Sailing from

San FranciscoCruise Port

Cruising out of San Francisco? Find your pier, sort out parking or a hotel the night before, and plan the ride in from SFO.

A cruise ship sailing out under the Golden Gate Bridge, seen from the green Marin Headlands on a clear day

Bon voyage from San Francisco

Terminals
2
Nos. 27 and 35
Cruise lines
2
Carnival and Princess
Nearest airport
SFO
San Francisco International Airport, about 15.5 mi, about 25 minutes without traffic
Port parking
From $359.76
Quoted for a 5-night sailing; 2 official lots, prices vary by date

Last checked

Terminals by cruise line

San Francisco has one main cruise terminal: Pier 27, the James R. Herman Cruise Terminal on The Embarcadero. Princess and Carnival start almost every cruise there. When it's busy, the port uses Pier 35, a 6–8 minute walk north. Check the pier on your cruise documents.

  • James R. Herman Cruise Terminal (Pier 27)

    Cruise lines

    Princess, Carnival

    Princess and Carnival, almost every sailing. Drop off at the terminal hall entrance on The Embarcadero.

    Pier 27, The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA

    Map of James R. Herman Cruise Terminal (Pier 27)

  • Pier 35

    Cruise lines

    Carnival, Princess

    Overflow pier for Carnival and Princess when Pier 27 is busy, a 6–8 minute walk north.

    Pier 35, The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA

    Map of Pier 35

Hotels the night before

Fly in the day before so a late flight can't cost you the ship. No San Francisco hotel runs its own cruise shuttle. The Fisherman's Wharf hotels below are a walk from Pier 35 and a short ride to Pier 27. Princess's hotel packages add the transfer. "Check rates" opens the hotel on Booking.com; the other link opens its own page.

Compare all hotels near the San Francisco cruise terminals →
Hotel Zephyr's entrance at dusk, with its blue-lit sign over the glass doors and porthole windows above

Hotel

Hotel Zephyr San Francisco

On Beach Street at the Wharf, a walk to Pier 35 and about 17 minutes on foot to Pier 27. No cruise shuttle.

  • 0.41 mi walk to Pier 35, about 8 min
Check rates →Hotel website
The Riu Plaza Fisherman's Wharf courtyard pool with loungers and umbrellas, framed by the hotel's cream-coloured wings

Hotel

Riu Plaza Fisherman's Wharf

Big Wharf hotel with a courtyard pool, a walk to Pier 35. No cruise shuttle; take a taxi or walk to Pier 27.

  • 0.45 mi walk to Pier 35, about 9 min
Check rates →Hotel website
Hotel Zoe's grey bay-windowed facade on the corner of North Point Street under a blue sky

Hotel

Hotel Zoe Fisherman's Wharf

Boutique hotel on North Point Street, a walk to Pier 35. Its free valet offer covers hotel nights, not the cruise.

  • 0.45 mi walk to Pier 35, about 10 min
Check rates →Hotel website
A blue guest-room door numbered 112 beside The Wharf Inn's cable-car logo sign

Hotel

The Wharf Inn

Simple Wharf motor inn with its own guest lot, a walk to Pier 35. It says nothing about parking while you cruise.

  • 0.53 mi walk to Pier 35, about 11 min
Check rates →Hotel website
A San Remo Hotel room with a white double bed against navy panelled walls and a tall window

Hotel

San Remo Hotel

Small historic hotel between North Beach and the Wharf, a walk to Pier 35. Some rooms share a bathroom.

  • 0.57 mi walk to Pier 35, about 12 min
Check rates →Hotel website
The Mark Hopkins lobby, with a crystal chandelier over a table of fresh flowers between arched windows

Hotel

InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco

Nob Hill landmark in Princess's Cruise Plus package, which adds airport and pier transfers and luggage handling.

  • Port ride included in the cruise package
  • About 1.5 mi by road to Pier 27
Check rates →Cruise stay details
The Parc 55 tower lit up at dusk above a street corner near Union Square

Hotel

Hilton Parc 55 San Francisco Union Square

Union Square tower by Powell Street BART, the other Princess package hotel with transfers included.

