Joe18

We'll be in SF in September, and I'd like information on the cruises available--bay cruises, whale watching, etc. Are there ferries or cruises from SF to other points in N. California.

Thanks, Joe

FainaAgain

Cruise West has RT cruises from SF - 3 to 5 nights, I think.

egret

The day cruises to Alcatraz are wonderful.

Joe18

Thanks to you both. Do you know if there are ferry routes on SF Bay?

Diamantina

There are bay cruises that will take you from San Francisco out onto the bay and under the Golden Gate Bridge. There are also tours to Alcatraz. I don't have a lot of info about these cruises. There are also commuter ferries that go out all day (not just at peak commuter hours) and these will take you from SF's ferry building to Sausalito, Larkspur, Vallejo, Tiburon, or Jack London Square (in Oakland) and maybe Alameda (not sure). Even though these mainly serve the commuters, I think the ferries can be very enjoyable, particularly the Larkspur ferry which cruises past Angel Island. (There is also a ferry from Tiburon to Angel Island, a 740-acre forested and grassy state park and former immigration station--some call it the "Ellis Island of the West"--my own grandparents entered through here).
Finally, there are whale watch cruises. In September, on weekends and holidays, the Oceanic Society runs trips from San Francisco to the marine sanctuary of the Farallon Islands. All trips are accompanied by an Oceanic Society naturalist. The trip can be calm or rough (enough to warrant sea sickness pills). You sail from Fort Mason to under the Golden Gate Bridge to past the Marin Headlands to the Farallones. And there are no guarantees that you will see whales or any other wildlife. But September is peak humpback whale season. On my first trip with them about six years ago, I saw about 40 humpbacks, including a mother and her calf who rubbed up against our boat. They, along with another adult whale, spent about 45 minutes next to our boat. We also saw many seals and sea lions, albatrosses, puffins, dolphins, porpoises, sunfish and more. Oh, and a great white shark attacking a sea lion. I have returned to the Farallones every year since. However, that first trip was the best--though on other years I have seen Blue Whales--the largest animal to have inhabited our planet. And last year, our boat encountered hundreds of dolphins who surfed the waves in front of our boat for at least a half hour. Another year, our boat came upon a feeding frenzy--of thousands of seabirds feeding on krill.
As I said before, there are no guarantees. These are wild animals that sometimes show up and sometimes don't, but you might have a look at the Oceanic Society website if you are interested:
http://www.oceanic-society.org/pages/wwd.html
Of course, Monterey is probably the best place in California to see whales, but I have had some wonderful experiences out at the Farallones.

FainaAgain

Oh, yes! Just Google SF Ferry and you'll see ferries to Sausalito, Tiburon, Alameda, Oakland, Vallejo.