"Awesome 😎 Great food, buffet, mimosas, staff available took pictures, lots of sight seeing above decks. Would definitely recommend 👍"
City Cruises · Pier 3 · 25 December
Holiday Dinner Cruises in San Francisco
Christmas Day on San Francisco Bay: a holiday brunch or dinner on City Cruises' boat from Pier 3, with the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge and Alcatraz outside. It sails on 25 December only, and the booking is non-refundable.
From
$177
per person (25 December only; non-refundable)
- 5.0 / 5 6+ Reviews
- 2 to 2.5 Hours On 25 December
- Pier 3 On the Embarcadero
The Experience
What the Christmas Day Cruise Includes
City Cruises' holiday sailing from Pier 3, brunch or dinner: two hours on the listing, two and a half on City Cruises' own page.
Highlights
- Yacht cruise with delicious holiday dinner buffet
- Includes Soda, coffee, tea and water. For purchase-Wine, beer and cocktails
- Enjoy scenic San Francisco Bay views with live entertainment
What's Included
- Freshly prepared entrees, salads and desserts
- Unlimited coffee, hot tea, iced tea and water
- Guaranteed table for your party size
- Unbeatable San Francisco views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Bay Bridge, and Alcatraz Island
- Brunch Only) - Free-flowing champagne, mimosas and sparkling cider
Good to know: Guests wishing to be seated together must be included on the same booking. If you have already made separate bookings and would like to be seated together, please contact City Cruises ahead of time. · Not Included: Hotel pickup and drop-off
How a Holiday Cruise Works
Book early, be sure of the date, and get to Pier 3 in good time.
Pick Brunch or Dinner
The Christmas Day listing sells a brunch and a dinner sailing. Free-flowing champagne, mimosas and sparkling cider come with the brunch only.
Be Sure of Your Plans
The Christmas Day booking is non-refundable, unlike the regular dinner cruises, which you can cancel for free up to 24 hours before.
Go to Pier 3
City Cruises boards at Pier 3 on the Embarcadero, two piers north of the Ferry Building. It offers discounted paid parking at Pier 3, based on availability, and says weekday parking is limited; Embarcadero BART station is about 10 minutes away.
Sit at Your Own Table
The listing guarantees a table for your party size. Guests who want to sit together must be on the same booking.
Photo Gallery
The Bay in December
The Bay Bridge, the skyline and the water from City Cruises' boats.
Book Your Experience
Check Availability & Prices
Select your preferred date and time. The listing does not offer free cancellation, so check your date before you book.
Christmas Day, a December Dinner, or the City Lights?
Three ways to spend a December evening on San Francisco Bay. Prices as listed on GetYourGuide in October 2026.
| Feature | 25 DECEMBER Christmas Day Cruise (City Cruises) | Premier Dinner Cruise (City Cruises) | City Lights Cruise (Red and White Fleet) |
|---|---|---|---|
| From (October 2026) | About $177 per person | About $122 per person | About $58 per person |
| When | 25 December only | Year-round; the calendar shows December dates | Year-round; the calendar shows December dates |
| Food | Holiday brunch or dinner; champagne with brunch only | Plated dinner (or champagne brunch) | None included |
| Length | 2 hours (listing); 2.5 hours (City Cruises) | 2 to 2.5 hours | 2 hours |
| Cancellation | Non-refundable | Free up to 24 hours before | Free up to 24 hours before |
| Leaves from | Pier 3 | Pier 3 | Pier 43 1/2 |
| Check Availability | See December Dates | See the City Lights Cruise |
Other December Evenings
Any Evening in December
The regular dinner cruises from Pier 3 and the City Lights cruise sail through December, with free cancellation.
