San Francisco information

[marden1970]

I agree with prev post of trying the Columbus Inn (they just dropped the Motor from their name)  My friend and I just got back from SF after a girls weekend. The place is newly remodeled, clean, comfortable, safe and much more affordable. Very nice staff.  There is a bus stop out front and just a few blocks from 2 of the cable car lines.  I would look into getting a multiple day transit pass when you arrive.  Unlimited bus, street car and cable car rides.  Very walkable to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39.  The Island Princess was in port that day, coming from the Panama Canal.  Had some nice conversations with a few of the passengers.  We walked down to Pier 27 to see her,  really wanted to board but will have to wait until June when we do the Grand to Alaska.

[pjrockman]

9 hours ago, dubldeck said:

if your looking for a good spot for Pizza, check out Tony's Napoletana.  Its in little Italy on Stockton street.  Best Pizza I have ever had, oh and the cannoli's are to die for.  Get there early as there is always a wait, but just learned you can check in ahead of time on Yelp.  Enjoy SF!!!

Thanks, Dubldeck.  We had Tony’s on our list with a couple of other Pizza places.  We will try to get to Tony’s now that you validated.

 

Safe Journeys, Paul

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 4/30/2019 at 10:01 PM, pjrockman said:

Thanks, Dubldeck.  We had Tony’s on our list with a couple of other Pizza places.  We will try to get to Tony’s now that you validated.

 

Tony's Pizza Napoletana isn't exactly an unknown or uncertain entity. They won the Best Pizza Margherita at the World Pizza Cup in Naples, Italy a number of years ago and I think they were the first non-Italians to ever win in Naples.

 

Just about any pizza joint on the Eater SF list is outstanding. Pizzeria Delfina and Del Popolo are my other favorites.

[Cruisin Kay D]

 

My suggestion is to start NOW looking at Trip Advisor at various hotels and read the reviews!  Have google maps open too, to see where the various ones are -- hotels, restaurants, cable cars, hop-on-hop-off bus routes, etc.   Basically get totally familiar with city!!

We are familiar with the city, having been there to stay 4x varying lengths of time.  In 80s we stayed at The Palace -- such a wow but very pricey -- walked to the cable cars.   On that trip was when I saw my 1st homeless people, men & women!!   That situation has grown considerably since then.    In 90s &/or early 2000s we stayed at Marriott  Marquis 2x but it too is out of our price range now.   In 2015 we stayed 2 nts at the Hyatt on Union Sq. pre-cruise.  

Just today I have been looking for hotel for 1 nt. pre-cruise in June.  Spent alot of time looking at where to stay 1 nt.  but I know the  layout of the city, and still had trouble making up my mind.   I fell in love with the 2 boutique "mini-hotels" in the Presidio & almost booked a room there, but pricey too.

I kicked out Fisherman's Wharf area due to too many negative reviews and also due to high fees added on the taxes -- one place the base rate was appealing (under 300)  but had more than $70 in fees & taxes.  So be sure to do some dummy bookings to see what will be added to your bill.  

Also get familiar with cable car routes  and other public  trolley routes.  Sometimes it is hard to get onto a cable car as it goes from 1 end to other.  Sometimes best to get on at the ends.  

 

[Grandma DD]

We are staying in the Petite Auberge on Bush Street.  I used my credit card points, which translated to about $525 for two nights.   We haven't been to SFO in many many years so we will be doing alot of the touristy things again. 

[All in the same boat]

It looks like I should contact the visitors bureau and get a map of the city. There's a lot to figure out before I book a hotel.

[Philob]

1 hour ago, All in the same boat said:

It looks like I should contact the visitors bureau and get a map of the city. There's a lot to figure out before I book a hotel.

Or try AAA  to get some free maps.  I just ordered a bunch city and state maps for the South West (Arizona, New Mex) & the North West (Oregon, Washington state).  Can't decide to get hot or get wet  

 

 

Edited June 2, 2019 by Philob

[peacefulOR]

On 4/18/2019 at 6:43 AM, All in the same boat said:

We'll be cruising out of San Francisco in January. We plan to arrive 3 to 4 days early because we have never visited SF. We would like suggestions on places to stay. We are big Seafood fans, so if anybody has a favorite restaurant please let us know.

