california coastal cruise April 23rd

[marciastz]

I asking for tips on the shore excursions. We'd like to see Muir woods but when I looked it said "wait in line", or something like that. Does that mean if we book we just sit and wait and may not get on the tour at all?

What would you advise to do in Santa Barbara? or San Diego?

I'm a country girl, first time for me and hubby to see California.

Will we be able to get a tour from a private company if we just get off at the port and check around? or could we get a ticket on an "off and on" bus on our own? Any suggestions or your experiences would be helpful. We sail in a week!!!

[JF - retired RRT]

San Diego - HOHO trolley is available and you can purchase tickets ahead of time on line. The tour that Princess sells is not a HOHO, you just ride around and see the sights. Not horrible, but more $$ than DIY.

Santa Barbara - HOHO trolley is harder to do. It's available, but you can't use it until 11 or 12. Way to late to be useful. There is a regular bus that makes a circuit around town and is very inexpensive. Something like $1.00 (25 cents for seniors IIRC).

Not much to see IN Santa Barbara... a couple of museums and the mission (don't walk to the mission, it's a couple of miles).

 

Was the Muir Woods tour... "waiting list"? That means it's full and if someone cancels, you mayget on the tour.

 

Also, check here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=226

Edited April 16, 2016 by JF - retired RRT

[Working 2 Cruise]

Santa Barbara has nice wineries.... And yes, if the website says "waitlisted," it's unlikely you'll get on, however, people may cancel. Just have a backup plan.

Edited April 16, 2016 by Working 2 Cruise

[shredie]

Santa Barbara has a nice little zoo you can reach easily on the 50 cent trolley that goes right past where you will disembark from the tenders. If you're new to California history, the mission is really worth the visit. Princess does tours.

[wheezedr]

In San Diego I would advise getting to Any of the sites in Balboa Park. If it is of interest the SD zoo is probably the best in the US and is in Balboa. There are also multiple other museums and places to visit there.

Santa Barbara has two logical option. If you want to see the countryside rent a car, Avis is closest, drive out to solvang, a Danish village, stop by a couple of local wineries and then if you have time as you return stop at the mission or the courthouse. If you do not want to rent a car then you can wander along the beach, walk up state street and still see the courthouse. Visit the funk zone which has some tasting rooms. Inthat situation a cab or the bus would work best for the mission.

Muir Woods is gorgeous but there are many possibilities for SF. I'm a native and will always suggest to a newcomer the cable cars, the wharf and Alcatraz. If you want to do the rock reserve early.. The City is actually a good place for a HOHO as it geographically small. Problem is that they have been restricted from some areas. Lots of other great spots in SF as well.

Now is the time for you to do your research and see what catches your eye.

[anthonyy7]

One option would be to take a ferry to Sausalito and take the shuttle to Muir Woods. Here is a link to the shuttle with times & fares. The round trip shuttle fare is $5 + $10 for the park entrance. http://www.marintransit.org/routes/66.html

 

Here are some ferry links to Sausalito.

 

http://goldengateferry.org/schedules/Sausalito.php

http://www.blueandgoldfleet.com/ferry/sausalito/

[anthonyy7]

In San Diego I would advise getting to Any of the sites in Balboa Park. If it is of interest the SD zoo is probably the best in the US and is in Balboa. There are also multiple other museums and places to visit there.

Santa Barbara has two logical option. If you want to see the countryside rent a car, Avis is closest, drive out to solvang, a Danish village, stop by a couple of local wineries and then if you have time as you return stop at the mission or the courthouse. If you do not want to rent a car then you can wander along the beach, walk up state street and still see the courthouse. Visit the funk zone which has some tasting rooms. Inthat situation a cab or the bus would work best for the mission.

Muir Woods is gorgeous but there are many possibilities for SF. I'm a native and will always suggest to a newcomer the cable cars, the wharf and Alcatraz. If you want to do the rock reserve early.. The City is actually a good place for a HOHO as it geographically small. Problem is that they have been restricted from some areas. Lots of other great spots in SF as well.

