"The greatest attraction of the cruise is the Golden Gate Bridge. The boat took us right beneath the bridge, and it was a magnificent sight! We had seen the bridge from a vantage point during our city tour, but our view was blocked by trees.. or buildings most of the time. And of course, fog! Fortunately, this time the weather had cleared up, and we had the sun. The red color of the bridge gave it a Martian robotic look. The boat kept floating on the waves underneath the bridge for about 5 minutes before turning around. We got a lot of interesting facts about the bridge in the meantime, from the commentary. On our way back from the bridge, we were joined by a huge flock of seagulls, who were matching their flights with the boat's speed. They were the star of the show then, and everyone got their cameras out to get a good close-up shot of a flying seagull. During the return trip, we had a good view of the hilly Marin County on the other side of the bridge, as well as of Angel Island, where immigrants on the Western shore of the United States were quarantined before they were allowed in. According to the commentary, Angel Island is also known as the Ellis Island of the West, since it served the same purpose as the latter island which is located near New York Harbor. The boat took a different route now, and went very close to Alcatraz. We could clearly see the buildings on the island, and we passed by their dock. The Rock certainly casts an eerie profile on the ocean. Famous inmates and escape attempts were recalled in the audio commentary, and we got to know that the waters of the Bay are freezing even during Summer, and every attempt to cross it from Alcatraz had failed, except probably the one by Frank Morris, depicted in the film ""'Escape from Alcatraz'. " Read full review