 

I would recommend the Hilton financial district (750 Kearny St) for January. Their prices are under $200 right now for low season and are a couple of blocks from Chinatown, short ride to the pier, cable cars and much more not far. Price was comparable to standard airport hotels and several inexpensive upgrades can be requested after booking. I was pleased that this property hasn't jacked up their prices on cruise departure dates like we've experience in Seattle , Miami and NYC. Enjoy your cruise and do hit your roll call for more info on almost everything!

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

January can be a pretty reasonable time to visit The City.  I'm Hilton brand loyal and we visit 2-3 times a year usually between October - February when hotels are more reasonable.  I haven't done the Hilton Financial District but usually do the Hilton Union Square or Parc 55.  Just keep shopping until you find something in your price range.  As a Hilton Honors member I really like how easy it is to book, cancel, book, cancel as the prices change.  Weekends are almost always cheaper than weekdays as they charge the business travelers up the wazzu.  

[Philob]

Trivia.  The Hilton Financial District used to be the Holiday Inn Financial District.  Before the Holiday Inn it was the real Hall of Justice and used as the back drop for the Perry Mason tv series.  The half wagon wheel windows in the Perry Mason episodes were one of the unique architectural features of the original building.    

 

Across the street is Portsmouth Square (Chinatown's living room) was basically where the City was founded.  Montgomery Street a block east was the bay shoreline.  

 

Two blocks north at a triangular block is Francis Ford Coppola's Cafe Zoetrope; back in the day he'll could be seen dining in one of the sidewalk tables or at the window.  He owns the building and his private office is upstairs.  My office was next door in the newer building.  

 

Across Columbus Avenue, Jackson St & Pacific Avenue, was the old Barbary Coast area, now known as Jackson Square.  It was known for its saloons and other activities 😎, and a place where someone could get shanghai'd.  Now it's full of architectural design firms and start-ups.

 

[All in the same boat]

Just a short note to bump us up to the first page. There are 4 of us going to SF and we'll be there for 3 days before the cruise. What kind of weather can we expect. We'll be arriving Jan 21st.

[AlanF65]

11 minutes ago, All in the same boat said:

Just a short note to bump us up to the first page. There are 4 of us going to SF and we'll be there for 3 days before the cruise. What kind of weather can we expect. We'll be arriving Jan 21st.

50's to mid 60's chances of rain, cool at night, wind, possible rain

https://freetoursbyfoot.com/san-francisco-weather-january/#sun

 

 

[Philob]

13 hours ago, AlanF65 said:

50's to mid 60's chances of rain, cool at night, wind, possible rain

https://freetoursbyfoot.com/san-francisco-weather-january/#sun

 

 

Hey!  That's what I'm wearing now, in the Summer!  😎

 

[xlxo]

I'll toss in my fav hotel... Parc 55 by Hilton.

• land in SFO and take the affordable BART to Powell station
• Parc 55 is across the street from Powell station
• cab to cruise terminal is about $13.
• cable car terminus is outside the Parc 55 hotel
• Chinatown is a 15 minute walk for morning Dim Sum or fortune cookies
• if the cable cars are busy, the streetcars are across the street to Fisherman's wharf

[AlanF65]

1 hour ago, Philob said:

Hey!  That's what I'm wearing now, in the Summer!  😎

 

And 85 miles away its shorts and tee shirts today.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

6 hours ago, AlanF65 said:

And 85 miles away its shorts and tee shirts today.

 

You don't need to go that far. Just get over the hills. It is 85° in Walnut Creek today, a quick BART ride away.

 

SF is notoriously cool year round.

[HappyCruiserettu]

On 7/3/2019 at 7:58 PM, All in the same boat said:

Just a short note to bump us up to the first page. There are 4 of us going to SF and we'll be there for 3 days before the cruise. What kind of weather can we expect. We'll be arriving Jan 21st.

Are you going to Hawaii on the Grand with us?

[Grandma DD]

6 hours ago, HappyCruiserettu said:

Are you going to Hawaii on the Grand with us?

