Bruin Steve

We've got ALMOST the same situation as the OP...We're cruising on the Millennium March 28-April 21...Also arriving at Haneda...and also staying at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku. But, at the end of our B2B cruises, we are departing from Haneda. I took a look at that limousine bus link...and, indeed, it says ¥1,300 pp for the ride from Haneda to the Keio Plaza--at present, less than $10 each...So, it clearly beats the price of a taxi. Questions, though-- 1) Do we need to pre-book and pre-pay (appears so from the website)? 2) If so, it looks like one has to pick a time--but, of course, the concern is a) we don't know if flight will be on time, b) we don't know how long it might take to retrieve our luggage and c) we don't know how long it will take to clear passport control/immigration...So, how difficult is it to deal with changes in schedule? 3) The video showed luggage racks above the seats--which, obviously, will not work for the large 50 lb/23 kg suitcases we will be traveling with. Is there also "under the bus" luggage storage available? 4) Is it easy to find the bus from baggage claim at Haneda? For our trip from the Keio Plaza to the ship in Yokohama, there will be four of us (another couple is joining us for the first leg of the B2B only but arriving Haneda a different day), what is the best way to get four people plus lots of luggage from the Keio Plaza to the cruise port? For our return, we have a tour that will get us from the ship to Haneda... Also, is Uber a "thing" in Tokyo as an alternative to taxi? What is the custom of tipping taxi drivers/bus drivers in Japan? Thanks...

Friday night and the cruise leaves Saturday? How late Friday? Assuming it's an arrival well after dinner time (There is little in the way of restaurants near LAX)... The only "free" shuttles you will find will be LAX area hotels--from LAX, maybe some in El Segundo (just south of LAX) as well. LAX is not an attractive location--except if you have a very early flight out or, perhaps, like you, a very late flight in. My personal preference would be to head immediately to Downtown Long Beach--just to get the longer ride out of the way. I'd especially head down to Long Beach if I arrived earlier in the day since there is so much more to do, more restaurants, etc....as well as to have a less stressful embarkation morning. Of course, for you, you may find a less expensive hotel choice near LAX. If there, stay in the area immediately east of LAX along Century Blvd., but stay west of the 405...Or, stay in El Segundo if you can find a good price and shuttle. If you want to head straight to Long Beach, take a good look at the Maya Doubletree or the Residence Inn Downtown--they are on the same side of the channel as the Carnival terminal. Do not venture to other locations in Long Beach other than this or just across the channel--Hyatt Regency, Hyatt at the Pike, Renaissance, Westin, Hilton. Long Beach is a big city--some parts are not good. A compromise is to stay in Torrance (about halfway to the port from LAX), taking an Uber LAX-hotel and hotel-port...if you can find a better hotel price there (I assume from your post that budget is a concern). I've never Ubered Long Beach to LAX...I have done San Pedro (slightly closer to LAX) to LAX--around $50 plus tip...but, beware, if a lot of people get off the ship and all call Uber at once, surge pricing pops up. Keep both the Uber app and the Lyft app handy to see who's got the best price.

Yes. Dam Square is, basically, the center of downtown Amsterdam. When we last went and chose the Kimpton DeWitt, it was largely due to the proximity to the cruise port, the train station, boat tours and the main sights of Downtown Amsterdam. The short walk between there and Dam Square was pretty nice. But...short story, "Dam Square " brings this back for me: First time I ever visited Amsterdam was in 1975, when I spent the summer in Europe while in college. A buddy and I stayed in a small hotel (and I use that term loosely here...place was a dive) not far from there...and every time we ventured out, we passed through Dam Square. And, constantly, in Dam Square, with us being a couple of long-haired college kids (yes, in those days, we all were), we kept getting approached by "pushers" offering to sell us every type of drug imaginable. I think every drug dealer in Amsterdam in those days (prior to the 1976 legalization of "soft" drugs) seemed to hang out at Dam Square. One morning, a long haired guy comes up to us and asks "Do you want to buy a bug?" My friend and I looked at each other puzzled. We thought we knew every slang term for every drug available...but we had no idea what a "bug" was. We looked at the guy and said "A bug? Ummmm....What's that?" He looks back, slightly annoyed and says "A BUG. A VW. A Volkswagen. I'm trying to sell my car". So, I guess the drug business has moved on to legal "coffee shops". I wonder if the used car market is still alive and kicking in Dam Square?

