Cruiseport Boston’s Black Falcon Cruise Terminal

Not gonna lie, I’ve had my share of issues here but overall (the last two years) since they’ve gotten to know me and my family, they are really great here.
I had actually got escorted by police because multiple people called me in as a kidnapper. I was checking in my two year old who fell asleep in my arms, wearing plaid and a hat which is more for where I’m from (Idaho) and exited through the alarm exit instead of finding someone to take me down the other route. Anyway, they were super pleasant about it and it was no biggie. Just a misunderstanding.
When it’s been super cold the security has let me stand in the warmth of their office waiting instead of outside. And they never give us any trouble. They’ve very respectful and great about doing their duties in a way that is pleasant for us too.
The lay of the land is simple too around here. Bathrooms downstairs with outdoor access and then the escalator takes you up to check in and board.
There’s a shipping address where you can pick up mail if you want and you pay $ 1 – 3 per package they receive for you. Friendly folks up there too.

Getting through was okay, the only thing I have to complain about with the cruise port itself is that they only have one person taking your luggage… If you are planning going on the Norwegian Dawn do not do it, we were first and last time cruisers. They work their employees like slaves, and the boat is filled with drinks and little kids. On the way out I was taken back by how rude one of the cops was to my family member as we crossed the street he cat called her and called her «baby». If you are looking at reviews for this I am assuming you are planning a cruise, if you love to drink and don’t like watching your kids this cruise is for you. I could go on and on about how I have bruises the size of golf balls on my stomach from being kicked by little kids or how the food is cafeteria food and it’s the same thing every single day, but I think you get the just of it.

For our port of call, our cruise ship stopped at this cruise terminal in Boston, MA.
I liked the fact that it was clean and organized. There was also complimentary Wi-​Fi available as well, and it was fast.
I did not like that the staff we met was not very helpful or nice. I also did not the location too much. Was quite a walk to get to the North End.
Overall, a solid 3 star location.

Checking in our bags was a nightmare. We had to stand in this stupid line and wait for two people to take our bags. At other cruise ports it is a much easier process and porters are waiting at the curb. Very easy disembarkation and quick pick up for our shuttle driver.

We were on-​board the Carnival Splendor, and the ship docked here for a set of hours.
The exterior of the building looked clean. From our balcony, we saw the red letters «Cruiseport Boston» on top of the building. We also saw some photos below the red letters, which highlighted some vacation-​related destinations. That was very appealing. The interior of the building looked clean too. Aside from that, certain parts of the terminal looked colorful, which was nice. There were also pictures hanging down, which revealed locations that various cruise ships sailed to, which was decorative. There were also signs that directed people to the boarding area of the cruise ship. The security people there were fine.
All of the above was good, so why not five stars? The cruise terminal was located in South Boston, which wasn’t close to the downtown area. At the other ports of call on my cruise, the Splendor docked at the terminals that were close by to downtown. We didn’t have to worry about walking far or paying to get transportation just to reach downtown. But for here, it was a different story. NO FREE transportation of any kind was provided solely for the purpose of getting into downtown. You had to pay for a service to take you or walk 30 minutes — JUST for heading into downtown.
For the cruisers who are trying to head back to the ship, you can utilize a Silver Line bus from South Station (underground). We all utilized the bus since we were exhausted from walking from the Cruiseport to downtown and sightseeing within. It dropped us off at a bus stop nearby the terminal. Consider that as a tip if you don’t feel like walking back to the terminal by foot. You could also do the vice-​versa, which will bring you into South Station.
Overall, this places serves the purpose of having cruisers embark and disembark cruise ships.

I do not actually cruise from here. ‘No Kids Hungry’ had their annual Taste of Nations event here and it was slightly packed but nonetheless very nice! The event was awesome, usually held in a larger place but this was not bad. The food was amazing, though there was an overwhelming amount of tuna tartare (can only be made so many ways). If you’ve never been you should look into it, great cause!
The silver line bus driver was nice enough to show us where to get off and overall very friendly.
Hopefully I get the chance to cruise out of here one day but I doubt it. I don’t think any of the ships go anywhere warm I’d be interested in.

This place was relatively easy to get to and the drop off /​pick up procedures were pretty efficient with the police directing the traffic. Going through the checkin and later customs (on our return) was pretty quick too. I especially liked that I can access free Wifi from the curb and that the signal was relatively strong.

A few problems I found with this is:
1. Being dropped off by a bus from hotel, we had a less then friendly porter take our bags for us after asking us «why you looking at me». UGH. because you are a porter and I don’t want to drag my bags around?
2. Not knowing any better we proceeded to get into a long long LONG line with no instructions. Little did we know that once our bags were porter checked we could have bypassed the passengers who chose NOT TO porter check their bags, and we could have proceeded INTO The terminal to go through the process of check in for our cruise.
I do believe they should have had people outside letting folks know what to do… everyone seemed to just be standing around and not helping folks at all.
Once inside the terminal everyone was friendly and professional.
On our way off the ship at the end of the cruise it couldn’t have gone any better. We stood in line maybe 10 minutes while they had people hailing cabs for us.
A few also didn’t know about the taxi cab line and proceeded to try to bypass the line, only to have those hailing cabs let them know about it.
My tip: Have more assistance outside of the terminal before and after a cruise!

I cruised out of here for the Boston to Bermuda cruise on NCL. We had a friend drop us off and pick us up. Despite that there were 6000 people coming and going this was a painless process.

I’ve left to cruise to Bermuda from Black Falcon twice. Customs and ticketing are usually a breeze, just speed by the Q-​tips and you won’t be held up. The only thing lacking would be a little coffee shop or honestly ANYTHING in the area. It’s pretty industrial, so there isn’t anything to do while you’re waiting to sail away on vacation. Though on a modern cruise ship, there are plenty of things to do, so I guess it’s a bit of a moot point.

My 100^th review! Wooo Hoo!
I took a Holland America cruise from Montréal to Boston… So this review is based on my departure in Boston… And a good portion of how smoothly that went should be credited to the cruise line.
When our group was called on the ship, we quickly made it to the luggage collection area and our luggage was right where it was supposed to be.
Customs and Immigration was a snap. Leaving the ship to waiting for a cab was about 10 minutes.
The facility looked brand new and clearly still under construction.
Trying to catch a cab was challenging as the line for a cab wasn’t really clear… there weren’t nearly enough cabs for the thousands of people departing… and then there were alot of «black cab» drivers offering rides in their personal cars… thats never a good idea.
I suspect that once the construction is done, things will get a bit better there… so for now, 3 stars.