early flight out of Oakland?

[cvhbauman]

We are returning May 6th (a Monday) from a Princess Hawaii cruise out of San Francisco. Ensenada is our prior port, on the 4th. Looking at a Southwest flight at 11:55 AM. Itinerary says we will be back at Pier 27 at 7 AM. We pack fairly light, so can do self-assist off, and walk to the Embarcadero BART station. Total travel time looks to be 1 hour 15 minutes or so. 

 

Is this a reasonable connection? We've never sailed out of (or back into) San Francisco, so don't have experience with this port. Is a fog delay a likely issue in May? Obviously that could mess us up. Most of the Oakland Airport threads I found after searching are years, if not decades, old. We figured being a Monday, once we got onto BART, "traffic" would become a non-issue. 

 

 

Thanks for your input!

 

[wheezedr]

Thought I would divide your trip into segments so you could make the decision with the info supplied.  

1. Off the ship and through customs.  Obviously this is a big variable, but if you are in the first or second group I would think  30 minutes is a reasonable estimate.

2. Pier 27 to Embarcadero BART is 1.1 miles.  We generally walk it in 20-25 minutes. Wide walkways and all flat.

3. Purchase BART ticket and wait for train.  Again some variability but 10-15 minutes max is reasonable as you are early  in day and you can take trains heading either to Warm Springs (Fremont) or Pleasanton and get off at Coliseum station.

4. BART trip should be 20 minutes.

5. BART shuttle to OAK runs on 6 minute header and takes 8 minutes so figure at most 15 minutes.  You will not need to purchase another ticket if you bought the original BART ticket to go to the Airport not just to the Coliseum station.

6. 5 or 6 minutes to walk across to the terminal.  

 

Now on all that’s left is to check in, check luggage, if you are doing so and clear security.   Personally I think it is doable , others may disagree.  Some folks may advise a cab or Uber from the Pier to BART but that can put you at the vagaries of SF traffic which may be slower than walking at times. 

 

Good luck, hope this helps.

[cvhbauman]

Wheezedr: Thank you for the breakdown, and confirming the times we were seeing. We walk a lot--with luggage (San Diego cruise port to airport, for one!)--so that's not a problem. Nice to know the condition of the sidewalk. We saw either Blue or Green lines go to Coliseum. Do I have to purchase the specific line, or does the same ticket work on either? I appreciate knowing the airport leg is an add-on fare to the main ticket. We've had to deal with that in Newark and Madrid. It makes sense to get it in one purchase, but it's nice not to be surprised at the ticket kiosk!

 

I realize step 1 (and what time the ship gets cleared) and the airport side of it have the most variability. My other concern is fog delay. I'm not seeing much on the boards about this being a SF problem in early May. Google doesn't really tell me much either way--though it seems to be in the clear. Hopefully someone else may be able to shed more light on whether that's an issue.

 

Like you, I'm skeptical about going by car/taxi/etc. Again, thanks for your reply!

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

Fog could definitely be an issue in May and could delay the entry under the Golden Gate.  We have sailed into SF twice and once were delayed by several hours outside the bay.  It's a very narrow entry so they don't chance it.  Plus, we go to the City a few times a year for a weekend.  We have seen the fog roll in/out within minutes from zero to good visibility.  Since fog can't really be predicted, if it were me I would try a later flight.  I would also consider an UBER if you do go with the noon flight.  The walk, buying ticket, etc each add a little bit of time to your transit.  I would guess UBER/TAXI isn't much more expensive than BART and a lot more convenient.  UBER/TAXI shouldn't be that bad in the AM as you're going the reverse commute direction out of the city and once you get across the bridge a good driver should know the surface streets to OAK if it's a parking lot.  Can you get a flight out of SFO?  That way you avoid the bottleneck of crossing the bridge.  

Edited January 3, 2019 by ATSEAMYLIFE

[cvhbauman]

Atseamylife: Later flights have long connection times (as opposed to non-stop). Even then, depending on the fog delay, we could still miss a flight. We've decided to stay a day, split up our sightseeing, and eliminate (hopefully!) the fog risk. We'll be off the ship, and have plenty of time to get to the airport. SFO was more expensive, and no non-stops.

 

I appreciate the information! 

[RSF Cruiser]

We just returned from Hawaii and did self walk-off. We took Lyft to the Oakland Airport ($73 with tip - we paid surge pricing since it was still rush hour). We were picked up at 9:00 and dropped off at the airport at 9:53. We couldn't check our bags since we weren't leaving until 2:20! Wish we had been on the earlier flight... We did hear from someone else in our party that after we left the ship, they had a one hour delay in disembarking. I don't know what the problem was, but if you carry off your luggage, you can leave as soon as they start letting passengers off.

[cvhbauman]

Thanks for the further input. I think we are comfortable with our decision to stay the day after. We might be able to make the flight if disembarking by 9, but any later, I think we'd have problems. We have more things to see, and it should be a lovely time of year.

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

I would do same as what RSF suggested, Lyft or uber directly to Oakl. airport.

Make sure youre in the First carryoff group.

 

As far as Fog flight delays?  SFO gets those alot more often than Oakland.

Hence, I much prefer flying out of Oak rather than SFO even though they

are equal distance from my house.'

 

Of course anything can happen, anywhere, accidents causing traffic delays, etc.

But I think you should be ok flying out, at that time of Oak.