San Francisco excursions

Hi all, we will be sailing on the Jewel next year and we are interested in the SF34 hop on hop off excursion through RCCL. You can use it for a 24 hour period. It does include some extra things, night time tour and something else. Can anyone tell us about this tour? Good/bad, other ideas? Thanks!

Hi all, we will be sailing on the Jewel next year and we are interested in the SF34 hop on hop off excursion through RCCL. You can use it for a 24 hour period. It does include some extra things, night time tour and something else. Can anyone tell us about this tour? Good/bad, other ideas? Thanks!

Jewel has never done the itinerary before. There is no one with direct experience.

Oh, you are right! Well, maybe somebody that has done something similar will post about it. Thanks Bob.

I spend a lot of time in San Francisco. What are the extras and what is the cost? I might can offer some alternatives a better cost than the excursion.

You can get the hopon hopoff bus 24 hour pass for 24.99 when you board the bus

There is a stop near fisherman s warf whitch is near the cruise terminal

Thanks for your offer to help, Bethco. The hop on hop off tour is through RCCl at $54.00 pp. You will visit 20 sites at your leisure with unlimited access to the narrated tour. A night tour is included. That is a 2 hour panoramic tour that includes a Sausalito loop with a live, English speaking guide. Sure glad they said "live"😄. Let me know what you think. We will have 24 hours there, anything else you would recommend. Not sure the bus tour is the best option. Thanks!

Rent a bike, ride over the GG bridge to Sausalito then on to Tiburon and take ferry back. Great way to see the SF area.

We live here so our opinion will be different. Rent a car and avoid all the tourist spots! The options are endless.

This is what they are selling you it sounds like..

http://www.city-sightseeing.us/tour/san+francisco/sanfranciscodoubledeckerbustour

For a first time visitor this is a good option, but it will not get you on a cable car. If you are going to ride a cable car a single ride is $6 and a 24 hour pass is currently $15 and a 3 day is $23. You can take an F Street car for $2.25 ($.75 for seniors) away from the wharf and going down Market Street. Get off at Powell St and you can buy the multi day pass. You can also buy a 24 hour pass on the cable car. The California Street line that goes up Knob Hill generally has a much shorter line than the lines that run between Powell and Fisherman's Wharf and Ghiradelli Square.

Thanks again Bethco for the info! That was just one of the tours offered. What would YOU do if you were going to be in San Francisco for 24 hours? It sounds like we will dock at the old pier (#35)? What is there to do around that area? Is there things to do that you could walk too? How far is Ghiradelli Square? Thanks for all the help and answers you have give me.

I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years, and here are a few ideas for you

It is about a 1 mile walk from Pier 35 to Ghiradhelli Squre, which is also near Fisherman's Wharf and not too far from Lombard Street (the crookedy one) (BTW, if you go to Ghiradhelli square, my absolute favorite thing to do, much to the chagrin of my girlfriend, is to walk in and out of the chocolate store about 15 times just to get a free sample of chocolate ever time I go in!). Also, look for the Rhyming Guy who sits outside of Ghiradhelli square--he's hilarious and pretty intriguing if you talk to him for a bit. In Fisherman's wharf you can take a ferry out to Alcatraz which is kind of fun as well.

Also not too far from Fisherman's Wharf is Fort Mason park which is very nice to walk around. If you are hungry and want to get away from the "touristy" restaurants in Fisherman's Wharf, try a walk down Chestnut Street which as a lot of different cool little restaurants and shops--you are guaranteed to find something unique and delicious.

From Fisherman's Wharf, you can take a cable car over to Union Square (just take the cable car all the way to the end). In Union Square, one of my favorite free things to do is to go into the St. Francis hotel and take the glass elevator all the way to the top floor--it is one of the best free viewpoints in the city. If you are lucky enough to get the elevator to go all the way down to the bottom without stopping, it's fun to stick your forehead on the glass and look down--at about floor 4 you'll see the metal gate whoosh right past your face and it looks like the spikes on top of the fence are going to go right up your nose!

If you love garlic, try The Stinking Rose restaurant (Google it, you can walk to it from Union Square). Or else try E&O Trading company for some very good Asian fusion (also walkable from Union Square). For a fun place to get a drink, check out the Tonga Room in the Fairmont (also walkable from Union Square)--go doing the day when it is not so "clubby" in there. They make it rain inside, which is pretty cool (don't worry--you won't get wet). Or you if you like big food and big deserts, try Max's which is right behind the St. Francis.

If you like modern art, the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) is walkable from Union Square as well.

You can take a cab across town to the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, which is really incredible--I could spend a whole day there.

From your Pier 35, you can walk or take the F Train to Pier 1, which has a fun little market inside of it with lots of gourmet foods and crafts. Also not too far from there is the ball park which might be fun to see if you like sports.

Hope that gives you some ideas--have fun! San Francisco is a great city to visit and explore!

