San Francisco

[rfranklin]

We are travelling on the YVR to SFO cruise in April on the Star Princess. We have one day in San Francisco and then we fly home on the Monday. The issue I am having is we have tickets to see Hamilton at 1:00pm. And my son wants to go and see Alcatraz as well. I am not sure we have enough time for both because of the time we get off the ship. My question is:

Is there a place to store your luggage at the cruise port? And how long does it usually take to debark the ship? 

There is set Alcatraz cruise times. So I was hoping to go to Alcatraz at the earliest time that way I can check into my hotel and then make it to Hamilton. 

 

Thanks for the help in advance. This is my first cruise and I am not sure how it all works. 

[need2cruisesoon]

You should book Alcatraz tickets now if you haven't already. Not sure about doing both, check the ferry schedule maybe you can do a quick tour.

 

Here is the west coast thread.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/315-west-coast-departures/

[Colo Cruiser]

14 minutes ago, rfranklin said:

We are travelling on the YVR to SFO cruise in April on the Star Princess. We have one day in San Francisco and then we fly home on the Monday. The issue I am having is we have tickets to see Hamilton at 1:00pm. And my son wants to go and see Alcatraz as well. I am not sure we have enough time for both because of the time we get off the ship. My question is:

Is there a place to store your luggage at the cruise port? And how long does it usually take to debark the ship? 

There is set Alcatraz cruise times. So I was hoping to go to Alcatraz at the earliest time that way I can check into my hotel and then make it to Hamilton. 

 

Thanks for the help in advance. This is my first cruise and I am not sure how it all works. 

Yes check out the Frisco board.   

[Cruise Raider]

There are times for travel over to Alcatraz but, you wait in a line to get on the return ferry ... you may make it onto the next ferry or you may be waiting over on The Rock for the next one, or the one after that.  It just all depends on how many people are waiting ahead of you.  We've waited for over an hour.  

Even with that, you won't get all that is offered over on Alcatraz.... it would be a shame to waste your morning worrying about getting back in time, if it's even doable.  I suppose it is, but not a good use of your time.  You'd have to plan on getting on the 11 AM ferry back to pick up your luggage, check into your hotel and get to the performance.  Yikes

I have read there is a place near Pier 39 where you can pay to store your luggage.  It is within walking distance of Pier 27.  You could probably ask for walk off and be off the ship by 8 AM ... but not sure what time the luggage storage place opens.  I think it is like $10 a bag, or something like that.   But, if this all works out, you could possibly leave your luggage there until after the play and then pick it up there and then go check into your hotel.  

You'd need to figure out how far your hotel is from the Embarcadero ... if it is close, you might be able to drop it there with the bell hop.  Still ... seems like an awfully tight schedule to keep.  

Edited January 30, 2020 by Cruise Raider

[Cruise Raider]

47 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Yes check out the Frisco board.   

 

Don't go there... Frisco is in Texas last I checked.  😉

 

[Cruise Raider]

https://sfport.com/luggage-storage

[adstz]

35 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Yes check out the Frisco board.   

 

AAACCKKK! "Frisco"! Never! It's San Francisco, if you please!

You should be able to do a walk off around 8 am if you are able to handle your own luggage.

If you go to www.alcatrazcruises.com you will see there is an 8:45 am tour for 2 hours 15 minutes. If you take a taxi there and have prepaid your tickets online you should have plenty of time. It is less than a mile from Pier 27 where the ship comes in to Pier 33 where the Alcatraz ferry departs.

Luggage storage appears to be at Pier 39 at the California Welcome Center. Getting there and back to Pier 33 in time may be a problem. I would sign up for the earliest walk off available. Depending how early the ship clears customs you may be able to get off well before 8 am.

Hamilton, on the other hand, may take a while to get to depending on traffic. It's not far just a lot of cars. They just shut down Market Street to regular traffic so only buses, taxi's and bikes are allowed. If you Uber or Lyft they can't go on Market. Taxi is your best bet.

[Thrak]

We were going to see Hamilton until we discovered it's hip-hop and rap - neither of which we enjoy. I guess it's also R&B but that has a totally different meaning these days from what it meant when I was younger. No thanks. I agree that Alcatraz can take some time.

[voljeep]

4 minutes ago, adstz said:

 

AAACCKKK! "Frisco"! Never! It's San Francisco, if you please!

Frisco, Texas ?

[gatorguy56]

Even with early reservations at Alcatraz it would be a tight squeeze to make it to the theater in time for the play down on Market Street especially considering you need to store luggage first.  The ferry takes awhile getting out to the rock.  Also be aware, sometimes the ship is late getting into port.  Our last trip returning to San Francisco we were were about 5 hours late.  We had an emergency medical evacuation the day before off the Oregon coast and it put us behind our original arrival time.  It was pretty chaotic getting off the ship.  

[jondfk]

Special circumstances notwithstanding, debarkation in San Francisco is generally fairly efficient.  The ship is typically fully empty well before 10:00AM that last 100 folks or so are trying to savor every minute.  

 

Still, your proposed itinerary doesn't leave much room for surprises and provides plenty of opportunity for things to go wobbly.  Personally, I'd probably look for an alternate activity to fill those in between hours - plenty to do in San Francisco for a few hours.

[Cruise Raider]

18 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 agree that Alcatraz can take some time.

 

 

I agree, too ... 

