Pacific Coastal Questions and Tips!

We are heading out on the pacific coastal on the solstice in a few weeks. Couple of questions:

1.) has anyone been lucky enough to see whales in Seattle or Victoria from the cruise ship? If so, tips are appreciated! We are always out and about on deck, just don’t know where and when are our best bets!

2.) if we docked in San Francisco at 8:00am, what time approximately do we go under the GG bridge?

3.) are there any other part of a pacific coastal cruise that are particularly scenic? Anything else we should plan on seeing from the ship?

4.) has anyone rented a car in Astoria? Enterprise is telling us they shuttle the drivers to their office to do paperwork and pick up the car and it takes about an hour because they have 35-40 reservations. It’s a short port day so I’m worried this will really eat into our plans to drive the coast and visit cannon beach.

5.) any other great tips for enjoying a pacific coastal on the solstice? We have cruised equinox, eclipse and reflection previously.

Thanks!

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Tenant,

You will love the Pacific Coastal Cruise. In San Francisco, (our cruise had an overnight stay), we went to Muir Woods and Sausalito by rented car. The second day we explored the city and golden gate park and the Japanese Gardens. On another pc cruise, we booked the Magic Bus, a fun tour of San Francisco through the view of the 60’s. The bus is painted psychedelic neon with peace signs, flowers, etc. the guides dress as 60’s hippies. They play 60’s music. You are shown scenes of San Francisco in the 60’s on video screens and then are taken to the same spots and see what they look like now. We brought tie dye shirts and peace necklaces with us that we wore on the “trip”. Look it up online. Great fun and you see lots of San Francisco. Have fun!

We did a coastal on the Infinity last year. Saw quite a few whales near Frisco. You will probably sail under the bridge 1/2 to an hour before you dock. The pier is not far from the bridge so if the pier is open you should be there pretty quickly after passing under the bridge. The ships come into the bay really slowly so you will have plenty of time to get ready. Also, don't stand under the fog horn unless you want to be deafened. They usually blow that sucka as you sail under the bridge!

Tennant,

Forgot to add that we did rent a car in Astoria. We drove to the Tillamook cheese factory. Did the tour and had some of their delicious ice cream. Then we drove back and saw cannon beach and haystack rock. Another pc coast cruise we rented a car and drove to Fort Clatsop (not sure of spelling) and learned about Lewis and Clark. It was a beautiful scenic area. Also went to the Astoria tower. Great port stop

Astoria also has a nice Maritime Museum, if you'd be interested in that. Right on the waterfront, not sure where the ship docks.

We did a coastal on the Infinity last year. Saw quite a few whales near Frisco. You will probably sail under the bridge 1/2 to an hour before you dock. The pier is not far from the bridge so if the pier is open you should be there pretty quickly after passing under the bridge. The ships come into the bay really slowly so you will have plenty of time to get ready. Also, don't stand under the fog horn unless you want to be deafened. They usually blow that sucka as you sail under the bridge!

Frisco is in Texas. San Francisco is in California. Don’t think you’d be seeing any whales from Frisco.

We did a coastal on the Infinity last year. Saw quite a few whales near Frisco. You will probably sail under the bridge 1/2 to an hour before you dock. The pier is not far from the bridge so if the pier is open you should be there pretty quickly after passing under the bridge. The ships come into the bay really slowly so you will have plenty of time to get ready. Also, don't stand under the fog horn unless you want to be deafened. They usually blow that sucka as you sail under the bridge!

Frisco is in Texas. San Francisco is in California. Don’t think you’d be seeing any whales from Frisco.

We've done three versions of a Pacific Coastal cruise, and enjoyed all three.

In Astoria the Columbia River Maritime Museum is within walking distance and the trolley also stops there. If my memory is correct last May it took about twenty or twenty five minutes to walk from the pier to the museum. We stopped at the Astoria Brewing Company on the return for a nice lunch and locally brewed beer for my husband. There will also be a nice (but small) number of craft vendors set up at the pier and I found two pairs of locally crafted earrings.

We have gone out to Fort Clapsup in the past, and even though I enjoy history I found it rather underwhelming.

