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I have been trying to find out for sure about whether I could use my credit card on the BART and was hitting a dead end. I really appreciate your clarification. I will now see if I can load it on my iPhone and then we will be good to go. Do you think the streetcar will be really crowded at that time of morning on a weekday? I know our subways are crazy and trying to get on with suitcases would be somewhat challenging.

Thank you - I will see how the BART works coming in from the airport to our hotel and think about this. Would need to look into how to pay on the trolley - tap credit card? Cash? I have been trying to find out if I can tap my credit card on the BART rather than applying for a Clipper card for one trip but so far haven’t had a response from them. I am sure we will figure it all out when we arrive at the airport.

Thank you everyone for your insights. I think we feel comfortable now that all will work out.

We do feel we should be OK making the 12 flight - didn’t want to wait for the next one which was around 4:30. Your comments are encouraging. I think we will pay attention to the location of taxis when we are boarding, will ask once on board about the timing of the ship transfers and if these don’t sound feasible will walk off the ship with our baggage and get a taxi and hope the traffic cooperates.

Thank you - very helpful. We have cruised many times but not from San Francisco and know each port is different in terms of their rules so I am glad to hear that the taxis are allowed to wait close to the ship and we will as you say pay attention when we are boarding. We are taking the BART from the airport to our hotel the day before the cruise but I think the BART station (Embarcadero) looks like it about a 30 minute walk from the ship which we could do but maybe shouldn’t take the time to do as we want to get to the airport as quickly as possible. It looks like a taxi fare would actually be no more expensive than paying for a ship transferx2 so unless the traffic is uncooperative (which may be the case on a Tuesday morning at 8am) might be the best option. Thanks for your insight.

Thanks. I will explore but may find it simpler (and less nerve wracking) to use a taxi rather than being a first-time Uber user. I will look into Uber though, if not for this time for other times.

Thanks. That is very helpful. We were guessing that we would be off by 8 so good to hear we were in the ballpark.

We have always taken the ship transfers too but this time Princess has told us their transfer won’t allow us to make a noon flight. We could take a chance as they usually get to the airports very early so exploring other options. Maybe on the ship they will have more accurate information on times for us.

Thank you. You have been so helpful. We are not opposed to walking so thanks for the tip to walk to Lombard. I am going to look into Uber - never used it but keep meaning to figure it out.

Thanks for the quick response. We usually take the ship transfer to the airport so like you have never really paid that much attention to how long the actual disembarkation process takes to begin. I have never used Uber - any recollection of approximately what it was to Oakland airport - might be similar pricing to SF airport I would think.

We will be arriving in San Francisco on the crown princess and have a flight leaving San Francisco airport at noon. The itinerary says that the Crown Princess will be in port at 7:00 a.m. We are planning to take our own baggage off the ship and get the earliest disembarkation. I am not sure if the 7:00 arrival time of the ship is when they begin the docking process or when disembarkation of passengers begins - I.e. I am not sure how I determine the time for a taxi to pick me up. Anybody have any insight that might help? Also we need to find a taxi service that will be reliable to take us to the airport. Has anyone had experience with a service in San Francisco? Thanks.

Thanks - much appreciated.

If anyone has been on Crown or Emerald Princess recently, is there still a promenade deck with deck chairs? We enjoy cruises with many sea days and enjoy sitting on the promenade deck with a good book and watching the ocean going by. Many ships seem to be getting rid of the seating on the promenade decks.

That’s too bad but at least they have loungers that have a view of the ocean. We should check itineraries for the European and that class of their ships.

Thanks for your quick responses. That is sort of what we were afraid of. It’s disappointing for us as we are not pool/activity people and just love quiet time with the ocean - but not so high up that you can’t appreciate the waves or being sunburnt or windblown. Sorry to hear that they are replacing the wooden chairs too. Those were one of the old familiar Holland America things we looked forward to.