Maritime passenger terminal

A passenger terminal is a special building found in a port. It helps people get on and off boats, ships, and ferries. These terminals are used by many types of water vessels, such as ferries, cruise ships, and ocean liners. Depending on what kind of ships visit, the terminal might be called a ferry terminal, cruise terminal, marine terminal, or maritime passenger terminal.

These terminals are important because they make travel by water easy and safe. Besides passengers, some terminals also have space for automobiles and other vehicles. This way, people and their cars can be picked up or dropped off when ships arrive or leave.

Facilities

Passenger terminals come in different sizes depending on what kind of ships they serve. A small ferry terminal might only have a place for the ship to dock and a waiting area for people. Even bigger ferry terminals on small islands may be simple, with just a short ramp for cars to drive onto the ferry.

Passengers can get on ships using a wharf, a gangway, or a linkspan. Sometimes, goods in containers are driven onto the ship by a vehicle that then leaves the container behind and goes back to shore.

If a passenger terminal handles cars, it usually has markings on the ground to help cars line up neatly. Cars can drive right off the ship if it is a Roll-on/roll-off ship.

Big passenger terminals in large ports have many of the same things as medium-sized airports, like waiting areas, ticket counters, places to leave luggage, and shops for food and drinks. International ferry terminals, such as those between the United Kingdom and Europe, also have customs and security checks just like airports.

In the past, the biggest passenger terminals were in major coastal cities and served large ocean liners. Today, the largest terminals are in places that are popular for cruise ship travel, known as "cruise home ports". These terminals need to serve passengers and also provide lots of supplies for big cruise ships.

Big passenger ports, like the Port of Southampton, often have many docks and wharves so they can welcome more than one ship at the same time. Some ports have one big terminal for all their docks, while others have several smaller terminals, each close to a dock or wharf, so passengers can walk right from the terminal to their ship.

Major passenger terminals

Some big places where people get on and off ships are in different parts of the world.

In Australia, there is the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney, Station Pier in Melbourne, and the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal in Brisbane.

In Canada, you can find Canada Place in Vancouver.

In China, there is an International Cruise Terminal in Shanghai.

Hong Kong has the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Kai Tak and Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Singapore has the Marina Bay Cruise Centre.

In Taiwan, there is the Kaohsiung Port Cruise Terminal in Kaohsiung.

The United Kingdom has several terminals in Southampton, including the Queen Elizabeth II Terminal, Mayflower Terminal, City Terminal, Horizon Terminal and Ocean Terminal.

In the United States, there are terminals such as the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal and Manhattan Cruise Terminal in New York, and the Port Everglades cruise terminal in Fort Lauderdale.