What's the real deal with San Fran Cruise Terminal

[jackieo]

We have read a lot of different experiences here on the Boards. I am crusing

out of the terminal at the end of February and have grown concerned about the negative reviews

 

Here is a reply from the Port Authority regarding the delay to the Star on Tuesday.

 

Star Princess did sail late from San Francisco yesterday, but the delay was not due to the baggage operation.

 

All passengers and baggage were on board by 4:00pm, the scheduled sailing time.

 

Additional time was needed to complete the loading of stores and provisions.

 

Despite what you may read on Cruise Critic, the cruise guest surveys for the new Pier 27 terminal over the first three months of operation have been quite good (mid-90s out of 100-point scale).

 

 

So my question is to Cruisers who have been out of this new terminal what is your take on this response?

 

Jackie

[Greyhound3]

As I understand it, the Star docked late Tuesday morning due to heavy fog. If everyone was on board by 4 PM, I would be very surprised as I'm certain disembarkation ran much later than normal.

 

I brought a busload of people to Pier 27 for this cruise. We arrived at 1:15 PM and there was a LONG line of passengers waiting to get into the terminal. I finally got the baggage offloaded from the bus at 2:15 (I was 5th in line to unload) and the line of pax was still there.

 

There were two tractor-trailers waiting to unload when I left, so the part about loading stores and provisions might be true. However, I would take their statement about pax and baggage being aboard by 4 PM with a grain of salt.

 

 

Grey

[#1Nanna]

I was on the Star this past Tues, Jan 13th. We were not able to dock at our scheduled time of 7am due to heavy fog. We had to drop anchor and wait it out until it lifted. This caused huge delays for disembarkation so I would only expect it to cause quite a delay in embarkation of new passengers.

We were not able to get off the ship until after 11:30 and then we were in a long line for customs. It caused us to miss our 1pm flight out of SFO. However, this was no fault of Princess.

On the other hand, our embarkation on Jan 3rd was very smooth. I was very nervous due to all of the negative that I had read...

We arrived early at 10:30. The last cruise was still disembarking. There was a large presence of Princess personal walking around outside greeting & directing people. The porter that took our luggage was friendly and we were 2nd in line. We were given the health questionnaire while in line outside to have pre filled out. About 11:15 we were let inside the terminal. Check in was easy & quick and then we waited in a seated area until they started boarding. We were in the 1st group after preferred boarding and were on the ship around noon. We had a very positive experience.

 

 

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Edited January 15, 2015 by #1Nanna

[timetravler]

My issue was with the porters on Dec.19th. The terminal itself is wonderful. On Dec 19th it certainly was the fault of the porters for our late departure. But since then, I have no idea. The porters still do not have a new contract as far as I know. So until then anything could happen.

[jackieo]

Thanks all for your info on this.

[MTJSR]

Having been there walking my dog twice (with ships in port), sailed the Island on a Panama Canal cruise, and about to sail to Hawaii soon. I love the terminal.

 

Now, I think from talking to staff and some porters, they also want it to be nice and efficient and they love it too. The bugs seem to be worked out on the inside of the terminal, but outside the Porters may be getting the attention they seek right now. I am guessing it will be back to normal soon.

 

I have never heard a porter ask for large tips or any tip for that matter. These guys all seem to be in high spirits ie: playful. Perhaps someone caught one of them teasing for a high tip and that got reported as what they all do. Not the case!

 

Enjoy your trip and relax!

Edited January 15, 2015 by MTJSR

[satxdiver]

Beautiful terminal and I loved it in November when we boarded the Star. I had a port side balcony near the stern and had an excellent view of the pier. We left late due to loading stores. The captain had sent down two bridge officers to hurry up the operation. Whether this helped or hindered I do not know but we left the pier a little after 7 PM.

[delidan]

I work check in and by 4:00 pm all but a few passengers but a few who hadn't arrived yet were on board.

[aaerobear]

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

[Greyhound3]

I work check in and by 4:00 pm all but a few passengers but a few who hadn't arrived yet were on board.

 

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

 

Then a tip of the cap is due to you and your co-workers. From the looks of that line at 2:15, I didn't think the ship would sail before 6 at the earliest!

 

 

Grey

[Cruise Raider]

We were one of the first ships to dock at the new pier back in September -- wondered, where is that captain going?? I hadn't even heard the new pier was open much less that we were going to dock there on our way down from Vancouver. Boy, it is all shiny new ... set up extremely well except for absolutely no seating outside. Maybe this was intentional, though. There is no seating at pier 35 either. The drive through is large enough to take the traffic off the Embarcadero, which can be a nightmare down at pier 35. I think it is very well planned and they do a great job in getting passengers in and out of there in no time.

[Kingofcool1947]

We have read a lot of different experiences here on the Boards. I am crusing

out of the terminal at the end of February and have grown concerned about the negative reviews

 

Here is a reply from the Port Authority regarding the delay to the Star on Tuesday.

 

Star Princess did sail late from San Francisco yesterday, but the delay was not due to the baggage operation.

 

All passengers and baggage were on board by 4:00pm, the scheduled sailing time.

 

Additional time was needed to complete the loading of stores and provisions.

 

Despite what you may read on Cruise Critic, the cruise guest surveys for the new Pier 27 terminal over the first three months of operation have been quite good (mid-90s out of 100-point scale).

 

 

So my question is to Cruisers who have been out of this new terminal what is your take on this response?

 

Jackie

 

Disclaimer: DW and I are low maintenance types, easy going, and undemanding. We try to "go with the flow" and enjoy and relax when we vacation. You may be different in attitude and expectations.

 

Just back from 10 day Mexico cruise on Star.

There are plenty of park benches outside the building.

Doors opened at around 11:00 am.

DW and I were in line at 11:15 a.m. processed and on board...in time for lunch in the Portofino dining room.

 

So, contrary to the complainers comments here regarding their negative experiences with porters, when WE arrived at the SF Cruise Port, the curb side porter was friendly, no drama, and we even spent a few minutes chatting about the labor contract dispute. He was not aggressive or solicit for a tip. He took our two heavy bags, placed them on the luggage trolley and said he'd make sure it got on the Star without delay. With 4 other pieces of heavy luggage on his trolley. Probably around 250-300 pounds of baggage. I gave him a $10 tip which was in my opinion, the porter well deserved, and was fine with me. No way DW and I were going to carry those two heaving pieces of luggage plus two carry ons up the gangway ourselves. And, I noticed the other passenger slipped him $20 for his 4 pieces of luggage. The porter genuinely thanked us for the tips, and said he would make sure our luggage got on Star ASAP. We saw the porter roll the trolley away and towards the ship. Our luggage arrived to our stateroom at 2 p.m.

 

Stay calm, and enjoy your cruise. :)

Edited January 17, 2015 by Kingofcool1947