Will Celebrity Ever Sail out of San Francisco Again?

[CruiseLoverFromNorCal]

I would love to hear your thoughts on this! Thanks!

[cruisestitch]

Very difficult because of several reasons.  Here are two:

 

PVSA requirements will come back next year (presumably)

 

many Pacific Coastal towns have very strict (some say onerous) environmental restrictions, discouraging cruise ships

 

 

 

 

[Michelle19]

41 minutes ago, SWFL Cruisers said:

And number three....San Francisco is a complete DUMP now.

It has changed indeed. But saying it's a Dump is just not true at all. 

Edited July 6, 2021 by Michelle19

[LGW59]

2 hours ago, CruiseLoverFromNorCal said:

I would love to hear your thoughts on this! Thanks!

I certainly hope so, one of the great cities in the US.  

[Buckwheel]

2 hours ago, CruiseLoverFromNorCal said:

I would love to hear your thoughts on this! Thanks!

I sure hope not. San Francisco's crime rate has skyrocketed in the past couple of years. It's not safe at all. We lived in the East Bay for 30 years and regularly took day trips into SF. Now, it's pretty much a cesspool of crime, homelessness and drug users. 

[Denny01]

So I’ll jump on the Soap Box! Was in SF recently and yes just as all big cities, it has issues, but it’s still a fantastic place to visit. So it would be best if posters are going to voice their opinion on some port/ship/itinerary/etc, that they actually have experience that pertains instead of just making comments based on…..??? 

 

And I’m not offended by the facts, I’m tired of cheap shots based on nothing but what somebody reads somewhere. I grew up in Long Beach and loved LA. it was short drives to the beach, the Big City, the mountains and the desert. Great. But now there are a few million joining you doing all that. Welcome to the 21 Century. 

 

I love the Pacific Coast cruises with an overnight in SF. Can’t be beat. Wish they did more our of SF cruises, but at least keep the overnights and add other major cities……even though ‘they have issues’!

 

Den

[Buckwheel]

2 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

So I’ll jump on the Soap Box! Was in SF recently and yes just as all big cities, it has issues, but it’s still a fantastic place to visit. So it would be best if posters are going to voice their opinion on some port/ship/itinerary/etc, that they actually have experience that pertains instead of just making comments based on…..??? 

 

And I’m not offended by the facts, I’m tired of cheap shots based on nothing but what somebody reads somewhere. I grew up in Long Beach and loved LA. it was short drives to the beach, the Big City, the mountains and the desert. Great. But now there are a few million joining you doing all that. Welcome to the 21 Century. 

 

I love the Pacific Coast cruises with an overnight in SF. Can’t be beat. Wish they did more our of SF cruises, but at least keep the overnights and add other major cities……even though ‘they have issues’!

 

Den

I was there in April of 2021; does that count?

[SWFL Cruisers]

1 minute ago, Denny01 said:

So I’ll jump on the Soap Box! Was in SF recently and yes just as all big cities, it has issues, but it’s still a fantastic place to visit. So it would be best if posters are going to voice their opinion on some port/ship/itinerary/etc, that they actually have experience that pertains instead of just making comments based on…..??? 

 

And I’m not offended by the facts, I’m tired of cheap shots based on nothing but what somebody reads somewhere. I grew up in Long Beach and loved LA. it was short drives to the beach, the Big City, the mountains and the desert. Great. But now there are a few million joining you doing all that. Welcome to the 21 Century. 

 

I love the Pacific Coast cruises with an overnight in SF. Can’t be beat. Wish they did more our of SF cruises, but at least keep the overnights and add other major cities……even though ‘they have issues’!

 

Den

Good! Then you can relate to what the bike trail was in the 70's when we could leave our house in Garden  Grove and ride our bikes to Huntington Beach for the day....every day all summer long. Now the entire bike path is a homeless camp. It Socks but it is true. I am so glad that my life in Orange County was so good. I have great memories.  I left California for Florida in 1990 and it was the best decision I ever made. I pray that California can fix their problems before it's too late.

[Denny01]

Glad everyone has found a great place to live now. enjoy.