I love last minute schedule changes...Many years ago, before we ever brought cell phones anywhere and had no email to check, we had a Princess cruise out of Copenhagen on the OLD Crown Princess (the one they aquired in the Sitmar merger)...We had flown into Copenhagen 4 nights early and, on embarkation day, we checked out of our hotel and headed to the ship thinking we had plenty of time. We barely made it. Princess had changed departure time, moving it something like 4 or 5 hours early for some inane reason. We DID make it, but many didn't. We "asked" about it...and they said "We notified you". I asked "How?" and "When? And they told us BY TELEPHONE (in those days, that meant our home land line)...and when? "Yesterday". Now you also need to realize that, "yesterday" in Los Angeles, even had we not flown early to Copenhagen, would have been a day taken up by an hour drive to LAX, a couple of hours for check-in, etc., 12+ hours of flight time plus at least a couple of hours changing planes at Heathrow or elsewhere...compounded by a 9-hour time zone change. IOW, even had we flown in just in time for the cruise, we still would not have had a "yesterday". We were just LUCKY that we always plan on getting to the ship early. Princess, of course, was unapologetic...

Nope. Not exactly. We are booked on yhe Serenade of the Seas "World Cruise" for a couple of segments...and we are scheduled to leave the ship IN AMSTERDAM on AUGUST 19, 2024. For us, it's not a matter of simply flying into Amsterdam and getting a taxi or train to Rotterdam or vice versa. We will have been traveling over a month and will have a lot of luggage. The plan is to stay a couple of nights and enjoy Amsterdam...after a quick Uber or taxi from the ship, then a quick Uber or taxi to the airport. Keep it simple. Back in 2019, we did B2B on Reflection in and out of Amsterdam...and we loved the ease of doing it--rather than ports like Southmpton, Dover, Civitavecchia, etc. where you fly in to an airport a considerable distance away. Last time, pre- and post-cruise, we stayed at the Kimpton DeWitt Amsterdam--and it was so convenient.

Assuming you are talking about the weekend of April 19/20...That is the "Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach"... https://www.gplb.com/ Even if you had booked a hotel early, the prices would have been highly inflated...and even this far ahead of the event, hotels are typically sold out. So, assuming your cruise dates are cut in stone, don't worry about it. Stay somewhere else in the area and, unless you are going to the race, just stay out of Long Beach until it's time to get on your ship. Where you stay depends on what you want to do, what airport you are using...and how much time you have. If you are just, say, flying into LAX the day before, killing time relaxing withourt need to do any sightseeing and just heading to your ship Monday morning...and you are concerned with transportation costs and logistics, I wouldn't bother passing Long Beach to head to Seal Beach or Huntington Beach and backtracking by Uber... I'd stay in between LAX and Long Beach--Look at El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance (Collectively, "the South Bay")...Plenty of hotels, areas are safe, restaurant choices, etc. and you are doing no extra mileage by Uber or anything, just splitting your ride in two... I'd consider Seal Beach/Huntington Beach only if I were flying into SNA or LGB...and, if one of those and just relaxing, I'd consider staying near those airports (though normally, I'd highly recommend NOT and staying in Downtown Long Beach. Your weekend, you simply don't have that choice. And even LGB hotels are bound to fill fast for that weekend!)

