Luxury riverboat cruise now starts and ends in Sacramento. Here’s why it left San Francisco
San Francisco’s loss is Sacramento’s gain when it comes to landing luxury riverboat cruises.
The owners of riverboat American Jazz have abandoned the City by the Bay as the departure and arrival port for its eight-day river boat cruises and substituted Sacramento.
Sacramento had been the last stop on the luxury river boat tour before the 99 stateroom boat returned to San Francisco as part of the original itinerary, said American Cruise Lines spokeswoman Alexa Paolella.
She said a dispute over port fees in San Francisco had led to the change of departing ports, but she declined to go into detail.
A city of Sacramento spokeswoman Jennifer Singer said the city is in the process of negotiating a long-term docking agreement for the riverboat at the Old Sacramento Public Docks by the Tower Bridge.
While departing and arriving from the Old Sacramento historical district adds a historical feel to the riverboat cruise, the reality is that San Francisco, with the Golden Gate Bridge and its waterfront panoramas, has more of an allure for many tourists as a departure and arrival port.
Some passengers on the last of this season’s four river boat seasonal cruises in late March said they were upset about the switch from San Francisco to Sacramento. The passengers talked to The Bee after ending their cruise at its new arrival and departure port in Old Sacramento on March 31.
One 65-year-old man who was on the cruise with his 87-year-old father, said the planned sightseeing tours of San Francisco were only offered as part of an optional all-day excursion when the boat was in dock in Vallejo. He said that was too exhausting for his father and some of the passengers.
The man asked not to be identified, because he said his father was a frequent cruiser with American River Lines, which offers cruises on rivers throughout the U.S., and wanted to remain in good standing with the cruise company.
He said that the cruise line did offer top-line service, food and drink for the money.
The cruise isn’t cheap. The starting point for a small 250-foot stateroom starts at $6,000 per person for the eight days and goes up to $11,000 for larger accommodations.
Most of the boat passengers also had to take a bus from San Francisco to Sacramento and back because they had already purchased their airfare when they found out about the departure change, just several weeks before their trip was scheduled to begin. The passengers said the bus ride was fine, but not in keeping with the luxury experience of the boat trip.
San Francisco officials still hope to get the five-story boat back.
Justin Berton, spokesperson for the Port of San Francisco, said the port was “disappointed that a mutual agreement was not finalized” on departing and arriving from San Francisco, but “we remain hopeful for a resolution in the future.”
But Paolella said Sacramento is now the permanent arrival and departure point for the cruise which will resume the eight day cruises on Aug. 5. The cruises will go through the end of September.
The cruise explores the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers over an eight-day itinerary. Excursion highlights include a visit to the Haggin art and history museum in Stockton, honey tasting in Sacramento and wine tasting in Napa.
The switch to Sacramento was done quietly, there was no formal ceremony by the cruise line or city tourism officials.
Paolella said in a statement that Sacramento has plenty to offer and the cruise line will be promoting that going forward.
“The historical significance of Sacramento to the history of U.S. River cruising on the California Delta cannot be overstated — and as the original terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, to the Gold Rush, to its place as California’s capitol city today, Sacramento offers river cruise guests much rich history to explore,” she said.
