Equipped to manage security protocols similar to an airport, the ultimate function of the building is to welcome and service huge, three-thousand-plus passenger cruise ships. After disembarking the ship, travelers enter a spacious waiting room on the second floor from a one-of-a-kind, fully-accessible gangway designed in Sweden that can rise or fall 10 feet depending on tides. Once down the elevators, they are greeted by an open expanse of the terminal's front entry, marked with an art installation commemorating James R.

Herman's legacy as former president of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union. The main waiting and customs areas are void of fixed furniture, so that the terminal can also serve as a special event facility on non-cruise days. The terminal is a hub of cruise activity, with a two-acre landscaped plaza for the public to enjoy providing pedestrian access to the water's edge as required by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission's Special Area Plan for the San Francisco Waterfront.

With multiple stakeholders, overlapping jurisdictional bodies, and active community groups, the project required a sophisticated approach to include many viewpoints to deliver a successful project.