Last time we went, our tickets were at 9 AM ... and we've been before so didn't have to see everything, although I always pick up something new on the audio tour.  We didn't hustle but also didn't lollygag and we didn't get back to the drop off point until 3:30 PM.  

I'm with you ... I would skip Hamilton before I skipped anything else. 

[Philob]

FYI: As of January 29th private vehicles (including Lyft/Uber) are no longer allowed for a greater part of Market Street.  Only transit, commercial delivery (at certain times only), para transit, and old fashion "taxis" are allowed.  

 

The adjoining streets are a mess until this all gets "used to" which includes Mission St that a Uber would use to get to the Orpheum Theater..  

Edited January 31, 2020 by Philob

[rfranklin]

17 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

There are times for travel over to Alcatraz but, you wait in a line to get on the return ferry ... you may make it onto the next ferry or you may be waiting over on The Rock for the next one, or the one after that.  It just all depends on how many people are waiting ahead of you.  We've waited for over an hour.  

Even with that, you won't get all that is offered over on Alcatraz.... it would be a shame to waste your morning worrying about getting back in time, if it's even doable.  I suppose it is, but not a good use of your time.  You'd have to plan on getting on the 11 AM ferry back to pick up your luggage, check into your hotel and get to the performance.  Yikes

I have read there is a place near Pier 39 where you can pay to store your luggage.  It is within walking distance of Pier 27.  You could probably ask for walk off and be off the ship by 8 AM ... but not sure what time the luggage storage place opens.  I think it is like $10 a bag, or something like that.   But, if this all works out, you could possibly leave your luggage there until after the play and then pick it up there and then go check into your hotel.  

You'd need to figure out how far your hotel is from the Embarcadero ... if it is close, you might be able to drop it there with the bell hop.  Still ... seems like an awfully tight schedule to keep.  

That is good to know about maybe having to wait for a return ferry. I didn't think of that. I just assumed that if you have a time of 9:30am that is when you go to Alcatraz and then coming back you just jump on a return ferry with no wait. Thanks for the tip on the luggage storage place. I definitely will be using it. Our hotel is on Lombard Street. So it does not make sense taking our luggage to the hotel. The luggage place closes at 8pm. So we will just leave it there for the day until after Hamilton. I have never cruised before. So I don't know what it entails to get off the ship. Your right it seems like an awfully tight schedule. Just waiting for the schedule for Alcatraz to come available before I make the final decision. Thanks for the information. You have been extremely helpful. 

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, rfranklin said:

That is good to know about maybe having to wait for a return ferry. I didn't think of that. I just assumed that if you have a time of 9:30am that is when you go to Alcatraz and then coming back you just jump on a return ferry with no wait. Thanks for the tip on the luggage storage place. I definitely will be using it. Our hotel is on Lombard Street. So it does not make sense taking our luggage to the hotel. The luggage place closes at 8pm. So we will just leave it there for the day until after Hamilton. I have never cruised before. So I don't know what it entails to get off the ship. Your right it seems like an awfully tight schedule. Just waiting for the schedule for Alcatraz to come available before I make the final decision. Thanks for the information. You have been extremely helpful. 

 

So, if the ship docks on time (and in San Francisco, there is rarely an occurrence why it wouldn't), you will probably be able to be off the ship by 8 AM ... maybe even a little earlier.  Just ask to be included in one of the first walk off groups.  Since it sounds like a short sailing, there will be a lot of people wanting to get off in these groups, so it wouldn't hurt to make this request at the guest services desk when you first board the ship.  You will have to be able to handle all your own luggage, but we've never found that to be problematic.  

One thing to keep in mind, if the mid ship elevators are completely full, go to the one in the aft or forward sections of the ship.  OR ... go on one going up just to get a spot on the elevator with your luggage.  What goes up, must come down ..... you will probably be thankful you did.  

I'm not sure how long it will take at the luggage storage area ... but it is about a 12-15 minute walk, all flat with a wide sidewalk ... door to door.  Then, it will be about another 5 minutes to get to the Alcatraz landing.  

If you're not used to SF weather, be sure to layer layer layer when going over to The Rock (aka:  Alcatraz).  Again, you will be thankful you did.  It can be very chilly over there.  Do purchase the audio sets for the self tour when you go ... it's fascinating!!  And just keep an eye out for the return ferry and the line ups.  There is a large area with seating ... as soon as the seats all fill up, head on down.  Hopefully, you will have a very fun filled day and get everything done with no hitches.  

Bon voyage!!  

Edited January 31, 2020 by Cruise Raider

[Turtles06]

On 1/30/2020 at 5:42 PM, Thrak said:

We were going to see Hamilton until we discovered it's hip-hop and rap - neither of which we enjoy. I guess it's also R&B but that has a totally different meaning these days from what it meant when I was younger. No thanks. I agree that Alcatraz can take some time.

Hamilton is a whole mix of music, not just rap.  I am not a rap fan and was skeptical. I’ve now seen the show five times (including last week in SF) and can’t wait to see it again. It’s extraordinary. There’s a reason it’s become a cultural phenomenon. 

[DUTRAVEL]

On 1/31/2020 at 10:07 PM, Turtles06 said:

Hamilton is a whole mix of music, not just rap.  I am not a rap fan and was skeptical. I’ve now seen the show five times (including last week in SF) and can’t wait to see it again. It’s extraordinary. There’s a reason it’s become a cultural phenomenon. 

I have to agree - I am not a fan of hip hop or rap, but I thought Hamilton was fantastic. I highly recommend seeing it.