Up next was San Francisco. Our ship was scheduled to arrive at the terminal 2pm. Sailing under the bridge was to be a little after 1pm (I think... Memory is getting hazy about certain specifics at this time). We had a quick lunch in the Windjammer and then headed to the front of the ship to get ourselves a good viewing spot! We were dead center on deck 13.
After we passed under the Gold Gate Bridge, I had assumed it would be rather quick to clear local authorities and have the chance to get off the ship. I was wrong. It took another 30 minutes for us to reach the docks. We ended up hanging out on our balconies for a while until we heard the all-clear. Our plan was to explore Pier 39, check out the sea lions, have a Boudin's bowl on the pier, leave my son with my dad around 5pm and head over to the Alcatraz dock for the night tour.
I think we finally got clearance to get off the ship around 3pm. The five of us headed over to Pier 39 to see the Sea Lions. It was a ten minute walk at the most. I was happy that we docked at the old pier. Crown Princess was over at the new cruise terminal, which is nice, but a bit father from the nice waterfront area. By the time we got there, Connor had fallen asleep in his stroller. Bummer, we wanted him to see and hear them! We had our photos snapped in front of them and then continued wandering.
Everyone, except for me, ordered a clam chowder in a bread bowl. I don't "do" seafood, so I went with tomato soup with asiago croutons. Mine was delicious, everyone else in the group said theirs were yummy as well. Last time I was in San Fran I ate at the main location a littler further down on the waterfront. My dad said he always ate at the small one on the pier. We went for it out of convenience. After our soups we wandered in and out of the shops on the pier. Some of my photos from this time are missing because my dad took them on his phone and we haven't swapped pictures yet. At this point we parted ways. Matt and I headed off for Alcatraz boats. My dad, his wife, and my son stayed on the pier. My dad took Connor on the carousel and then back over to the Sea Lions. They taught him how to bark like them and for the rest of the cruise my son would imitate them. It was very cute!
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