New San Francisco Cruise Terminal Photos

...The park is lovely, but three times the size needed and could easily accommodate an extension for waiting passengers. Even temporary canopies of the type they have in LA for bus loading...

While I have not yet seen the new pier 27 in person, I was thinking just what you said above when I first saw pics of the finished product. And is that park real grass in a drought? Even if they irrigate with gray water, it could be put to better use elsewhere when a larger waiting area is needed at the pier. I will get off my soapbox now ;).

LOL, there is a sign posted somewhere that says the water used is recycled water (grey)

It is my opinion that the terminal designers had never before seen a cruise terminal. I also think the plans were changed and the terminal funding was changed and they cut the size significantly.

 

After King Larry had the plans changed to meet his needs (which the port and local officials bent over backwards to accommodate his highness) the redo after his little shindig was cut again.

 

There is no waiting room on the ground level, just a lobby where your ID is checked (also restrooms) after heading up the escalator or elevator, you are immediately entered into the lines for security. Once cleared through Security and Alcohol inspection, you enter the check-in area, fill out the health forms and get in the proper lines for check-in (Preferred, Suites, Elite, platinum) or regular check-in.

 

After getting your keycard you will be directed to different seating/waiting areas. Preferred, regular, ADA. Boarding usually begins about 11:45 or 12:00. Elites/suites first, then Preferred, then regular boarding in separate groups (designated by numbers given out as you exit the check-in lines.

 

As to the signs about the Terminal opening at 1:00pm, they are required by Princess. They put the information on the boarding passes which many people just ignore and then throw a hissy fit when they can't get into the terminal. We will open the terminal when the Captain says it is clear to start check-in and not before. Usually this is about 11:30 or so and before the 1:00pm as the sign states, BUT it can be as late as that if there are problems with the disembarkation, especially since the design of the Baggage hall was about 2/3 the size needed. You may see a large tent one of these days to hold overflow luggage.

 

You are absolutely right about no thought of passenger comfort. The actual check-in hall is really really nice. That is it. On super sunny or rainy days it is going to be chaos. Waiting to board the airport buses will not be pleasant. We have to work outside in the rain all morning until all the airport buses have been dispatched, passengers will be put on the buses as soon as possible, but be prepared to get wet.

 

This will be the same for ANY cruise line that uses the pier, so don't blame Princess.

 

You will also have to contend with the unprofessional highly paid extortionists known as the ILWU porters. They are out of control, so beware of that.

 

Anything else, just ask

I've been away from CC for the past 12 days. Thank you, once again, for your insightful observations on what is going on in SF! We are fortunate to have you as an "insider"! :D

I always did (and still do ) love Pier 35 and thought that some shoring up and rebuilding would suit it fine. But everyone wanted a new pier...I guess you should be careful what you ask for.

I, for one, stand on record as not wanting the new terminal, if you have not already guessed. :rolleyes: David

Disembarking on 10/1 from the Star Princess was also pretty bad. The terminal is just to small to hold all the luggage and the passengers trying to get to them. Very frustrating. I hope they can figure out a better way because it was really awful.

That is no surprise to us, who are aware. Sorry you had to suffer...:rolleyes:

If you are interested in writing a letter to the director in charge of the Cruise Terminal, here is the address.

 

Port of San Francisco

ATTN. Ms. Monique Moyer, Executive Director

Pier 1, The Embarcadero

San Francisco, CA 94111

 

 

 

To be effective I suggest you focus your concerns on one or two significant issues, such as the lack of anywhere for embarking passengers to wait prior to check in, or issues with the luggage area.

 

The more letters the director receives the more ammunition she has to go back and ask for additional funding or changes to the facility. As others have noted, the short term changes may just be the erection of shade/rain shelters to protect passengers.

Thank you so much for this valuable piece of info. My guess is that most will ignore it till it effects them personally. I hope I am wrong, but I am a realist. ;) David

It is true there is an overhang, but with 2600+ passengers disembarking and waiting for pick-up etc, there is no extra room. The line that forms to enter the terminal would, at the most, be able to have 50-75 people under it. Not a good number when 100's are in line.

 

There is talk of putting a "tent" at the end of the baggage area to accommodate more luggage, but have heard of no plans to actually build something

 

In the picture you see the large evergreen in the center? Everything to the left of it is where disembarking passengers are waiting, the sidewalk is, maybe 12 feet wide. Now add to that, porters carts, a few hundred people (most of whom want to wait at the very beginning of the line and refuse to move down further) and you have chaos. The exit from customs gets blocked and passengers refuse to move when asked by the directional people working there. Many people try to stand directly in front of the exit "I am waiting for the rest of my party" hence making it difficult for others and porters to get out and through the crowd.

