aaerobear

That was my point, but we get passengers every cruise that think if they do walk off after they buy the transfer that they will get to the airport earlier and then are upset when they have to wait for those waiting for baggage.

The other type are those that leave the ship before their color is called and are angry because their luggage is not unloaded yet and they have to wait for it. That is why your number has not been called, because your luggage is not ready yet.

First of all, it was ONE container(rack) of baggage that was dropped in the water, not ALL of the baggage. I am not defending it, just getting the facts straight. This type of thing happens world wide on cruise ships. The fact it was handled so badly in SF is just another nail in the coffin of the ILWU sad story.

Even though the contract has been settled, do not expect the porters to change how they act, or how they try to extort outrageous tips from passengers, use disgusting language, refuse to take bags without a tip, or any of the other disgusting things they have been doing for years. They are basically thugs and the Port authorities are afraid to do anything to curb the egregious actions of the porters. Just be cautious.

Remember, if you have a problem with a porter, try not to get into a confrontation, but get their number (it is on the front of their vest) and report it to the check-in staff and they will, in turn, get the information to the union boss and the offending porter will be sent home with no pay for the day.

If you purchase airport transfers and then choose to walk off instead off using the bag tags given to you by the ship, be advised that the buses will not leave any earlier than they are scheduled and until they are full.

Unless the bus fills up with airport passengers, you will have to sit there and wait till the passengers who have purchased transfers and had their luggage tagged and delivered to the luggage hall are accommodated. The guidelines for flight departure times are posted on the information sheet given out before you purchase the transfer.

Another point, in many ports, the bus drivers are NOT required to load electric scooters on to the buses. Mostly it is a union rule. You should tell the Shore Ex desk when you purchase a transfer that you have a scooter so proper arrangements can be made. Sometimes the drivers will load a cart for you, BUT, they are not required to do it. Just a heads up.

If you have flights after 1pm, use the princess transfers, easiest way to go from the new terminal.

The ship left at 5pm due to loading stores. All passengers were checked in and boarded before scheduled departure time (4pm)

It is funny, if you look at the Princess website, the map shows Ensenada as the last stop, but the itinerary shows Ensenada as the first stop, so who knows.

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

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?

If the cruise sails north at all, like San Francisco, expect weather in the high 50's and (hopefully) rain (sorry we need it so badly) It is actually quite livable and mild. Jackets required though.

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

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

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

Yes, those are after security and check-in. ADA passengers should ask at the front door about accommodations.

Just for the record, Metro Shore Services can't do anything about the lines or waiting outside the terminal either. You have to direct your comments and complaints to the Port of San Francisco, they are the ones that designed and planned the building. All we can do is work with what they gave us to work with.

They made absolutely no plans for passengers outside the terminal. No canopies over the bus waiting area for passengers waiting for airport/tour busses, no cover for passengers waiting to get into the terminal, no waiting area in the terminal provided for passengers before check-in (which CAN NOT start until after the last person has left the ship from the previous cruise), inadequate area for baggage reclaim area, etc.

Of course most of the long lines would not even be there if passengers followed the instructions given them by Princess about check-in times. When people start showing up at 9:30am or 10:00am the lines are going to form and get longer and longer until the terminal is able to accommodate them.

So, the next time you feel like venting your anger at the agents working at the terminal, think again and write that letter to the Port OR the San Francisco Chronicle.

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.

Rich,

I am not a union member, I work with Metro Shore Services as an agent. We wear the blue suits and red ties. The porters are members of the ILWU or Longshoremen's Union. They are very well paid. I do not know what other ports in the US also have ILWU porters, but would New York would be one for sure. Where ever there is a strong union presence in a city/state you can assume there will be union members working the pier. IE: Philly, Baltimore, Boston, etc. but I have no information about the other piers.

Tipping a couple bucks per bag is what I usually do myself, but I will NOT be intimidated or bullied into giving them more. Like I have said....ALWAYS get their number from their vest if they try to extort money from you. Give the information to a check-in agent and they will pass it on to the Chief Porter. They do take action, but they need the information first. Don't say anything to the porter, just make note of his number.

I seriously don't think there will be a problem at all. I say go for it.

HAH!!! Half will already be near a bar before the muster, when the bar shuts down, head to muster, when muster ends, head back to your same seat, with luck your place will have been reserved by a well tipped bartender :D hic!:cool:

JJ2sail

With union workers just standing around. I did ask the"porter" about being a union long shoreman, and he said no he was not he was just a porter.

He is TOTALLY lying to you, yes they are ILWU members and they are paid in excess of $45.00 an hour and on Sunday and holidays they make double time. They will say or do anything to get more tips out of passengers.

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.

BVE on Sunday had only 13 guests and (5 sailing guests) they were all checked in and seated in the terminal before 11:00am.

The Port of San Francisco did not plan the terminal well at all, there were a lot of "port people" standing around yesterday slapping each other on the back and congratulating each other while the rest of us were suffering from their blunder of a terminal. The ILWU porters ARE extortionists and I have said many times in the past, if they ask you for money, be sure to get their number off their vest and report it to a Metro Check-in agent (blue suit/red tie or scarf) they will pass it on to someone higher up and action will be taken. BUT you have to have the number.

At pier 35 they used to have 4 or 5 customs agents and they would clear the ship in about 1 1/2 hours, now they have about 20 and it takes them over 3 hours to do the same thing...go figure. Typical US Government screw up.

Check-in started at 11:30 but the ILWU people running the scanners are pretty much incompetent and insist on taking their break just as the bulk of passengers start to enter the terminal (you know union rules come first)

and the fact that they only had three scanners planned for close to 3000 passengers is totally unacceptable. There needs to be at least 5 working scanners.

The Metro check-in agents had all passengers checked in by 3:15pm and boarded so that part was taken care of. The only advice I can offer (I know there will be those that will scream and holler about it) is to NOT show up early, it is just not worth the trouble, save the excuse about the hotel check out (they all offer a late checkout) you will be much happier if you just delay arriving at the pier later and avoiding the congestion.

And if the weather is at all bad, just think how much worse it will be, the PORT has made NO plans what so ever for passenger comfort in inclement weather nor for the employees that have to work outside loading busses or loading taxis. You will be at the mercy of the elements.

Here is who to write to:

Monique Moyer

Executive Director

Port of San Francisco

Pier one, The Embarkadero

San Francisco CA, 94111

or

Mayor Ed Lee

1 Dr Carlton B Goodlett Pl,

San Francisco, CA 94102

Let them know how you feel, maybe something will get done.

awesome video

The procedure will be the same as any other terminal and ship with partial boarding and disembarking. We have had cruises like that many times.

There are procedures in place for through passengers to reboard and the BVE people will be handled the same as always. My guess is there will also be a group of travel agents having an event as well.

There has always been and always will be preferred check in lines for Suite/elite/platinum passengers no reason that would change.

We were hoping they would cancel the BVE that day, but looks like that will not happen.

There has never been separate lines at security for preferred passengers, there are separate check-in positions with signage and separate seating in the waiting area.

Unlike pier 35, security is BEFORE the check-in process, so once you have finished security you are finished with security and "beverage control" you go the check-in and the waiting area. everyone boards through the same door which leads to the gangway. This include reboarding passengers as well as joining passengers etc.

I am not sure why some people think this is going to be a problem as it is a normal operation and nothing new.

No Elite/Platinum lounge at this time, just a cordoned off area in the main waiting area. Closest to the boarding door ( actually second closest after the ADA waiting area)