  • Port ride included in the cruise package
  • About 2 mi by road to Pier 27
Check rates →Cruise stay details

San Francisco cruise parking

There's no parking at the cruise piers themselves. The port sends you to two Metropolis garages on Francisco Street, a short walk from Pier 27. You book on Metropolis's page by picking your sailing, and the price is for the whole cruise.

Prices are the total for one 5-night sailing in November 2026, taxes and fees included.

Port of San Francisco lots

Port of San Francisco lots: how you reach the terminal, whether it's covered, the price and a link to book
80 Francisco Street garage (Metropolis)Port-named cruise garage on the north side of Francisco Street.
+ More

A prepaid booking needs no Metropolis account: the garage reads your plate. Staying past your booking is charged at drive-up rates.

Total for one sample sailing: Ruby Princess, Nov 24–29, 2026 (5 nights), entering 7:00 a.m. on sailing day and leaving 2:00 p.m. on return day, with a $19.56 service fee and $71.95 of taxes included. The booking page sets the price per sailing.

WalkCoveredAbout 0.35 mi (8-minute walk) to Pier 27; 0.2 mi to Pier 35

$359.765 nights

Reserve at the port → for 80 Francisco Street garage (Metropolis)
55 Francisco Street garage (Metropolis)Port-named cruise garage across the street from No. 80.
+ More

Booked on the same Metropolis page as No. 80, and the quote was the same for both.

Total for one sample sailing: Ruby Princess, Nov 24–29, 2026 (5 nights), entering 7:00 a.m. on sailing day and leaving 2:00 p.m. on return day, with a $19.56 service fee and $71.95 of taxes included. The booking page sets the price per sailing.

WalkCoveredAbout 0.35 mi (8-minute walk) to Pier 27; 0.2 mi to Pier 35

$359.765 nights

Reserve at the port → for 55 Francisco Street garage (Metropolis)

Getting there

San Francisco International (SFO) is the closest airport, about 15.5 miles south. Oakland (OAK) is across the Bay Bridge. BART runs from both to Embarcadero station, about a 20-minute walk from Pier 27. Carnival and Princess sell their own transfers from SFO.

San Francisco International Airport SFO

The closest airport, with BART, taxis, rideshare and cruise-line transfers.

Distance
about 15.5 mi
Drive
about 25 minutes without traffic

Ways to the port

Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport OAK

The East Bay airport, linked to downtown San Francisco by BART.

Distance
about 20 mi
Drive
about 35 minutes without traffic

Ways to the port

A white SUV parked on a coastal lookout with the blue sea and scattered clouds behind it

Pre-book a private airport transfer

A driver booked ahead saves the curb scramble with luggage. Check that your airport and date are covered before you rely on it.

Book a driver →

Ports you'll visit from San Francisco

Princess and Carnival both run Alaska cruises from San Francisco, and short Baja trips to Ensenada. Princess also sails to the Mexican Riviera, Hawaii and along the California coast.

Quick answers

How we checked these answers

Every answer is built from facts we checked against the sources below and cross-checked with recent port guides. Where sources disagreed, the answer says so instead of guessing a number.

Terminals & cruise lines

What pier do cruise ships use in San Francisco?

Cruises from San Francisco usually start at Pier 27, the James R. Herman Cruise Terminal on The Embarcadero, where Princess and Carnival turn their ships around almost every time. When Pier 27 is busy, the Port of San Francisco puts a ship at Pier 35, a 6–8 minute walk north: Carnival has a handful of 2027 sailings there, and Ruby Princess used it three times in 2026. Your cruise documents name the pier. See the terminals.

What cruise lines sail from San Francisco?

Princess and Carnival are the two lines with regular cruises from San Francisco. Princess names Ruby Princess, Coral Princess and Island Princess for its San Francisco sailings, and Carnival sails Carnival Luminosa and Carnival Legend. The port's 2027 schedule also has a few one-off departures by Azamara, Costa, P&O, AIDA and Explora, while Celebrity, Holland America and Royal Caribbean ships visit mid-cruise. See where they go.

What cruises go out of San Francisco?

