Guide To San Francisco Cruise Port

Introduction

San Francisco, considered by many as the US’s finest city, is surrounded on three sides by ocean and bay. In spite of the hilly nature of the land on which the city is built, the original city developers kept faith with a grid system. This has resulted in some steep roads, fatiguing for the pedestrian and testing for those behind the wheel of a car.

In 1769 Spanish settlers arriving from Mexico established the Presidio of San Francisco as an armed fort and the Mission San Francisco de Asís as a missionary base with the aim of converting the indigenous Ohlone population. Mexican ownership of the region was given to the Americans in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. In the very same year that SF became part of the US, gold was discovered close to the city, attracting the attention of thousands of would be prospective gold miners. The makeshift outpost rapidly grew into the US’s biggest city west of the Mississippi. From the 1860s through the 1890s San Francisco grew rapidly with the building of complete new neighborhoods. Over half of the population were foreign born, coming from places such as Britain, Germany and China.

On April 18, 1906, San Francisco's rapid expansion came to a halt when a strong earthquake devastated the city. Raging fires spread out of control burning to the ground almost three quarters of the city’s buildings. Restoring the city’s buildings began almost immediately, but building standards were not improved, as many argued that this would hamper rejuvenation.

After two decades of consolidation, the city emerged in the 1930s to benefit from another economic boom time. The Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge were built in a flury of construction, and in 1940 the Golden Gate World Fair received worldwide recognition.

Today the city is an international center for manufacturing, commerce and banking, and is also the home of a major deep water port.

You Choose The Cruise

A wide variety of cruise vacations are on offer with lengths of 7,10,15 days or even longer. Two popular voyages are first the cruise to the magnificent Hawaiian islands, standing alone in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, and secondly the cruise to the wonderfully scenic coast of Alaska.

Cruises from San Francisco details all the cruise ship departures out of San Francisco.

Cruise Terminals

San Francisco has 2 cruise terminals sited on the Embarcadero Waterfront, the main terminal at Pier 35 and a secondary terminal at Pier 27. The roles of the two terminals are due to swap in late 2014, with Pier 27 becoming the foremost terminal, with Pier 35 serving as a secondary berth for smaller ships.

Pier 35 Terminal
Pier 35’s attractiveness benefited greatly from the resurgence of the city’s docks in the years after the pulling down due to the 1989 quake of the Embarcadero Freeway that divided the piers and the city. The pier offers two cruise ship moorings pier 35 north and pier 35 south. The terminal is missing all but the necessary services, but there is one plus point. After you have embarked aboard your ship, go to the top deck, to appreciate the spectacular views of Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge, San Francisco bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Pier 27 Terminal
The brand new cruise terminal at Pier 27 scheduled to open in late 2014 as SF’s primary cruise terminal is named in honor of James R Herman, former president of the Longshoreman Union. The terminal has just one cruise ship mooring, but this is 1200ft long, a considerable increase over the quays at Pier 35. The modern terminal boasts extensive embark/debark halls with retail shops, tourism services, meeting rooms and ticketing counters.

Parking
Parking is not provided by the cruise port; however car parking lots nearby offer competitive rates for cruisers.

See San Francisco Port for the port website.

Sightseeing In San Francisco

Fisherman’s Wharf
Every year Fisherman’s Wharf draws hundreds of thousands of tourists to its many different attractions. Your visit to Fisherman’s Wharf can take in Pier 39, popular with children thanks to its sea lion colony and carousel, the cable car turnaround at Beach and Hyde, a wonderful part of San Francisco’s iconic cable car system, Ghirardelli Square, originally a chocolate enterprise started by Domenico 'Domingo' Ghirardelli, SS. Jeremiah O'Brien, a fully functional Liberty Ship and Hyde Street Pier, home of a number of historic ships. Also be sure to fit it a trip on San Francisco's unique cable car system.

Chinatown
Chinatown is located in the heart of the city bounded by Kearny Street to the east, Bush Street to the south, Powell Street to the west, and Columbus Avenue to the north. Characterful globe lanterns and brightly colored banners cross the avenues, which are lit at night by elaborate streetlights in the form of a Chinese temple on two dragons.

Golden Gate Bridge
The iconic Golden Gate Bridge bridge is accessible to both bicyclists and pedestrians, and was constructed with sidewalks on both sides of the six vehicle lanes. A trip to the Brige's visitor center offers a multi-media presentation on the history of the bridge.

Traveling To San Francisco Cruise Port

Whether arriving by car or taxi, the cruise port's downtown location necessitates a trip across the city, so be sure to allow plenty of time for your journey.