WALK FROM S.F. PIER TO ALCATRAZ PIER

[D & S]

We will dock in San Francisco on an upcoming cruise and wondering if it is within walking distance of the Alcatraz Pier 33.  Not sure which pier out ship will docked at, assuming everything is close.    Also, ship says it will dock for 8am, would the first ferry at 9:30  to Alcatraz give us enough time to book their 9:30 departure??

[CruiserBruce]

A quick look at Google Maps has the distance as 3 tenths of a mile, 5 minute walk. Flat as it gets. You can do the 9:30 trip.

 

You will dock at Pier 27, or, outside chance, Pier 35. You will have Pier 33 surrounded.

[martincath]

Close enough? As long as you have legs, yes. It's ALWAYS Pier 27 that cruises use, unless there are multiple ships which pretty much never happens (and if it does, you won't be much different in distance, possibly even closer).

 

Enough time? If you don't have to do immigration, yes and easily so - if you do have immigration though, not a hope in h-e-double-hockey-sticks. Book nothing before noon if you're being processed by CBP in SF!!!

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, martincath said:

 

Enough time? If you don't have to do immigration, yes and easily so - if you do have immigration though, not a hope in h-e-double-hockey-sticks. Book nothing before noon if you're being processed by CBP in SF!!!

 This might be relevant to a flight, but not to a trip to Alcatraz that is 5 minutes walk away.

[martincath]

4 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

 This might be relevant to a flight, but not to a trip to Alcatraz that is 5 minutes walk away.

Couldn't disagree more Bruce - you seem to forget that Alcatraz tickets sell out so folks are booking them well in advance at specific times, as indeed OP is no doubt doing (hence the question). Some coastals have SF as the first US port - I've done two - and SF is, to be blunt, horribly under-capable when it comes to processing a modern cruise ship. Check reports from any of the cruises over the last several years that were processed at Pier 27 and you'll find many reporting on disembarkation taking up to three hours due to CBP backups... If the ship is bang on time and OP is among the last folks processed, maybe they could safely book an 11:15am ferry - but even a relatively short delay docking risks that too.

 

Personally I'd book Alcatraz for after lunch, and then if OP gets off nice & early they can do some lower-priority things that don't need booked to fill their morning - if they are stuck queuing up for hours that way they only miss out on less-important stuff for them rather than Alcatraz.

[D & S]

Thank you for all the info on times getting off the ship.  Didn't realize it might be a hassle in SF.  I read on Trip Advisory that some folks purchased the 9:30  & 10 a.m. tour.  Now after reading all this info that doesn't seem possible most of the time.  Are there other things to do right around where the ship docks and the pier?  Like martincath pointed out to do some other things to fill the morning.  Also mentioned queuing up for hours,  is that to get onto the Alcatraz ferry?

[martincath]

10 hours ago, D & S said:

Thank you for all the info on times getting off the ship.  Didn't realize it might be a hassle in SF.  I read on Trip Advisory that some folks purchased the 9:30  & 10 a.m. tour.  Now after reading all this info that doesn't seem possible most of the time.  Are there other things to do right around where the ship docks and the pier?  Like martincath pointed out to do some other things to fill the morning.  Also mentioned queuing up for hours,  is that to get onto the Alcatraz ferry?

Alcatraz at 9:30am is easily possible if you've already visited another US port before SF on the cruise, just not if you are coming down from Canada or any other country with SF as the first US port of call. Since I don't know what cruise you're taking I thought it best to warn you about the lengthy immigration delays in case this impacts you (Alcatraz isn't exactly super-cheap, and on top of wasting the ticket cost you may be simply unable to get on another boat later in the day as they can be sold out well in advance).

 

If this is one of the Spring repo cruises getting the ship up to Vancouver for Alaskan cruise season you're almost certainly fine as it will begin in the US and end in Canada (doubling back after visiting Victoria/Vancouver would be very strange routing); if it's a Fall repo cruise bringing a ship from Vancouver back southward then it depends if the ship stops in e.g. Seattle or Astoria on the way; if it's a Round Trip coastal then it depends if SF is the first US port after your last Canadian or Mexican port or not.

 

As to other things to do - you've got Pier 39, the Aquarium of the Bay, the Ferry Building, HOHO bus stops, walking tours, other less-booked-out boat tours, the Maritime Historic Park/Liberty Ship, railway museum, Ripleys/Madame Tussauds/7D experience for cheesy stuff, the sea lions to look at (and smell)... there's a metric buttload of stuff to do close to the pier.

Edited January 21, 2019 by martincath

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

Easy quick walk, depending on how long it takes to get off the ship and how long it takes the ship to get to port i.e. fog.  I would book later in the day also because it will be warmer and the island can be windy and cold.  

[D & S]

Thank you for all the directions and tips for going to Alcatraz.  SF will be our 2nd U.S. stop so that will help getting off on time without customs. Will make it much easier with our planning before when we arrive.   Ordering our tickets now.  Thanks for the help.

[Mom39]

On 1/22/2019 at 8:19 PM, D & S said:

Thank you for all the directions and tips for going to Alcatraz.  SF will be our 2nd U.S. stop so that will help getting off on time without customs. Will make it much easier with our planning before when we arrive.   Ordering our tickets now.  Thanks for the help.

Hi.  I'm wondering how it worked out.  We are boarding a cruise from LA which stops overnight in San Francisco.  I must see Alcatraz!  The cruise excursion is fully booked.  Right now, Alcatraz has 3:50 tickets available for the day we arrive (and we arrive at 2 p.m.) and it has Noon tickets available for the day we leave San Fran (we leave at 5 p.m.).  So, either way I'm taking a chance but I figure I'd better order my tickets right away.  Which would you suggest?  I'm sailing Celebrity. 

[Mom39]

58 minutes ago, Mom39 said:

Hi.  I'm wondering how it worked out.  We are boarding a cruise from LA which stops overnight in San Francisco.  I must see Alcatraz!  The cruise excursion is fully booked.  Right now, Alcatraz has 3:50 tickets available for the day we arrive (and we arrive at 2 p.m.) and it has Noon tickets available for the day we leave San Fran (we leave at 5 p.m.).  So, either way I'm taking a chance but I figure I'd better order my tickets right away.  Which would you suggest?  I'm sailing Celebrity. 

I've discovered tickets via another website so I think we're set.  I purchased tickets for 8:40 a.m. on the second day (and realized we leave at 4 that day, not 5).  So, I think we'll be good from what I'm reading.

[CruiserBruce]

There is only one official ticket site for actually landing on Alcatraz. Anything else is usually just sailing by on a boat. The official website is https://www.alcatrazislandtickets.com/