You don't know where to start because there's so much to say. We are far from the luxury yach as indicated. The boat must be about as old as its owners, nice by the way. An aging sailboat with so many things lying around like garbage cans and other vents that safety is close to zero. So much so that during the evening someone spread out all along and caught their feet in it. This boat is far too small and one too crowded to accommodate 50 people. It is borderline dangerous. As for the food on offer... 2 ham salads and three shrimp, as for the aperitif, toast with liver pâté. I’m not even talking about dessert a cake made by the owner for that price there namely 1860 euros for a couple it’s just shameful we could have expected a New Year’s Eve meal!!! To top it all off, the owner had ventilated to be in the front row for the fireworks, no luck a boat stood right in front of us and prevented us from taking pictures. In short to conclude separately for the owners who put their pockets it was a boring and uninteresting evening
Dear Frederique & Christophe, I would like to remind you of how we conduct our New Years Eve cruise: Aboard Sydney Sundancer on New Years Eve, you will join a select group and enjoy a party atmosphere second to none! On boarding, we personally welcome each individual aboard and give everyone a name tag because this encourages conversations between guests. In the “Aussie vernacular”, a name tag is the equivalent of a formal introduction by the host – an invitation to converse with someone you have something in common with - which on NYE is obviously the decision to celebrate aboard our boat. Our NYE cruise is quite different to that offered by most other charter boats because it can be likened to enjoying a private party in someone’s home. Sydney Sundancer (Australia's most awarded charter yacht) is “our floating home” - we spend Winter in The Whitsundays personally introducing our guests to the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef and Summer in Sydney on the “Best Harbour in the world”, so Lynne & I will personally host everyone inviting you all to mix and mingle, getting to know each other during the evening. There is no allocated seating, (after all, it is pretty difficult to “mix and mingle” from a seated position) so by the time the New Year is welcomed at midnight, you will feel you are celebrating with friends. Whether you are a family, couple or with a group of friends, rest assured you will made to feel very welcome. So Frederique & Christophe, I see that you have posted your review in French! After translation, I think you may have either not found any other guests to converse with using that language OR found it difficult to find likeminded individuals aboard and preferred not to meet any other guests whilst aboard? In either case, I am sorry that our cruise did not meet your expectations. Thank you for your review & for posting the 4 photos you took on New Years Eve (they are displayed on Viator & TA as reviewer photos). I am sure you recollect the old slogan that “the camera never lies”, so I have uploaded the photos that Lynne took on NYE which can be viewed as “supplier photos”. I encourage interested readers to view ALL the photos in conjunction with my response to your review so that an accurate unbiassed conclusion can be obtained ! I will respond to each aspect of your review in the order you have presented : ***TOO SMALL FOR 50 PEOPLE & SAFETY NON-EXISTENT !*** You state “This boat is far too small and cluttered to accommodate 50 people.” In your photo #2 you can see the awning we had erected because rain was forecast. The photo shows much of the aft (back) half of the boat, yet less than 10 persons are shown in that photo! Your review states the decks were cluttered but your photo #3 shows a clear uncluttered deck and the air vent you stated was dangerous, is visible . There are 3 specific conditions that must be complied with, to gain governmental certification for a commercial vessel to carry passengers: 1 : ADEQUATE CLEAR DECK SPACE to enable everyone to move about freely, unobstructed by the ships equipment (for example winches, hatches or air vents). 2: STABILITY The vessel must remain stable (not capsize) with every person aboard on one side of the boat only. 3: ADEQUATE TOILETS for the certified number of persons permitted. Sydney Sundancer easily complies with these conditions, and is certified by Australian Authorities to carry 77 persons aboard. I have uploaded the Survey Plate stating that 77 persons can be safely carried aboard (see provider photo on TA). Soon after embarkation, I conducted a safety briefing welcoming everyone aboard & described various aspects of shipboard safety including how guests should take care when moving about on deck because there are objects on deck that would be unfamiliar to people unless they had previous boating knowledge and experience. Further, I indicated to people that when using the stairs, they should go down backwards like going down a ladder because the stairs are very steep. The incident where a person fell was not reported to me during the evening and as no medication was necessary, I assume it was simply a minor trip up! Despite being licensed to carry 77 persons aboard, Lynne and I limit our guest number 50 so that we can provide a very high level of customer service - with 5 crew aboard there is one staff member for every 10 guests! For the above reasons, I totally reject the assertion that Sydney Sundancer is too small for 50 people and safety non-existent. ***UNSUITABLE / INADEQUATE MEAL*** The order of events on our New Years Eve cruise is that we conduct a short harbour cruise from embarkation in Darling Harbour, passing under the Harbour Bridge & past the Opera House on our way to secure a position reserved for charter boats within the commercial vessel area (shown in red diagonal lines in the diagram of Sydney Harbour that I have uploaded to provider photos). Whilst underway, my crew were serving Bollinger or whatever beverage our guests prefer (except spirits). Think of this time being like enjoying drinks at a friends’ house meeting new people that your host thinks you will enjoy meeting. To facilitate this mixing & mingling, we give everyone a name tag because in the Australian vernacular, a name tag is like a personal introduction. The whole purpose of this time in the cruise is that by midnight you will feel like you are welcoming the new year with friends. During the remaining daylight hours my crew were circulating serving drinks and our 4 entrees which were: Alaskan Crab dip, Prawn and Avocado Mousse, Duck and Orange Pate, Medallions of Lobster with Honey, Macadamia & Basil Dressing. I have uploaded a photo of these 4 entrees into the TA provider photographs (to assist the reviewer’s memory). The next item on the agenda was the 9pm fireworks display, after which