herm26

Check out similar topic in Carnival thread for more info. I just posted a recent experience there.

We arrived a week and a half ago for the Panorama around 1:15pm (with an 11:00am arrival time) and waited 40 minutes in a long line of cars just to get to the drop off area through the back of the garage, and this was after we drove through two hours of LA traffic just to get there. Arriving later than noon, at least for our sail date, did nothing to alleviate the situation. I did think that this was a big deal. I was the second to last car to fit into the off-site convention center lot and had to wait to go back in the shuttle bus with the employees working the lot. I have no idea what they did with the other cars behind me that did not make it into the lot. After arriving back at the terminal there were huge lines of people waiting outside in the hot sun and people were trying to figure out which was the correct line to join. Because we had an earlier boarding time we found an employee who directed us to the shortest line which was still at least 20 minutes to get into the building. It was not a pleasant set of circumstances to get onto that ship. I really don't think very many people will have any interest in walking from the convention center lot to the terminal. A driver with a backpack or carry-on bag would probably take 45-60 minutes to walk that, and the day I was there it was quite warm with the hot sun overhead. Maybe a different time of year perhaps. If not parking at the terminal is an option, I would definitely do it. If I ever cruise there again we'll probably just rideshare all the way to the Queen Mary even though it would be much more expensive than parking there. Avoiding that drop-off and re-parking mess would be worth the cost.

1982 Summer. Festivale. I'm guessing not too many people on this board will have an earlier year than that. Also while on the Jubilee in summer 1988 my late father interviewed Micky Arison for a story in the Chicago Tribune newspaper. I was in high school and the three of us were just sitting on the pool deck with nothing but swimsuits and sunglasses on while my father asked questions for an hour and took notes. None of the other passengers on the cruise even knew who he was at the time. Pretty surreal experience. He was probably the richest man I ever met personally.

Attempted to check in 9pm Pacific time (midnight Eastern) and check in not available for my cruise leaving from Long Beach, CA. Still not working at midnight local time. Finally was able to check in just before 1am local time (4am Eastern). I skipped through everything and only chose the terminal arrival time. First time available was 11:00am. If there were any 10:30am or earlier time slots they were already gone before I could even access the check in process. After some sleep, later in the morning around 7am Pacific time, I went back to complete the check in, but my bedding option was not correct and when I tried to change it I received an error message of some kind. A few hours later I went back in again and I was able to change the bedding option. I feel like the system is a little bit clunky and needs some attention to work properly. I never had an issue checking in with an airline when the check in time became available so I'm not sure why this is a problem with Carnival recently. I could not find any clear communication exactly when (i.e., what time) check in should be available - only the day "Online check in can be accessed within 14 days prior to sailing...". Is it written anywhere on Carnival's web site that the check in time begins at midnight Eastern time for all cruises? If so, please provide the link as I'd like to see it.

Long Beach parking info here: https://help.goccl.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1045/~/long-beach-cruise-ship-terminal-directions-and-parking Firenze/Radiance use garage. Panorama off-site. Carnival added significant cruise passenger capacity without adding on-site parking capacity. Even for the on-site ships it makes for quite a gridlock-like experience in the morning with hundreds of cars attempting to go in and out in the same few hours. There is a separate thread already on the Panorama parking situation if you want more info and recent experiences.

Long Beach Cruise Ship Terminal Directions and Parking This is perhaps a helpful link.

How early can you arrive at the port to park? Before 10am? Is there a gate or a person letting people in to park? I don't mind arriving early to park and just hanging out before getting into the dome. Has anyone attempted to arrive much earlier in the morning? If so, what has been your experience? Thanks.