San Francisco

[spunks]

We have a cruise booked out of San Francisco to Hawaii over Christmas that we are going to cancel because we dont  feel San Francisco is safe enough to stay in anymore.We have a hotel booked near Fisherman's Warf for 2 days prior to the cruise. We used to enjoy exploring around for new restaurants but it does not look like it is safe to leave the hotel. What does everyone think?

 

Doug

[JHLH821]

We live in the east bay and there are definitely parts of SF I would not frequent.  Some of the safer areas are around Lombard Street.  There are several reasonably priced hotels near or on Lombard Street and accessible to all the attractions. One place to look at is "The Cow Hollow Inn"  https://cowhollowmotorinn.com/

 

Also, check out these properties in The Presidio, a very safe neighborhood. We have had friends who stayed there and enjoyed it.  https://www.presidiolodging.com/

[Sprocket]

Haven't yet cruised from San Francisco but have recently done 3 coastal cruises.  2 in 2022 and 1 this year in April.

 

We are seniors and never once felt unsafe but so far have only gone to Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf.  We live outside of Vancouver BC and sadly things have changed here also.  But I would not cancel we Uber whenever we leave the ship and are cruising to Hawaii again in December but out of San Pedro on the Discovery.

[Philob]

32 minutes ago, JHLH821 said:

We live in the east bay and there are definitely parts of SF I would not frequent.  Some of the safer areas are around Lombard Street.  There are several reasonably priced hotels near or on Lombard Street and accessible to all the attractions. One place to look at is "The Cow Hollow Inn"  https://cowhollowmotorinn.com/

 

Also, check out these properties in The Presidio, a very safe neighborhood. We have had friends who stayed there and enjoyed it.  https://www.presidiolodging.com/

This. Plus the Presidio is inside a National Park, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. 

Of course stuff can happen any where, any time. Just be situation aware.

 

[CruiserBruce]

I think you are over reacting. 

[DUTRAVEL]

If you are afraid to come to San Francisco, you might have to reconsider traveling anywhere. Of course, like in every big city there are areas you might want to consider staying away from, but I have no concerns when I go in to the City. 

 

[GTJ]

3 hours ago, spunks said:

We have a cruise booked out of San Francisco to Hawaii over Christmas that we are going to cancel because we don't feel San Francisco is safe enough to stay in anymore.We have a hotel booked near Fisherman's Wharf for 2 days prior to the cruise. We used to enjoy exploring around for new restaurants but it does not look like it is safe to leave the hotel.

Are you concerned about safety or about security? Safety should not be an issue: the infrastructure is reasonably well-maintained, and so long as you're looking where you're going, you won't have much risk of falling and injuring yourself. Security has increasingly been an issue throughout the entirety of the United States, but an individual person basis, it should not pose any undue risk in the areas surrounding Fisherman's Wharf. Ask yourself if you're scared to go outside generally, and that would be good guidance for San Francisco. Where San Francisco has been particularly hard hit is automobile break-ins, and that is cause to avoid travel by automobile.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

14 hours ago, spunks said:

We have a cruise booked out of San Francisco to Hawaii over Christmas that we are going to cancel because we dont  feel San Francisco is safe enough to stay in anymore. We have a hotel booked near Fisherman's Warf for 2 days prior to the cruise. We used to enjoy exploring around for new restaurants but it does not look like it is safe to leave the hotel. What does everyone think?

 

San Francisco is very safe as big cities go. What is wrong with SF is a level of "unpleasantness" in some areas because of the homeless population. My main office is in the Financial District and has been for a while. I never feel unsafe there or in Union Square, where I stay usually, and I usually walk to my office and back. If it was late at night (after 10PM) I might Uber back to my hotel because that is the prudent thing to do in most big cities late at night.

[princeton123211]

17 hours ago, spunks said:

We have a cruise booked out of San Francisco to Hawaii over Christmas that we are going to cancel because we dont  feel San Francisco is safe enough to stay in anymore.

