Last year when we did the repositioning cruise from Los Angeles to Vancouver on the Disney Magic, we had an overnight stay in San Francisco. You can’t imagine how excited we were to spend so much time in the city! When I found out that Disney would be doing Pacific Coast sailings, I was wishing we would be able to do it again, especially because they would be going to San Diego too.
California is an amazing state to visit. You can be at the ocean one minute and in the mountains in less than an hour. You have forests and deserts, big cities and small towns, orange groves and vineyards! One could spend a lot of time exploring this state.
You can get a glimpse of California by going to Epcot and riding Soarin’ (or the original at Disney’s California Adventure, Soarin’ Over California).
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6YISwoNrgE]
The nice thing about doing this on a Disney Cruise is you get to three areas of the state in a week, without having to unpack. In San Francisco, you will be there from 8:30 am on Tuesday until 10:30 pm on Wednesday. This gives you plenty of time to check out the area, maybe even dine at a couple local restaurants before sailing back under the Golden Gate bridge.
From the ship, you’ll be able to see Alcatraz and many areas close to the port.
What can you do with only two days? There are many shore excursions offered by Disney in San Francisco, but we decided to go on our own.
For those that are interested in seeing Napa or Sonoma, you could take an excursion going up to visit the wineries. The cruise line offers a couple. Last time, we got a group together and had a driver to take us around for the day. We visited four wineries and had a lovely picnic lunch. If you have a designated driver, you can get a one day car rental from one of the rental companies with offices near Fisherman’s Wharf. Be aware though, that driving time to the south end of Sonoma will take at least 45 minutes with Napa and areas further north taking more time. Traffic can be bad coming back at the end of the day.
Head over to the Walt Disney Family Museum. Keep in mind that this is the history of the Disney family, not with a focus on the theme parks and characters. Reservations should be made in advance, you can even sign up to do a shore excursion here with transportation included.
Fisherman’s Wharf is within walking distance west of the dock. Here you can check out the seals basking in the sun or dine on some fantastic seafood. You can get a ferry over to Alcatraz to tour this infamous prison. Maybe you want to hop on a cable car and see a bit more of the city. Or the hop on hop off bus.
If the Giants have a home game, get tickets and head over to the park. If not, they do offer tours of the park as well. How about a tour of a chocolate factory? Get your reservations for TCHO chocolate factory tour. You can also visit the aquarium at Fisherman’s Wharf. Go to Chinatown and have some dim sum!
No matter what you do, you are going to realize that San Francisco is a city you will want to come back to, maybe for a longer stay or on another cruise.
Here was my view from our room in the morning.
There still is space on the Pacific Coast sailings this fall starting on September 15 for four sailings. Not only will you get an overnight stay in San Francisco, your favorite Pixar characters will be onboard as well. Give us a call today to book your sailing!
