West coast Repositioning Cruise

[miss]

Checking to see if anyone can tell me about a west coast repositioning cruise. I am looking for info on tours, anticipated weather in May and any other helpful information that anyone can share. Thanks. :)

[sunsetbeachgal]

What are the ports you are visiting?

 

 

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[AZ Ocean Lover]

We do a lot of these. We haven't done any tours on the LA or Vancouver end but Vancouver is a beautiful city that we always try to tack a day or two on the end. Weather is very unpredictable. Obviously, it's warmer the first day but it will be brisk as you go further north. We've had rough seas and other times, smooth as glass. One interesting feature of these cruises is the number of birders that set up telescopes and cameras on the promenade deck. They are very eager to share with you what they are seeing and what they are looking for. One other interesting thing about these cruises is that you see a lot of wildlife. We've seen whales, dolphins, sea lions and all kinds of birds.

 

It's a great getaway. We have noticed that we get up sell offers almost every time we go. Some we've taken advantage of and some we haven't.

 

Have fun.

[miss]

What are the ports you are visiting?

 

 

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We are going to San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. We sail from LA to Vancouver and overnight in San Francisco.

[CruiserBruce]

We are going to San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. We sail from LA to Vancouver and overnight in San Francisco.

 

You can Google search weather for your ports. Try, for example "May weather San Francisco".

 

You can also look on the West Coast Departures board. Tons of info on each of your ports.

[caa]

We are going to San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. We sail from LA to Vancouver and overnight in San Francisco.

 

I live in San Diego. Southern California coastal areas have a weather pattern known as May Gray - June Gloom. There's a pretty persistent layer of high overcast for these two months that extends inland from the coast for a mile or two. Temperatures this month have been in the upper 60s at the beaches and it's always cooler on the water, though if you go inland you can find lots of sun and temps in the mid- to upper-70s.

 

Once you head north out of So Cal, you'll probably see more sun, but it's also usually breezier at this time of year and overall temps are cooler. I was in Big Sur and Monterey a couple of weeks ago, and there was plenty of sun, but the air was chilly and I was wearing my fleece jacket most of the time.

 

San Francisco is windy and cold in the spring. Bring a warm hat.

 

Rain is unusual in California in May, though you could get a shower at sea and maybe a little early morning mist or drizzle on shore.

[sunsetbeachgal]

We did a coastal a few years ago, both San Diego and San Francisco we did on our own, no tour. In San Diego we walked over to the Midway, a famous aircraft carrier and toured it. If you like zoos you could either take a cab, Uber or tour to the San Diego Zoo which is wonderful. In San Francisco we walked everywhere, fisherman’s wharf, pier 39, cable cars, etc.

 

 

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[ltcal94]

I think we might be on the same cruise ... Royal 04 May 2019 .

 

 

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[Cruise Raider]

We are going to San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. We sail from LA to Vancouver and overnight in San Francisco.

 

We are on that sailing as well....that is, if you are on the Royal. As others have noted, the weather can be very iffy to predict... once we had very warm weather in May but for the most part, it can and most likely, will be cold. It was very chilly this year in San Francisco this past month. We even got rain, which is rare. My sister lives up near Vancouver and their weather was actually better than ours. We took a cruise out of SF earlier this month and it was on the cool side, even down in San Diego. The seas are usually choppy going north in the Pacific but this latest sailing was smooth as silk. It was hard to believe the ship was even moving.

 

As for things to do the ports of call (not an all inclusive list by any means):

 

San Diego:

-world famous zoo or the Wild Animal Park

-Midway museum (old aircraft carrier that is now docked very near the cruiseship termimal

-whale watching (not recommended for those that get sea sick easily)

-Seaport Village (touristy shopping, entertainment center)

-Old Town

-Balboa Park (filled with museums.... down by the zoo)

-La Jolla (gorgeous landscape, very hoity toity town)

 

San Francisco:

-Alcatraz (don't wait to get tickets for the day of ... book ahead of time online through their official site)

-USS Pampanito (old warship submarine right there on the Embarcadero towards Fisherman's Wharf)

-Fisherman's Wharf

-Hyde Street Pier (outdoor museum of old ships .. just past Fisherman's Wharf)

-Ghirardelli Square (just up the hill from Hyde Street Pier)

-Pier 39 (similar to Seaport Village but with a really great aquarium)

-Golden Gate Park (SF zoo area) with Japanese Tea Gardens, etc

-Exploratorium or Ferry Building (also on the Embarcadero towards the Bay Bridge)

-Walk the Golden Gate

-Sausalito and Muir Woods

-tour the Napa Valley

-Lombard Street, Painted Ladies houses, Crissy Field, US Mint, etc

-ride the Cable Cars

 

Seattle:

-Pikes Market

-Aquarium

-Boeing museum (out past SEATAC airport)

-City center with the Space Needle, Music Experience, Chihuly Gardens, etc.