 

this thread is about Visiting SF, not living there. I love Napoli, but I’d never live there. I live in a Fla Panhandle smallish town because I can afford to and don’t have to worry about the lack of jobs that I’d have to have. Life for us retirees.

 

But visiting SF is a real treat for many of us who love all the different and unique sections. And yes, homeless and issues and I understand the sadness of those that lived there before…..but we are talking about Visiting the place. 

 

den

Edited July 6, 2021 by Denny01

[Denny01]

By the way, many of us on these forums, and especially this one are out-of-staters who moved wherever we live and the places have changed a great deal……because We moved here. Have you listened to the locals who remember the ‘good old days’ where you live now? How wonderful it all was before all the condo’s and hotels were added to every inch of every beach? How the crimes were papering someone’s house? 

 

we moved into this lovely place many years ago because we love it. We now bemoan all the changes brought in by all ‘those people’ who have moved in since then. And all the people who lived her before we moved here bemoan all the changes We brought when we moved here. 

 

Sound common?

 

den

 

 

Edited July 6, 2021 by Denny01

[CalTexCruiser]

If homelessness and crime are the criteria by which a city should not be a home port, then the following should be eliminated

 

Los Angeles, Seattle, New York

 

did I leave any out?

[LGW59]

3 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

If homelessness and crime are the criteria by which a city should not be a home port, then the following should be eliminated

 

Los Angeles, Seattle, New York

 

did I leave any out?

Yes you did, you conveniently left out Houston and Dallas, unless they have no homeless or crime there?  

[Kevinwinston2019]

Actually I wished they would come out of San Diego more...lovely Terminal. I am a Seattle boy, and they need to update the old terminals they use. 

[swjumbo]

Ok as a regular visitor to SF (every two months for the past 22 years) it is certainly not the place it once was.

 
It’s still an amazing place to visit and extremely compact, unlike LA, so for a cruise it’s perfect!

 

I have, however, witnessed people defecting on the street, injecting themselves with drugs and harassing tourists. This is on a regular basis. I also visit other cities mentioned above and none of them equal SF with its vagrant problems.

If you do happen to visit, a bus tour, Chinatown, Fisherman’s Wharf and maybe lunch in Sausalito!

 

[Buckwheel]

4 minutes ago, swjumbo said:

If you do happen to visit, a bus tour, Chinatown, Fisherman’s Wharf and maybe lunch in Sausalito!

 

Thank you for your informed view. Absolutely, a bus tour and then lunch in nearby Sausalito would be a safer way to visit SF. Sausalito continues to thrive and is a gem of a town.

[phoenix_dream]

On 7/6/2021 at 8:40 PM, CalTexCruiser said:

If homelessness and crime are the criteria by which a city should not be a home port, then the following should be eliminated

 

Los Angeles, Seattle, New York

 

did I leave any out?

I think Miami might take a hit with that thinking as well.  Definitely agree that all these cities have areas you don't want to frequent (as does the city not far from me - Chicago).  But that doesn't make the whole area bad.

 

As to SF, we love visiting there on cruises.  Stick in the "tourist" areas and you should have no problem.  We've sailed from there a couple times and had no issues (granted, that was a few years ago, but still)

[patty1955]

On 7/11/2021 at 4:49 AM, Buckwheel said:

Thank you for your informed view. Absolutely, a bus tour and then lunch in nearby Sausalito would be a safer way to visit SF. Sausalito continues to thrive and is a gem of a town.

Bus tours are great but don't believe everything they tell you. After living in the SF Bay Area for 60 years, we decided to take a bus tour of the city. The tour guide told us that locals refer to the 1906 earthquake as "shake and bake". Trust me, no one calls it that!

[K12Guy]

On 7/6/2021 at 6:40 PM, CalTexCruiser said:

If homelessness and crime are the criteria by which a city should not be a home port, then the following should be eliminated

 

Los Angeles, Seattle, New York

 

did I leave any out?

Souix City?

[nocl]

2 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

I think Miami might take a hit with that thinking as well.  Definitely agree that all these cities have areas you don't want to frequent (as does the city not far from me - Chicago).  But that doesn't make the whole area bad.

