The four of us began our journey traveling from the Mojave Desert to Ontario Airport to hop a flight to Oakland. When we arrived in Oakland, we called the agency we had booked transfers with, and they had no record of our reservations. However, they were kind enough to accommodate our travel needs, and of course, charge us again. We're working on a refund for the transfers.

While in San Francisco for two days before the cruise departed, we stayed at the Radisson Hotel; however, when I booked us into the Radisson, its location said, "...only hotel on the wharf." This is not where we stayed, but the Radisson/Brisbane was a much better choice (accommodations, staff, and dining room) after viewing the Radisson on the wharf. So, no harm, no foul! Our only problem became transportation, which the Radisson/Brisbane shuttle driver figured out for us.

We went to the San Francisco Airport and caught the train (BART, I think) into the city. Taxis are very expensive and differ in price to the same locations so beware. First on our list was Alcatraz. We had a 3:00 pm reservation and return at 6:00 pm. This was not enough time so there were many parts of Alcatraz we missed. We also took a Bay cruise to the Golden Gate Bridge and back; it was very scenic, but cold! It offered a very nice perspective of the city, and it was very picturesque of the cityscape and surrounding areas. We rode the streetcar, the cable car, the bus, and we did miles of walking trying to absorb the ambiance the city had to offer in two short days. Kudos to San Francisco for being such a clean city, except for graffiti. Read more