ANY DECEMBER EVENINGSan Francisco: City Cruises Premier Brunch or Dinner Cruise
Indulge in a delicious bottomless mimosa brunch or an amazing plated dinner during a luxury cruise on San Francisco Bay. Enjoy on-board entertainment as you pass by …
BUFFET DINNERSan Francisco: City Cruises Buffet Lunch or Dinner Cruise
Choose between a buffet lunch or dinner aboad City Cruises on San Francisco Bay. Be mesmerized as you glide past the iconic San Francisco skyline and experience …
CITY LIGHTSSan Francisco: San Francisco City Lights Cruise
Experience San Francisco from the water on our 2-hour San Francisco City Lights Cruise, one of our most-loved Bay experiences. Glide past Alcatraz Island, Angel …
The Guide
Christmas, New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day on the Bay
What is on sale for each holiday, where to book it, and the cancellable alternative for any December evening.
City Cruises runs San Francisco’s holiday cruises from Pier 3, and the one worth booking on GetYourGuide is its Christmas Day brunch or dinner cruise. It sails on 25 December only, from $177 a person, and the booking is non-refundable (checked October 2026). The listing promises freshly prepared entrees, salads and desserts, unlimited coffee, hot tea, iced tea and water, a guaranteed table for your party, and live entertainment; free-flowing champagne, mimosas and sparkling cider come with the brunch sailing only. It is rated 5.0 from 6 reviews. GetYourGuide lists it at two hours; City Cruises’ own page for the Christmas Day Premier Dinner Cruise says two and a half hours, with a live DJ and semi-formal attire (slacks, button-ups, dresses).
GetYourGuide also sells a New Year’s Eve brunch that this guide does not recommend (see New Year’s Eve). Christmas Eve, the New Year’s Eve dinner, Valentine’s Day and Thanksgiving are sold on City Cruises’ own website, and the sections below give its prices.
Check Christmas Day sailing times
Christmas Day, or any evening in December?
The Christmas Day cruise is the one to book for the day itself. For the rest of December, the regular cruises keep sailing, and you can cancel them:
25 December
Christmas Day Cruise
Holiday brunch or dinner from Pier 3, two to two and a half hours, guaranteed table. Non-refundable.
Check Christmas times →Any December evening
Premier Dinner Cruise
Plated dinner and a DJ from Pier 3, two to two and a half hours. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
See December dates →Prices and review counts as listed on GetYourGuide in October 2026, not a quote. The Christmas Day listing's next date was 25 December 2026 when checked on 22 October 2026.
In December the sun sets at about 16:50, so every evening cruise is a night cruise: the Bay Bridge, the skyline and the waterfront are lit the whole way. If you would rather see the lights than sit down to dinner, Red and White Fleet’s City Lights cruise sails two hours from Pier 43 1/2, from $58.
Christmas Eve
City Cruises sells its Christmas Eve Premier Dinner Cruise from Pier 3 on its own website, from $156.80 a person with fees and taxes included (checked October 2026). It is not on GetYourGuide. For a cancellable evening on 24 December, check the Premier Dinner Cruise calendar for that date.
New Year’s Eve
For New Year’s Eve, City Cruises’ Premier Dinner Cruise from Pier 3 is sold on City Cruises’ own website, from $378.84 a person with fees and taxes included (checked October 2026). It is not on GetYourGuide. If that is your night, book it there, and early: it is one night a year.
GetYourGuide does list two New Year’s Eve cruises:
- City Cruises’ NYE Gourmet Brunch Cruise (Pier 3, two hours) is rated 2.3 out of 5 from 3 reviews, and the booking is non-refundable. One of those reviews, from 31 December 2023, says the boat never came. This guide does not recommend it.
- The Empress Yacht New Year’s Eve Party Cruise is a three-and-a-half-hour party cruise, new on GetYourGuide with no reviews yet when checked (October 2026). Read what is included and the cancellation terms on the listing before you book.
Valentine’s Day
City Cruises sells a Valentine’s Premier Dinner Cruise from $229.69 and a Valentine’s Brunch Cruise from $109.53 on its own website, fees and taxes included (checked October 2026). On GetYourGuide, the Premier Dinner Cruise is the evening to book for 14 February, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before; its calendar shows whether that date is on sale.
