Dockside is a working tool for cruise terminal porters. This policy explains what
we collect, what we do not, and how long anything is kept. It covers the Dockside web
app, the Connect messaging feature, and the SMS alerts we send to porters.
We do not sell, rent, or share mobile phone numbers.
No mobile information is shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or
promotional purposes. Phone numbers are used only to send you alerts about your own
account, and are never shown to guests or to other porters.
Who we are
Dockside is an independent product. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or
operated by any cruise line, terminal operator, port authority, or labour union.
What we collect from porters
Email address — to sign you in. We use a sign-in link, so we never store a password.
Mobile phone number — only if you choose to enter one, and only to text you
that a guest has messaged you.
Display name, port, and porter code — shown to guests who use your code.
Guestbook entries — notes you write yourself. These stay in your own browser
unless you export them.
What we collect from guests
As little as we can, by design. When a guest first uses a feature that needs to remember
something, they are issued an anonymous identifier — a random ID with no name, email,
phone number, or password attached. That is the whole of a free guest membership. Here is
what each guest feature keeps, and where:
Stays on your phone only, never sent to us: the terminal you chose, your
"Before you sail" checks, the photos you take of your own bags, and your saved parking
spot. If you clear your browser data, they are gone; we never had them.
Check in ahead of time: a first name and initial, your ship, your sailing date,
which terminal, and a yes/no that your documents are ready. That is all. We do not
ask for, and will not accept, your reservation number, cabin number, phone number, or
email. Your cruise line already has those and we have no business holding them. The
record exists so a porter can confirm you finished your Set Sail Guide; it is not an identity check and
it is not matched against any passenger list.
Reviews: the words you write, the name you give, your ship and month, and the
one photo you choose to add. These are shown publicly once a person has read them and
approved them. Photos have their location data stripped and are checked automatically
before anyone sees them. Only share a photo that is yours and that anyone recognisable
in it is happy to have shown.
Bag receipts: when a porter takes your bags they can issue a receipt — a photo of
the bags, the porter's name and code, the time, the ship and the bag count. Nothing about you
is on it. It is reachable only by its own link (the QR the porter shows you), the photo has
its location data stripped, and the receipt and photo delete themselves 14 days after the
bags are handed over. If you tap "Keep this receipt," a reference is saved to your free
guest account so it is there on a new phone; the porter's public page lists their receipts
(photo, time, ship, count) as their record of work for the same 14 days.
Bag-stand signs: scanning a sign tells us which stand you are at so a porter can
find you. It does not identify you.
Porter messages: delivered through the anonymous identifier, as described below.
A guest may type a first name if they want to; that is optional.
Messages, and how long they last
Conversations delete themselves 24 hours after the last message.
Every message resets that clock. A message you choose to save is kept on your own account for twelve months, then deleted. When it expires, the messages and any photos are permanently deleted.
The single exception is a conversation that either person reports. A reported
conversation is preserved so that we can review what happened and act on it. Nothing else
survives expiry.
Photos
If photos are sent in a conversation, they are processed before the other person can
see them. Location data and other metadata (EXIF) is stripped from every image, and images
are automatically checked for explicit content. Photos are deleted on the same 8-hour clock
as the conversation they belong to.
SMS alerts to porters
Opt-in. You opt in by entering your own mobile number in your Dockside
account settings. Nobody else can add your number.
Message frequency. Messages are sent only when a guest sends you a message
in the app. There is no schedule and no marketing. Frequency varies with how many
guests contact you — typically a few messages per working day, and none on days you
are not contacted.
Message and data rates may apply.
What is in them. An alert never contains the guest's message. It says only
that a message is waiting.
Opt out. Reply STOP to any message, or remove your number from your
account settings. Reply HELP for help.
Carriers. Mobile carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
Who processes data for us
Google Firebase — sign-in, database, and file storage.
Google Cloud Vision — automatic explicit-content checks on photos.
Twilio — delivery of SMS alerts to porters.
These are service providers acting on our instructions. Numbers are shared with Twilio
only to the extent needed to deliver your alert, and are not shared with anyone for
marketing.
What we do not do
We do not sell or rent personal information.
We do not share mobile numbers with third parties or affiliates for marketing.
We do not show a porter's phone number or email to any guest.
We do not show a guest's details to a porter, because we do not have them.
We do not collect reservation numbers, cabin numbers, or passenger lists from guests,
and we do not match guests against any cruise line's manifest.
We do not run third-party analytics or third-party ad networks, and no advertiser ever
receives anything about you.
Sponsored cards
Dockside is free for everyone who uses it. Local businesses pay to show a sponsored card,
marked “Sponsored”, on Dockside pages. To pick a card that fits, Dockside looks at
the page you are on and keeps a simple count of the topics you have viewed (for example
parking or food) in your browser on your own device. That count is never sent to Dockside
or to anyone else, is not linked to your account, and is erased when you clear this
site’s data. Dockside counts how many times each card is shown and tapped, as totals
only, so an advertiser can see how their card did.
Children
Dockside is for adults. It is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect
information from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has used Connect, report the
conversation or contact us and we will delete it.
Your choices
Remove your phone number at any time in your account settings.
Ask us to delete your account and everything attached to it.
Block or report any conversation, from either side, at any time.
Changes
If this policy changes in a way that matters, we will change the date at the top and
say so in the app.