What to Pack for Port of San Francisco

Nothing inside the terminal gate is set up for shopping, and the Port states that luggage storage is not offered at the cruise terminals. What Pier 27 does have around it is a 2.5-acre public open space: the Port describes Cruise Terminal Plaza as a 34,000 square foot lawn and a 47,000 square foot plaza with paved paths and fifty benches, and says signs around the park tell the stories of ships that have called at the Port. For anything you actually forgot, the walk is short — Trader Joe's at 401 Bay Street and the Walgreens at 1175 Columbus Avenue cover groceries, sunscreen and pharmacy items, and the Safeway at 145 Jackson Street is the closest full-size grocery going the other way, open to 11:00pm.

Pier 35 puts you closer to Fisherman's Wharf than Pier 27 does, which changes what is within reach: Trader Joe's at 401 Bay Street is about seven minutes on foot, and Pier 39 with its shops and the sea lion docks is a short walk further. Luggage storage is not offered here either. One thing specific to this pier is worth checking if you have time before boarding — the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, the last operational World War II Liberty ship, is berthed at Pier 35, and its own visit page notes that afternoon tours may be available on cruise dates, which reads as a caution that access narrows when a ship is alongside.