West Coast Cruises From San Francisco
San Francisco, thanks to its great location, is also a great place for shorter mini-cruises on the U.S. West Coast. Between 3 and 7 days long, these San Francisco cruises sail to either the north or the south. Both one-way and round-trip options are available, although the latter are more plentiful.
Whichever part of the West Coast you choose to explore, a cruise is probably the easiest way to travel between places of interest. Going south, youll visit amazing cities like Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Diego and, possibly, Ensenada . This option offers you sun, sea, sand and California vibes.
On the other hand, when you sail north, you get to explore the verdant Pacific Northwest. From San Francisco, itineraries include such wonderful destinations as Astoria , Seattle and/or Vancouver and Victoria .
Cheap Cruises From San Francisco California
Cheap cruises from San Francisco are available to whisk you off to a variety of wonderful locations. Whether youre looking for a tropical trip to Mexico or the Panama Canal, or have always wanted to see the ice caps of Alaska, we have pricing on cheap cruises from San Francisco for practically every type of adventure.
Spend 10 to 14 nights cruising to Alaska, viewing whales and glaciers, 10+ nights cruising to Hawaii, viewing volcanoes and beaches, even 30+ nights headed to Japan, viewing skyscrapers and pink cherry blossoms. Cheap cruises from San Francisco can give you the adventure youre looking for, so worry less about the price and more about which of these many locations youd like to visit.
Holland America Line: 16
Another one of the popular Panama Canal cruises from San Francisco is the 16-night trip with Holland America. It offers four stops before you cruise through the Panama Canal and two on the eastern side. You will arrive in Fort Lauderdale on the morning of your final day.
Your stops include three in Mexico, one in Costa Rica, one in Colombia, and a final stop in the Bahamas.
Your journey is aboard the MS Nieuw Amsterdam. This ship offers 11 passenger decks and has the capacity to hold up to 2,100 guests.
Onboard, you will find restaurants that range from a casual meal by the pool to fine Italian dining. If you decide to stay in for the day or night, they also offer a 24-hour in room dining service.
You can also enjoy the full-service spa and salon, a state-of-the-art fitness center, and the lively casino. Onboard the ms Nieuw Amsterdam, you will also find luxury boutiques, outdoor pools, and an internet cafe to check your emails.
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Why Cruise From San Francisco
San Francisco is an iconic city filled with beautiful destinations and historic landmarks.
Start your cruise from San Francisco in 2021, 2022, or 2023 and take advantage of your time in this beautiful city â explore the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, Fishermanâs Wharf, and other one-of-a-kind locations before you set sail for any number of destinations. San Francisco is a popular departure port because of its proximity to all sorts of amazing cruise destinations this port offers a fantastic array of opportunities to sail.
Head down the coast of California on a Princess Cruise Lines from San Francisco or journey from San Francisco to New York with Oceania Cruise Lines! These cruise lines and others â including Carnival Cruises â are either sailing now or have plans to cruise from San Francisco in 2022 or 2023. Contact Cruise Marketplace and let us find you the best discounts, deals, and opportunities to see the magic of this city for yourself.
Why do it yourself? Call our personal agents for help. You wont be disappointed.
Mexico Cruises Travel Tips
- Don’t worry so much about drug cartels and missing individuals. These things do happen, but usually not in the tourist areas you will be visiting.
- Check out cenotes, which are natural swimming holes nestled in little caves.
- Bring pesos with you, not dollars because this will make buying things easier overall.
- The weather can change considerably from region to region, so keep this in mind when planning when to go to Mexico.
- Always try the unique Mexican food, because this is the one time you have the chance! Street is by far one of the best.
- Mexican bathrooms have an M on the door for women, not for men. There may also be baskets next to the toilets in some of the areas. This is for your toilet paper, so it does not cause clogs in the system.
- Learn basic Spanish and connect with the locals to learn something new.
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Cruise Giant Carnival Launches Its First
Add San Francisco to the list of home ports at Carnival Cruise Line.
The world’s second largest cruise brand on Thursday launched its first sailing from the California city since it founding in 1972 a four-night trip to Baja, Mexico.
The round-trip voyage, which includes just a single call in Ensenada, Mexico, is taking place on the 2,124-passenger Carnival Miracle, which will be based in San Francisco through late summer.
The vessel will spend the coming months operating a series of 10-day Alaska cruises out of the city with a few four- to five-day Baja trips added into the mix. It’ll finish the season in San Francisco with a 15-day cruise out of the city to Hawaii in September.
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The new itineraries out of San Francisco were announced in 2018 and initially scheduled to start in 2020 but later delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“After years of anticipation, Carnival Cruise Line is thrilled to be sailing out of the Port of San Francisco for the first time,” Carnival President Christine Duffy said Thursday in a statement.
