ATSEAMYLIFE

I would buy on line then you don't have to worry about standing in line for them.

Take the Blue & Gold Ferry it's a great way to see the bay. https://www.blueandgoldfleet.com/sausalito/

You gotta be kidding! Bike from the City to Sausalito in city, Golden Gate bridge traffic!

Exactly, the USS Midway can take the entire day I wouldn't cut it short.

We have used the Hyatt inside Orlando airport many times and it is also a great place if you get in late (usually the case from the west coast) or leaving early. In November for Thanksgiving it was cheaper to stay overnight there and fly home on Monday rather than fly on Sunday.

It's a long ferry ride to/from and I have seen the ferry get delayed or even canceled due to the seas. I wouldn't do it on my own. You could fly out via helicopter, which we did. It's expensive but very cool and you feel like a rock star. We flew out for our anniversary and spent a long weekend. The return day the ferry coming out was delayed by about three hours and people who needed to get back to the mainland to catch flights were screwed. We were even offered a 50% refund for our flights if we switched to the next day; we didn't. Our pilot told us one guy paid for an entire helicopter flight for him, his wife and golf clubs, just so he wouldn't miss his flight from Long Beach to the east coast.

The food scene in SF has really become a shadow of it's former self with all the office workers going remote and wait staff being hard to come by. I'm sure the summer tourist months will be better. We were there for a weekend at end of January and areas we like to go were a ghost town. There's a recent photo montage by a SF newspaper showing work week high noon before/after pandemic photos of downtown. It's really sad.

Slight chance, but could still happen. We stayed on the island for a long weekend in January and the morning ferry from the mainland was canceled due to heavy seas. The port is fairly well protected so it shouldn't be an issue.

Plan dinner that far in advance? I'm a planner but I still look at the menu before I go in and always have a backup plan. Many SF restaurants that were open during the week are now only open on weekends. One of our go to spots Johnny Foley's Irish Pub next to the Hilton Union Square use to be open seven days a week. Last time we went to the City it was closed M-Th. It's sad but without the business people working in the City during the week a lot of restaurants are closed up or seriously cutting their hours.

Uber HQ is in SF and it's quick and efficient. I vote for flying the morning as SF fog can get you delayed to the dock. We usually stay at the Embassy Suites south of the airport and take their shuttle to the airport. There's also a fairly new hotel (name escapes me) that's right on the airport property with just an AirTrain ride to the gates.

We just did the sub tour and I think they said snorkeling there was restricted

Local news says about 20 feet of slip so I doubt it will take more than a week or so.

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If you like wine and they offer it do the Valle de Guadalupe wine country. My next choice might be the cheese cave. My third choice would be stay on the ship as walking/riding into downtown for shopping is good for about ten minutes.

In SF most post it outside the door.

I forgot about the time change being favorable. So don't stay at the airport go into DT San Francisco and do stuff. I don't think making an 1150 hrs flight on a Sunday should be an issue if all goes well. However, we once had to sit offshore due to fog and didn't even dock until after 1100 hrs. To be safe I would do the 2230 hrs flight. Again, don't get hung up on the "tourist" hotel locations like FW. SF is a very compact city and Uber is quick and easy to get around. My first choice in SF is always Union Square. We used to visit several times a year for long weekends when the price was favorable and that's our go to spot. The HOHO makes a couple of stops around Union Square.

H. Salt esq for Fish & Chips I really miss that place.

Mine was the fried Catfish. I could eat it until I threw up.

Prebook your Uber a day or two before. We did the Navigator in July and stayed at the Doubletree parking our car and taking Uber to the port. Uber gets really busy when the ships comes in. We walked right off and found our Uber in a few minutes. There were people at the curb who told me they had been waiting 20 minutes for their Uber and some had gotten canceled while waiting. The Doubletree had a shuttle but it's first come first serve and was booked full when we got in the night before. If you have the internet package on the ship just RSVP on the Uber app while you're returning the day before. There were also several taxis parked down a little way from where we came out of the terminal.

Clams or oysters? SF area is well known for their oysters either raw or fried.

I guess some depends on when you get in and what you want to do. If you are getting in late and flying all day I would stay near the airport, sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast, and head to the port after the commute. We usually stay at the Embassy Suites south of the airport when we have an early flight out. I second the vote to NOT stay by Fisherman's Wharf. SF is a very compact city. I'm Hilton brand loyal and if staying in the City I like the Hilton Union Square or Hilton Financial District. Sometimes you can get a good rate on the St. Francis, which a very cool place to stay.

I mostly use Hertz and have for many years. Join the Hertz Gold Club immediately. Once you are in their system after your first rental (so they verify your ID and CC) you can walk directly to your vehicle without stopping at the counter. At least that's true at most major airports. It has saved me many minutes getting my car. I used Fox once and never again. I can't recall the last time I used anything other than Hertz.

Tipping is a very personal thing and it's hard to say what works for me will seem right for you. But we generally do meals at a sit down place 20% and up if really good. Uber is included in the bill and later you can add to it if you want when they update your ride on the app. Bar for only a cocktail $1 a drink or 20% if you order appetizers. Fast food (walk up) $0 unless it's a street vendor then $1. Somebody handling your luggage for you $10. Make sure to review the bill as some SF restaurants are adding the tip. Also at the bottom of the receipt they might already calculate the 10%, 15%, 20% figure for you to make it easy.

They still have those?

Skip the clams you can get them anywhere and go with the cioppino it's a SF original, sort of. I cook both cioppino and seafood boils and they are totally different. If you aren't a fan of tomato based sauces then skip the cioppino.