Cruise Terminal difficulties/disappointment

[JVes]

Is it normal for a cruise terminal to look more like an empty warehouse than something enticing?
We arrived from the taxi into what was basically a concrete shell, and the security screening stuff seemed to be something pulled out of a closet. 

 

It was difficult to find the disability area, too.

[ColeThornton]

Which port are you talking about?

[XBGuy]

29 minutes ago, JVes said:

Is it normal for a cruise terminal to look more like an empty warehouse than something enticing?

 

It is not unknown for cruise ship terminals to "look more like an empty warehouse."  This is a fairly common experience at port stops where the port facilities were built to accommodate commercial shipping and not cruising tourists.

 

Somebody has to decide that the investment in building an "enticing" cruise terminal will be rewarded.  A government (e.g., municipality or port authority) might make this investment to attract cruise ships with the hope that cruise tourists would provide economic benefit to the community (fairly common), or a cruise line itself might make such an investment (less common).

 

I have embarked from "warehouse terminals" more than once.  I agree that it is not particularly pleasant, but it is usually over soon enough and, once I get on board the ship, my attitude improves significantly.

[CruiserBruce]

I agree with the others, some terminals look like warehouses, have passed through a few ourselves. It happens. Would a more enticing place be better? Perhaps, but typically you spend very little time there. You spend far more time in an airport.

 

As to difficulty finding the disability area, that is probably simply a matter of signage. Very easy to fix.

 

Please tell us what port you are referring to.

[Dock B]

In 1996, DW & I embarked from San Francisco for our honeymoon, to go through the Panama Canal ending in Florida.

 

Not only was the terminal a warehouse, but the buses from the airport actually drove into the building where passengers were lined up to get checked-in for the cruise.

 

There was no separation for vehicles, baggage drop-off, security, or check-in lines (really, really L  O N  G lines!!) as all were within the same footprint of the building.

 

You just moved from one area to the next, following directions.

[shipgeeks]

JVes, The port we regularly sail from is a shell, too, with no character apart from a couple of travel posters on the wall.  But it is functional, and probably easy to clean.

I hope your cruise, from now on, goes fabulously well, and will again make you feel healthier and happier!

[Shmoo here]

3 hours ago, JVes said:

Is it normal for a cruise terminal to look more like an empty warehouse than something enticing?

Yes.

[Toofarfromthesea]

No one selects a cruise or a cruiseline for the ambiance of the terminal.

[jsn55]

I'm sure I've passed through terminals like this over the years, but it would be the last thing I'd ever notice.  Far more interested in the speed with which I can move through it, and the efficiency plus friendliness of the people in charge.  This is just really a tiny, unimportant part of a cruise in my mind.

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

Yes.

 

3 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

Yes.

Not just “yes”, but yes of course.  Why would any port facility want to spend money to pretty up a mass-production processing facility?

[CDNPolar]

8 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

 

Not just “yes”, but yes of course.  Why would any port facility want to spend money to pretty up a mass-production processing facility?

 

I agree with all of this but what if airports were like this?

 

I think fair comment and question, but I personally after 12 cruises have no recollection of a cruise terminal that was not warehouse looking and some have actually given me the vibe of horror movies where you are entering a building where they might pull a hood over your head and you wake up minus a kidney.

[Honolulu Blue]

16 hours ago, JVes said:

Is it normal for a cruise terminal to look more like an empty warehouse than something enticing?
We arrived from the taxi into what was basically a concrete shell, and the security screening stuff seemed to be something pulled out of a closet. 

 

It was difficult to find the disability area, too.

 

I've found that it's not unusual for terminals at ports of call to look like warehouses. ALL the ones in Hawaii when I went there in 2018 looked like that, even Honolulu.  They may or may not have improved things these days.

 

And some of the terminals in embarkation ports are nicer than others.  San Pedro always struck me as being sparse and out of date.  Galveston isn't much better - at least the terminal that Princess and Carnival use.  I'm sure Royal's new terminal is far nicer.

 

12 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

No one selects a cruise or a cruiseline for the ambiance of the terminal.

 

Probably not, but I DO select itineraries (and their cruise ships, and cruise lines) based on where they sail from.  All else equal, I prefer to sail from ports with better terminals.

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

I agree with all of this but what if airports were like this?

 

I think fair comment and question, but I personally after 12 cruises have no recollection of a cruise terminal that was not warehouse looking and some have actually given me the vibe of horror movies where you are entering a building where they might pull a hood over your head and you wake up minus a kidney.

The design/decoration of a facility tends to reflect its function.  A cruise terminal needs to deal with thousands of people being processed for a couple of hours once in a day (perhaps only one or two days a week) - none of whom wants the process to take more than a few minutes.   Airports are set up to handle a continuing flow of thousands of people fro early morning to late at night - most of whom plan to spend a minimum of an hour - and often more - including getting something to eat.

[JVes]

The specific port is Port Melbourne, in Australia. (Melbourne is on the south-east of the continent, having a staring match with Tasmania.)

 

I was expecting something a lot more like an airport. But you're right, the airport has people stuck waiting for planes, and makes money off hosting shops and cafes. The cruise port just has to make sure we're not carrying contraband and get us onto the ship as efficiently as possible.

Edited May 13 by JVes

[GeezerCouple]

2 hours ago, JVes said:

The specific port is Port Melbourne, in Australia. (Melbourne is on the south-east of the continent, having a staring match with Tasmania.)

 

I was expecting something a lot more like an airport. But you're right, the airport has people stuck waiting for planes, and makes money off hosting shops and cafes. The cruise port just has to make sure we're not carrying contraband and get us onto the ship as efficiently as possible.