 

As to SF, we love visiting there on cruises.  Stick in the "tourist" areas and you should have no problem.  We've sailed from there a couple times and had no issues (granted, that was a few years ago, but still)

The difference is that the problems with SF now include the tourist areas. It used to be one of my favorite cities.  Now I no longer visit.  Though I do often stop across the bridge is Sausalito.

 

I have friends that have had their car windows smashed in smash and grab type robberies.  These were when the cars were parked in the tourist areas.  1 near the ferry terminal, the other near Fisherman's Wharf.  In both cases nothing was visible in the car. In both cases when they contacted the police the response was that they could go to the closest police station to file a report (for their insurance company) but that no other action would be taken. 

[CalTexCruiser]

16 minutes ago, nocl said:

The difference is that the problems with SF now include the tourist areas. It used to be one of my favorite cities.  Now I no longer visit.  Though I do often stop across the bridge is Sausalito.

 

I have friends that have had their car windows smashed in smash and grab type robberies.  These were when the cars were parked in the tourist areas.  1 near the ferry terminal, the other near Fisherman's Wharf.  In both cases nothing was visible in the car. In both cases when they contacted the police the response was that they could go to the closest police station to file a report (for their insurance company) but that no other action would be taken. 

 

Property crime in SF is considered a mere annoyance to the powers that be, not something that has to be seriously dealt with.  Recently a gang of 10 thieves marched right into Neiman Marcus SF in broad daylight and walked out with merchandise, jumped in cars, and sped off.  Security guards are told by the stores not to intervene.  Just the cost of doing business in SF.

 

[rugerdog]

On 7/6/2021 at 6:45 PM, LGW59 said:

On 7/6/2021 at 6:40 PM, CalTexCruiser said:

If homelessness and crime are the criteria by which a city should not be a home port, then the following should be eliminated

 

Los Angeles, Seattle, New York

 

did I leave any out?

Yes you did, you conveniently left out Houston and Dallas, unless they have no homeless or crime there?  

 

 

I'd love to cruise from Houston or Dallas!  Had no idea these cities were an option.

[cruisestitch]

Believe me you don’t’ want to cruise from Houston….the Houston ship channel is not a good place to cruise from….notoriously foggy, delays are common, and you spend many hours traversing within Texas, so bars can’t serve their normal wines and liquors and as I recall the choices offered while in the ship channel were dreadful.

[Alakegirl]

Our one and only cruise out of the Houston cruise port and down the ship channel was is it among the worst ever.  Adding insult to injury, whilst we were in the channel where we could only order alcohol that had been made in Texas, the casino has to remain closed.  I believe that there have been no Cruises from there for five or six years due to the unpopularity of this cruise port

[CalTexCruiser]

Ok, at first I thought cruisestitch was joking when referring to cruising along the Houston ship channel.

 

But then Alakegirl piped in.

 

I've lived in Houston for over 35 years and did not know one could cruise there

[NMTraveller]

2 hours ago, CalTexCruiser said:

 

Property crime in SF is considered a mere annoyance to the powers that be, not something that has to be seriously dealt with.  Recently a gang of 10 thieves marched right into Neiman Marcus SF in broad daylight and walked out with merchandise, jumped in cars, and sped off.  Security guards are told by the stores not to intervene.  Just the cost of doing business in SF.

 

This thread reminds me of the why not have Haiti as a cruise stop thread.  When we were vacationing in San Francisco and staying at Fisherman's Wharf, the rental cars were being robbed and the windshields smashed at the hotel parking.  Just imagine going to the police to file a report and then going to the rental car company to get a new car.  How was your vacation?  Other cities have more of a law enforcement presence.

 

If they had excursions that bypassed the city and went to Napa or Sonoma I might be interested.  I did the Pacific Coast Highway tour in April and found some very nice places and other places to stay away from.  Some of the places in California are not as nice as they once were.

 

I have had 3 vacations in California this year and I have two more scheduled.

Edited July 13, 2021 by NMTraveller