Hi Barb, thank you for bringing this to our attention - I'm sorry to read that the situation was a cause of anxiety for you. Upon examining the final documentation, there are some points of confusion and this will be amended. As your tour manager correctly advised, Muir Woods is offered as an excursion in the morning and this will nearly always be on Day 3. If travellers wish to pre-book Alcatraz Island, Day 2 of the tour has a free afternoon and Day 3 is completely free with Muir Woods running in the morning, so if you wanted to do both, Alcatraz could be booked for that afternoon. This will be made clearer in the documentation in future.

Thanks,

Tim

Hi Julia

I'm currently on my tour in America and want to let you know - and warn others about our experience of prebooking Alcatraz. I, and others followed your advice, but when we told the tour manager, he said what we'd done was completely wrong and that Muir Woods is always in the morning and so we should have booked Alcatraz for the afternoon. He was not keen to book some of us for the morning and some for the afternoon, indeed he didn't think it was feasible. As it turns out with the US shutdown both trips were cancelled, which was extremely disappointing as both were anticipated highlights of the tour. As so many people expect to do Alcatraz I really think it's vital that all Just You staff are giving the same information. Our first evening and next day were ruined by anxiety as to how the situation would be resolved - not the best start to the holiday! Hope you can do something to ensure this doesn't happen to others.

Best wishes

Barb

Hi Julia

That's brilliant - thanks very much for clarifying. Very pleased I can do both.

Best wishes

Barb

Hi Barb,

You can do both, if you choose to book Alcatraz on day three in the morning, you simply need to make sure you are back for the Muir Woods departure at approx 2pm, alternatively you can book Alcatraz for the afternoon of day 3 taking the morning trip to Muir Woods. The TM will make sure you are able to do both.

Kindest regards,

Julia

Thanks Julia. That really is a bit frustrating because there isn't a decent timeframe to take the trip on day 2 - wouldn't get back until 5.55 if went on 3.20 boat - unless cut the time on the Island short, and unless you book 2 boats on day 3 - one morning and one afternoon to keep your options open, you can't risk booking before we go. I guess what you're saying is you can't do the Muir Woods tour and pre-book Alcatraz! Some serious thinking - and risk assessment called for!

Best wishes

Barb

Hi BristolBarb,

Alcatraz is a popular trip and having been there I can see why - when you get on the rock, if there is a chance to do a guided walk with one of the rangers I would certainly recommend it!

If you choose to take the trip on Day 2, the San Francisco by night tour with dinner departs at approx 6pm. And, after some more digging - The TM can offer two times for the Sausalito and Muir Woods excursions as they are operated by sightseeing company and these will depart either first thing in the morning (approx 9am) or around lunchtime (approx 2pm) and will last in the region of 4 hours.

This information would apply to both the 16th and 30th September dates.

Kindest regards,

Julia

Hi Julia

I've been following a thread for the 16 September departure and they seem to be having a real problem identifying the best time to book Alcatraz. If you want to do the Muir Woods excursion on day 3, it appears you can't pre-book Alcatraz for that day because the Muir Woods trip is arranged by the Tour Manager dependent on what other excursions others on the tour are doing - have I got that right? If the only safe time to book is the afternoon of day 2, (I think you said the morning tour finishes at 2 pm), please can you tell me what time the evening excursion gets going? Need to work out how much time we'd get on Alcatraz if I booked the 3.20 boat - I don't think the earlier one is feasible given they tell you to arrive at least 30 minutes before sailing. It would be an awful shame to have to choose between Muir Woods and Alcatraz! I've assumed the advice you've given the 16 September group applies to the 30 September group too - but maybe as we have different Tour Managers they manage things differently? Any advice would be great - there are a few of us trying to make sure we get to Alcatraz!

Many thanks

Hi Barb,

The Tour Manager for this trip is currently listed as Jonny Casey. The TM is the best person to speak to about booking these if you want to wait until you are in the States. If you would like to book Alcatraz, this is something we recommend you do before leaving the UK and can be done via the official website:

https://www.alcatrazcruises.com/ 

Kindest regards,

Julia

Hi Julia

Do you know who our tour guide will be yet - and would they be the best person to ask about booking Alcatraz and a show in Vegas?

Many thanks, Barb

Brilliant - thanks very much.