Pier 27 · The Embarcadero · San Francisco
San Francisco Cruise
Terminal Transfers
BlackWingz runs chauffeured transfers to the Pier 27 cruise terminal on The Embarcadero, from SFO, OAK, and hotels across the Bay Area, with cars available 24/7.
Google ★★★★★ 5.0 · Pier 27 and Pier 35 covered · Fixed-rate pricing · Vetted chauffeurs · Available 24/7Luggage-sized vehicles · Instant confirmation · Free cancellation · 45-min free airport wait
What the reservation
covers.
Airport to the pier, the day before
Most passengers land at SFO or OAK a day early and stay a night in the city. The chauffeur meets the flight and takes you to the hotel, so cruise day starts from a known address. That leg is handled by our Bay Area airport car service.
Hotel to Pier 27 on embarkation day
You give the check-in slot from your cruise documents at booking. The pickup is set from that slot, not from a guess, and the car reaches the drop-off lane on The Embarcadero with the bags in one vehicle.
A vehicle sized for the luggage
Cruise parties travel heavy. Two people leaving for a week carry two large cases, two carry-ons, and a garment bag. The car is sized to the bag count you give at booking.
The pickup when the terminal empties
Disembarkation puts a full ship on the sidewalk inside about two hours, every passenger holding every bag. Your chauffeur waits in the staging area and comes to the lane when you are standing there.
Groups on one reservation
Families and friends who booked cabins together want to arrive together. Four to fourteen passengers ride on one reservation with one chauffeur contact. Larger parties take two or three cars that reach the terminal at the same time.
The airport connection afterwards
Once you are off the ship, the day usually ends at a departure gate. Give the flight number at booking and the chauffeur takes the pier-to-airport leg with the flight tracked. Parties staying a night use our San Francisco chauffeur and black car service.
One lane on
The Embarcadero.
The James R. Herman Cruise Terminal at Pier 27 sits on The Embarcadero at the foot of Lombard Street. It has one dedicated drop-off lane. On a full embarkation day, a few thousand passengers arrive inside a window of roughly four hours, almost all with two checked bags each.
Cruise lines publish a check-in slot for every cabin, and the slot is real. Arrive an hour early and you wait outside. Arrive at the end of it and you board with the last group. BlackWingz sets the pickup from your slot: about 30 minutes ahead from a downtown hotel, about 60 from an SFO-area hotel.
Disembarkation runs the other way. Everyone walks off inside about two hours with their luggage, and the queue for anything with wheels forms in one wave. Your chauffeur is on site before your tag color is called, which is why the pickup is booked against your walk-off time and not the ship's scheduled arrival.
Passengers coming from further out have a third pattern. Cars run to Pier 27 from Palo Alto, Walnut Creek, Marin, and the wine country the morning of the sailing, with the bags loaded at your front door. Vehicle options are listed on the fleet page.
Two berths,
two kinds of day.
Pier 27
The James R. Herman Cruise Terminal, and the berth almost every San Francisco sailing uses. Drop-off is the lane in front, where porters take the checked bags.
Pier 35
The overflow berth, used when two ships are in port the same day. It sits about half a mile up The Embarcadero from Pier 27. Give the berth and the drop-off is set to match.
Embarkation day
A four-hour window and a curb that never empties. The car is timed against your check-in slot, and the chauffeur stays until the last case is with a porter.
Disembarkation day
The ship releases everyone at once with full luggage. The pickup runs off your tag color, and the car reaches the lane when you and the bags are actually there.
Sailing from Pier 27 or Pier 35. Give the berth and the slot, and the reservation is built around them. City coverage sits on our San Francisco chauffeur and black car service page.
Book Your TransferVehicles picked on
bag count.
Luxury Sedan
1 to 2 passengersSuits a couple with two cases and two carry-ons. The common choice for a hotel run to the pier.
Executive Sedan
1 to 3 passengersMore rear legroom and a quieter cabin for the longer run in from an airport hotel or a peninsula address.
Luxury SUV
1 to 5 passengersThe default for a family of four sailing for a week. Four large cases and the hand luggage go in the back.
Luxury Sprinter
Up to 14 passengersBuilt for the group that booked cabins together. Everyone and every bag reach the terminal in one vehicle.
Frequently asked
questions.
Common questions about booking chauffeured transfers to and from the San Francisco cruise terminal.
View all FAQsAt the Pier 27 drop-off lane on The Embarcadero, in front of the James R. Herman Cruise Terminal. On embarkation days the chauffeur unloads at the porter station and stays until the last case is off. On disembarkation days the chauffeur waits in the staging area and comes to the curb when you text.
Work backwards from the boarding window on your cruise documents. Most lines assign a check-in slot inside a four-hour band, and the curb fills in the middle of it. BlackWingz sets the pickup so the car reaches the lane near the opening of your slot: about 30 minutes ahead from a downtown hotel, 60 from SFO.
Yes. Pier 27 is the main terminal and Pier 35 is the overflow berth, used when two ships are in port the same day. They sit about half a mile apart on The Embarcadero. Give the berth at booking, and if the line moves the ship, the drop-off is changed at no charge.
Disembarkation releases a full ship over roughly two hours, everyone holding all their luggage. BlackWingz books the pickup against your luggage tag color rather than the ship's scheduled arrival, because those two are rarely the same. The chauffeur is on site before you clear customs.
Yes. Parties of four to fourteen ride on a single reservation with one confirmation and one chauffeur contact. A Luxury Sprinter carries the group and the luggage in one vehicle. Larger parties ride in two or three cars that reach the terminal together.
Yes. BlackWingz uses fixed-rate pricing, so the rate you confirm at booking is the rate you are charged. It does not move because two ships are in port or because the baggage hall runs slow. There are no peak-hour markups.
Pier 27 sits about 15 miles north of SFO, and the drive is usually 30 to 45 minutes. From OAK it is about 20 miles and usually 35 to 50 minutes. Most passengers fly in the day before and stay a night in the city. Both airports are covered on our Bay Area airport car service page.
The legs either side
of the sailing.
What riders say
about the drive.
Friendly, professional driver! Highly recommended!
Mike BarryWonderful experience! Great service, very friendly and professional. Their website was extremely helpful with quoting and booking our trip.
Mahmoud Khal
The bags are the only thing you carry.
Reserve your chauffeur.