New San Francisco Cruise Terminal Photos

Here's photos of the new cruise Terminal under construction in San Francisco scheduled to open September of this year. I had to take some photos through a wire fence.

More photos to follow.

Tom:)

Here's some more photos. This new terminal Pier 27, only holds one ship. The old terminal Pier 35 will be used as a back up terminal.

Notice the street sign "Welcome to the America's Cup Parking" which the old terminal was used for.

Looking out onto Embarcadero Street with runs in front of the new and old terminal.

Here's the stop for the MUNI "F" line.

The view from the MUNI station with the terminal in the distance.

Tom:)

Thanks for sharing these photos.

Keith

Thanks for the photos Tom :D

Looking forward to checking it out in person next April ;):D

Thanks very much for going and taking the photos. We will be there, one of the first ships, in September and it's nice to see that it's progressing. Could you tell me how far a walk it is away from Fisherman's Wharf?

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

Thanks for the photos.

Thanks very much for going and taking the photos. We will be there, one of the first ships, in September and it's nice to see that it's progressing. Could you tell me how far a walk it is away from Fisherman's Wharf?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

According to Google maps, it's 1.0 mile to Fisherman's Wharf. Half a mile to Pier 39 if you know where that is. Seems like a big investment for only a one ship capacity, too bad it's not like Canada Place in Vancouver. I guess there is rarely more than one ship at a time in port except for spring and fall repositionings. At least it's a lot closer than Pier 30 down under the Bay Bridge where I have ended up several times on the Pacific coastals when there were already two ships at Pier 35.

I will be sailing out of there in October. Too bad there are no artist renditions of the inside.

It's a bummer that it will only have the capability of berthing a single ship. I've only sailed three times and done one BVE but, out of those four instances, there have been two ships in port twice. We're sailing out of SF again in November and I certainly hope we are the only ship in port at that time. It would be disappointing to find that we were stuck still using pier 35.

(Embarking isn't such a big deal but disembarking at pier 35 is pretty horrible.)

I'd be happy to report on it on September 29...

I guess this gives me a needed/necessary excuse to hop on the train to go into The City to take some photos of the new place! Hopefully when I leave for Alaska next July it will be from the new terminal.

Thanks Tom for the photo update.

From the outside it certainly looks better then the old terminal. Looks more user friendly, thanks for posting the photo's.

Thanks! Great photos. I guess I will get to say goodbye to Pier 35 and the old barn in July. :)

Thanks so much for the photos. And we look forward to any reports from the first cruisers out of this Pier.:):)

Be glad it only handles one ship. The chaos from the crowds and traffic would make it very difficult for everyone. Having the current terminal only one mile away will barely offer relief from traffic if/when two ships are in port.

Thanks for the pics Tom of the new terminal at Pier 27...........will be there on the Crown Princess Oct. 13th ...........please post more pics when completed.

I understand that "Fleet Week" is Oct. 9-13 this year.......and that the Navy ships will be docked along these piers..........do you have any insight on this special event?

According to Google maps, it's 1.0 mile to Fisherman's Wharf. Half a mile to Pier 39 if you know where that is. Seems like a big investment for only a one ship capacity, too bad it's not like Canada Place in Vancouver. I guess there is rarely more than one ship at a time in port except for spring and fall repositionings. At least it's a lot closer than Pier 30 down under the Bay Bridge where I have ended up several times on the Pacific coastals when there were already two ships at Pier 35.

Living near San Francisco, I wonder why there are so few cruises out of here. It's probably because the natives want the tourist business but don't want the infrastructure to support it.

Be glad it only handles one ship. The chaos from the crowds and traffic would make it very difficult for everyone. Having the current terminal only one mile away will barely offer relief from traffic if/when two ships are in port.

With the new pier, the only time there might be a problem is when 2 ships are in port, embarking/disembarking, which rarely occurs. Gone will be the huge line of taxis/cars waiting to drop off or pick up passengers along the Embarcadero. Pickup and drop-off should be next to the terminal, not along the Embarcadero. In 2009, we had used Pier 27 to catch the Star Princess. No lines, my daughter drove us into the pier area where she dropped off our luggage and us and she drove off just like at the airport. This will probably be not much different.

There are large areas for buses to be parked for excursions or transfers to airport.

With the new pier, the only time there might be a problem is when 2 ships are in port, embarking/disembarking, which rarely occurs. Gone will be the huge line of taxis/cars waiting to drop off or pick up passengers along the Embarcadero. Pickup and drop-off should be next to the terminal, not along the Embarcadero. In 2009, we had used Pier 27 to catch the Star Princess. No lines, my daughter drove us into the pier area where she dropped off our luggage and us and she drove off just like at the airport. This will probably be not much different.