The new itineraries are beginning as Carnival prepares to operate with its entire fleet for the first time in more than two years. Like all major cruise lines around the world, Carnival shut down operations in March 2020 as the pandemic began and didn’t begin returning ships to service for many months.
All 23 of the line’s ships will be back in operation as of Monday.
Cruise Lines That Visit San Francisco
As one of the main cities on the West Coast, San Francisco is a popular tourist destination. This fact has not escaped the attention of the major cruise lines, most of which embark and disembark here. Currently, these are the main cruise lines whose ships visit the Port of San Francisco. Youll notice that they include many of the worlds leading lines.
- Celebrity Cruises
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San Francisco Cruise Port
San Francisco is a turnaround port for major cruise lines, like Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival, Princess, NCL-Norwegian. The port is often visited as part of repositioning itineraries between Florida and Alaska. In recent years, also offered are roundtrips from San Francisco to Alaska and Hawaii.
The ports largest cruise liner so far is NCLs Alaskan ship Norwegian Bliss . The maiden call was scheduled for October 3, 2018. San Francisco was the only call port on the 4-day Alaska repositioning cruise from Vancouver BC to Los Angeles CA. NCL Bliss arrived at 9 am and left port at 7 pm.
In 2017, the port handled a total of 286,352 cruise passengers. For 2018 were scheduled a total of 82 ship calls and estimated ~300,000 passengers.
Port San Francisco provides shore-to-ship power capabilities. The technology enables docked vessels to receive electricity from the citys power grid. From the berth, vessels can plugin directly to the grid which allows full onboard operations without using the diesel engines . The Japanese company has installed such shore-power systems in ports Los Angeles CA, , Goteborg, Travemunde, Livorno, Genoa.
Transportation In San Francisco
Beyond the classic cable cars running widely through San Francisco, several modes of public transportation are popular in the city. For example, the BART can help you get from the airport into the city. The Muni is one public transit option, which includes bus, metro, and some cable car options, mostly above ground. Youll also find taxis, Lyfts, and Ubers aplenty in San Francisco.
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Mexico Cruises From San Francisco
Enjoy some Mexican flair, fiesta and food on a cruise from San Francisco to the Mexican Riviera . There are several itinerary options available, from short 4-day sailings to more extended and in-depth 10-day journeys. However much time you have, a Mexico cruise from San Francisco is always a fun experience.
The shorter itineraries usually dont go further than Ensenada, on the way possibly stopping in San Diego, while the longer sailings take in sun-soaked spots like Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. Again, ports of call differ between cruise lines and itineraries. However, each Baja California cruise from San Francisco offers you that fun, stress-free and everything-is-possible feel that only a Mexican holiday can provide.
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Other Fun Things To Do In Sf
Here are a few activities I think you will enjoy during your stay in San Francisco.
Alcatraz Prison Tours: Head over to Alcatraz Island for a self-guided audio tour of this famous prison. It was home to inmates such as Al Capone, Robert Stroud , and Machine Gun Kelly. The worst of the worst were transferred here and on the tour you will learn all about what happened when this place served as a maximum security prison.
Visit the Golden Gate Bridge: Walk along the Golden Gate Bridge for a close-up look at this amazing structure. This important bridge connected Marin County with San Francisco for the first time. Today, you can visit its outdoor museum, take a guided walking tour, or stroll along its pathways on your own.
Enjoy a Guided Walking Tour: The best way to explore a city such as SF is on foot. Learn from the experts on one of these guided walking tours. Sample food, learn about the history of Fisherman’s Wharf, or uncover the hidden stories of Chinatown. Most tours are two to three hours.
See the Sights on a Bus Tour of SF: Ride around the city and learn more about its history on one of these bus tours. Some offer you the chance to explore on your own and others include several hours of guided fun. You will see places such as Golden Gate Park, learn more about how the Haight Ashbury District became famous, and discover more about the days of the Gold Rush.
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Panama Canal Cruises From San Francisco
Unlike other cruise destinations from San Francisco, which can be visited on a roundtrip cruise, a Panama Canal cruise is always a one-way journey. These sailings typically are 15 days or more. Leaving San Francisco behind, youll sail south to Baja California, soaking up some Mexican sunshine and visiting famous tourist destinations like Cabo San Lucas.
Continuing south still, the ship will take you along almost the entire west coast of Central America, on the way stopping at beautiful cities, which may include San Juan del Sur, Puerto Quetzal, Puntarenas and Panama City. Each cruise line has its own ports, though, so make sure to check and compare individual itineraries if there are some destinations you really want to visit.
The top experience on a Panama Canal cruise from San Francisco is, of course, the Panama Canal itself. The day trip across the canal will be something youll never forget. Once in the Caribbean Sea, the ship sails through the tropical Caribbean islands and, most likely, stops at port on the U.S. East Coast, which could be Fort Lauderdale or even New York City.
