Private Charters
The USS Potomac, President Roosevelt’s floating White House, is available for private charter throughout the year. Whether for an anniversary, wedding, reception, corporate event, retirement party, memorial cruise, or any other special occasion, the USS Potomac is a truly unique venue for any very special day.
You arrange your catering and, to assist, we can offer a preferred caterer list or you may provide your own as long as your vendor follows our catering guidelines in working on the ship. You may also self-cater subject to the rules, expectations, and guidelines that are set forth in our charter contract.
For more information, call (510) 627-1215 or email contact@usspotomac.org.
Ship Capacity
Maximum passenger load is 107 people which includes your catering servers. For events with table and beverage service, 45 to 50 passengers is recommended.
Docking Locations
The USS Potomac departs from the foot of Clay Street in Jack London Square, Oakland California. Pickups and drop offs in San Francisco at Oracle Park Ferry Landing only are by special arrangement through the Port of San Francisco. The Potomac Association submits the request and, if approved, additional charges will be incurred.
Fees
Cruise Charters
The fee for a minimum three-hour charter cruise on the USS Potomac is $8,500 for a departure and return to Jack London Square in Oakland, Potomac’s home berth. Each additional hour is $2,500.
If you would like a San Francisco pick up and drop off, Potomac uses the China Basin Ferry Landing at Oracle Park, a Port of San Francisco facility and the only location that can accommodate Potomac’s landing needs. Because it is considered a “foreign dock,” there are additional transit fees (to/from) San Francisco of $2500, and the Port of San Francisco charges a 7% docking fee on the charter total. As an example, this is how your rate would be calculated:
Charter $8,500 + transit $2,500 = $11,000 + SFPort fee $700. Total Charter to/from SF is $11,700 for a three-hour cruise charter.
Fleet Week pricing is not included.
Dockside Charters (Ship does not leave the dock)
The fee for a dockside charter is $1,500 for the first hour and $750 for each hour after that. Dockside charters are a one-hour minimum.
A charter that is a combination of dockside and cruise can be arranged but would need to be priced separately. Please call for information on this option at 510-627-1215.
Please note:
For both types of charters, you would arrange your own catering. We can offer a list of preferred caterers who have worked successfully on the ship before, or you may bring in your own preferred caterer who would be subject to our Catering Requirements. Another option is that you may self-cater. A $500 refundable cleaning fee is applied to your charter. At the conclusion of your event, with the food service areas cleaned in the condition they were received, the $500 cleaning fee is refunded accordingly.
Accessibility
The Presidential Yacht USS Potomac is a historically preserved vessel. As such, it does not fully comply with the facility access standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ship allows limited access for the mobility impaired. Wheelchairs are limited to the main deck only. The restrooms onboard the ship are not accessible. Restrooms are available at the dock near the Potomac. The maximum wheelchair width (outside of wheel to outside of wheel) is 25 inches. USS Potomac docents and crew are not allowed to provide physical assistance to mobility impaired individuals; including lifting occupied wheelchairs over obstacles.
Please call for questions and more details on these charter rates or accessibility issues for your event at 510-627-1215 or email contact@usspotomac.org.