We are headed to Seattle next month for a cruise on Quantum of the Seas. Originally, we booked a hotel near the airport--Wingate by Wyndham...Got a fairly cheap price and it included breakfast. Our original plan was hotel shuttle airport to hotel, Uber to the ship at Pier 91. Then stuff started getting screwy. The hotel changed its afilliation from Wyndham to Marriott and we had a difficult time confirming our reservation. Marriott finally confirmed--but our included breakfast seemed to drop from the deal and there was now an extra charge. I actually had a few soon-to-expire Marriott points, but could not apply them to this reservation without a major bump to "current" pricing... Then, someone suggested NOT staying near the airport. That pre-cruise Uber might be difficult, take a long timewith traffic and encounter surge pricing--The Quantum leaves on a Monday! We looked around for alternatives. Ended up canceling the airport hotel and booking the Fairfield Inn Downtown (a Marriott product, 7th and John, near the Space Needle). Overall rates were not much higher than the airport options--and we were able to pay in part with those expiring Marriott points to bring our cost LOWER than what we would have spent at the airport. And the Fairfield INCLUDES breakfast. We'll get an Uber from the airport when we arrive on Sunday morning. We can wander around Downtown for the afternoon and have dinner at a number of choices near the hotel (The airport hotel we had booked had very few restaurants in walking distance and we would likely have ended up taking a shuttle to the mall for a restaurant). And, Monday morning, when we check out, it's only a 2.9 mile Uber ride to Pier 91!!!

I've done it...so it can't be too difficult...But, being lazy, I've taken the shuttle as well... It's flat...all sidewalks...You go about a block East from the CP to Harbor Blvd. (The only major street you have to cross)...Cross Harbor Blvd. and just follow the walkway past the USS Iowa and to either Berth 92 or 93, depending on which berth your ship is at.

YES. This hotel: https://www.ihg.com/crowneplaza/hotels/us/en/san-pedro/laxpv/hoteldetail Located about three blocks from the cruise terminal. Several good restaurant choices within about a two block radius. Along with the Doubletree in San Pedro (a little more tranquil location but a little more out-of-the-way), the only two hotels in San Pedro I'd recommend.

Ubers of all types are extremely plentiful in the LA area. The only times I've ever had a problem in getting one is when arriving late at nignt at LAX when a number of planes had just arrived...and then it wasn't a matter of getting one, just that I've experienced some "surge" pricing...To be on the safe side, download the apps for BOTH Uber and Lyft. You can log into both and check prices and availability. And, if Uber XL is not easy, just grab two UberXs--sometimes it works out just as well. I would never use a solution requiring me to get a hotel shuttle back to LAX then find a cruise line transfer...definitely not worth the hassle.

Okay...here's the fun part: What you want to visit is my old neighborhood...where I grew up. Seriously, growing up, even before they built the Getty Villa, J. Paul Getty was my neighbor. His actual residence (well, his California residence, he also had homes in London and New York) was right next to the house I grew up in. All I had to do was to climb under the fence along our back yard and I was looking at Getty's house--which is actually behind the "Villa". My parents were really not very happy with them building the Villa (nor were many of their neighbors). The property was zoned "single family residential" and they pulled a few strings with City Hall and somehow bypassed a lot of the public hearing requirements. When they opened, it caused a lot of unnecessary traffic and parking issues in the neighborhood. The eventual compromise was that no one would be allowed to walk into the Villa property--visitors could only park ON the property...and parking reservations were required. Anyway, back to your question. The Villa is actually located in Pacific Palisades (though they often call it Malibu...The city of Malibu actually starts just a little up the PCH across Topanga Canyon Blvd. There really aren't any hotels in Pacific Palisades and nothing that close-by in the Eastern end of Malibu. Closest are for hotels would actually be Santa Monica--which is, for many reasons, a great place to stay--lots to do in walking distance if one is there without a car. I would use Uber to get from the cruise port to a hotel in Santa Monica and use Uber to the Getty Villa and back. The oldest and most "historic" hotel (though little in the area is all that ancient) in Santa Monica is the Fairmont Miramar--sort of the "grande dame" of Santa Monica hotels...and very well located near the Third Street Promenade and Palisades Park. For a smaller hotel nearby, the Huntley is across the street (My daughter once stayed there and liked it). Another very interesting choice--a litte closer to Getty but a little more out-of the-way for other things--would be the Channel Road Inn. From Santa Monica, there are a few typical tourist sites: Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach Boardwalk, a stroll along Palisades Park at sunset, shopping and people-watching on the Promenade. If you've done all of those and are looking for the unusual, in Pacific Palisades there's this one: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=626 A couple of long blocks down the beach from the Getty Villa (at PCH and Sunset Blvd.) is California's top grossing restaurant--Gladstone's...but there are lots of other restaurant choices in Santa Monica.