Thanks again Bethco for the info! That was just one of the tours offered. What would YOU do if you were going to be in San Francisco for 24 hours? It sounds like we will dock at the old pier (#35)? What is there to do around that area? Is there things to do that you could walk too? How far is Ghiradelli Square? Thanks for all the help and answers you have give me.

Pier 35 is on the F Trolley line, which is convenient to the Embarcadero, The Ferry Terminal Building(http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/visitors.php), and Market Street (in one direction,) and Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf AND Ghiardelli Square in the other direction. San Francisco is an amazing city, very walkable, and it's very easy to fill up your day there.

If you're riding cable cars, stopping off at the museum at the corner of Washington and Mason will make a pleasant two-hour stop, and can be squeezed into an hour. And it's free. http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/index.html

You are all amazing!!! Thanks so much for all the suggestions about San Francisco. Cruise_blog you made us laugh. We love your enthusiasm! You made us wish we were in SF right now! We can't wait to try some of your suggestions. Hugs to you all. Jan

I too, will be on this cruise so I very much appreciate these posts. We are looking forward to seeing the west coast!

We live here so our opinion will be different. Rent a car and avoid all the tourist spots! The options are endless.

Too funny, asking the tourists to skip the tourist spots. :p

We live here so our opinion will be different. Rent a car and avoid all the tourist spots! The options are endless.

Do not rent a car for 24 hours - you are there to see the city. One of the Hopon buses are a good way to see the major sights. (If you want to see the crooked street DO NOT get off the bus at Lombard and Van Ness - it is a big hike up the hill to get to the tourist street. Take the cable car that goes to Lombard if you want to see Alcatraz make reservations ahead of time as they fill up. You have a lot of great restaurants for dinner if you are spending the whole day in the city.

It is a real dive bar but I like the Saloon - the oldest bar in the city. It is on a pointy corner in North Beach. Live music and cheap drinks check the website for start times. If you can order a transit map of the city you can buy a day pass and ride the cable cars and the busses for a fixed fee. Public transit is very good in the city - just watch your wallet, back pack and purse on the crowded buses )especially through China Town.

I left my heart in ....

the museum moma is closed til 2016. I would take hop on and hop off bus...check out the golden gate park museums, or the palace of the legion of honor. eat somewhere not fisherman's wharf or pier 39. check out the ferry building. have a burrito in the mission..or a cup of coffee at Philz and ice cream 1 block away at humprey slocums...all near 24th and folsom.

Well, you're going to have to eat at some point

Boudin's.

True sourdough bread. The one at Fisherman's Wharf has a puny museum upstairs.

Our favorites are the crab cake sandwich from the takeout counter and the chocolate/raisin sourdough bread.

There's also an In n Out nearby. :)

Really love all the food suggestions. I've started a file folder with all suggestions about excursions, places to see and places to eat. Can't thank all of you enough for all the ideas! San Francisco sounds like fun. We will also be stopping in Santa Barbara and Monterey. I'm sure you have ideas for those ports as well. Would love to near them!! Jan

As a Bay Area resident, I would recommend that you try some exquisite meals in any number of our outstanding restaurants with food from everywhere (that's the major form of entertainment here...try Dosa on Mission or Fillmore for South Indian or go for Dim-sum at Yank Sing or get a window table with a view of the Bay at Slanted Door, a Vietnamese restaurant in the Ferry Building at the bottom of Market Street...our Main Street) and avoid the tourist traps. A hidden gem in my opinion is the French Restaurant Jeanne d'Arc on Bush Street in the basement of the Cornell Hotel.The Asian Arts Museum is worth your time and easily accessible at the Civic Center. Take a walk up the Filbert Steps on Telegraph Hill and check out the 30's murals and views from Coit Tower. Walk or bike over the Golden Gate Bridge or take a ferry to Sausalito and take in the views of the city. If you have any connection with the Beat Generation, stop by City Light Books in North Beach and buy a copy of "Howl" by Allen Ginsburg. Whatever you decide, enjoy your stay here and welcome! This is a pretty special place.

A visit to Alcatraz is very interesting but if you go be sure and buy tickets online before you arrive as they can sell out. It is only a short walk from where you dock.

I too, will be on this cruise so I very much appreciate these posts. We are looking forward to seeing the west coast!

Really love all the food suggestions. I've started a file folder with all suggestions about excursions, places to see and places to eat. Can't thank all of you enough for all the ideas! San Francisco sounds like fun. We will also be stopping in Santa Barbara and Monterey. I'm sure you have ideas for those ports as well. Would love to near them!! Jan

Are we all on the same cruise ?? :D

So looking forward to this itin but we have problems walking, so no Alcatraz for us. :(

Pat

We love old Victorian homes. what is the best way to see the "Painted Ladies"? We used to have a book showcasing them and used it as a guide to pick our paint colors when we lived in one of the grand ladies in Illinois.