San Francisco's new pier

[trbarton]

Do you know if the new terminal will have free wi-fy? Some people on our cruise are asking that question.

 

Thanks!

 

Tom:)

[Ken_W]

So how long until complaints about the new terminal start being posted here? Want to start a pool?

 

Ooh! Ooh! Am I first? How many hours and minutes? Anybody have that number in the pool?

 

But no, I'm afraid, because no matter what I think of the interior architecture the true test will only be how well it works at keeping the crowds moving in the correct direction at a reasonable speed, if the seating capacity is sufficient for those who need it, and how efficiently passenger baggage is wrangled.

 

I like the exterior, and while it's not a showpiece (which, given its position on the waterfront and its purpose might have been nice) it's fairly pleasing.

 

I'll leave off comments on the interior until after the grand opening, when it can be safely assumed that this is the way the designer intended everything to look.

[jnc411]

OK sorry , but I guess I am the first... Daughter just got home today ( Crown Princess) it was one of if not the first ship to use the new pier, and there were problems with the gangway , could not get it down when they arrived , took quite a while , and when they left port there were problems getting it back up. Both the passanger gangway and the crew gangway . But Daughter says other than that it was ok, the Captain came over the speaker both times and explained the issue, so that was good. He told everyone at the Captains Circle meet the night before that they would be using the new pier. So not really a complaint , just a little hiccup..

Cori

[deadzone1003]

OK sorry , but I guess I am the first... Daughter just got home today ( Crown Princess) it was one of if not the first ship to use the new pier, and there were problems with the gangway , could not get it down when they arrived , took quite a while , and when they left port there were problems getting it back up. Both the passanger gangway and the crew gangway . But Daughter says other than that it was ok, the Captain came over the speaker both times and explained the issue, so that was good. He told everyone at the Captains Circle meet the night before that they would be using the new pier. So not really a complaint , just a little hiccup..

Cori

 

The gangway only arrived two weeks ago and was just finished a couple of days before the Crown arrived and I doubt they had the time to do any real testing except moving it up and down the pier. Definitely, there were no vessels around to do any real testing of the gangway.

[trbarton]

Please see the other thread that was started several months ago about the new terminal, http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2056338&page=9. On the thread "New San Francisco Cruise Terminal Photos" I'll be posting my observations from the dedication ceremony next Thursday.

 

Tom:)

[shredie]

Maybe this one could be closed? (The pictures in the other one make it more interesting, frankly.)

[shepp]

I bet you didn't think 51 minutes . . .

 

Hey, this is Cruise Critic. Nothing surprises me.

[trbarton]

Maybe this one could be closed? (The pictures in the other one make it more interesting, frankly.)

 

They might be able to merge a thread I'm not sure how it gets done. I took the photos and I'm already posting the same information on 2 different thread. Yes 2 threads is just a duplication of some of the same information.

 

Tom:)

[Gr8Mariner]

So how long until complaints about the new terminal start being posted here? Want to start a pool?

 

If you build it, they will come....

[BEAV]

They might be able to merge a thread I'm not sure how it gets done. I took the photos and I'm already posting the same information on 2 different thread. Yes 2 threads is just a duplication of some of the same information.

 

Tom:)

 

The procedure for getting a moderator's attention is to click the red triangle at the top right side of any post. There is a place to explain what you're asking them to do (in this case asking to merge two threads together). Make sure you provide a link to the other thread you're asking them to merge. Good luck.

[aaerobear]

One thing I have to say to Tom. It is very very uncommon for a person with an ARC to travel with just their ARC (alien registration card) we have several agents working for Metro that have ARCs and they all say it is NEVER recommended to travel without their passport as well. Princess and the other cruiselines do not even have a place on their computers to enter that type of transaction. That is why it took so long.

 

The passenger would not be denied boarding, but there are several things that need to be done to accommodate them. So much easier to just bring their passport.

[space cowboy]

While the old cruise terminal is not unlike a barn on the inside, and I like barns, the traffic especially on weekends, is horrible. We left S.F. on a Saturday, and the traffic on the city streets was totally grid locked at times, which totally stressed me out until I had both of my feet inside the terminal, so the new terminal couldn't hurt as it is a little closer to the freeway.

[trbarton]

One thing I have to say to Tom. It is very very uncommon for a person with an ARC to travel with just their ARC (alien registration card) we have several agents working for Metro that have ARCs and they all say it is NEVER recommended to travel without their passport as well. Princess and the other cruiselines do not even have a place on their computers to enter that type of transaction. That is why it took so long.

 

The passenger would not be denied boarding, but there are several things that need to be done to accommodate them. So much easier to just bring their passport.

 

Thanks...FYI...They were only coming for the BVE thus they didn't bring a passport.

 

Tom:)

[aaerobear]

Tom, Then the rep should have just used their drivers license, and they should have known that. My apologies. A DL is all that is needed for BVE.

[cruzsnooze]

Has anyone been on a ship that docked at the new pier - Pier 27 - in San Francisco? Just wondering if everything went smoothly. We will be there next week. Thanks.

The pier is long and far away from the wharf. We docked there last week. It's a deal breaker for me, I won't sail the coastal again if Princess uses this pier 27. It did not go smoothly. It took them an hour to get the gangway set up so we lost an hour in port. Then they couldn't disengage the gangway for an hour when we should have been sailing away.

