San Diego hotels

[joyous]

We are wondering where to stay close to the pier/zoo/ etc. in San Diego if we go a day early for our Sea of Cortez cruise on Ryndam. Any advice would be appreciated. Doesn't have to be "magnificent" but not "bare bones" either. Have no idea where the pier, zoo, etc. are but would love to find out and be there! joyous

[RuthC]

Holiday Inn on the Bay (not to be confused with Holiday Inn Bayside---a different property) is directly across the street from the pier. Very convenient. :) There's a shuttle from the airport to the hotel.

There's a restaurant w/lounge in the hotel and a Ruth's Chris restaurant on the property. If you get a room high up and facing the water you can watch your ship sail in to await you. :D You'll even hear the disembarkation announcements to the passengers leaving to make room for you! ;)

[hawgwildterry]

joyous,

Follow this link to a photo show that I put together a few months ago. The very first part shows photos of the Holliday Inn that RuthC is talking about. Get a bayview room in the South Tower and as high as you can get.

Terry

[DAllenTCY]

The San Diego Zoo is less than 5 miles from the pier. The pier is right downtown at the foot of Broadway, and within walking distance of the Gaslamp Quarter, Little Italy, and Seaport Village (a bit too touristy for my taste). The Convention Center and Petco Park are nearby, and easily accessible by the trolley line. Almost every name brand hotel you can think of is close by.....Hilton, Hyatt, Holiday Inn (5 of them), Embassy Suites, etc.
Most have free airport shuttles, or by cab it is probably $12 at the most. There are many properties in Mission Valley's Hotel Circle area as well, but the only one next to a trolly stop is the Doubletree at Hazzard Center.
You'll simply LOVE sailing from San Diego. The only other gateway city that comes close is Fort Lauderdale as far as proximity of hotels, airport and pier.
David

[PathfinderEss]

Holiday Inn on the Bay would be my choice. There is a Trolley car that will take you all over the bay area, its lots of fun and you pick it up just across from the hotel.

[SakeDad]

Has anyone stayed at Radisson Harborview on 1st?? Seeing some very mixed reviews on other sights and can't get a handle if it's good or not?

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have stayed many times both pre and post cruise at the Embassy Suites. We always ask for a room on the top floor facing the pier area. Embassy Suites is within walking distance of Midway, Seaport Village and Horton Plaza. We just got the bus right outside the hotel and went over to the zoo that way.

[diveoz]

Last Father's Day we booked the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego through priceline. Here's a link: http://manchestergrand.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp

This is one of the premier hotels in San Diego and is located right on the harbor next to Gaslamp and Seaport Village. It is also close to the pier for your cruise.

We got what I consider a great deal. Our price was $100+/- and they gave us a room above the 20th floor with a rack rate of about $250. Our room was looking directly into the harbor. The aircraft carrier that is a museum was right below our window! What's more, when we checked in they threw in father's day brunch for both of us.

We have never been treated so well by a hotel booked through priceline!

If you haven't used priceline to book hotels, visit www.biddingfortravel.com (http://www.biddingfortravel.com) for current bidding information and hotel specific stratagies.

Hope this helps.

Jim

[hawgwildterry]

joyous,

Oops...........I forgot to attach the link to our photo show. The very start has photos of the Holiday Inn By The Bay. Old age and too many martini's does that to a person. :)

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2742424090101216344EriFtE

Terry

[Sage]

We too have stayed at the Manchester Grand Hyatt on the club floor, and really enjoyed our stay. It is a beautiful hotel and close to everything.

[Cruise_More_Often]

Terry, what a wonderful album! What was the tour you took in San Diego? The last time we were there, we did the Trolley and one of the harbor tours, but yours looks like you got to see more of the town.

Jim, I used Priceline for the first time earlier this month and got a great deal for a Hyatt in Miami. I am looking forward to using it again for our San Diego hotel. Maybe I'll be as lucky as you were.

Adele

[joyous]

Terry, Thanks for posting the link. I looked at every one. The pictures of PV marina are absolutely beautiful. Jim, thanks for your information also. I appreciate all you HAL cruisers who answered my questions. This is our first HAL cruise after about 18 on Crystal and a couple of other lines thrown in here and there. We are not in a suite, but have a BA aft on Ryndam. The Holiday looks good and also the Hyatt. I'll keep exploring rates and see what I can get. It looks like we need to be up as high as we can get. We are doing the Copper Canyon rr tour also. As for the martinis, we do that! And we are really old: 72 and 73. Thanks again to one and all for your help. joyous

[hawgwildterry]

Adele,

The double decker bus tour has a stop just across the street from the Holiday Inn. The cost is/was $25 per person. The pass is good for two days and there are two routes. One route runs from the waterfront, through downtown and works it's way to Old Town and then returns to the waterfront. You can get off the bus in Old Town and catch the other bus that will take you up to Balboa Park and the zoo. There are many stops along both routes and you can jump off and on at any of them.

Here is the link for more info:

http://www.sightseeingworld.com/tourdetailmain.asp?TourCode=529

[Jimjam]

Wonderful pictures/photo show--THANKS !

