Bay Cruises San
Francisco
Blue and Gold
Review
The Bay Cruise Sails San Francisco Bay
The Blue and Gold Fleet offers the chance to see the
magnificent splendor of the San Francisco Bay up close. Tickets prices are
currently $18 for adult, $10 for Child (5-11), and $14 for Juniors (12-18) and
Seniors (62+). If you plan on visiting the city, and purchasing the popular San
Francisco CityPass package, you should know that a ticket for the Bay Cruise is
included. You should also consider a
comprehensive (5 hour) tour that combines
San Francisco sightseeing of most major sights with the Bay Cruise (usually $60
or less per person). You may also want to check out
sailboat charters which are available as either
per-person tickets or charters of entire
(beautiful) sailboats and captain.
The CityPass was how I first learned of the Bay Cruise. At
first, I didn’t see the need for it, and didn’t plan to use it. I wanted to
write off the Bay Cruise as a tourist trap, especially since it is located at
Fisherman’s Wharf at Pier 39. After all, Pier 39 is so full of shops and
restaurants that the average visitor must hold to his or her wallet tightly to
avoid paying overly-high prices for food and needless souvenirs.
I guarantee that you will definitely become a
stereotypical tourist if you take the Bay Cruise. Not because you will spend
your money needlessly, but you will have to take as many pictures as
possible. The Bay Cruise passes many breathtaking sites, and you could fill up
eight rolls of film without even trying. When you go, make certain to bring your
digital camera. I know I wished I had one that day.
Alcatraz Island - San
Francisco
You also should make some other plans beforehand: 1) Plan
the time, because the Bay cruise leaves at regular intervals. 2) Plan for even
more time at Fisherman's Wharf,
because it is often rented out by large groups.
The Bay Cruise has a guided tour that is done by recording
over the intercom. Unless they’ve done some adjustments since I visited, I had a
hard time hearing the loudspeaker when I was outside on the deck of the
ship. There was a place inside where you could sit and watch the sites through
Plexiglas windows, but there were very few people in that room. In fact, hardly
anyone was interested in listening to the tour. They were all trying their best
to get as many good photos as possible.
The first site is a quick close-up of the World Famous Sea
Lions. You can get closer to these guys than you can from the Pier 39 dock, and
they don’t seem to mind the presence of a boat. However, these guys are so
shiftless I don’t think they would mind the next big earthquake. If you wanted a
good shot of one of these magnificent creatures, this is the place. The cruise
then swings around Alcatraz Island. It does not stop on it, because the Blue and
Gold Fleet have a separate trip specifically devoted to that.
Pier 39 Sea Lions
The icing on the cake is, of course, a trip underneath the
Golden Gate Bridge. This
is worth the price of the ticket and more. The sight of the majestic bridge
before you, coupled with the wind in your hair, is quite honestly one of those
moments that you will remember forever. When I was there, all I could think: “I
can’t believe I almost didn’t do this”. I thank my wife for her pressure to get
me on that Bay Cruise boat.
All this, plus an excellent view of the cityscape. From
there, you can see other wonderful attractions like The Palace of Fine Arts and
the Transamerica Pyramid. If you’re lucky, you can see it all with San Francisco
fog oozing up from the mountains. You simply have to see this for yourself.
The Red & White fleet offers a similar bay cruise including headphone audio in eight different languages. The one hour cruise includes views of Alcatraz and going under the Golden Gate Bridge. The Red & White fleet offers 14 daily departures from Pier 43 1/2. You can call (415) 673-2900 for reservations.
By: Mark Rollins, Copyright SFTRAVEL LLC