 

Next year RCL is doing a coastal and I'm trying to find out what pier they use.

Edited September 25, 2014 by cruzsnooze

[Gr8Mariner]

Unless it is a two-ship day, all calls will be at 27 in 2015.

 

Jewel of the Seas is a transit, so the problems passengers encountered with the inaugural should be solved.

 

The issues yet to be solved are the full turns by big ships.

 

Take the coastal...by next Spring it will be fine.

[elliair]

The pier is long and far away from the wharf. We docked there last week. It's a deal breaker for me, I won't sail the coastal again if Princess uses this pier 27. It did not go smoothly. It took them an hour to get the gangway set up so we lost an hour in port. Then they couldn't disengage the gangway for an hour when we should have been sailing away.

 

Next year RCL is doing a coastal and I'm trying to find out what pier they use.

 

A deal breaker for me would be not boarding the ship until 3:00 pm which is what happened to us in San Pedro. They brought in buses and bussed people to Long Beach for lunch. An hour delay is no big deal for me. We walk down to Pier 39 and enjoy what's down there and get a loaf of hot sourdough bread at Fisherman's Wharf with some butter. :p

[deadzone1003]

A deal breaker for me would be not boarding the ship until 3:00 pm which is what happened to us in San Pedro. They brought in buses and bussed people to Long Beach for lunch. An hour delay is no big deal for me. We walk down to Pier 39 and enjoy what's down there and get a loaf of hot sourdough bread at Fisherman's Wharf with some butter. :p

 

There is a cafe, Pier 23, where you can get something to eat or something to drink with a outdoor sitting area where you can gaze at the aft section of the cruiseship docked at Pier 27.

[aaerobear]

The Pier 23 cafe is so close you can almost touch the aft of the sip. It has a great rep with locals as well. Kinda funky, but good food. As to the pier being "long" I just don't get that, it is less walk than the old pier. But to each his own. As to the long walk to the Wharf....not sure what you mean by that, what wharf? they are all wharves.

 

wharf

 

noun \ˈhwȯrf, ˈwȯrf\ : a flat structure that is built along the shore of a river, ocean, etc., so that ships can load and unload cargo or passengers

[deadzone1003]

The Pier 23 cafe is so close you can almost touch the aft of the sip. It has a great rep with locals as well. Kinda funky, but good food. As to the pier being "long" I just don't get that, it is less walk than the old pier. But to each his own. As to the long walk to the Wharf....not sure what you mean by that, what wharf? they are all wharves.

 

wharf

 

noun \ˈhwȯrf, ˈwȯrf\ : a flat structure that is built along the shore of a river, ocean, etc., so that ships can load and unload cargo or passengers

 

They are probably referring to "Fisherman's Wharf".

[shepp]

They are probably referring to "Fisherman's Wharf".

 

According to Google Maps, it takes four minutes longer to walk from 27 than from 35. Four minutes. Two-hundred-and-forty seconds.

 

Jeez.

[Nancyquilts]

According to Google Maps, it takes four minutes longer to walk from 27 than from 35. Four minutes. Two-hundred-and-forty seconds.

 

Jeez.

 

Assuming you can walk well.;)

[cruzsnooze]

According to Google Maps, it takes four minutes longer to walk from 27 than from 35. Four minutes. Two-hundred-and-forty seconds.

 

Jeez.

 

It was longer then 4 minutes. It might not be a problem for everyone but I related my opinion. From the gangway to the sidewalk was further at this pier then the previous pier. There seemed to be more switch backs of the gangway making it seem a long exit from the ship.

The pier we walked to was 39 for some clam chowder in a sour dough bowl which is as good as it gets.

[shepp]

It was longer then 4 minutes. It might not be a problem for everyone but I related my opinion. From the gangway to the sidewalk was further at this pier then the previous pier. There seemed to be more switch backs of the gangway making it seem a long exit from the ship.

The pier we walked to was 39 for some clam chowder in a sour dough bowl which is as good as it gets.

 

OK, maybe 6 minutes. Eight? But, hey, if the walk to Fisherman's Wharf is too long, just hop an F streetcar on the Embarcadero and ride.

 

And though I know that tourist traps have their appeal - it's not like I haven't been to Pike Place Market and Creek Street - many of us who live here would suggest that walking the other direction to the Ferry Building and eating at The Slanted Door or buying artisanal cheese from Cowgirl Creamery and having a picnic by the Bay would be gooder.

 

Still, about the only reason I visit Fisherman's Wharf is to get a double-double animal style at In-N-Out Burger, so I hardly can claim to be a gourmet.

[dchip]

 

And though I know that tourist traps have their appeal - it's not like I haven't been to Pike Place Market and Creek Street - many of us who live here would suggest that walking the other direction to the Ferry Building and eating at The Slanted Door or buying artisanal cheese from Cowgirl Creamery and having a picnic by the Bay would be gooder.

 

Still, about the only reason I visit Fisherman's Wharf is to get a double-double animal style at In-N-Out Burger, so I hardly can claim to be a gourmet.

Also, in the Ferry Bldg is Hog Island Oyster where you can get the best grilled cheese sandwich anywhere ever!! You can get a fabulous Bloody Mary to go with it.

 

Cheers, Denise

Edited September 30, 2014 by dchip