Will be at these ports in October on the Zaandam and will be staying at the Holiday Inn On The Bay..Can you walk from the hotel to the pier with all your luggage or do you take a cab?? Does the hotel provide transportation to the pier??

Thanks again..

[cruisinjudy]

We just walked right across the street to the pier toting our luggage. No problem at all!

[starysacz]

Transportation is provided. Traffic is very heavy in attempting to cross the street to the pier. Enjoy!!

[hawgwildterry]

Jimjam,

If you are in a bay view room in the South Tower, you will be able to see people starting to line up at the passenger walk in gate a little before 11AM. We kept an eye on the line and waited for it to start moving before we walked across the street with our bags. Just south of the Holiday Inn there is a light controlled cross walk that we used. It was fun to hear the cross walk countdown as we neared the other side......get's you moving just a tab quicker.

Have your ID/Passport and cruise tickets handy to show the security people at the gate. As soon as we got through the gate we handed our bags over to a porter and went straight into the terminal. Embarkation was a snap...........the best that we have ever had to date.

[Cruise_More_Often]

Terry, thank you for the infomation about the double-decker bus. It sounds great. We've done the Vancouver Trolley, and being able to get off and on is a great way to see a city, and a 2-day pass makes it even better.

Joyous, I hope you'll post a review and photos when you return from your cruise. We have about a year-and-a-half before our Sea of Cortez cruise and the Copper Canyon tour, and I think I'll go NUTS before then. Maybe a few martinis would help!

Adele

[joyous]

Adele, I will post and try to put pictures on after our Nov. cruise. We are excited about the train trip into the Canyon and I'll let everyone know how 70+ year olds (who think they are still kids) weather the ride. Thanks to all who have given us advice. We are in the Holiday Inn and will tell our story when we return. Now I've got to pack for the Baltic and focus on my homework for that cruise. joyous

[cruisinjudy]

Here is a picture of people walking across the street to the ship with their luggage from Holiday Inn.

[lobstertail]

How early did you book the Holiday on the Bay? We did the Mexican Riviera on Celebrity last Feb., '06 and had a terrible time getting any hotel at all for the night before. Now, we're going again (a transcanal trip on the Westerdam in Oct. of '08) so, we want to be sure to get into the Holiday. How much ahead should we plan on making reservations? Thanks for whatever advice you can give us.

[O2cruise]

Regarding the Radisson, my sister has been staying there once twice a month for the last few months for business. Her experiences have beem mixed, depending on what the convention sitiation at the hotel is. She says the beds are great, nice little balcony and the staff have always been very accomodating.

Now I have a question, I keep reading reviews on the trip review site that the Holiday Inn on the Bay is extremely noisy, and that the train noise is very bad, to the point that the hotel provides ear plugs. Anyone have any experience with that?

[senator6]

We stayed at the Holiday Inn on the Bay last year post cruise for two days. Had no problem with nose, we were facing the port, may be a noise problem with "city view rooms" . We thought that the hotel was fine, it was the most convenient post cruise hotel we had ever stayed in.

[cruisinjudy]

Booking problems depend on what is going on in San Diego that weekend. We had no problem but i know that some with other cruise dates did. The best suggestion is book early.

[RuthC]

Now I have a question, I keep reading reviews on the trip review site that the Holiday Inn on the Bay is extremely noisy, and that the train noise is very bad, to the point that the hotel provides ear plugs. Anyone have any experience with that?
Can't prove it by me. But don't put a lot of faith in that---I could sleep through an atomic blast. :rolleyes:

[hawgwildterry]

Lobstertail,

I booked the Holiday Inn almost 9 months prior to our cruise. Just thought the longer I waited the harder it was going to get a room. I also booked our flight that far out as I was sure that the price was going to go up given the cost of fuel.

O2cruise,

We were on the 14th. floor, bay view room. There was no train noise or traffic noise that high up. I think I might have heard a siren or two during the night....might have been a dream seeing how I'm an old retired LEO. ;)

[vb,cruisers]

We will probably book the Holiday Inn, but could anyone recommend a nice restaurant for dinner, close by. We enjoy seafood and Italian...nothing fancy.
THANKS for any info.

[Jimjam]

We booked our Holiday Inn On The Bay this June for October sailing and booked through AAA with no problem and got a good price.

[FATJACK]

If you stay at the Holiday Inn next to the pier in San Diego, insist on getting a bay front room. In fact at any of the hotels in that area, if you get a room over looking the rail road tracks including the Hyatt you will get a sleep interrupted night because all of the freight trains are required to blast their horn when entering an intersection in that area and the train engineers love to do it. Just a word to the wise, as a long time resident of San Diego, avoid any room at any hotel that faces the rail road tracks.

[cruisinjudy]

Anthony's Fish Grotto is right on the water by the cruise pier. They have good sea food. And their Star of the Sea Room is right next door, more upscale.
If you take the ferry to Coronado there is Peohe's right there where you get off the ferry. Peohe's is a part of the Chart House brand.
The Fish Market is at 750 n Harbor Drive, South of the pier.