New San Francisco Cruise Terminal Photos

[trbarton]

Thanks to everyone for there WARM thanks. Yes sharing is what's CC is all about. I'm sailing on the Island this Saturday and because I'm doing the BVE hopefully everything will go OK. If everything goes so slow as it apparently it was today it may delay cruise ships departing on time.

 

I've already questioned with the Metro Services about the one gangway unlike the 2 at pier 35. See my picture below with another gangway.

I was told by Metro Services that this was for crew only. What happened is what I was afraid would happen. Wait until my cruise next Saturday on the Island when you have some people disembarking the ship, may be as many as 600 people, people going off the ship as this is an In transit stop, and people line myself doing the BVE, there will be 50 of us, and the other people boarding the ship from San Francisco for the cruise.

 

Another CC member who also works at the terminal indicated that this would be no big deal so you figure this out.

 

I'll be at the Grand Opening Ceremony next Thursday and this will be one of my questions.

 

Why not let the people leaving the ship an option of using the "Cruise Only Gangway"?

 

I'll report what I observe and can ask. Our Island cruise will be only the 2nd cruise to be boarding Princess passengers so perhaps they will make some changes. I guess we will be another group of test passengers.

 

Tom:)

[JonV]

View from CoitTower

[JonV]

And one more

[norcalemt02]

so for a 4 hour delay in port. Capt says still loading luggage and provisions. Guess we'll be having a night time crossing of the golden gate

 

 

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[trbarton]

Thanks for the info. That's what I thought might happen. What was the boarding process like? What time did you arrive at the terminal and how long did it take before you were on the ship?

 

Thanks for posting!

 

Tom:)

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Went for a walk down to Pier 27 and at 2:30pm, there was a line about 100 yards long to get into the building (passengers embarking on the Star Princess). No lines of cars getting into Pier 27. Talk to someone there, apparently security is very slow today. It is the 1st real day of operation. There will be a learning curve for the new place. But there shouldn't be a line that long at this point of time unless customs was very slow about letting people off this morning.

 

That is not good. In my experience, well-run operations (of any type) generally intentionally overstaff at the opening of a new facility until they get the chance to work out the bugs. They then scale staff back later on. Here's hoping the next sailing goes more smoothly!

[norcalemt02]

Thanks for the info. That's what I thought might happen. What was the boarding process like? What time did you arrive at the terminal and how long did it take before you were on the ship?

 

 

 

Thanks for posting!

 

 

 

Tom:)

 

 

Boarding was a mess. Arrived at 11am signs saying not boading till 1pm so we lined up at the door. A employee said they didn't want a line so wait by the grass till the doors about at 1. So what happens. 15 mil later they open the doors and let people in. We lost our spot in the so called line. We would of been one of the first ones in. No organization. After we were on board you could see the line stretch around the building. For a ship this size is a nightmare. Just wondering if they bring a bigger ship with double the capacity like a quantum class ship from Royal Caribbean

 

 

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[gcvt]

View from CoitTower

 

Perfect spot for a new Port Fever Webcam. Just sayin'.

[MTJSR]

I took a look around the new cruise terminal today. The Star Princess was in port. Here are some pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MTJSR]

 

 

[gcvt]

I took a look around the new cruise terminal today. The Star Princess was in port. Here are some pics.

 

To be honest, that doesn't look all that much different than waiting outside at Pier 35. Maybe a little less elbow rubbing since you're not on the Embarcadero sidewalk. Never seen this kind of thing in Canaveral or Ft. Lauderdale.

 

The facility can be the greatest thing ever, but if it's run the way things are usually run in this city :( I hope I'm wrong and pray they're just working out the kinks. Yikes!

[MTJSR]

Many of us familiar with passenger processing at San Pedro, L.A. know that you immediately enter the building and escalate upstairs to a huge open area with chairs. I was somewhat shocked to see all these people (many of them seniors) lined up outside this giant new building, that has chairs inside. One of the porters outside said it was pure chaos all day.