There are large areas for buses to be parked for excursions or transfers to airport.

Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the pics Tom of the new terminal at Pier 27...........will be there on the Crown Princess Oct. 13th ...........please post more pics when completed.

 

I understand that "Fleet Week" is Oct. 9-13 this year.......and that the Navy ships will be docked along these piers..........do you have any insight on this special event?

I've looked at the port scheduled and there is nothing listed for the new terminal during that time. Also no cruise ships listed. Perhaps they might have navy ships there. Nothing on the Fleet Week web site either.

FYI....I've emailed the executive director of the port about a possible tour of the new pier and if I get any information I will post it incase other people want to see it before it's officially opens.

Tom:)

With the new pier, the only time there might be a problem is when 2 ships are in port, embarking/disembarking, which rarely occurs. Gone will be the huge line of taxis/cars waiting to drop off or pick up passengers along the Embarcadero. Pickup and drop-off should be next to the terminal, not along the Embarcadero. In 2009, we had used Pier 27 to catch the Star Princess. No lines, my daughter drove us into the pier area where she dropped off our luggage and us and she drove off just like at the airport. This will probably be not much different.

There are large areas for buses to be parked for excursions or transfers to airport.

Looking at the drawings of the current Pier 27, I don't see anywhere that there is an area to pull off the Embarcadero to drop off passengers. Even if there is, there is no way to avoid the Embarcadero.

Don't get me wrong, I am quite happy we will now have two cruise ship terminals but having two ships docking side by side would create absolute havoc to the area. One can walk out of the area faster than driving out of the area. I know, I've done it many times. I've watched our taxi meter run up to $15 before even getting two blocks away. Won't do that again. ;)

Addendum - I just found this on line -

The paved triangular area between Pier 27 and 29, referred to as the valley, is proposed as the Ground Transportation Area (“GTA”) for the cruise terminal. The GTA would be approximately 3 acres providing sufficient space to support access, drop-off and exiting by trucks, taxis, buses and passenger vehicles to meet provisioning and passenger loading needs of the cruise terminal. The GTA circulation and operation plan includes vehicle queuing space and is proposed to meet all transportation needs off-street, in an effort to remedy traffic congestion and transportation conflicts currently generated from Pier 35 cruise terminal operations impacting The Embarcadero.

In recent year, the Port has received cruise ship calls that have fluctuated between 40 and 80 calls a year, which is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. If a new cruise terminal is constructed, the relationship of the cruise facilities at Pier 27 and Pier 35 would be reversed from current conditions; Pier 27 would become the primary cruise terminal and Pier 35 would serve as a secondary facility. While the annual number of ship calls is expected to remain the same in the future, cruise ship size is growing, holding larger numbers of passengers. The level of improvements and equipment proposed in the Pier 27 cruise terminal would be designed to optimally handle vessels carrying 2,600 passengers (base design load) and would provide some additional capacity at key areas to serve vessels carrying up to 4,000 passengers (peak design load). Additionally, the facility would continue to be used for maritime events, such as Fleet Week, foreign naval diplomatic calls, Tall Ships Festivals and visits by oceanic research vessels.

Use this link http://sfport.com/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=7197 to see an artist rendition of the new cruise terminal.

Tom:)

Where are the seats? :eek:

Pier 27 also has ship to shore power available. There was a dedication ceremony several years ago when we arrived on the Island Princess.

See the giant plugs !!! And of course the Princess reps standing around.

Living near San Francisco, I wonder why there are so few cruises out of here. It's probably because the natives want the tourist business but don't want the infrastructure to support it.

Well, nice guess. I think it's because it's kind of far from anywhere. SoCal is closer to Mexican Riviera and trans-Canal cruises and Vancouver/Seattle are closer to Alaska. Many pax don't want to spend the extra time and money on sea days. That leaves Hawaii and Asia, and SoCal still has more population to potentially book those. Even most coastals sail out of LA, not here.

I also believe it might have something to do with SFO's more stringent environmental laws: not all lines, AFAIK, are currently equipped to comply.

And, unlike terminals at FLL and San Pedro, the Embarcadero is simply not able to handle massive crowds. I'm not sure what could be done. Raze half of downtown and turn the land into a West Coast version of Port Everglades?

Since there are so few ships coming in and out of here, no additional infrastructure would be necessary to add at least some departures. It's weird to see Celebrity advertising so heavily to the SF market, when they no longer deign to sail out of here more than a few times a year. That has nothing, IMO, to do with us "natives." And anyway, it's not like all San Francisco has not already turned into a rather unwholesome blend of tourist trap and techie playground.

I am, though, very happy that Princess has chosen to serve the Bay Area on a regular basis.