I agree that this is a bit of an overreaction. I've been to the city for work several times starting in 2021 and as recently as a month ago. 2021 was frankly a bit off and most likely where you are drawing your impression from. Recent trip was very happy to see that the city has come back quite a bit. Sure, there are a lot of homeless still but that doesn't make it dangerous. But foot traffic is back and things are open in a way they weren't before.

 

Plus Fisherman's Wharf is a tourist area-- I wouldn't have any hesitation staying there. I usually stay in Nob Hill and that too was perfectly fine from my perception of safety standpoint. I did a bunch of walking and never felt unsafe. 

[CruiserBruce]

Some recent stats shows SF way down the list on crime levels in big cities. #42, IIRC. Houston and one other large Texas city (can't remember which) was higher.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

San Francisco has become less safe and less tourist friendly in recent years.  However, it wouldn't be a reason to cancel a cruise from there.  We used to go to SF several times a year for long weekends.  We would stay in Union Square or Financial District and never felt unsafe, until just prior to the COVID shut down.  The homeless and mentally disturbed that you seldom experienced in the "tourist" areas where much more prevalent everywhere.  Law enforcement is much more "tolerant" of moving people out of certain parts of SF.  The few times we have been forced to go to SF, post COVID, it's dirtier and I'm a little more on guard than before.  Again, I wouldn't cancel the cruise but I wouldn't be as adventurist as I might have been 4-5 years ago.      

[KeepCalmBearOn]

1 hour ago, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

San Francisco has become less safe and less tourist friendly in recent years. I wouldn't cancel the cruise but I wouldn't be as adventurist as I might have been 4-5 years ago.      

 

San Francisco might or might be less tourist friendly, that is a judgment call. 5 years ago SF had 2,658 assaults, 56 homicides and 369 rapes. In 2022 SF had 2,569 assaults, 55 homicides and 234 rapes so it is marginally safer than it was 4-5 years ago.

 

https://sfgov.org/scorecards/public-safety/violent-crime-rate-and-property-crime-rate

Edited May 26, 2023 by scottca075

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

Yesterday, Sister-in-law along with daughter, two grandkids, and son in law all went to SF for the day.  They were down by Pier 39, FM wharf, and Exploratorium.  They had no issues and saw very little in the way of homeless or felt unsafe.  Daughter and her husband lived in downtown SF for a few years so they did cruise up Market Street and even ventured into the Tenderloin.  That area is a different story and she wouldn't recommend going there.  Union Square seemed a little dicey compared to when we all stayed there several years ago.  Lots of the stores around Union Square are closed or closing.  But they all have signs saying they are reopening as even more upscale retailers, if that's possible.  Currently that area is pretty much not worth visiting.   

[thesmiths]

We stayed in Fishermans Wharf Holiday Inn Express May 12th- May 15th before our 10 Day Alaska on the Miracle

 

No issues and we were all over that area and did ALL the touristy things.. 

 

 

 

[GTJ]

On 5/26/2023 at 10:27 AM, princeton123211 said:

Plus Fisherman's Wharf is a tourist area-- I wouldn't have any hesitation staying there.

From a security perspective, I fully concur. The reason to avoid Fisherman's Wharf is not for lack of security, but rather that it is a tourist mecca that many people simply dislike for its character. In some respects it is like Times Square in New York City, a place that most local residents would prefer to avoid because of it being overpopulated by tourists and concomitant commercial enterprises and street performers. Personally, I really dislike being in tourist environs, and for that reason I would never consider staying at Fisherman's Wharf absent very good value in doing so. I would rather stay in the commercial center of San Francisco if on business (near Market Street), perhaps along Van Ness Avenue if visiting governmental agencies, and in the neighborhoods otherwise. Overall, security concerns are generally not prevalent where most hotels are located, and the areas with the greatest security concerns do not have hotels.