Noticing more visitors lately along the waterfront? Especially the ones with cameras, shorts and goosebumps? That might be because May marks the start of the cruise season and is the biggest month for cruise ships this year, with 17 calls planned to the city.
If you're wondering where those ships are coming from or headed to next, The Port of San Francisco lists each ship, its previous port of call and its next destination on its online cruise schedule, making it a handy guide for curious locals.
This ship was in port on March 21st. What is its name? Click here to find out.
Because of the busy season, we'll see double on some days: Ships will berth at both the James R. Herman Cruise Terminal at Pier 27, which opened in September 2014, and the older Pier 35 facility closer to Fisherman's Wharf. Both terminals can handle ships with up to 4,000 passengers, but the newer facility is the default when only one ship is here because it's more modern and simply a lot spiffier. For everything you ever wanted to know about the Pier 27 terminal, here's a thorough press release.
And if you're struck in traffic on the Embarcadero while cruise ships offload their human cargo, take heart: The Port is working on finessing vehicle and pedestrian traffic flows in the area, with the goal of reducing backups. Here's more on those plans.