Right!

 

An airport has lots of waiting areas, and lots of permanent seating (even if "not quite enough" when flights are getting ready to board).
There are going to be delays of various sorts, sometimes affecting full flights.

And people are "in transit"; they may be making connections, so they can't really time their arrivals or departures the way they might have (and even when it's not a connection, timing is... difficult!!).

 

With cruise ports, for "arrivals" and "departures", the goal is to have people arrive, get them processed, moved along, and back out the other side as quickly as possible.

And a lot of the "waiting" in some cases (ship and port dependent) is... first simply to get into the terminal, and especially when the cruise is starting. 😡

 

At ports of call, probably except for when first arriving, most passengers are wandering on and off on their own schedules... which means they aren't likely to be needing to spend much time IN the terminal.  They want to get going with their adventures, or get going right back to their cabins or to restaurants... ON the ship.  I doubt too many passengers want to pay to eat some mediocre food in a terminal when they can have all the food they want if they just walk a bit further onto the ship.

 

23 hours ago, JVes said:

It was difficult to find the disability area, too.

 

Yes, THIS was a real problem at one place!  And especially when there was a major crowd just waiting/trying to get into the terminal.  We had trouble even finding anyone to ask about this.

 

Part of all of this does depend upon the numbers.  The largest ship we've been on had just over 2,000 pax.  The others maxed out at about 1,000 or fewer.

I cannot even begin to imagine the boarding process when the ship holds 5k or 6k pax (or more!?).

It's got to be quite a task to get all of those people processed and moved along! 😲

 

GC

[wcook]

The “other” terminal in San Juan PR is a giant open warehouse space. My one time departing there was a problem and nobody could board. Thousands and thousands of passengers backed up with no place to sit, no air conditioning, etc. for hours. Making it worse was the absence of anyone from the cruise line to offer assurances and explanations. Really put a damper on the start of the cruise. Luckily, this is becoming a thing of the past as the lines are mostly building beautiful terminal buildings, at least for their main home ports. Good. 
 

 

[clo]

11 minutes ago, wcook said:

The “other” terminal in San Juan PR is a giant open warehouse space. My one time departing there was a problem and nobody could board. Thousands and thousands of passengers backed up with no place to sit, no air conditioning, etc. for hours. Making it worse was the absence of anyone from the cruise line to offer assurances and explanations. Really put a damper on the start of the cruise. Luckily, this is becoming a thing of the past as the lines are mostly building beautiful terminal buildings, at least for their main home ports. Good. 
 

 

Where is that WOW! emoji?

[CPT Trips]

Anyone remember Cape Liberty during the time between its conversion from MOTBY and the completion of the new terminal? A warehouse would have been an improvement. 

 

[Hlitner]

We have been fortunate to have embarked on cruises from 5 continents it many different ports.  Some have decent cruise terminal facilities, and other ports have little (sometimes just a tent).  Cruise Terminals are expensive to build (and maintain) and somebody must pay the big bucks for that type of facility.  In the very busy ports around the world, facilities have been improving.  Other ports, lack the money or do not have the volume that would justify the cost.  In some cases, the major cruise lines (primarily owned by CCL, RCI and MSC) will help finance cruise terminals.  But again, this usually happens in ports where the volume does justify the cost.

 

My question to the OP is "are you prepared to pay more for your cruise if it gets you a nicer terminal?  The reality is that while we all appreciate nicer facilities, many are not willing to pay the extra money to subsidize the construction of new ports and facilities.  I should mention that over the past thirty years, we have seen lots of improvements of port facilities around the world.  Places like Tokyo, Barcelona, and Istanbul, have spent millions to improve their cruise terminals.  Others like Civitavecchia have been slow to spend the money, but even that port now has one very nice terminal (unfortunately it is not nearly enough to handle their volume).  Other ports, such as Venice, spent money to improve things only to later ban most cruise ships due to environmental concerns.

 

Hank

[Mum2Mercury]

On 5/12/2024 at 6:43 PM, Toofarfromthesea said:

No one selects a cruise or a cruiseline for the ambiance of the terminal.

Agree.  I expect a cruise terminal to be clean, have good bathrooms, and be staffed with efficient staff.

 

Beyond that, I have no expectations of the terminal ... certainly not of the ambiance.  It's just a necessary step in reaching the ship.  

[chengkp75]

16 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

Anyone remember Cape Liberty during the time between its conversion from MOTBY and the completion of the new terminal?

The real question is;  does anyone remember what MOTBY was?  I was in there every month for years carrying military vehicles to Europe.

[ColeThornton]

6 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

The real question is;  does anyone remember what MOTBY was?  I was in there every month for years carrying military vehicles to Europe.

 

 

LOL...oh yea.   JOIN THE NAVY...see exotic ports of call like Bayonne, NJ.

[CPT Trips]

26 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

The real question is;  does anyone remember what MOTBY was?  I was in there every month for years carrying military vehicles to Europe.

Sure, among other things it’s where you dropped your PPV when PCSed to Europe and where you picked it up upon return. 
 

Do you happen to know how POVs get shipped these days? 

[chengkp75]

23 minutes ago, CPT Trips said:

Sure, among other things it’s where you dropped your PPV when PCSed to Europe and where you picked it up upon return. 
 

Do you happen to know how POVs get shipped these days? 

Yeah, we carried everything from POV's to Abrams tanks.  Most likely they are using Baltimore or Norfolk for POV's to Europe.

[Essiesmom]

When I PCSd to Germany in 1976 I think I shipped my car from Philadelphia.  I sold it before I came home, had a new one waiting for me here.  EM