Thread: which California port do you prefer?

Which California port do you prefer to sail out of?

San Francisco.....Great views and sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge....What a sight..Also no airport for me.....

I have sailed out of 3 of the 4 CA ports. They each have there advantages and disadvantages for us.

San Francisco is the closest and therefore the shortest flight. Distance from airport to pier is ok.

San Pedro, the traditional port. We can get usually get good prices on flights in LAX. The transfer to the pier can be long if traffic is bad. We are going to fly into SNA the next time to see if that is any better.

In San Diego the airport is very close so that is nice. The flight is a little longer and more expensive.

I'd have to say either San Francisco or San Diego.
The main reason is they are easily accessible by Amtrak.
I do love sailing under the GG bridge, I've done that 5
times now and it's a thrill every time.

Reggie

Being a native of SF, my vote would also be SF. I have yet to do it via cruise ship and hope to be able to do it someday soon! It would be great to see the home port push catch on here too!

So far we have sailed out of San Diego several times as well as San Francisco (LOVE going under the GG bridge!). Of the 2, San Diego is the easiest, in my opinion. San Fransicso has a lot of traffic because of the location of the pier....it's right on a main road with traffic going right by the entrances to the various berths.

We will be sailing from San Pedro in September. Any helpful hints on hotels and the cheapest way to get from LAX to San Pedro? We are flying in the day before.

Originally Posted by Char

So far we have sailed out of San Diego several times as well as San Francisco (LOVE going under the GG bridge!). Of the 2, San Diego is the easiest, in my opinion. San Fransicso has a lot of traffic because of the location of the pier....it's right on a main road with traffic going right by the entrances to the various berths.

We will be sailing from San Pedro in September. Any helpful hints on hotels and the cheapest way to get from LAX to San Pedro? We are flying in the day before.

We stayed at the Westin at LAX and then took a taxi to the pier...unfortunately, there was traffic, think it ran us 40+ dollars but was still cheaper than ship transfers.

Turns out we will be cruising out of SF for our Infinity cruise!!! This Bay Area native is sooo excited, as my first memory of cruise ships was attending a Bon Voyage party for my Grandmother and her dear sister on a ship embarking in SF. I knew I wanted to cruise the seas there and then!!

Cruising out of San Diego in March which is really the easiest for us, an 80 minute flight and 15 minute cab ride to the pier!!

Originally Posted by reggierail

I'd have to say either San Francisco or San Diego.
The main reason is they are easily accessible by Amtrak.
I do love sailing under the GG bridge, I've done that 5
times now and it's a thrill every time.

Reggie

On our train trip RT Oxnard to Seattle (with a cruise and post-cruise stay in Seattle in between), we were going by the GG bridge (I think...it could have been the Bay Bridge for all I know) during the day going South. Almost missed it as I was watching Shrek II in the entertainment car with the kids.

I have only sailed out of San Pedro. I guess some might be what you want to do as far as excursions before and after. Other then that the Golden Gate would be a sight to behold.

Originally Posted by localady

We stayed at the Westin at LAX and then took a taxi to the pier...unfortunately, there was traffic, think it ran us 40+ dollars but was still cheaper than ship transfers.

Turns out we will be cruising out of SF for our Infinity cruise!!! This Bay Area native is sooo excited, as my first memory of cruise ships was attending a Bon Voyage party for my Grandmother and her dear sister on a ship embarking in SF. I knew I wanted to cruise the seas there and then!!

Cruising out of San Diego in March which is really the easiest for us, an 80 minute flight and 15 minute cab ride to the pier!!

Loca, I've considered cruises from SF, also ... but how are you planning to get to the pier? Aside from having a kindhearted friend drop us off, and pick us up (which would be wonderful, but unlikely), I'm trying to think of the logistics. Obviously, we can drive to the pier (we live a few miles from you), but what do we do with the car, as there really isn't a parking lot at the pier? The other thought would be to take Amtrak to Richmond and BART to The City, but we'd have to transfer to Muni ... and that's a lot of schlepping of the luggage (particularly on the Muni cars). So, I'm hoping that you'll have a suggestion that I haven't thought of. TIA!!!