Early morning arrival into San Francisco Bay causes everyone to go up onto the top deck to get a picture of the ship going under the Golden Gate Bridge.

Then we all rush around to eat breakfast and gather to get off the ship, go through custom (especially stringent) and board the bus to take our tour. The bus literally makes the (very) short drive from pier 27 to pier 33 so we can board a ferry to Alcatraz island. The Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz are all part of a National Historic Park. Very well organized and run, and one of the best interpretative tours we’ve experienced.

Once you’ve arrived on Alcatraz island, you climb the long road up to the prison area. There is an excellent audio tour narrated by original guards and prisoners. I would highly recommend this tour if you ever find yourself in San Francisco for a couple of days. The ferry ride is maybe 15 minutes, the tour is a couple of hours and then you board the ferry back. Tickets sell out so plan accordingly!

When we arrive back on shore, we board our bus again to go across the Golden Gate to Sausalito, a quaint village opposite San Francisco. The town was a place where people went on weekends to sail and enjoy some sun in the summer when the fog is really heavy in San Francisco. Sausalito has an interesting history too. This is where Liberty Ships were built during World War II and people lived in houses built on boats during this period. There are some beautiful homes nestled in the hillside but the sun is way too bright to capture good pix. The marina is filled with lots of sailboats resting quietly. Beautiful white lockers line the boardwalk. We have time for a walk around the town and marina, have lunch at a small cafe and then get back on the bus to go ‘home’ to our ship.

Today, we are spending the morning updating our phones, iPads and computers in the Pier 27 terminal using their FREE Wi-Fi. Then off to run some errands, do a little strolling around the pier area and have some lunch at either Pier 39 or Fisherman’s Wharf – very touristy but still fun. Since it is winter here, there aren’t as many tourists so we pretty much can do whatever we like.

Our ship sails this evening at 8:00 PM, leaving the continental USA and heading for the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Four sea days! Looking forward to the warm weather again!