Exactly!!! I really WISH they had a person or a team of people sitting around looking at the many guaranteed bookings on the 40+ ships on the RCI-owned cruise lines for 52 weeks of cruises each year and looking at the individual cruising resumes of everyone booked into those guarantees and assigning cabins and categories based on the cruising credentials of those passengers. I am well into Diamond Plus on Royal and even farter up the board on Elite Plus on Celebrity. I would book a guarantee every time...because I'd be virtually guaranteed that rare upgrade. BUT that is NOT how they do it. It's all computer driven...and the Computer programs are really not that complex. They book a certain number of guarantees in certain categories because they either have cabins reserved or know, from experience, that a given number of cabins will come back to them over time due to cancelations and such. The guarantee bookings allow them a certain amount of flexibility in how they market remaining unsold cabins and allows them to market cruises even in categories where they no longer have unassifgned cabins at any specific time. Which specific cabins eventually become availableis a completely unpredictable variable. People may cancel a booking in a well-located cabin...or in one in the extreme aft or forward. And at times, the cabins that come available may not be in the predicted categories--leaving them the ability to move people around. Throw in the RoyalUp thing and cabins and categories get moved around...but all for the convenience of cruise line marketing The actual assignments are done by the computer...and it is the simplest program they can put together. WHY? Because who they assign where really doesn't matter to them...and it isn't worth the time or complexity to deal with otherwise. So, when you book a guarantee, your booking goes into the list of guarantee bookings at that level...and the computer randomly assigns it to one of the available cabins--whichever and wherever that may be. Don't imagine any additional motive or complex array of considerations.

I'm not so sure about that... I am Diamond Plus...As I reported earlier, I've rarely seen any bump. I've been in roll call threads where I've been given a guarantee assignment in the lowest category of my guarantee while newbie first time cruisers have reported some sizable upgrades. I believe it's simply luck of the draw.

I, generally, like to choose my cabin...Mostly because I have certain preferences... I like balconies, but don't want an obstructed view...I also have a strong preference for midship, or, at least, close to elevators for convenience sake. And, if I can work it, I like those cabins with larger than standard balconies...And I, generally, like to cruise in balconies, or, at times, suites... That said, on rare occasions--due to either lack of availability or due to extremely large differences in price, I will book some sort of guarantee... For our upcoming August Quantum Alaska cruise--where we are taking our daughters plus son-in law and other daughter's boyfriend--we booked three balconies with guarantee rates. But to avoid obstucted views, we booked higher level "unobstructed" balcony guarantees...We ended up with three cabins all fairly close together near midship on deck 13...Very happy with the assignments. For our two World Cruise segments next July/August, we again went with guarantees. This time, it was a question of the little choice of assigned cabins left after RCCL sold off a large portion of the ship to full world cruise bookings and larger segment bookings before opening to smaller segments. All they had available when they opened it up to us were a few very poorly located OVs at the front of the ship and a bunch of insides (though they later opened a few balcony guarantees but at extremely high prices). With the choice of booking a known poorly located OV or taking an OV guarantee, we opted for OV guarantees. Figured it could be, at worst, one of those forward-most remaining OVs...OR, we might get lucky and get a better located OV...or get really lucky and get upgraded--though we've rarely been upgraded on a guarantee before (though ONE TIME, we were assigned a larger balcony cabin on a balcony guarantee rate). We'll just wait and see this time. Of course, I'm prepared for anything. Just get me on the ship and I'll make the most of it. No balcony? I'll learn to use the public decks a little more. Far forward or aft? I'll get a little more needed exercise. After all, all of the cabins get the same food and entertainment and go to the same ports. And, if we use the cabin mostly to sleep and change clothes, it matters little. It's all good.

