an early night, and of course the second at midnight. For the first show we were just to the side of the Opera House, ironically 50 or so meters in front of the bar my friends were at, I raised a glass to them at 9pm although obviously we couldn't see each other. The dinner was fantastic, the beer and wine excellent. And then of course, at midnight 2019, a dream that had been born was finally accomplished.
The countdown began and the fireworks erupted. The show is plenty long! I had time to take some photos, take some video, then just put my camera in my pocket and raise my glass to the future of 2019 that lie ahead. That epic moment was worth the hours of research, and the missed friend days, missed little trips, missed moments etc of the year that I had to forgo to save for the trip. I could have flown home the next day a happy man from the first two days of the month venture, but luckily instead flew to Alice Springs to start 2019 off riding a camel through the Outback. The moment from boarding the ship to the fireworks finally settling down is something I will treasure forever. There is no place I would have rather been for the start of this year than in Australia, at the center of the Sydney Harbor, on the James Craig Tall Ship.
Enjoy my video of the show below... see if you can catch the error at the end of 2018 ;)
$5,000,000 show and they put the wrong year! I still loved it of course!
Still here? Enjoy the full video of the trip below:
Choose the continent!!!!
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