 

I just don't understand poor planning, that took years to plan for!

Edited September 22, 2014 by MTJSR

[deadzone1003]

It is a bit early to call it poor planning. It is really their 1st day. I'm not happy as a San Francisco taxpayer, but let's wait to see what really happened. No one really knows what really happened. A very late boarding time in San Francisco is usually caused by ships coming into port late or customs or (in unusual cases, to clean the ship cleaner than normal). It was probably a combination of many factors. Fortunately, it was a very cloudy, but warm day in San Francisco so no one suffered from sunburns or heat, just standing and waiting in line.

 

With the very late departure time, it implies they were waiting for something or something was probably wrong with the ship.

Edited September 22, 2014 by deadzone1003
Adding final thought

[Northender]

Tom, thanks so much for the "report" and fantastic pictures. We are going out of SFO to Hawaii the end of next April. It will be interesting to read your trip report when you have your next cruise about the coming and going at the pier.

 

There is an old historic building off the Embarcadero that is going to converted into a coffee shop and if everything goes as planned with permits they hope to be open next spring.

Maybe this will be the second Dunkin Donuts in CA. Hope so.:D:D

Now back to page 7 to continue reading.;)

 

 

[MTJSR]

It is a bit early to call it poor planning.

 

True, but the entire terminal, from concept, pre-planning, design, construction, training, staffing/operational needs and finally opening day, was years in the making.

 

I have to assume, many other operating cruise terminals were analyzed and probably copied for what works. Yesterday looked like it didn't work well. Widespread grumbling comments were heard from those in line as port staff walked by, lots of questions just no answers. I did see an officer from the ship out front taking pictures of the lines. Perhaps they too were concerned.

 

I am leaving this Saturday and between now and then, several more ships will be in port. I hope the practice will make things perfect by then :D

Edited September 22, 2014 by MTJSR

[deadzone1003]

True, but the entire terminal, from concept, pre-planning, design, construction, training, staffing/operational needs and finally opening day, was years in the making.

 

I have to assume, many other operating cruise terminals were analyzed and probably copied for what works. Yesterday looked like it didn't work well. Widespread grumbling comments were heard from those in line as port staff walked by, lots of questions just no answers. I did see an officer from the ship out front taking pictures of the lines. Perhaps they too were concerned.

 

I am leaving this Saturday and between now and then, several more ships will be in port. I hope the practice will make things perfect by then :D

 

Yes, it was a mess, but until you get the details, it is only idle speculation. I taking a walk down there in a few minutes. I'll be back.

[trbarton]

It is a bit early to call it poor planning. It is really their 1st day. I'm not happy as a San Francisco taxpayer, but let's wait to see what really happened. No one really knows what really happened. A very late boarding time in San Francisco is usually caused by ships coming into port late or customs or (in unusual cases, to clean the ship cleaner than normal). It was probably a combination of many factors. Fortunately, it was a very cloudy, but warm day in San Francisco so no one suffered from sunburns or heat, just standing and waiting in line.

 

With the very late departure time, it implies they were waiting for something or something was probably wrong with the ship.

 

It was announced by the captain that they were delayed 4 hrs. because all of the luggage was not loaded.

 

Tom

[shredie]

Maybe this will be the second Dunkin Donuts in CA. Hope so.:D:D[/color][/size][/font][/color]

;)

 

 

 

Not likely. :)

[deadzone1003]

It was announced by the captain that they were delayed 4 hrs. because all of the luggage was not loaded.

 

Tom

 

It was probably a few more problems than that. If they didn't start boarding until 1pm, there were other problems. I talk to a few workers down at the terminal and most of them said there were problems unloading as well as loading the luggage. Apparently, they were a bit understaffed. One of the workers said that there were over 3000 passengers on this cruise - I could see passenger count greater than normal capacity, but 3000 is a bit high. Also, something tells me they probably didn't have all the loading/unloading equipment on hand as there was alot of supplies stacked up on the Pier waiting to be loaded around 2:30pm yesterday. Not a very good start for the Port of San Francisco, but perhaps not unexpected.