It's directly UNDER the hotel. We've parked and taken the elevator right up into the lobby. We also got lucky and found a space between a wall and a pillar--so no one could park next to us...so zero chance at door dings!

There are several airports serving the Los Angeles area-- LGB (16 miles from the port in San Pedro) LAX (20 miles) SNA (35 miles) Burbank (36.5 miles) Ontario (58 miles) LAX is, by far, the largest. Sixth busiest airport in the world (per Wikipedia and other sources, though some sources who may use different criteria show it anywhere from #5 to #10). SNA and Ontario are more medirm sized airports, Burbank a little smaller, LGB the smallest. You can get a flight, often several flights a day, from most places nonstop, to LAX from almost anywhere. As the airports get smaller flight availability becomes more limited--fewer flights on fewer airlines from fewer places. What makes some people avoid LAX is they find it sort of intimidating, mostly due to the size and large volume of passengers. Personally, I don't think it's all that bad--as long as you don't have to change planes there with different carriers--the options for getting around the airport are not good. But, if you are merely arriving and departing from LAX, it's only a matter of getting from the curb to the gate or the gate to your ground transportation. Departing is easier since Ubers, taxis, etc. can drop off right in front of your terminal. Arrivals a little trickier--if you are using UberX, Lyft or a taxi as you have to walk or shuttle to a specified pick-up lot (still not all that difficult). Some people think check-in and security require long lines but, personally, I have never found this the case and I travel through LAX quite a lot. Lines are no better or worse than most other airports. As to ground transportation to and from the cruise port, LAX is actually the most convenient (aside form the added issue of the Uber/taxi lot). Distances are closer so costs are lower. There are far more options for transportation services and far more available vehicles...and the trip is virtually all freeway. For me, the main reason to use SNA would be if you are visiting Disney or some other Orange County attraction before or after the cruise. The main reason to use Burbank would be if you're spending time at Hollywood or Universal Studios or other attractions north of LA. There is no advantage to ever using Ontario-unless you have family to visit in the Inland Empire. Use LGB only if you have convenient low price nonstop flights from wherever you are. As to hotels near the airport, I really wouldn't advise staying near any of the airports--unless you had an exceptionally eary flight out. I'd much rather leave whichever airport immediately upon arrival and head right to the port (if flying in the day before). Makes for a far less stressful embarkation day. If flying in multiple days ahead, I'd opt for a much better location--Santa Monica (by far my #1 choice)...or Marina del Rey/Venice Beach...Hollywood/Universal...Redondo/Manhattan, etc. Any decent well located hotel in the LA area will be expensive...Don't look for low priced bargains--they are usually selling at a lo price for a reason. Pay a few dollars more to stay in a nice well-recommended hotel in an attractive and convenient location.

MAYBE...IF you assume that LAX-BCN nonstops have ALWAYS been Level. OTOH, I remember seeing LAX-BCN nonstops on Iberia YEARS AGO, long before Level ever existed. Level commenced operations in the Summer of 2017. They ceased flights to LAX in 2020 and did not resume BCN-LAX flights until the Summer of 2022 under a new contrct with Iberia. When I booked this flight in early 2022, yes, the Celebrity Air flight showed the flight as Iberia. BUT, I also counter-checked the same flights--for pricing--on Kayak and Expedia. NO ONE showed this flight, at that time, as Level. Yes, perhaps booking on Iberia, I might have discovered something amiss...but, OTOH, the absence of any mention of Level was NOT strictly a characteristic of Celebrity Air alone...at least not back in 2022. HOWEVER...This really isn't the point of the recent re-opening of this thread. A poster resurrected this thread to specifically ask me about my experience with actually flying Level. I answered it. Level is terrible. However one might end up stuick with them, I would advise against it. I also would not recommend booking with Iberia rather than with Celebrity Air. There are so many advantages to booking with Celebrity Air. I would only cautiuon that if the Celebrity Air site--OR ANY OTHER SITE--says "Iberia", do a lot more research...and, if it turns out you are dealing with Leve, find another flight.