Thanksgiving
No Thanksgiving cruise is on GetYourGuide (checked October 2026), but City Cruises sells a Thanksgiving Premier Dinner Cruise directly, from $177.08 a person with fees and taxes included (checked October 2026): two and a half hours from Pier 3, a dinner buffet with all the trimmings, a full bar, a live DJ and a business casual dress code. Thanksgiving 2026 is on 26 November. City Cruises also sells Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day sailings on the same holiday page.
Is a holiday cruise worth it?
Yes, if you want the day to feel like an occasion without cooking: a guaranteed table, a holiday meal and the whole bay outside the window. The catch is the non-refundable booking, so book it once your plans are fixed. If they might change, the regular dinner cruise in the days around Christmas gives you the same bay with free cancellation.
Guest Reviews
What Christmas Day Cruise Guests Say
5.0/5
from 6 verified guests
"Really well organised and friendly staff."
Read all 6 verified reviews
See All ReviewsChristmas Day on San Francisco Bay
City Cruises' Christmas Day brunch or dinner cruise leaves Pier 3 on 25 December for two to two and a half hours, with a guaranteed table and the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge and Alcatraz outside. Rated 5.0 from 6 reviews, from $177 as of October 2026. Non-refundable. Starting from $177 per person (25 December only; non-refundable).
Check Christmas Day TimesCan't Make These Dates?
Browse More Available Options
Find a tour that fits your schedule. Check each listing's cancellation terms: some holiday sailings are non-refundable.
Holiday Cruise FAQ
Christmas, New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day and Thanksgiving on San Francisco Bay.
Yes: City Cruises' Christmas Day brunch or dinner cruise from Pier 3, on 25 December, from $177 a person on GetYourGuide (October 2026). It guarantees a table for your party and includes entrees, salads and desserts with unlimited coffee, tea and water; champagne and mimosas come with the brunch only. GetYourGuide lists it at two hours; City Cruises' own page says two and a half hours, with a live DJ and semi-formal attire.
No: the Christmas Day booking is non-refundable. The regular Premier and Buffet dinner cruises from Pier 3 have free cancellation up to 24 hours before, if your December plans might change.
Yes: City Cruises sells a New Year's Eve Premier Dinner Cruise from Pier 3 on its own website, from $378.84 a person with fees and taxes included (checked October 2026). It is not on GetYourGuide. GetYourGuide does sell City Cruises' NYE Gourmet Brunch Cruise, but it is rated 2.3 out of 5 from 3 reviews and non-refundable, and this guide does not recommend it. The New Year's Eve section has the details.
Yes: City Cruises sells a Christmas Eve Premier Dinner Cruise on its own website, from $156.80 a person with fees and taxes included (checked October 2026). It is not on GetYourGuide. For a cancellable alternative, check the Premier Dinner Cruise calendar for 24 December.
Yes: City Cruises sells a Valentine's Premier Dinner Cruise from $229.69 and a Valentine's Brunch Cruise from $109.53 on its own website (checked October 2026). On GetYourGuide, the Premier Dinner Cruise from Pier 3 is the evening to book for 14 February, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Yes, sold directly: City Cruises' Thanksgiving Premier Dinner Cruise from Pier 3, from $177.08 a person with fees and taxes included (checked October 2026). City Cruises lists two and a half hours, a dinner buffet, a full bar, a live DJ and a business casual dress code. No Thanksgiving cruise is on GetYourGuide.
Yes: the sun sets at about 16:50 in December, so every evening cruise sails in the dark with the city lit up. The City Lights cruise leaves after sunset in the winter months.
City Cruises' holiday sailings leave from Pier 3 on the Embarcadero, two piers north of the Ferry Building. City Cruises offers discounted paid parking at Pier 3, based on availability, and says weekday parking is limited. Embarcadero BART station is about 10 minutes away.
Still have questions? Email us at info@san-francisco-dinner-cruise.com