Cruise lines that sail from San Francisco

Princess and Carnival are the two cruise lines that start cruises from San Francisco regularly, and the Port of San Francisco names them as the lines that homeport here. Azamara and Regent Seven Seas each have a few one-off voyages. Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Holland America, Celebrity, Disney and Virgin Voyages bring ships into port in the middle of cruises that start somewhere else, and none of their departures from San Francisco is on sale through our booking partner.

This guide compares our schedule with the port's own record of every ship call, which runs to 31 December 2027. The port also says cruises must be booked directly with the lines, because it does not manage reservations.

Which cruise lines sail from San Francisco?

4 lines have departures on our schedule. Princess and Carnival sail from here every year, and Azamara and Regent have a handful of long voyages.

Line	Ships	Sailings on our schedule	Length in nights	First departure	Last departure
Princess Cruises	Ruby Princess	57	5 to 16	8 November 2026	19 October 2028
Carnival Cruise Line	Carnival Luminosa in 2027, Carnival Legend in 2028	39	4 to 15	28 April 2027	14 September 2028
Regent Seven Seas	Seven Seas Splendor	2	7 to 17	6 January 2028	17 May 2028

The schedule runs from 8 November 2026 to 19 October 2028. The cruise lines page lists each line's sailings with dates and fares.

What Princess cruises leave from San Francisco?

Princess has the most departures here, and all of them are on one ship. Every Princess sailing on our schedule is on Ruby Princess, which Princess lists at 3,080 guests, and Princess says its ships dock at the James R. Herman Cruise Terminal at Pier 27. These are the trips, with the lowest starting fare per person on 3 November 2026, taxes and fees included:

Trip	Nights	Sailings	Lowest fare
Alaska, round trip	10	26	$1,049
Hawaii, round trip	16	21	$1,124
Pacific Northwest or California coast, round trip	7	5	$900
San Diego and Ensenada, round trip	5	3	$769
Mexican Riviera, round trip	11	1	$1,569
Panama Canal, one way to Fort Lauderdale	16	1	$2,025

The two big runs are Hawaii and Alaska. Princess says its Hawaii cruises sail from September through April, and its 16-day Hawaiian Islands itinerary of 8 November 2026 spends 10 of its days at sea. The Alaska trips run in the summer, and Princess's 10-day Inside Passage cruise of 21 May 2027 has four sea days and a day of scenic cruising at Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier. Princess's ships leave here at 3:00 PM on the itineraries we read.

The port's schedule also has Princess turnarounds, where one cruise ends and the next begins, that our booking partner does not sell. They are Ruby Princess on 15 December 2026 and 24 April 2027, Emerald Princess on 30 March 2027 and Crown Princess on 23 September 2027. Check those on Princess's own site. Other Princess ships, including Emerald, Royal, Discovery, Island, Grand, Star and Crown Princess, call here in transit in 2026 and 2027.

See Princess cruises from San Francisco for every sailing, or the Ruby Princess page.

What Carnival cruises leave from San Francisco?

Carnival sails from San Francisco from late April into the fall, with a different ship each year: Carnival Luminosa in 2027, with 20 sailings, and Carnival Legend in 2028, with 19. These are its regular trips, with the lowest fare on 3 November 2026:

Trip	Nights	Sailings	Lowest fare
Baja, to Ensenada	4	16	$513
Alaska, round trip	10	17	$996
Hawaii, round trip	15	2	$1,716

Some sailings fall outside those runs. Carnival Luminosa has a 5-night trip to Catalina Island and Ensenada on 28 April 2027 and an 11-night Alaska trip on 6 September 2027. On 2 October 2027 she leaves on a 15-night crossing that calls in Alaska and ends in Tokyo. Carnival Legend has a 13-night Alaska trip on 28 April 2028.

The Carnival itineraries we read leave at 4:00 PM and come back at 8:00 AM. The 4-day Baja trip has a day at sea, Ensenada from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and another day at sea. The 10-day Alaska trip spends two days at sea each way.

Carnival's own page lists San Francisco as "Pier 27 | Pier 35", and the pier changes from one sailing to the next. In 2027 the port's schedule puts Carnival Luminosa at Pier 35 for 4 of her sailings and at Pier 27 for the rest. It also lists two Carnival Luminosa turnarounds our booking partner does not sell, on 10 June and 22 July 2027.

See Carnival cruises from San Francisco for every sailing.

Are there Azamara or Regent cruises from San Francisco?

Yes, a few long voyages, all one way.

• Azamara. Azamara Quest's departure from Pier 27 on 5 January 2027 is sold as three voyages, of 18 nights to Papeete, 48 nights to Sydney and 87 nights to Hong Kong, so it shows as three sailings on our schedule until she sails. The port's schedule has a second Azamara Quest turnaround on 22 May 2027, arriving from Astoria with San Diego next, which our booking partner does not sell.
• Regent Seven Seas. Seven Seas Splendor has a 17-night South Pacific voyage to Papeete on 6 January 2028, and a 7-night Pacific Coastal trip one way to Vancouver on 17 May 2028. The lowest fares on our schedule for both are suites, at $7,899 to $16,099.

A one-way voyage needs a flight home on top of the fare, and the documents guide covers what to carry.

Are there Royal Caribbean cruises from San Francisco?