At Astoria, due to the crossing of the infamous bar at the mouth of the Columbia River, the pilot is periodically lifted from the ship in a harness up to a helicopter. Quite the spectacle when they do this.

Frisco is in Texas. San Francisco is in California. Don’t think you’d be seeing any whales from Frisco.

Yea, I'm sure no one knew what I was talking about:rolleyes:

We have done 3 Pacific Coastals so far and loved them so much we booked another one for next April.

We have only been to Astoria once - we rented a car. Drove to Ft. Clapstop (sp?) also, and also found it underwhelming although we love history. Did a little driving north of there but there was so, so much traffic that we felt like we were back at home in the Chicago suburbs so we drove back and just walked around town. Cute shops if you are into that. My sons back home were very impressed that we visited the town where the movie The Goonies was filmed.:) Never saw it so I can't relate. The Maritime museum is right there - heard it was good but we thought it was rather expensive for the amount of time we had left to spend so we skipped it.

We have never been fortunate enough to see whales on any of our 3 cruises. I would guess it may depend on the time of year? (all of ours so far were in September)

On our first trip, we did a private tour (with a Cruise Critic group) to Muir Woods and Sausalito. Absolutely loved the former. Sausalito was cute, but we didn't have a lot of time to spend there. On latter trips we just walked all over San Francisco. There is a great Maritime Museum (part of the National Park Service) within a reasonable walk, as well as Pier 39, the Embarcadero, Ghiradelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf. Celebrity now docks a little further away than it used to awhile ago, but everything is still in walking distance for anyone of average ability.

In Seattle you are docked right by the outdoor marketplace - love that. We just walked into town from there.

I would not say that there is anything particularly scenic during the sailing, other than going under the bridge n San Francisco and sailing through the entrance to the Columbia River Barge. You are generally too far out to sea to see anything but the ocean.

Speaking of "Goonies", if you are a fan of the movie there is a small museum in Astoria that is set in the jail that is featured in the movie, with lots of stuff about the movie and other movies filmed in Oregon (and Astoria - e.g. Kindergarten Cop). I have not been to this museum, supposedly it is very small, but it has its fans. Just another idea if you decide to stay in town.

Your can tell this is a favorite itinerary for many of us. I looked at your’s and it goes from Seattle down to SF and back up to Vancouver. Neat! Wev’e done the PC cruise 4 times and loved it, and will do it again. Too bad we can’t jump on this one!

Seattle - enjoyed the Pier Market. Lots of fun to just walk through. Also did a city hop on/off and saw the highlights and a Salmon run area.

Astoria - we’ve not gone out of the town area, did either on our own or tours. Did the movie tour and saw the Goonie house. It was an OK tour. Did the overall tour of the city and enjoyed that more. Went to a cooking class and that was a lot of fun. Did crab cakes and salmon grill. Lots of good sauces and hands on! Walked around town. Ther are No McDonalds and such. The town looks like its out of the 60’s and that’s why a number of movies were made there. Great walking town (not a city) to see lots of things and neat shops.

SF - Pick from the 1,000 things to do. One I wouldn’t recommend is a wine tour/tasting up into wine country. It’s fun but takes up a lot of time getting there and back. Go there for a bit of a stay, not a 1/2 day which is barely what you’re there for. The ship pulls into the Embarkadero. It’s walking distance to Fishemeran’s Pier (Crowded but fun), Geordelle’s (sp) chocholet (very crowed, not worth it to us), Little Italy - great fun, great little dining shops and coffee. And Chinatown. It’s gone up and down but we love it. Take the second street up, Stockton, from the main shopping (I think Grant). Grant is shopping and fun to explore, but Stockton has all the local Chinese stores. Do both. Love it. The woods mentioned before are well worth the trip also. So much to do. One thing I do every time, is we go over to the Ferry at the Embarkadero, take one over to Sausilito, grab and lunch and then back. Goes right by Alcatraz for a great view and you see so much of SF Bay. Lots of fun. Cheap (except for shopping is Sausilito!) and great experience. There are trolly’s right where the ship docks that go all over town, and you can go over and catch the cable car from them too. The trollys are Euro trollys from yearas ago. Fun just to take up and back somewhere.

