Alcatraz continued & Embarkation

The cell house audio tour really is a must - it is so informative. Of course there have been a number of movies made about Alcatraz - most famously "Escape from Alcatraz" starring Clint Eastwood. It details the escape of three inmates who dug their way out of their cells with spoons.

We then walked through the gardens with their lush vegetation.  Of course these weren't in the inmate area but for the wardens and staff, many of whom, lived on the island.  

Upon our return, the rain has stopped so we were happy to stand in the open air at the front of the boat and take pictures of San Francisco and the Star Princess as we approached. 

We walked off the ship and returned to our hotel on foot by way of the waterfront. We stopped at Pier 39 to view the sea lions soaking up the heat!!

Back at the hotel we grabbed our luggage and returned on foot to Pier 27 where our cruise ship was docked. 

Processing through check in was maybe 40 minutes total and we were onboard the ship by 1 pm. We went straight to our stateroom - on the Dolphin deck port side and dropped our bags. We could have left them with the porters but we were quite able to carry them ourselves. 

We were hungry for lunch so then went straight to the portofino dining room to eat.   J & P both had beef tenderloin and I had a delicious salmon!

After lunch we unpacked bags, then J & P went for a workout. Of course we attended the mandatory muster drill. 

I loved having a balcony on the port side - for the view we had as we were docked. 

You can see the sign of the Port of San Francisco in the foreground. Alcatraz is the small island on the right and the Golden Gate Bridge can be seen in the distance on the left.

Sail away was at 4:30 pm.  We had a fabulous view of downtown San Francisco as we left port. The real thrill was passing underneathe the Golden Gate Bridge!

We were assigned a table for three when we went for dinner. Waiter Reneca from Mexico was very good and assisted by Jerico.  J and I both had scallops. P had a trio of meat where he asked for more chicken instead of veal in addition to lamb. P and I both had a trio chocolate dessert that included opera cake, chocolate mousse and dark brownie. J had peanut butter ice cream. All were fabulous!

We tried our first hand a trivia and scored a respectable 50%!  That was P's goal!

I went to the 8:15 Welcome Aboard show which featured magician Garry Carson. Pretty good magic and some humour that fell a bit flat considering the full audience. 

We all went to watch the movie The Imitation Game (not under the stars) but in the Vista Lounge on Deck 7!

Bed beckons!