Mercury out of San Francisco

[GREG781]

I am doing the Pacific Northwest cruise in April on the Mercury. I am looking at the availabe flights today. It seems I can get a slightly better time and rate flying into Oakland. Are there shuttles readily available from Oakland to San Francisco. Also vice versa when I get off the ship, are there shuttles there from San Fran to Oakland. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

[jerseygirl3]

My parents just booked this cruise and their deal included free RT air from Newark to San Fran. If they didn't want the air, they got a $350 discount, but they figured it was worth it to have the air included.

[sharpie13]

I am doing the Pacific Northwest cruise in April on the Mercury. I am looking at the availabe flights today. It seems I can get a slightly better time and rate flying into Oakland. Are there shuttles readily available from Oakland to San Francisco. Also vice versa when I get off the ship, are there shuttles there from San Fran to Oakland. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

One Word Answer: YES

 

Long Answer: There are several options depending on how much you would like to spend and what level of service you require. See the attached link.

 

http://www.flyoakland.com/shuttles.shtml

 

email me at sharpie13@hotmail.com if you require addtional information.

[NorCalCruiseGuy]

I am doing the Pacific Northwest cruise in April on the Mercury. I am looking at the availabe flights today. It seems I can get a slightly better time and rate flying into Oakland. Are there shuttles readily available from Oakland to San Francisco. Also vice versa when I get off the ship, are there shuttles there from San Fran to Oakland. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Greg,

Your best bet would be to take a cab from the Oakland Airport to the pier in San Francisco. It's about 20 miles from the Oakland Airport to the pier.

A slightly less expensive option would be to take Super Shuttle, http://www.supershuttle.com/default.aspx?content=HowItWorks

[Jim_Iain]

Oakland is a very accessible airport to San Francisco. I would guess a cab would run approx $50 - Shuttle about $17 per person

 

Another good site for you:

 

http://www.sftravel.com/parking/oakland-airport-shuttle.htm

[ReadyToFloat]

We did this last year... the traffic from OAK to SF can be quite backed up... if you aren't a gambler, take a car service (vs. taxi) that offers a flat rate, or negotiate a flat rate with the taxi driver.

 

We took a car service from the airport (only one at the time with a minivan for 4) and traffic was horrible on the way to SF. Had we been in a meter, it would have been a painful fare.

 

Our car service was ~$60 to SF. Same thing on the way back to OAK from SF, depending on the time of day... though at the port of SF, finding a taxi is much easier than a car service.

 

Hope this helps.

[shepp]

If you can handle your baggage on public transport, there's also a way to get to your pier for under 8 dollars, and it should take about an hour, depending on luck and time of day. AirBART bus from OAK to the BART (subway) station ($3), BART to the Embarcadero (3.35), Muni streetcar up the Embarcadero to right across the street from your pier ($1.50). Since the actual transbay trip is done on rapid transit, it avoids whatever jams there might be on the bridge and surrounding freeway. But, as I said, it does require a bit of luggage wrangling.

[GREG781]

Thanks so much for all the information everyone. Do you know if Celebrity has a shuttle from the ship to Oakland on the day of disembarcation?

[NorCalCruiseGuy]

If you can handle your baggage on public transport, there's also a way to get to your pier for under 8 dollars, and it should take about an hour, depending on luck and time of day. AirBART bus from OAK to the BART (subway) station ($3), BART to the Embarcadero (3.35), Muni streetcar up the Embarcadero to right across the street from your pier ($1.50). Since the actual transbay trip is done on rapid transit, it avoids whatever jams there might be on the bridge and surrounding freeway. But, as I said, it does require a bit of luggage wrangling.

 

This works great if you don't have more that one bag or so. If you have a lot of luggage it isn't easy. You have to hope that the elevators are working at the BART stations, and it can be a bit of a struggle to get your bags up onto the Muni F Line streetcar. It might save you some $, but it could be very frustrating, especially if it is during rush hour and the trains are busy.

[shepp]

This works great if you don't have more that one bag or so. If you have a lot of luggage it isn't easy. You have to hope that the elevators are working at the BART stations, and it can be a bit of a struggle to get your bags up onto the Muni F Line streetcar. It might save you some $, but it could be very frustrating, especially if it is during rush hour and the trains are busy.

 

Undeniably. That's basically what I said. However, I toted a 36-inch rolling duffel and a carry-on to and from an 11-nighter with no problem, with plenty of room for luggage both ways. (For one thing, ship loading and disembarkation times tend to dodge the worst of rush hour.) But unless you're fit and able to tote all your stuff onto escalators and up and down a few stairs, not recommended. (And if BART elevators AND escalators aren't working in your direction of travel, it's a biggish problem.) But hey, I'm fit and live near BART, and getting to the pier in 20 minutes for three dollars was just fine with me...