Cruises from San Francisco go to Alaska, Mexico, Hawaii and down the California coast. Princess runs 4- to 7-night California Coast trips (Los Angeles, San Diego, Catalina Island, Ensenada), 10- to 11-night Mexican Riviera cruises, 15-night Hawaii voyages and 10-day roundtrip Alaska cruises. Carnival runs 4- and 5-day Baja trips to Ensenada and 10- and 11-day Alaska cruises to Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Prince Rupert. See the ports.

Hotels

Do any hotels near the San Francisco cruise port have a shuttle?

No San Francisco hotel we checked runs its own cruise shuttle; the ride to the pier comes with Princess's Cruise Plus Hotel Packages instead. Those use the InterContinental Mark Hopkins on Nob Hill and Parc 55 near Union Square, and cover transfers between airport, hotel and pier plus luggage handling. Otherwise, stay at Fisherman's Wharf and walk, or take a taxi or rideshare, which Princess says are available pierside. See the hotels.

How far is the San Francisco cruise port from Fisherman's Wharf?

Fisherman's Wharf is a short walk from San Francisco's cruise piers: hotels on Beach Street, North Point Street and Mason Street are an 8–12 minute walk (0.4–0.6 miles) from Pier 35 and about a 17-minute walk (roughly 0.8 miles) from Pier 27, the main terminal, along the Embarcadero. With bags, a taxi or rideshare is a short ride, and Princess says both are available pierside. See the hotels.

Parking

How much is parking at the San Francisco cruise port?

Cruise parking in San Francisco is priced per sailing rather than by the day: Metropolis, which runs the two garages the Port of San Francisco names for cruise parking, quoted $359.76 for a 5-night Ruby Princess sailing in November 2026, including a $19.56 service fee and taxes. The price was the same at 55 and 80 Francisco Street. There's no parking at the terminals themselves. See parking.

Where do you park for a cruise from San Francisco?

Park in one of the two covered Metropolis garages at 55 and 80 Francisco Street, which the Port of San Francisco names for cruise parking; there's no parking at Pier 27 or Pier 35. Both garages are about an 8-minute walk (0.35 miles) from Pier 27 and 0.2 miles from Pier 35. Drop passengers and bags at the terminal hall entrance first, and reserve directly with Metropolis, as the port advises. See parking.

Getting there

How far is the cruise port from San Francisco airport?

San Francisco International (SFO) is the closest airport to the cruise port: Pier 27 is about 15.5 miles away by road, roughly 25 minutes with no traffic. Oakland's airport (OAK) is about 20 miles away, around 35 minutes without traffic over the Bay Bridge. Both airports have BART trains into downtown San Francisco. See getting there.

How do you get from SFO to your cruise ship?

From SFO you can book your cruise line's transfer, take a taxi or rideshare, or ride BART. Carnival's coaches run on sailing day only, hourly from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., for flights that land by noon; Carnival lists no price on its transfer page. Princess sells airport-to-ship transfers even if you booked your own flights. Taxis wait outside Arrivals, and Uber and Lyft pick up on Level 5 of the Domestic Garage. See getting there.

Can I take BART to the San Francisco cruise terminal?

Yes, BART gets you close to San Francisco's cruise terminal but not to the door: trains run direct from SFO to Embarcadero station, and the Port of San Francisco says Pier 27 is about a 20-minute walk from there. The nearest streetcar stop is The Embarcadero/Sansome Street. At SFO, the free AirTrain takes you to the BART station in the International Terminal, and you can pay by tapping a contactless card. See getting there.

Embarkation day

What time should I arrive at the San Francisco cruise terminal?

Arrive at the San Francisco cruise terminal at the time your cruise line gives you. Princess uses Arrival Groups here: you pick a window in the Princess app from 30 days out, or one is assigned 24 hours before, and if you come early you can drop bags but enter at your window. Carnival has you choose an Arrival Appointment at online check-in, and porters take bags until 2 hours before departure. See parking.

Can I store luggage near the San Francisco cruise terminal?

Not at the terminal: the Port of San Francisco says luggage storage isn't offered at its cruise berths. The option it points to is the self-service lockers at the California Welcome Center on Level 2 of Pier 39, charged by the day with in-and-out access all day; the port doesn't list the price.