NCL's New Terminal in Miami, Florida

[crystalaziza]

I have yet to use the new terminal in Miami. Can anyone who has sailed out of both the old terminal and the new glass terminal tell me about the compared process of both. I'm curious how the flow and process of the new terminal compares to the old. Trying not to get lost in the shuffle of something I know nothing about! Anything about the new terminal that is a must see or must know about. Do they have the VIP waiting room for Platinum and above like the old terminal. Thank you for everyone's input. April L

[BirdTravels]

5 minutes ago, crystalaziza said:

I have yet to use the new terminal in Miami. Can anyone who has sailed out of both the old terminal and the new glass terminal tell me about the compared process of both. I'm curious how the flow and process of the new terminal compares to the old. Trying not to get lost in the shuffle of something I know nothing about! Anything about the new terminal that is a must see or must know about. Do they have the VIP waiting room for Platinum and above like the old terminal. Thank you for everyone's input. April L

There are some photos starting on Post #9 on my live post below. 

 

The terminal is disappointingly small,,, especially compared to the new Royal Caribbean terminal next door. 

 

The only ProTip I have is that the restrooms near check-in are small and there are always long lines (especially for Ladies). If you go to the back of the terminal near the ship model, there is a second set of restrooms that are always empty. So,,, don't wait in line, go to the secret restrooms at the back of the terminal.

 

We have sailed out of the new terminal about 4 times. While you see signs that could be used to set up a platinum waiting area, there has been no VIP seating on any of our cruises. You just mill around near the boarding door and be prepared to jump to the front when boarding starts.  

 

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

25 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

The only ProTip I have is that the restrooms near check-in are small and there are always long lines (especially for Ladies). If you go to the back of the terminal near the ship model, there is a second set of restrooms that are always empty.

This is very true.  Best to use the restrooms right before entering security.  In January, they were not letting folks go to those restrooms at the East end of the building.  Then they were as people complained.  I think they were trying to keep the embarking passengers segregated from the disembarking passengers.  The small restrooms @BirdTravelsmentioned are single hole, one person at a time.  How the heck could those distinguished architects getting commendations for the design screw that up?  I guess they felt a proper restroom setup would detract from their "work of art."

 

Also, I believe the new terminal is terminal B.  I didn't know that as our eDocs just had the address for the whole cruise terminal.  I thought for sure that an Uber driver would know how to get to the NCL terminal.  I was wrong.  We actually had to stop and ask for directions. 🤣

[PATRLR]

59 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Best to use the restrooms right before entering security.

THIS!!!!
On our Nov 6 embarkation, there were no other restrooms (besides the two single holes) after security, we asked an NCL employee who said those were the only two.  We also commented to a couple of others as we went back out of security to hit the pre-security restrooms.  So, if there were other restrooms as Bird alluded to, no one was acknowledging them on Nov 6.

Absolutely ridiculous that a terminal like that, with hundreds of people waiting, only has 2 restrooms. 
 

[Sand and Seas]

We have disembarked at the new terminal, but have yet to go thru embarkation there.  

If I'm understanding this right, there are 3 sets of restrooms, but one is sometimes 'off-limits'???

 

One set before security

Second set with only ONE stall each after security

and a Third 'secret' set that is possibly available only if they let you use it that day|😲

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

We have disembarked at the new terminal, but have yet to go thru embarkation there.  

If I'm understanding this right, there are 3 sets of restrooms, but one is sometimes 'off-limits'???

 

One set before security

Second set with only ONE stall each after security

and a Third 'secret' set that is possibly available only if they let you use it that day|😲

Yes.  It's absolutely ridiculous.

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

We have disembarked at the new terminal, but have yet to go thru embarkation there.  

If I'm understanding this right, there are 3 sets of restrooms, but one is sometimes 'off-limits'???

 

One set before security

Second set with only ONE stall each after security

and a Third 'secret' set that is possibly available only if they let you use it that day|😲

 

Small restroom by check-in with lines

 

 

So,,, you are correct about the back restroom being closed. In the photo below, you see a rope across the entrance to the back terminal - on this cruise, we were in the Haven and up in the Haven waiting area on the upper floor. 