-visit the flagship Starbucks (near Pikes Market) and flagship Nordstroms

 

Vancouver:

-Stanley Park

-tram up to Grouse Mountain

-Granville Island

 

 

Be sure to check out Groupon or similar sites for discounts to many of these attractions (not sure about Vancouver) but definitely the ones in the US. We found the Hop On Hop Off bus in Vancouver was a great way to see many of it's offerings in one trip and to get an idea of where to spend a day later on down the road.

[Thrak]

Vancouver:

-Stanley Park

-tram up to Grouse Mountain

-Granville Island

 

 

We "tried" visiting Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in Vancouver but... The suspension bridge was packed full of people and, despite not being allowed, there were a bunch of kids running around and making the bridge rock and roll and sway all over. My wife made it maybe 10 steps onto the bridge. I've never seen such a look on her face. We turned around and went back. Needless to say we didn't purchase the "I Survived the Bridge" tee shirt. We did have a nice walk along the path on the "front side" but, since the majority of the facility was on the other side of the bridge it was pretty much an expensive waste. For those who are interested it's an interesting bridge and facility.

 

 

https://www.capbridge.com/

[lx200gps]

Checking to see if anyone can tell me about a west coast repositioning cruise. I am looking for info on tours, anticipated weather in May and any other helpful information that anyone can share. Thanks. :)

 

We did a recent repo on the Emerald from LA up to Vancouver, with a long day in Victoria, in early May as you are planning. As others have said, it's hard to predict weather, but don't just concentrate on the ports, think also about the "enroute" portion. On our trip, the weather in LA, Victoria and Vancouver was gorgeous, sunny and warm everywhere. The weather on the open sea, not so much. Howling 35 kt winds on the bow and 20 foot seas for much of the trip, with temperatures in the 10-12 degree range. The upper decks were largely deserted and everybody was "downstairs", making for a rather crowded ship. Something to keep in mind, though I'm sure ours was a freak weather front passing through. Still, a cruise is a cruise and we had a great time.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Laughing about the Capilano Bridge, Thrak. DH felt the same way, "You want me to go out on that?!" I'm like yeah! And I jumped behind him too. :D He was as white as a ghost - almost as bad as when I took him hot air ballooning. :D

 

 

caa-You are so right on the weather! San Diego sure get's it's fill of May Grey and June Gloom. It does make it more comfortable for touring.

 

 

OP-Why don't you join the roll call? You can join others in tours if you want here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=56171392#post56171392

[skynight]

Since you will be in S.F. for two days take a look at the below walking tour site. We have taken some of these walks and they were really interesting. There is no charge, but they do pass an envelope at the end of the tour and ask for a donation to keep the organization going. Guides are well trained, not paid and they do not share in the donation.

http://www.sfcityguides.org/

[miss]

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions - we are enjoying getting the information and are making notes from those who have been there and done that. We are on the 5/4 Royal Princess.

[Cruise Raider]

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions - we are enjoying getting the information and are making notes from those who have been there and done that. We are on the 5/4 Royal Princess.

 

That is definitely the same cruise we are booked on .... see you onboard.

[Pierlesscruisers]

Checking to see if anyone can tell me about a west coast repositioning cruise. I am looking for info on tours, anticipated weather in May and any other helpful information that anyone can share. Thanks. :)

 

They are anywhere in length from 1 to 4 days. The only thing you can't do is do a reposition from a US port to Vancouver, BC and then from Vancouver to Seattle on the same ship without a break between the 2 cruises or the same thing in reverse (Sea-Vancouver-US port). That's a violation of the PVSA. If you have a ship change betwen the 2 cruises, you're good to go, though.

 

Tom

[Cruise Raider]

They are anywhere in length from 1 to 4 days. The only thing you can't do is do a reposition from a US port to Vancouver, BC and then from Vancouver to Seattle on the same ship without a break between the 2 cruises or the same thing in reverse (Sea-Vancouver-US port). That's a violation of the PVSA. If you have a ship change betwen the 2 cruises, you're good to go, though.

 

Tom

 

I think the OP is on an LA to Vancouver sailing, 7 night cruise on the Royal.