[RickEk]

It was probably a few more problems than that. If they didn't start boarding until 1pm, there were other problems. I talk to a few workers down at the terminal and most of them said there were problems unloading as well as loading the luggage. Apparently, they were a bit understaffed. One of the workers said that there were over 3000 passengers on this cruise - I could see passenger count greater than normal capacity, but 3000 is a bit high. Also, something tells me they probably didn't have all the loading/unloading equipment on hand as there was alot of supplies stacked up on the Pier waiting to be loaded around 2:30pm yesterday. Not a very good start for the Port of San Francisco, but perhaps not unexpected.

 

I'd call it "teething pains". They'll get better at it. ;)

[satxdiver]

Thanks for the reports and pictures. We will be boarding the Grand in November so hope they get it worked out before then. We boarded the Island last fall from the old terminal/warehouse. Once on the ship we could see the new terminal which was being used for the America's Cup. The boarding went quite quickly with about 20 minutes from the time we walked into the terminal to the time we were on board. Hopefully this time will be as quick but from what I have been reading here, we should anticipate a (long?) wait.

[varmav]

I'd call it "teething pains". They'll get better at it. ;)

 

My parents are on the Star Princess that just left yesterday. From an email from them, they said that there was only a single forklift available to load both luggage and ship's stores. Also, there were 3 security sensors, of which 1 broke down during screening, and there were far too few people available to move all of the passengers. They spent 2 hours in line outside the terminal building. Port Authority did not get the ship loaded until 9:00 pm and the ship finally sailed around 9:40 pm. The captain told the passengers to take their seasickness medication because he was going to floor it in order to make up the schedule. Sounds like a good time.

 

I'm not sure why there are "teething" pains. Sure, it's a new terminal, but these are the same ships, holding the same number of passengers, with the same amount of cargo, that have been on Pier 35 for years. Shouldn't Port Authority have been able to plan a little better for this? None of this should have come as a surprise. Does anyone know if maybe a new contractor was hired out to staff the new terminal and they picked the lowest bidder?

[Northender]

Tom, thanks so much for the "report" and fantastic pictures. We are going out of SFO to Hawaii the end of next April. It will be interesting to read your trip report when you have your next cruise about the coming and going at the pier.

 

There is an old historic building off the Embarcadero that is going to converted into a coffee shop and if everything goes as planned with permits they hope to be open next spring.

 

Maybe this will be the second Dunkin Donuts in CA. Hope so.:D:D

 

Now back to page 7 to continue reading.;)

 

 

 

Not likely. :)

 

Good one shredie. ;) Looks like the closest one will be Modesto.:eek:

[trbarton]

True, but the entire terminal, from concept, pre-planning, design, construction, training, staffing/operational needs and finally opening day, was years in the making.

 

I have to assume, many other operating cruise terminals were analyzed and probably copied for what works. Yesterday looked like it didn't work well. Widespread grumbling comments were heard from those in line as port staff walked by, lots of questions just no answers. I did see an officer from the ship out front taking pictures of the lines. Perhaps they too were concerned.

 

I am leaving this Saturday and between now and then, several more ships will be in port. I hope the practice will make things perfect by then :D

 

FYI....This Saturday will be the 2nd day boarding a Princess ship. I'll be at the dedication ceremony on Thursday so perhaps I'll have more information.

 

Tom:)

[JJ2sail]

We sailed yesterday from the new terminal on the Star Princess. Lots of hick ups. Took over an hour to get checked in and on board. The "porters" were like extortionists demanding tips before they would take luggage. Then the longshoremen staged some sort of work stoppage and would not load the ship. We were supposed to sail at 4 pm instead we sailed at 9:10 pm. Over 5 hours late. Now we are headed for some bad weather and will be delayed getting to our first port of Juneau. Very trying day yesterday.