 

There is no solution to the problem YET, but if everyone and I mean EVERYONE writes to the port (and i write to the Chronicle and the Mayor) something will get done.

 

We, the workers get laughed at when we complain, yelled at by the passengers, and harassed by the ILWU porters, so if you see new faces occasionally it is because people are leaving a job they once loved to do. I do not plan to leave as I worked in the airline industry for 40+ years and am used to being yelled at for something i didn't cause or couldn't control.

 

So, keep those letters coming and keep sailing out of San Francisco and we might just get it working.

 

So sorry for the rant, just had to get it off my chest, falling off the soapbox now from exhaustion.

 

Happy Sails

Once again, we thank you for your insightfulness, that takes us beyond speculation! :D :cool:

Our T/A was told it was NOT available to booked passengers.

We tried calling Princess directly - we were told the same thing - we would

NOT be allowed to stay on board

I HAVE seen it work otherwise for folks on other sailings - not sure if this is

a new policy, or if you need to bring a non-cruiser along with you to book

the package.

Without jumping to conclusions, it would be interesting to note if it was also closed to those JUST DOING THE BVE. I have asked to do the BVE in the past, only to be inforemed that it was either already booked to capacity, or not available at all, for that particular sailing. David

They may want to rethink the set up for the Customs check also. We were on the Grand Princess that made a port visit to San Francisco on Sept.25th. Due to a storm between Victoria and San Francisco we did not arrive until noon so everyone with a morning excursion booked was out of luck. So to were a lot of people with afternoon excursions as it took hours to get through Customs. Some passengers I talked to were not able to get off the ship and out of the terminal until 4 pm.

This took much longer than any other port terminal I have passed through and this was just a port visit with no disembarkation/embarkation going on.

This may have nothing to do with the new terninal, but be due to how many Costoms Agents were alotted for the ship :(. Sorry for the unnecessary delay in being able to enjoy our city :o.

Let me get this straight.

 

The new modern advanced cruise ship terminal accomodates ONE cruise ship!

 

According to their self publicity:

"When completed, the 1,358-foot berth will be able to accommodate the largest visiting cruise ships. It is designed to handle 2,600 passengers routinely, and up to 4,000 in a pinch. Pier 35 will become the back-up berth when two ships are in the city at the same time"

 

What kind of advanced forward thinking planning is this? The very old Pier 35 can at least currently accomodate TWO cruise ships. Plans to accomodate the largest ships and targeting for 2600 passengers!?!? Another disconnect.

You are very astute. You are beginning to understand my frustration in how this all happened. :confused: I was never an advocate of a NEW terminal. I had no choice in the decision. It was decided for me :rolleyes:.

This is typical of the decision making of the elected rulers of San Francisco. Very sad.

I live here, was around for run-up to the America's Cup debacle, and never recall the capacity of the terminal being a public policy issue (unlike the waterfront stadium and Washington Street development). But I'm sure you know something that I don't, and it's not just a knee-jerk reaction against them danged San Francisco liberals.

:confused: :rolleyes: :D

Shepp,

 

Very true, i am sure the "elected" officials of SF did not have much of a hand in developing or building the new terminal, all blame goes to the Port of San Francisco and the idiots that run it. I think (not sure) that the original plan called for two berths, but was scrapped due to budget cuts. Thinking being that pier 35 was to be improved and used as the secondary cruise ship docking area.

 

The park is lovely, but three times the size needed and could easily accommodate an extension for waiting passengers. Even temporary canopies of the type they have in LA for bus loading.

 

We, the liberals in San Francisco, are pretty sick of being the target for every outoftowner conservative that finds something wrong with our city. Come, visit, enjoy, sail, but leave the political criticism at home.

I agree with you whole heartly!!! :D

Any word on if embarkation has improved for any of the cruises leaving since the opening week?

Any word on if embarkation has improved for any of the cruises leaving since the opening week?

Yes, embarkation has improved. Practice makes perfect. However, disembarkation is still a little slow due to the limited luggage area and the custom agents are still the deciding factor sometimes. It appears that alot more people are coming early (like before noon) to embark. Back at Pier 35, they would have to wait in the sun (or more likely, waiting in a car waiting to unload at the Embarcadero). At least at Pier 27, if the line is not super long, most will be waiting in the shade during the mornings. If you wish to sit, however, it will probably be in the sun.

" The last passengers cleared Customs about 3pm, after the ship arrived at noon and debark starting about 12:45, that is the normal time it takes to clear a ship of 2600+ passengers. (2hours and 15 minutes) I was working in the customs area and the CBP personnel clocked out by 3:15 after finishing their paperwork. They would have finished earlier but there were 5 passengers who would not respond to calls for them to disembark and they could not close off customs till EVERYONE had cleared and left the ship. I do have a question for you though. Did the ship not have US pre-clearance in Vancouver? Did you not stop in Astoria?"