Now is the time for you to do your research and see what catches your eye.

 

For Santa Barbara, I would def rent a car and get out of town. A winery and a visit to Solvang would be a nice day. I highly recommend the courthouse for the best views up in the tower.

[marciastz]

Thanks, Anthony, for your advice. I checked on the shuttle to Muir woods but it isn't running on the day we will San Francisco...bummer! I plan to check into the cable cars and Alcatraz. Also so a link about the Aquarium on the Bay. We would probably like that. Thanks or taking your time to help me out!

[Roatanfans]

Aquarium on the bay is a nice little aquarium but really on the small side for the charge- if you really want to see a good aquarium the one in Monterey is the one to see, but that might not fit in your day. The California academy of sciences used to have a nice aquarium (I haven't been since they remodeled it) and has other interesting exhibits as well, so I'd recommend that before the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco!

[SadieN]

Lots to do in San Diego--

Within a short walk is the USS Midway. In the other side is the Maritime Museum, a collection of smaller boats and a Tall Ship.

 

Balboa Park museums and zoo

 

Old Town

 

 

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[FunForUs]

I asking for tips on the shore excursions. We'd like to see Muir woods but when I looked it said "wait in line", or something like that. Does that mean if we book we just sit and wait and may not get on the tour at all?

What would you advise to do in Santa Barbara? or San Diego?

I'm a country girl, first time for me and hubby to see California.

Will we be able to get a tour from a private company if we just get off at the port and check around? or could we get a ticket on an "off and on" bus on our own? Any suggestions or your experiences would be helpful. We sail in a week!!!

 

If you are sailing on the Crown April 23,we have a very active roll call with information that might help you. You can join us at this link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2198216

[pspehar]

We rented ebikes in Santa Barbara a couple of weeks ago. It was awesome! They are more like scooters than bicycle. Sure you can pedal, but you dont have to at all. We took them along the water South past the estuary, around Channel Drive. them back to town for lunch. Then "coasted" uphill to the mission and beyond that to a botanical garden. Then downhill to some wine and beer tasting rooms on Yanonali St.

 

we rented from here:

http://sbbikestogo.com

 

 

We walked to the bike rental place to get the bikes. We took lyft (like uber or taxi) back to the ship after the bike rental.

[srpilo]

Thanks, Anthony, for your advice. I checked on the shuttle to Muir woods but it isn't running on the day we will San Francisco...bummer! I plan to check into the cable cars and Alcatraz. Also so a link about the Aquarium on the Bay. We would probably like that. Thanks or taking your time to help me out!

 

Try Viator .. A online tour company and for SF they have a "Muir Woods - Sausalito" tours daily from San Francisco.. We did that one last year, but we left the tour in Sausalito after the Woods and had a relaxed afternoon there, lunched, and then took the ferry back to SF (paid the ferry ourselves).. Great day, and the Muir woods are awesome

 

Srpilo

[RiahFly]

I'm on the same cruise!

 

I grew up in San Diego. If you haven't been there before, definitely follow other peoples' suggestions of Balboa Park and possibly the zoo. If you go inland, the Wild Animal Park is awesome and in my opinion, much better than the zoo.

 

Please do not go to Sea World!!! They broke their contract with that area and became so much more commercial than when I used to go there as a kid :(

 

Definitely check out the beaches; although stay away from Silver Strand. Ick! Pacific Beach, Mission beach, La Jolla (especially the tide pools), and Del Mar are all beautiful.

 

Old Town is cool; the Gaslamp district is neat, but much neater at night, so you might not make it there. If it's still there, Sea Port village is cool too. I hope you enjoy whatever you do in my home town :)

 

~Kate

[scienceteacher]

Lots to do in San Diego--

Within a short walk is the USS Midway. In the other side is the Maritime Museum, a collection of smaller boats and a Tall Ship.

