hbsprite

As others have said, it's not uncommon to have pretty rough seas heading north from Cabo. We've been on 10 Mexican Riviera cruises from LA and there is usually a decent amount of movement. Our cabin on deck 5 at the very front of the ship was going completely under water the waves were so high. This cruise was the worst:

I would think that 2 Uber XL's would be your most convenient and least expensive option. That would give you and your luggage plenty of room to spread out.

Agreed. We don't have precheck and fly out of LGB multiple times per year. We have NEVER waited more than 10 minutes for security. I find the busiest time at LGB is early in the morning. There are lots of flights leaving between 7AM and 9AM but it really slows down after that. We've flown out of LGB dozens of times and its never been more than 30 minutes from us getting dropped off to being at our gate - even with the sometimes long Southwest baggage check lines. The drive from the cruise port to LGB should not take more than 30 minutes - even with bad traffic.

We have sailed 30+ times, we aren't particularly brand loyal. We have sailed Carnival, RCCL, NCL, Disney and Princess. However, most of our cruises have been on Royal Caribbean and Carnival. We love both Royal Caribbean and Carnival. No Carnival ships hold a candle to the Oasis ships (or even the Voyager class ships imho). We are to the point where we are willing to pay up to 20% more to sail on a RCCL ship vs Carnival. With that being said, we find the service is generally better on Carnival. We also find the MDR food slightly better on Carnival as well. But entertainment is much better on Royal Caribbean and any of the newer Royal Caribbean ships are MUCH better than even the newest Carnival ships. We always have a great time regardless. We generally choose our cruise based on price and the specific ship. We don't really care about the itinerary, as the ship itself is our destination.