I was on the Grand and we did not have US pre-clearance as the first port was Victoria. There were people who had 3:30 disembarkation times(saw their notices) and there were many announcements that everything was running late.

Shepp,

 

Very true, i am sure the "elected" officials of SF did not have much of a hand in developing or building the new terminal, all blame goes to the Port of San Francisco and the idiots that run it. I think (not sure) that the original plan called for two berths, but was scrapped due to budget cuts. Thinking being that pier 35 was to be improved and used as the secondary cruise ship docking area.

 

The park is lovely, but three times the size needed and could easily accommodate an extension for waiting passengers. Even temporary canopies of the type they have in LA for bus loading.

 

We, the liberals in San Francisco, are pretty sick of being the target for every outoftowner conservative that finds something wrong with our city. Come, visit, enjoy, sail, but leave the political criticism at home.

 

Nukesubsailor, you are mistaken The last passengers cleared Customs about 3pm, after the ship arrived at noon and debark starting about 12:45, that is the normal time it takes to clear a ship of 2600+ passengers. (2hours and 15 minutes) I was working in the customs area and the CBP personnel clocked out by 3:15 after finishing their paperwork. They would have finished earlier but there were 5 passengers who would not respond to calls for them to disembark and they could not close off customs till EVERYONE had cleared and left the ship. I do have a question for you though. Did the ship not have US pre-clearance in Vancouver? Did you not stop in Astoria?

Just because someone complaints about the government doesn't make them conservative. Now, if they had complained about that Demo*rat government, you may have a point.:D It seems like half this forum consist of people who complains, but it certainly doesn't make them conservative (or liberal), just whiners.:rolleyes:

I can explain the BVE. It's not offered on all cruises but if it is its limited to 50 people. Anybody can do the BVE but if you're on that sailing your reservation needs to be linked with someone else doing the BVE like a friend. I was able to do the BVE with friends on the September 27th cruise on the Island and my reservation was linked to theirs.

About the new terminal, workers inside admitted about needing to work out some of the bugs.

If I hear anything from the port staff about some of these problems I will post what I hear. I do agree with a large cruise ship, around 3,000 pax that there have been problems. When I was on the media tour there was talk about adding a second gangway. I have been in other terminals that have 2 gangways and at the old pier 35 they had 2.

Tom:)

Question for Tom,

I'm cruising next month on the Star. We are five passengers and I've invited 6 friends for the BVE ( Thanksgiving cocktails on the balcony ). Where is the entrance located for the BVE ? I don't want to have to go searching and find my friends standing in the passenger queue by mistake. Even worse I'm standing in the wrong place.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing the new terminal. I see that with every cruise they procedures are being ironed out. I'm sure it will all work well soon.

Anthony

Here's a photo taken from inside the terminal. The door that you see at the end is the entrance.

The entrance is at the far end of the glass windows where you see people walking.

Just to the right where you see people coming out is the entrance where you see the sign "James R. Herman Cruise Terminal.

Here's another view.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Tom:)

Thanks, much appreciated.

Thanks for the photos Tom :D

Looking forward to checking it out in person next April ;):D

Same here, can't wait. ;):cool:

After the security check in, it's a piece of cake . Much better than pier 35

Disembarkation. ..easy!

Thanks for the photos Tom :D

Looking forward to checking it out in person next April ;):D

Don't you two ever stay home?

Don't you two ever stay home?

We're just trying to catch up to you two ;):D

Just a quick follow up on our experience embarking and disembarking.

We embarked on Saturday, October 11th. The Embarcadero was jammed because of Fleet Week activities, so we got out of our cab across the street and walked the last couple of blocks.

We arrived about 12:45 and the building was open for which I was very grateful. I was not looking forward to standing in a long line as others have had to do.

We were ushered inside and up the stairs (an escalator and elevator are available) and into the main hall where the check in stands are. We completed the health cards, and after about a 5 minute line we received our cruise cards and were directed to a seating area to wait for our boarding number to be called. We were called after about 10 minutes and then it took about eight minutes to get past the ship's photographers and up the ramp and onto the ship. The whole process, from arriving at the terminal to stepping on to the ship was about 45 minutes.

We boarded on the Promenade deck, which was a nice entry to the ship since you step right into the atrium.

We had already cleared customs/immigration in Long Beach, so our return to San Francisco was easy. I did not need to rush off to get a plane, so chose a later disembarkation time (10:05 AM) but the process was running so smoothly that they were able to let us off a bit earlier.

Luggage was easily found in the pick up area, and it was arranged by color which was sorted by disembarkation time.

Both embarkation and disembarkation were relatively easy. I do wonder what will happen to the poor people who arrive early when the weather is not good, and they have to stand outside waiting for the building to open!