 

Balboa Park museums and zoo

 

Old Town

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

We are planning to go to the USA Midway. I looked them up on-line. It sounds amazing.

[bluebower]

We are travelling from the UK for the same cruise, thanks for some great input, can't wait!

[DrivesLikeMario]

I would do the Midway then walk to Seaport Village. It's an easy walk to quaint shops, a few good eateries, etc. Balboa Park is nice, but there's so much to do & see that it can be overwhelming.

 

The zoo is good but make sure you get there early and leave in plenty of time as traffic back to the ship can be gnarly. If you get your tickets prior to arriving, it'll save you some time. Look for coupons online, as they have specials sometimes.

 

I really enjoyed my Muir Woods tour. If you can get it on Viator, then do so. It's worth it and so beautiful. For Alcatraz, definitely get your tickets in advance to avoid waiting in line when there's a big ship dumping people off for the day. https://www.nps.gov/alca/index.htm

 

For Santa Barbara, I did a wine tasting trolley tour through the cruise line. It passed by some famous homes, the shopping area, a stop at the mission and 3wine tasting venues. It was fun, but more so after the wine. :D I did this with Celebrity so I'm not sure if Princess has this option.

Edited April 18, 2016 by DrivesLikeMario

[hubble]

We are planning to go to the USA Midway. I looked them up on-line. It sounds amazing.

 

If you are a Costco member, they sell tickets on their website for the USS Midway. They are $28 for two tickets, and they email you the confirmation which you print out. With Costco, you save money and you get to skip the ticket line.

[denatravels]

SF: a really fun hands on museum is the exploritorium. It's in a great park and a very nice day!!

 

 

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[JWUC]

When we were in Santa Barbara, we took a Segway tour of the town. Covered quite a bit of ground. We were able to get a deep discount by purchasing a SB Axxess card.

[elliair]

I asking for tips on the shore excursions. We'd like to see Muir woods but when I looked it said "wait in line", or something like that. Does that mean if we book we just sit and wait and may not get on the tour at all?

What would you advise to do in Santa Barbara? or San Diego?

I'm a country girl, first time for me and hubby to see California.

Will we be able to get a tour from a private company if we just get off at the port and check around? or could we get a ticket on an "off and on" bus on our own? Any suggestions or your experiences would be helpful. We sail in a week!!!

 

DEFINTELY DO THE HOP ON AND HOP OFF IN SAN DIEGO. Do not book it through Princess! When you get off the ship, walk to the main street, go right and walk down about a block. There is a Hop on Hop off terminal there where you can purchase the tickets far cheaper than Princess. It will take you to various drop off places like the Sea Village which is the first drop off. Then it will take you to various historical sites and onto Coronado Island. We got off the trolley near the famous Coronado Hotel. We walked around there for a while then got back on the trolley. We've been to San Diego many times so we opted to go to Old Town and have lunch in a Mexican restaurant. There's several down there. There's also a Mexican flea market down there but don't purchase anything from them. They are twice the price as to what you'll find in Mexico.

[jamesr3939]

One day is not enough to see all that stuff in San Diego. You will dock within walking distance of just about every thing you want to and could do reasonably while in port.

 

We just visited USS Midway in January and that can take easily 4-5 hours. The zoo is awesome, but that is a full day just on it's own.

 

If it were me I would stay down my the port. Do USS Midway, Star of India, and Seaport Village. Take the ferry (just a few steps from your ship) over to Coronado Island. There you can rent bikes or just walk the beach. You can walk or taxi up to the Hotel Del Coronado.

 

If you can book a walking tour of Gas Lamp with "Brothels, Bites, and Booze" that's a fun an informative way to spend a couple of hours, again within walking distance of the ship.

 

If you want to venture out from the port take a look at the San Diego Trolley map. There are several stops near the port and sea port village.

 

If you get as far as Petco Park have a meal at the Tin Fish, it's right in front of Hard Rock and the food is really good with nice outdoor seating to people watch.