Victoria - walked it on our own - best shopping of the cruise, unless you live in Flordia and don’t need all those warm clothes! But great gifts. Did the tea at the hotel (neat) and did a bushop on/off tour of town. I recommend the bus and give yourself time to explore downtown. Did the gardens once and that’s well worth it too. But takes all the time you’ll have.

Vancouver - your plans to stay or not have already been made since your are leaving in a few weeks. But if you are staying, just a ton to do.

Enjoy! Den

Thanks for all the feedback! Does anyone know if the naturalist stays onboard to give talks for the coastal cruises?

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I have never been on a Pacific cruise but am from Oregon and go to Astoria every April for a conference. I don't know how long it will take you to get a rental car, but a trip to Cannon Beach is a must. I have lived in Oregon 54 years and finally made it to Cannon Beach about 5 years ago. The town has absolutely no chain of any kind except if you count the Pig in a Pancake restaurant. It has tons of galleries and there is a neat glass blowing studio south of downtown called Fire Ice Glass. It is on the East side of the main street past the Wayfarer. Kind of near the American Legion hall. The owners blow glass every day and tell you about the process. You can also buy some of their glass works. Nearly next door to the north is the Cannon Beach Hardware and Public House. Half hardware store, half restaurant. Great fish and chips there. Their theme is Screw and Brew named as such because you get screws on one side and local brews on the other. Bills Tavern closer to downtown is a cool spot for lunch as well as craft beer. The Wayfarer restaurant has excellent food. Lots of Portlanders there so laid back, pet friendly, and environmentally conscious.

I would skip Seaside on the way, but that is just me. As for Astoria, there is a micro brew, Fort George brewing. Good food and brews. Believe it or not a Bosnian restaurant, Drina Daisy, downtown. I had never had Bosnian food before but was well worth the trip. There is a glass blowing place downtown that was kind of neat but not as much info as the one in Canon Beach. There is a fish and chips place that is run out of a boat just north of downtown if I remember right. Should be near the maritime museum. You get your choice of small fish and chips or large. That's it. A big line forms around noon but is worth the wait. There is a distillery downtown as well. Can't remember the name right off the bat but have tastings and they have drinking vinegars (yes vinegar) along with absolutely great coffee liquor (not sweet like Kahlua) and absinthe among others. I understand Fort Clatsop is going through renovations so it may or may not be worth the trip. And we Oregonians (Washington folks too) like our McMenamins Pubs. There is one in Gearhart (named after my ancestors) at the golf club. Kind of a fun place to try local brews and good food. You can find it on the way to Cannon Beach if travelling by car. Tillamook is further south from Cannon Beach and there is the creamery where you can see them making Oregon's famous cheese.

Thanks for all the feedback! Does anyone know if the naturalist stays onboard to give talks for the coastal cruises?

 

 

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I can't say for certain what will happen on your cruise, but there was no naturalist on any of our coastal cruises to the best of my memory.

Our Pacific Coast tour two years ago was one way - Vancouver to San Francisco.

In Seattle we took a walking tour of Pike's Market that was great - we learned lots of history (including the gum wall!) and got samples from some of the vendors. We also went to the Chihuly Glass Museum and Garden by the Space Needle - it is not to be missed. The glass trees in the garden are unbelievable - as are the inside displays.

In San Francisco we took an all day walking tour that included transportation on the buses, and cable cars. Again we learned a lot about the city and it's neighborhoods and history.

I have been to Victoria three times - and headed straight to Buchardt Gardens - my favorite gardens in the world.

Enjoy

Doing our fourth Pacific Coastal 2 September 2018 on the Infinity. Santa Barbara and Monterey are also a must to visit.

We did a repositioning cruise from Vancouver to San Diego with an overnight in San Francisco. One of my favorite things was the nighttime tour of Alcatraz, which you need to book in advance. The prison itself was eerier at night, and seeing the city lights on the ferry back was beautiful.

I was in Cannon beach last week. Beautiful long stretch of beach. It was cold so bring a warn coat. It will be a long day to rent a car. About an hour drive so leave with plenty time.

It was so busy last week we could not find a parking spot in town. We walked from friends home. I`m sure by mid Sept. things won`t be as busy.

I will also be on the Sept. 14th coastal cruise if you have any questions. This will be my 7th time on the Solstice.