Not on our schedule. Royal Caribbean has one call on the port's schedule through 2027: Serenade of the Seas is in port from 30 September to 1 October 2027, in transit between Astoria and San Diego. No Royal Caribbean departure from San Francisco is on sale through our booking partner.

Royal Caribbean's own list of cruise ports, which we read on 3 November 2026, gives Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Seward, Vancouver and Honolulu on the West Coast and in the Pacific. San Francisco was not on that list. If you wanted Royal Caribbean for Alaska, Hawaii or Mexico, Princess and Carnival sail those routes from here, and the destinations page compares them.

Are there Norwegian cruises from San Francisco?

Not on our schedule. Norwegian Cruise Line's ships call here, but none of its calls on the port's schedule through 2027 is a turnaround, and no Norwegian departure from San Francisco is on sale through our booking partner.

Ship	In San Francisco	Arriving from	Next port	Type of call
Norwegian Encore	20 April 2027	Los Angeles	Victoria	In transit
Norwegian Bliss	28 April 2027	Los Angeles	Victoria	In transit
Norwegian Joy	13 to 14 May 2027	Los Angeles	Victoria	In transit
Norwegian Encore	21 to 22 October 2027	Vancouver	Victoria	Overnight

Norwegian's own list of cruise ports, read on 3 November 2026, does include San Francisco among its departure ports, and so does its Pacific Coastal cruises page. So check Norwegian's site for a cruise that starts here. We list a sailing only when our booking partner sells it and its ports of call are confirmed.

Which other cruise lines stop in San Francisco?

Several lines call in transit, which means the ship stops here for a day or a night in the middle of a cruise that started somewhere else. You cannot start a cruise from San Francisco on these calls through our booking partner. These are the other lines on the port's schedule through 2027:

Line	Ship	In San Francisco	Arriving from	Next port
Holland America	Koningsdam	17 to 18 November 2026	Santa Catalina	Ensenada
Disney	Disney Wonder	10 to 11 April 2027	Catalina Island	Not listed
Holland America	Eurodam	19 to 20 April 2027	Santa Catalina	Vancouver
Virgin Voyages	Brilliant Lady	5 May 2027	Los Angeles	Not listed
Oceania	Regatta	16 to 17 May 2027	Astoria	San Diego
NYK	Asuka II	18 May 2027	Vancouver	Los Angeles
Crystal	Crystal Serenity	6 August 2027	Astoria	Catalina Island
Celebrity	Celebrity Summit	15 to 16 September 2027	Vancouver	Not listed
Holland America	Nieuw Amsterdam	10 October 2027	Vancouver	San Diego
Holland America	Koningsdam	16 to 17 November 2027	Catalina	Ensenada

Brilliant Lady is listed again on 13 September 2027, with no type of call given. The port revises its schedule files during the year, and each revision carries a new date in its name, so a call can move or disappear. We do not say where these lines start their cruises, because that is for each line's own site to tell you.

Which ships start cruises in San Francisco but are not on our schedule?

The port's schedule has turnarounds for five lines that our booking partner does not sell from here. These ships end one cruise and start the next in San Francisco:

Line	Ship	Leaves San Francisco	Next port
Costa Cruises	Costa Deliziosa	4 January 2027	Honolulu
P&O	Arcadia	29 January 2027	Kona
Hapag-Lloyd	Europa	19 March 2027	Astoria
Hapag-Lloyd	Europa	3 April 2027	Santa Barbara
MSC, as the port lists it	Explora III	7 May 2027	Victoria
AIDA Cruises	AIDAdiva	4 December 2027	Not listed

We leave these out because we list only sailings our booking partner sells, with ports of call we can confirm. The same rule leaves out the Princess, Carnival and Azamara turnarounds named above. If one of these ships is the one you want, book with the line.

What are the best cruises from San Francisco?

There is no single best cruise from here. It depends on how many nights you have and where you want to go, and the lines split the routes between them:

• A short trip. Carnival's 4-night Ensenada trips are the shortest on the schedule and run from May to early September. Princess has a few 5-night trips to San Diego and Ensenada in spring and late fall.
• Alaska. Both lines sail 10-night round trips, and they overlap from May to September. See the Alaska guide.
• Hawaii. Princess sails 16 nights through the winter, and Carnival 15 nights in September. See the Hawaii guide.
• Mexico beyond Ensenada, or the Panama Canal. Only Princess sails these on our schedule, and the destinations page has the dates.
• A long voyage across the Pacific. Azamara, Regent and Carnival's Tokyo crossing are the options.

On price, the lowest fare per night on 3 November 2026 was $70 on Princess and $100 on Carnival. Daily gratuities differ too. On 3 November 2026 they were $18 a person in a standard cabin on Princess and $17 on Carnival, and Carnival does not charge them for children under 2. The cheap and last-minute guide compares fares by length.

The lines also dress differently at dinner. Princess holds three formal nights on its 16-day Hawaii trips, and Carnival holds two Cruise Elegant nights on cruises of 6 days or longer. The first-timer FAQ has the details.

Which pier does each cruise line use in San Francisco?

Princess uses Pier 27, and so did Azamara Quest on the port's schedule for January 2027. Carnival uses Pier 27 or Pier 35, depending on the sailing. Ships calling in transit use both. Regent's 2028 voyages are past the end of the port's current schedule, so their pier is not published yet. The terminal guide explains how to reach each one.

For every departure in one list, start with the full schedule.