After Pandemic Hiatus Cruises Are Back In San Francisco
Passengers line up to board the Carnival Miracle cruise ship on its way to Mexico at Pier 27 on Thursday.
Bay Area residents may recall the unnerving day in early March 2020 when a cruise ship hauling passengers infected with COVID-19 slowly glided through the San Francisco Bay.
Shortly after San Francisco imposed strict shelter-in-place measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, cruise traffic to the Port of San Francisco halted. But 2022 already is turning out to be a major comeback year for travelers who live for sea voyages and the businesses who rely on their patronage even as the Bay Area faces yet another surge of COVID-19 cases.
With vaccinations widely available and travel restrictions eased, the port is bustling again. Since cruise operations resumed in October, 61 vessels have stopped in San Francisco, with 19 in 2021 and 42 to date in 2022. At least 72 calls are projected for the remainder of the year.
That would put 2022 ahead of the number of cruise calls that the port welcomed even before the pandemic in 2019, when 85 cruises with about 280,000 passengers stopped in San Francisco, according to data provided by the Port of San Francisco. Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska are just a few of the common destinations for cruises leaving San Francisco.
These agreements are in place to protect local public resources during the ongoing COVID-19 response, said Noel Sanchez, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Health.
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Culture & History Of The San Francisco Cruise Port
The city of San Francisco was originally a Spanish mission, since the bays positioning made it a desirable location for trade and commerce. During the Gold Rush of the mid-1800s, the United States claimed the city and it saw considerable growth as a metropolitan area. The 1906 earthquakes and fire left the majority of San Francisco in ruins but, miraculously, the city bounced back. The 1930s saw the creation of the Golden Gate Bridge, increasing accessibility to the Bay Area unlike ever before.
Then, San Francisco became known as the birthplace of the counterculture movement during the Summer of Love in 1967, and became a safe haven for the LGBTQ community in the years following. Let San Francisco cruises be your introduction to Silicon Valley, where tech startups and innovators increasingly flock year after year to make it big.
San Francisco Port Facilities & Location
Cruises to San Francisco have the unique benefit of a well-kept cruise port. You can reach the James R. Herman cruise terminal via public transportation or simply walking from Pier 27. San Francisco cruises are incredibly popular, with over 300,000 passengers passing through this port of call every year. You can find luggage storage at Pier 39 within the California Welcome Center, just 0.4 miles away from Cruise Pier 27.
Day 5icy Strait Alaska
Icy Strait Point is a privately owned tourist destination just outside the small village of Hoonah, the largest native Tlingit Indian settlement in Alaska. As one of the best places in the world to see whales, and a darn good spot to view bears, Icy Strait/Hoonah is among Alaskas most beloved destinations for wildlife enthusiasts.
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San Francisco Cruises Travel Tips
- Make sure you pack and wear layers. The weather here can get quite chilly at the flip of a dime, so its best to be prepared for all possibilities.
- Dont worry about having a car! San Francisco is very environmentally-friendly, and its effortless just to use public transportation to get anywhere youd like.
- Pay attention to the citywide calendar because San Francisco often hosts free events for everyone in the area! There are also free museum days generally at least once a month.
- Try to book a hotel near Union Square or Fishermans Wharf. Dont make the mistake of being near Van Ness Street, which is known for being loud. By staying downtown, you cut down on your transportation costs!
- Make sure you book your tickets well in advance if you plan on seeing attractions such as Alcatraz Island. Some of the landmarks here are known for being notoriously reserved, no matter the time of year.
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How To Get Here
The best way to get to Pier 27 is by public transit. As you can see from the picture above, you will find a streetcar stop right across the street from the pier.
You can take this streetcar south from Fishermans Wharf or north from Market Street. Your stop is Greenwich. You can also ask the driver to alert you when you arrive at this stop.
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Best Cruises From San Francisco Ca
- Central America
Many of the worlds top cruise lines offer cruises from San Francisco. A world-class destination on its ownhome to the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and Fishermans WharfSan Francisco is also a main departing point for cruises along the U.S. West Coast, as well as in the Pacific Ocean with all its tropical beauty and cultural diversity.
Also, how amazing is it that you can start, or finish, your dream cruise by exploring one of Americas1 greatest cities? The cruise destinations from San Francisco, too, are nothing short of superb, as you will see below.
Day 6tracy Arm Alaska
Tracy Arm Fjord is an approximate 30 mile long fjord, a narrow inlet created by glacial activity, with nearly a quarter of its area covered in ice. In fact, it encompasses some of Alaskas largest glaciers, including the twin Sawyer glaciers, which often expel enormous chunks of ice into the waters below in a magnificent process known as calving.
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