we served the main buffet consisting of the following: Seared grass fed Beef Eye fillet (marinated in lemon grass, ginger, lime juice and spices) Home Roasted Turkey stuffed with Chestnut & Pate de foie gras Barbequed glazed leg of Ham Tasmanian Whole Baked Atlantic Salmon surrounded by a border of thinly sliced smoked salmon served with Tartare Sauce Tiger King Prawns with “Sundancer” sauce AAA Sydney Rock Oysters with optional Limes and vinaigrette dressing Leafy green salad with fresh herb lemon dressing Pasta salad with basil dressing sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes and sun dried tomatoes I have uploaded 3 photographs of the buffet table display into the TA provider photos & invite the reviewer to refresh his memory because many guests simply raved about the quantity, variety and quality of the main courses served during this segment of the evening… After the last guests had enjoyed “seconds” and one guest even enjoyed a third serving, we cleared the buffet table so we could serve our signature desserts consisting of : A Hazelnut meringue and Strawberry gateau & a Chocolate Almond liqueur cake. Both are gluten free and were presented in the shape of Australia. In the photographs of these desserts, on the left the outgoing year (2025) is identified in strawberries and on the right, the new year (2026) is piped in cream and adorned with the national flags of every guest aboard. The banquet was finished off with Fresh fruit, chocolates & plunger coffee and again I have uploaded photos of these delicious items to the operator photos on TA & Viator I therefore totally reject the reviewers’ assertion that the meal was inadequate or unsuitable ***EXHORBITENT PRICE !*** If you look at the review dated February 27, 2023 posted by "ChipundChap" entitled “Best way to spend New Years Eve”, you will see it is written by a guest who had just enjoyed their third New Years Eve cruise on Sydney Sundancer! That guest certainly did not think they had been “ripped off” ! In provider photos, I have just uploaded the prices charged by 3 popular charter boats for last NYE (indicating prices ranged between $1750 & $1950 per person) see supplier photos while our price last year was $1500 per person. One of our guests asked me during the evening : How do I decide what to charge for tickets for New Years Eve? I responded that I am familiar with all the large charter boats, their operators and what they offer on New Years Eve for example : Captain Cook Cruises on their vessel “Sydney 2000” which has a total capacity of 650 guests (with passengers spread over 3 decks), charges : Top deck (enclosed) A$1,650 plus A$99pp window surcharge plus another $150 to visit the outside top deck to view the firework display : total A$1,899 per person Club Deck (middle deck) is A$1,250 plus window seat surcharge of $99 pp plus A$150 to visit the top deck : total A$1,499 Ocean deck (bottom floor) is A$1,150 plus $99 pp window surcharge (no outside access) : total A$1,399. Magistic Cruises charges from $1,750, and the Paddle Steamer, “Showboat 2” (400 guests) from $1,450 None served Bollinger, some included premium drinks only at midnight but none match the variety & quality of our food & beverage offering ! The demand for boat tickets on New Years Eve far outnumbers the quantity of tickets available and most charter boats take advantage of that by accepting bookings right up to their licensed capacity, but we draw the line at 50 guests ONLY: Having established our competitors prices, WE SIMPLY UNDERCUT THEM !! I totally reject your assertion that our price is exorbitant because our ticket price is less than charged by most of our fellow industry leaders. However, I do agree that I boasted after anchoring in the reserved area that our position was the best I had ever achieved within the area restricted for commercial vessels. We were within 10 metres from the exclusion zone marker buoy and less than 100 metres from the nearest firework barge so the explosions from the that firework barge made everyone feel like we were within a war zone. Just before midnight an “illegal” (because it was not a commercial vessel so was “breaking the law”) vessel took up station next to us. I attempted to contact the authorities to get them to move the boat but they were not listening to my radio call. I will endeavour to get the authorities to prosecute the skipper, but in previous matters I have found that the wheels of their authority turn very slowly, so I do not expect a satisfactory outcome any time soon. However, I have learned from this experience and will be ready for any such interloper next year. I have a very strong fire hose and will have it ready well before midnight. In previous disputes where other boats use my private mooring, I have found a “dusting” of salt water encourages the perpetrator to depart the area much faster than a call to the authorities…. Fortunately, the offending vessel was a small low sided sailing yacht so our view of the evenings proceedings was not significantly impacted (see Lynne’s photo of small sailing boat I have uploaded to provider photos on TA). I manoeuvred Sydney Sundancer as best I could around our anchor using our electric bow & stern thrusters to minimise the impact and improve our view of the firework display. I was reasonably successful as most of the firework photos taken by Lynne demonstrate! In the fireworks photos, I have uploaded on TA & Viator, you will see the fireworks launched from the closest barge (100 metres away) is high in the sky and the fireworks launched from the other barge on our side of the Harbour Bridge is the highest fireworks over the Harbour Bridge while the two lower explosions above Harbour Bridge were launched by the 2 fireworks barges on the far side of the Harbour Bridge. Please refer again to provider photograph showing the location of the firework barges on the Harbour diagram so you will appreciate exactly what I am describing! Each of the firework barges electronically set off their fireworks at exactly the same moment and each firework display is identical in the sky. I call this “the mirroring effect” because each firework display is a “duplicate” of the others in the sky. It is a totally unique effect and only visible from vessels in the commercial vessel area because an imaginary line drawn from the commercial vessels area to the centre of the Harbour Bridge almost perfectly dissects each of the firework barges (2 on our side of the Bridge & 2 on the other side). This is the “mirroring effect” of the fireworks in the sky that can only be fully appreciated from a position within the commercial vessels reserved area! In conclusion Frederique, I am sincerely sorry that you and & Christophe did not enjoy the evening as much as your fellow revellers. Maybe it was because you were the only people to be speaking French and kept to yourselves…