 

6 hours ago, HappyCruiserettu said:

Are you going to Hawaii on the Grand with us?

We are arriving in SFO on the 22nd.   It will be chilly there.  

[Thom2010]

On 6/1/2019 at 4:50 PM, All in the same boat said:

It looks like I should contact the visitors bureau and get a map of the city. There's a lot to figure out before I book a hotel.

Hi, we go to San Francisco occasionally to get out of the valley heat (Sacramento Valley) in the summer time or to go shop. I always almost book through Expedia because rates vary greatly depending on what’s going on at the time. I read reviews to be sure that the hotel is clean and nice. We also stay out by SFO occasionally because rates are usually lower than by Union Square, the Embarcadero, or Fisherman’s Wharf. And, you can use BART to get downtown reasonably cheap. Or Uber or Lyft. Let me know if you have specific questions,

Robin

[All in the same boat]

On 7/27/2019 at 3:22 AM, HappyCruiserettu said:

Are you going to Hawaii on the Grand with us?

Sorry to take so long to answer but I haven't read the review in awhile. We're going through the Panama Canal on the Norwegian Gem and ending up in NYC. It might be cool in SF but our ship will be breaking ice when it docks in NYC.

[Grandma DD]

1 hour ago, All in the same boat said:

Sorry to take so long to answer but I haven't read the review in awhile. We're going through the Panama Canal on the Norwegian Gem and ending up in NYC. It might be cool in SF but our ship will be breaking ice when it docks in NYC.

 

1 hour ago, All in the same boat said:

Sorry to take so long to answer but I haven't read the review in awhile. We're going through the Panama Canal on the Norwegian Gem and ending up in NYC. It might be cool in SF but our ship will be breaking ice when it docks in NYC.

We did this cruise last year.   I was all set to freeze on our return back to NY.   so were the other passengers.   I was also leery about the trip up to East Coast waters. The crew was putting out bags and I was a nervous wreck. Thankfully, the waters were calm and we had an unseasonably warm return. Hopefully this time will be comparable!!

[All in the same boat]

19 hours ago, Grandma DD said:

 

We did this cruise last year.   I was all set to freeze on our return back to NY.   so were the other passengers.   I was also leery about the trip up to East Coast waters. The crew was putting out bags and I was a nervous wreck. Thankfully, the waters were calm and we had an unseasonably warm return. Hopefully this time will be comparable!!

The last time I took the Gem in the winter we came back to find an ice sheet about 1 1/2 inches thick at the dock. The Gem broke through it and we docked in a sea of mosaic ice chunks.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

On 6/12/2019 at 8:51 PM, Philob said:

Trivia.  The Hilton Financial District used to be the Holiday Inn Financial District.  Before the Holiday Inn it was the real Hall of Justice and used as the back drop for the Perry Mason tv series.  The half wagon wheel windows in the Perry Mason episodes were one of the unique architectural features of the original building.    

 

Sort of accurate.  We are huge Perry Mason fans and are staying at the Hotel in October.  The series was actually Raymond Burr's Ironsides (1967-1975).  There is nothing left on the site (expect maybe dirt) connected with the series as the Hall of Justice was torn down in 1968, but stock footage was used for exterior shots.  Holiday Inn Chinatown opened in 1971.  Then after a complete remodel the hotel opened as the Hilton in January 2006.  The first Dirty Harry movie opening scene was filmed at the Hilton rooftop pool.   

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

On 7/4/2019 at 8:37 AM, AlanF65 said:

And 85 miles away its shorts and tee shirts today.

 

But you're in Modesto!   Just kidding, I'm in Stockton and it's 99.

[Big Tiger Fan]

Just read comments with interest. We need a hotel for 2 nights in May before an Alaska cruise. Parc 55 is on our short list so post was very helpful. What can you Hilton fans tell me about the Hilton San Francisco Union Square?

I have made a list of the restaurants mentioned.

What about weather in May? Still cool? We’re going to the beach over here in May. Will have to hang on to cool weather clothes for this trip.

thanks for all the input. It’s very helpful.