 

In this photo, we had just used the back toilets and the line shows where the rope was on the prior cruise

 

[Sand and Seas]

Amazing....they spent an extra year or so to build this terminal and this is how it was designed?

 

The construction workers probably had more temporary johns than it has now🙄

[BirdTravels]

The terminal is small and, in my opinion, ugly on the inside. The lack of priority waiting area and escort to board is annoying (compared to the old Terminal B/C). And who would build a terminal without toilets????

 

We have sailed out of the Royal Caribbean Terminal A multiple times (probably more than NCL's terminal) and it is very nice inside and out. I think that we were the second or third ship, and first Oasis-class ship to use Terminal A in 2018. 

[JGmf]

I'll echo the comments on how that terminal is a nice package on the outside but very poorly functioning on the inside.  Working in the design/construction industry, it's an epic fail.

 

My experience in January 2023: as the crowds got bigger and more antsy, everyone started to cluster and jam into the area in front of the security embarkation doors; there was no roping or anything.  The crowding hampered wheelchairs and handicapped accessible escorts through the mob.  The staff parted the seas and allowed them through.  I was surprised, however, that they actually invited Sapphire and above to board immediately thereafter.

[acct1975]

I was on a cruise out of Miami for the 1st time in Summer 2022 at the new terminal. They let us use whatever bathrooms we wanted (thankfully) but it was a particularly sunny day that day and with the sun blazing through the windows is started to get rather warm in the Terminal. The prior cruise was late in disembarking and thus we were waiting for quite a while with everyone crammed in the Terminal, hot and a little humid. I was kind of disappointed. The chairs in the waiting area are also sub-par IMO.

[SunshineGal2022]

12 minutes ago, acct1975 said:

I was on a cruise out of Miami for the 1st time in Summer 2022 at the new terminal. They let us use whatever bathrooms we wanted (thankfully) but it was a particularly sunny day that day and with the sun blazing through the windows is started to get rather warm in the Terminal. The prior cruise was late in disembarking and thus we were waiting for quite a while with everyone crammed in the Terminal, hot and a little humid. I was kind of disappointed. The chairs in the waiting area are also sub-par IMO.

Can you bring battery operated neck fans into the waiting area?  We have people who cannot overheat.  

[JandC_Cruising]

8 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

The terminal is small and, in my opinion, ugly on the inside. The lack of priority waiting area and escort to board is annoying (compared to the old Terminal B/C). And who would build a terminal without toilets????

 

We have sailed out of the Royal Caribbean Terminal A multiple times (probably more than NCL's terminal) and it is very nice inside and out. I think that we were the second or third ship, and first Oasis-class ship to use Terminal A in 2018. 

We were there the first time in January and shocked at the setup and lack of organization surrounding the boarding process. 

Whose brilliant idea was it to put the boarding door in the middle of the chaos?  Why not at the far end and then have the earliest groups closest to the entry door?

When it was time to board, priority boarders had to push through walls of people with later boarding numbers to get to those middle doors, That area was surrounded with group 3 and higher by the time boarding started at noon...

The poor terminal staff was having to do crowd control as throngs of people were trying to push through to simply get to the entry way.    

Complete cluster #$%!.

 

[ggTexasGal]

1 hour ago, SunshineGal2022 said:

Can you bring battery operated neck fans into the waiting area?  We have people who cannot overheat.  

There should be no reason for the battery operated neck fans to be a problem!

[Raleigh Traveler]

1 hour ago, JandC_Cruising said:

We were there the first time in January and shocked at the setup and lack of organization surrounding the boarding process. 

Whose brilliant idea was it to put the boarding door in the middle of the chaos?  Why not at the far end and then have the earliest groups closest to the entry door?

When it was time to board, priority boarders had to push through walls of people with later boarding numbers to get to those middle doors, That area was surrounded with group 3 and higher by the time boarding started at noon...

The poor terminal staff was having to do crowd control as throngs of people were trying to push through to simply get to the entry way.    

Complete cluster #$%!.

 

We were there as well. Whoever designed the area has never personally experienced the process, especially one that has delays. Agree with comments about location of the doors and set up. They also need to improve the PA. A big screen that shows the boarding order would also help. 

We all got on board but could have been with less drama.