Parking in Boston - our experience

[lupaglupa]

Just wanted to share our Boston parking experience in case it helps other folks.

 

We chose to drive to Boston the morning of our cruise and take advantage of the parking at the South Boston Waterfront Transportation Center. On both arrival and departure we had some (small) problems. Hopefully our experience can help you avoid the same!

 

The instructions on the parking pass we printed out told us to present our paperwork to the attendant upon arrival. BUT - there was no attendant! We took a parking ticket from the automated machine at the entry gate and parked. After calling the information number we were told - no problem, see the attendant when you leave. 

 

Parking spots were plentiful and the shuttle came promptly. Getting to the ship was easy.

 

When we returned, we had a long line to wait in to get the shuttle back to the garage. All told we waited about 45 minutes. It's not a long walk to the garage but a chilly rain convinced us not to try making the trip on foot. I don't know if walking would be an option for others.

 

Back at the garage we followed the exit signs to the barrier and found that we could not scan the Q code which proved that we had pre-paid our parking. Luckily the intercom worked and we were able to summon help. After a 10 minute wait a young man came, glanced at our parking pass, and let us out. 

 

Overall the parking wasn't bad. It was just irritating that the system did not work as promised. 

[138east]

Thanks for the detailed description of your experience.  I know others have been wondering how the new garage is working.  What day of the week and what time did you disembark?

 

I would suggest you send your review to Massport Parking at BostonCruiseParking@spplus.com.  Glitches happen, but to me the most disturbing thing would have been waiting 45 minutes for a shuttle.  You could have taken the Silver Line bus to World Trade, but it costs $3/pp.  If Massport can’t provide adequate shuttle service, perhaps they could provide Silver Line Vouchers to reduce the shuttle demand.

[lupaglupa]

We left and returned on a Friday.  We took the Norwegian Gem to Bermuda. 

[138east]

What time did you do this?  On a Friday there could be significant rush hour traffic in the Seaport District.  If Massport is operating just one shuttle bus, I could see that it might take 45 minutes to go round trip with the boarding and luggage loading and unloading time.  How large was the shuttle bus?

[lupaglupa]

There wasn't a lot of traffic and there were two shuttles, each taking about 20 people. Mostly it was the luggage that slowed things down. At each end the driver parked and loaded or unloaded the bags. The drive time between the pier and the parking garage was a matter of minutes.