YES. Had we booked this IBERIA flight directly through Iberia (And, yes, it was an Iberia flight at the time we booked it) or, if we booked it with American Airines (as they book you with their "One World" partners) or, if we booked it through a website such as Kayak or Expedia, we would have had the exact same problem. The problem was that Iberia transfered the flight to Level and the flight was operated under Level's system and rules. The issues regarding seat reservations would have been the same no matter how it was booked--that all resulted from an awkward transition between Iberia and Level. The issues regarding food and drink and what was offered or included were all purely operational and due to Level's operation. Nothing to do with Celebrity Air. Had we booked a different airline--say BA or Lufthansa or United--whether we booked directly with thse airlines or with an air travel website or with Celebrity Air--it would have been different. And those flights, at the time we booked, would also have been cheaper through Celebrity Air than directly with the airlines...and all of the other advantages of using Celebrity Air--such as not paying until the final cruise payment date--would have been the same.

Horrendous would be an understatement. I apologize... I should have posted something here when we get back, but apparently tried to block it from my mind. I would have been more detailed. I remember writing to Level and Iberia after the flight but can't find copies of that, so I'll go from memory. The experience at Barcelona airport was not great. Airport personnel directed us to the Iberia check-in counter--where we waited online with a couple dozen other Level customers--until someone was told we needed to go to the other end of the terminal to a different check-in line. The plane was clean and, surprisingly, our seat reservations held. The seats lacked any sort of padding and were particularly uncomfortable--even for airline seats. No pillows, blankets or earphones were provided. About two hours into the flight, they came through for drink orders--I asked for Diet Coke and was poured a small 8 ounce glass about two thirds full with no ice. Little did I know that this would be the only included drink for the next 7-8 hours or so. Shortly after, they came around for my choice of "meal"...IIRC, "chicken" or "pasta". I saw the very unappetizing appearance of the chicken served to the guy in the row in front of me, so I ordered pasta...which was equally unappetizing. Either "meal" was exceedingly small--containing only a small dish of the main dish and an even smaller salad...nothing else. Around two hours from the end of the flight, they came around and threw us a bag with a very small "sandwich" of some sort--a small roll with an almost unnoticeble layer of something inside....and another six ounces of drink. That was it for a twelve hour flight. When I mentioned it to the flight attendants, they said "What do you want? We gave you food and drink." Then one of them told me "There are lots of people on this flight and YOU are the only one complaining". Clearly, their attitude is that they are a no-frills airline. Only because someone booked through Iberia are they even including ANYTHING...and, even so, they are limiting it to the bare minimum. I assume people who booked directly with LEVEL got some sort of drastically discounted no-frills low fare. our booking with Iberia was at a fare more in line with full service airlines and should have been full service. Level is clearly not staffed or equipped to provide anything more than minimal service. If you are stuck with them, I would really recommend stocking up on plenty of food, bottled drinks (which, due to post-9/11 rules, you'll need to buy at the airport at airport prices) and snacks before boarding the plane. Don't count on buying the extra food and drink onboard as their stock is very limited and the flight attendants are scarce and hard to find during the flight. I will NEVER fly with Level again. Probably never book with Iberia again. Prisoners at San Quentin get fed better. The food/drink service on Level, if given to prisoners, would be considered unconstitutional as "cruel and inhumane punishment". At least we made it home safely.

