bonstersd

Next day St Maarten. This was my third or fourth time to this port. I've done ATV riding, I've done the nude beach, I've done tours, I've done Maho Beach. This time I wanted to find a bar at the beach, have a few strong drinks, maybe do a little shopping and listen to some music...and that's EXACTLY what I did.

 

 

One of my favorite things to do is to have a few strong drinks and listen to my music.... be in my own little world for a bit!

Our ship arrived at 6:00am. There were only 6 immigration agents checking out passengers and even with our priority disembarkation we weren't off the ship until almost 10:00am. We fortunately found a driver waiting at the curb willing to take us to LAX. He drove quickly to the airport (thankfully the three accidents on I 405 were on the southbound side) and we arrived in time to checkin and head straight to the gate for our 12:10 boarding.

 

I did change all the flights (which fortunately didn't cost anything extra. I was very concerned about having my son's family with three little children missing a flight. We will now be able to use the inexpensive NCL transfers to LAX and be able to have a much more relaxed disembarkation morning.

I hope they have a great time on the Bliss! I am on the NCL Star over New Year's and I am booking a noon flight out of LAX. I don't anticipate having any problems. I will just be traveling back to San Diego so I can always take the train if something happens (I HATE driving in the OC and LA and my mom is flying in from Phx so I thought I'd just fly as well).

Please recommend!!

 

We disembarked the Star Princess at the Los Angeles World Cruise Terminal today - it was extremely slow getting off the ship. In October, my family members will disembark Bliss at the same which is twice as big! The ship arrives at 8:00am and the flight home leaves at 11:00 from the Long Beach airport. If I recall correctly, the airport is only about 15 minutes away.

 

Thanks!

Maureen

What time did the Star Princess arrive back at port in LA? If your family does self assist, can't they be one of the first off? Long Beach airport is only about 20 minutes from the port...especially on a Saturday! I would keep the 11am flight....

Free versus and $8 Uber/Lyft/Taxi... I would chose the latter. The Airport Flyer bus is an option but baggage can be a pain to deal with. I would prefer to get to the port as fast as possible rather than waiting for a free shuttle. Here is the information for ride share, depending on which terminal you arrive (terminal 1 is mostly Southwest and terminal 2 is almost every other airline).

Designated Ride Share passenger pickup locations are listed below:

• Terminal 1: Exit baggage claim via the escalators, walk across the Sky Bridge toward Ground Transportation and the parking lot, exit down the escalators toward the parking lot, and turn right to the Transportation Plaza. Use crosswalk to the third lane for pick-up area. See signage for assistance.
  
• Terminal 2: Upon exiting baggage claim, use main crosswalk to Transportation Plaza. Ridesharing pick-up is located in the second lane on the right. See signage for assistance.
  

Just use Lyft/Uber or hop in a taxi... the airport is LITERALLY 2 miles away from the cruise port. 3 Lyfts/Uber will cost than $30 total!

At 1am when nobody else was around...a lost man asked me where the casino was. Does that count?

 

 

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I'm a very chatty person and I love to meet new peeps... I would have totally chatted with you, except your left your seat to watch the ships pass... (JK)

Thank you for clarifying. I was a little unsure if all CAS bookings would include the drink card and didn't want to give out wrong information :D

Thank you both for the response! I will ask my CAS rep just to clarify. I drink myself silly with both booze and water so I can use both cards! (Sorry to hijack your AWESOME thread!)

Great, great review! Thanks for taking the time to do this! Taking this cruise in Feb next year with friends. One question. When you were talking about water, you said you had a drink card in the casino that you used for water, could you explain this? One of our group is concerned about the price of bottled water and I was wondering if this is something he could do.

I am also curious about the casino drink card. I booked my reservations through Casino at Seas... does that mean I get a casino drink card? I do have the beverages program as well... any insight is appreciated.

I'm going to book the 5-day overnight in Cabo! So happy Carnival is returning to San Diego! I hate the drive up to Long Beach. Thanks Carnival!

Lyft is always the best and cheapest way to go. I have taken a Lyft from Long Beach cruise terminal to the Amtrak in Santa Ana... $35 plus tip. :)

The Midway is very close to the cruise terminal. There is metered parking all nearby, but most have a 2 hour maximum--always enforced. There is parking right across the street from the cruise terminal... not sure the hourly rate but it won't break the bank.

There are parking spaces within the cruise terminal for cars picking up passengers... you can't leave your car there but you can wait in it. It's a very easy cruise terminal....

I am going on the Star on March 25... I'd be happy to cash in your chips for you and send you the money. I don't need a fee... you can email me at my name at yahoo.

What other game tables did they have in the Casino? 3 card poker? Let it Ride? Craps?

That's so great you get to cruise with your family and your dear friends! Happy Cruising Life!

Sounds like it was worth the wait! Have a great trip! Post pictures please!

Loving this review! Going on the Star in March! Pictures of the casino please?

Any cabin assignment today? I sail on November 24 in a guarantee and I check the cabin inventory daily. There were a lot of suites last week and they are all gone and lots of aft balconies became available...hoping for one of them (but I'll be happy with whatever assignment we get).

Will you let me know what table games there are in the casino? Also, if you play any slot machines, which ones do you like?

The Wyndham San Diego Bayside is directly across from the cruise terminal and approximately 2 miles from the airport. If you are staying more than just overnight in San Diego, I suggest a hotel more downtown (although the Wyndham is only 2 miles from all the downtown going ons...), like the Omni, Marriott Marquis, or Hilton San Diego Gaslamp. There are lots of restaurants and shops in the Gaslamp.

Thanks for the feedback. I have emailed Ocean Player's Club to get a definitive answer. While I drink a lot on vacation, my mother does not so I have to weigh the cost/benefit of the beverage program.

I have searched for the answer and have not been able to find it.... Carnival gives you "drinks on us" once you hit however many points in the casino. Does HAL do that? I need to decide whether to buy the beverage package. Any info would be appreciated!

Sadly, the news has just dropped for my Vista cruise... They have decided to sail on Tuesday September 12 on a 5 day cruise to who knows where. They expect 4,000 people to try to get to a potential disaster area for a 5 day cruise? Carnival has just lost my business forever. They can take their "pro-rated cruise credit" and shove it where the sun don't shine...

Now, I have to cancel my flights and hotel, and on top of that, the refund I was hoping to get to fund my NCL Escape Halloween cruise will be totally out of pocket... They are willing to risk the lives of their passengers to try and salvage the profits of 1 cruise, and I believe they will lose a whole lot of future business over the media fallout that is about to ensue... Again, thanks a lot Carnival. A former customer.

There is a good chance that the current itinerary will change again. They really will know more after Irma hits Florida. Don't give up all hope yet! And, a lot of airlines are letting passengers cancel or chance your flights to/from Florida with no change fee. And Carnival's website says: "Guests who decide to cancel because their cruise duration has changed, will receive a future cruise credit in the amount paid"

Going the other direction, I have taken an Uber or Lyft from the Long Beach Pier to the Santa Ana train station (about $35) and then took the train to San Diego, which is about 3 blocks from the pier. Super easy and relaxing!

Uber is now available on Maui..they can take you to the nearest car rental place, which is in Kaanapali...I think there is an enterprise car rental too..maybe they will pick you up!

I know I'm late to the party reading your review but none of the photos are there anymore...it says you need to update your third party viewing ...or something like that. I would really love to see your photos!