Found a partial solution. First I put the ferry terminal down near the corner of the map, on the left of the shore looking inland. I made roads along the long side of the terminal (going towards the water) right up against the terminal. Then I demolished the terminal. When I went to replace the terminal, the road next to it turned green.
The road doesn't connect so sims won't drive to it and garbage and recycling builds up. However, I put a bus stop and a street car station next to the terminal and it's working ok. Once the cruise ship terminal was added I started getting tourists.