Any thoughts on the 5 Point? We're staying the night before our August Quantum cruise at the Fairfield Inn on 7th and John...and were looking for something, close by, casual and relatively inexpensive within close walking distance. The menu at 5 point intrigued me. Sounded like fun....but I've never been there before. https://www.the5pointcafe.com/main-menu

Not sure which itinerary you are doing...Infinity does a couple of different variations. There is plenty of "historical", not that much "biblical" (not much of the bible took place in Greece...though you likely get to go to Kusadasi--which is in Turkey--from which you can visit Ephesus..."Ephesians"). I'd highly recommend , when in Mykonos, you find an excursion to Delos--it's an incredible archaeological site. In Santorini, you can visit the ruins of Akrotiri--supposedly the lost "Atlantis". On Ephesus, find something that tours you through the Terrace Houses. Athens, of course, is loaded with history--especially the Acropolis...but try to book a few days pre-cruise...there is a wealth of archaeological sites outside of Athens--Delphi, for example...or many sites in the Pelopenesse (the peninsula south of Athens) where you'll find things like the incredible Mycenae, the amphitheater at Epidaurus, the Corinth Canal and more...You can find companies that will put together a private full day tour through this area for you. IF you go to Rhodes, stick to Rhodes itself--an ancient walled city and skip the urge to go see Lindos--unless you want to hike up a steep cliff to the citadel. Greece is an archaeologists and historian's dream cruise! Have fun.

We live within an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half from the port, but often when cruising out of San Pedro, we'll stay at a hotel the night before for various reasons. We have stayed at both the Crown Plaza and the Doubletree. I recommend either and those are the only two hotels in San Pedro I'd recommend. Both are nice but have different plusses and minuses. Hotel policies might change from time to time, but when we've stayed there, both had hotel shuttles. The DT shuttle is free to or from the cruise terminal and they will even shuttle you to restaurants in Downtown San Pedro for free (though a tip to the driver is appropriate). The DT is a little under 3 miles from the cruise terminal. It is in a very scenic location--at the small craft marina--but there is little around it in the way of restaurants--other than the 22nd Street Landing (Seafood). The Crowne Plaza is in the heart of Downtown San Pedro--only about a three-block walk to the cruise terminal. The CP has a shuttle, but more recently, they started charging $5 pp each way. If you don't want to walk, you can get an Uber easier and cheaper. There are several good restaurants within about two blocks of the CP. If you're only in town for a very short visit and just looking for convenience, you cannot beat the CP.

https://maketraveleasier.com/PortValet/Order

Assuming you won't have a car and have no need to go visit Hollywood or other far-flung tourist sites, I would just Uber post-cruise to Santa Monica and check in to a hotel in the prime area of Santa Monica--near the Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica Pier and Palisades Park. Maybe take a bus or Uber from there to Venice Beach, stroll along the Boardwalk (or, if you are in athletic shape, rent bicyces and ride the bike path from the SM Pier to the Marina and back)...then hang out at the SM Pier, walk along the edge of Palisades Park for the sunset, have some dinner somewhere in SM and stroll the Promenade in the evening to enjoy some of the evening street performers... In the morning, it's a short 10-mile Uber ride to LAX...

I'm going to call AT&T and try to find out how much data we normally use. We have an unlimited plan so it otherwise doesn't matter, but I'm sure they have records. My other concern would be how often it's not usable. Can't use it while in port...but also can't use it if not far enough out at sea (the website says 9-11 miles in one place and 12 miles in another). With our itinerary--Southampton-Bruges-Skagen-Warnemunde-Riga-Tallinn-Helsinki-Stockholm (overnight)-Visby-Klaipeda-Ronne-Kiel-Copenhagen-Aarhus-Oslo-Kristiansand-Haugesund-Olden-Alesund-Bergen-Amsterdam--will we all too often just be too close to shore? Yes, I assume they'll want to be in international waters in order to open the shops and casino--but, when most of that is closed, what keeps them form being close to shore?