Robroy

If you check Youtube under Crowne Plaza there's a video of a person walking the route to the port. Believe it was about a 15 minute walk and will give you a good idea of what was described above. Have a great trip! Cheers, Rob

Just noticed this thread this morning - checked the mail this afternoon and our docs have arrived. We're sailing in seven weeks. As a first-time O client must say I'm impressed with the service thus far. Booked directly with an O agent - smooth transfer to my local T/A and docs arrived in lots of time. Have been following O posts closely since we booked late last fall and lots of great info. More positives than negatives so we're really looking forward to our trip to form our own conclusions. Cheers, Rob

We're also on an Oceania ship which is docking there - wondering how far it would be to the Ferry Building as we're planning to pick up the Big Bus tour and understand it leaves from there. Looks to be about a 15 minute walk. Thanks! Rob

Thanks for the input Jon. Imagining a potential worst-case scenario we decided to change to the 15:30 flight to avoid any stress or worry about traffic/accident situations. Realized that by getting home a few hours later we could have a leisurely trip to the airport - have a nice lunch and relax which we have always done in the past. A better way to end a vacation than worrying about a missed flight!

Thanks for the input everyone. Certainly wasn't a matter of selecting a cheap early flight as we've cruised enough to know that we always plan for a good buffer which is why I selected the 14:15 flight in the first place but Air Canada had other ideas and moved it back to 12:20. I've seen some comments over the past few months that said noon might be doable from LAX but am having second thoughts - may just go for 15:30 to be safe. Thanks again. Cheers, Rob

We are on the May 11th Pacific Coastal this year with stops at Ensenada, San Francisco and Santa Barbara returning to San Pedro. Wondering what to expect in terms of when realistically we could get off the ship? Our flight home to Toronto was moved up to 12:20 from 2:15 and I'm hoping this will be enough time to make the flight. We don't have Nexus or AMEX platinum for expedited security lines and plan to book a car in advance but not sure what time to advise the driver when we'll be ready for pickup. Any advice would be appreciated! Cheers, Rob

Just had an email from O and Monterrey has been officially cancelled for the May 11th Pacific Coastal. We're getting two extra hours in San Francisco and will have a sea day instead of Monterrey. Interesting that Celebrity will still be able to make the stop though per the previous poster.... Cheers, Rob

Thanks Riff. That had been my past experience on many visits to the States but I had been a bit concerned about reviews indicating room readiness taking longer especially as the Crowne seems to be primarily a cruise overnight hotel. One in particular as a Diamond status customer couldn't get a room early. We decided to go with the Residence Inn as it seems there is no Carnival ship in port that day so it should be strictly convention trade. Thanks for all of the helpful comments though! Cheers, Rob

Thanks very much Steve - wasn't aware that early check-in might be possible at the Crowne. Sounds like both will be good options. Cheers, Rob

Thanks for your recommedation Scott. I suspected that the Crown Plaza might be really busy and the fact that the Residence Inn is a bit out of the way our chance of finding a quieter hotel might work out well. Appreciate your thoughts! Cheers, Rob

Wondering which hotel local experts (like Scottca075 in particular!) would recommend? We arrive at LAX about noon on a Wednesday for an overnight before sailing from the World Cruise Centre on the Thursday. Given that check-in is normally 4pm and that we will be arriving quite early, one of the factors will be whether the hotel will be able to mind our luggage until we can check in. I realize the Crowne Plaza is very near the port and there are some good restaurants nearby but we aren't concerned about Ubering to the port or walking about a mile from the Residence Inn to restaurants. Just concerned that the Crowne Plaza will be full of cruisers likely on our sailing (Regatta) as opposed to the Residence Inn which is further away. I understand both hotels have good reviews. Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks, Rob

Although the posted itinerary for the two Pacific Coastals in May still indicate Monterey as a port, I just checked the two September itineraries and Monterey is not listed as a tender port. One sailing indicates a "sea day" coming down from San Francisco while the other has added Catalina Island. It must be difficult to re-arrange schedules this close to sailings for Oceania. We shall see what they come up with. Cheers, Rob

Would suggest you look closely at what ship and category you're considering. Fortunately some very helpful posters had advised that on the R ships, the shower in everything below a PH has a very tiny shower necessitating lots of contortions for tall people. I'm only 6'3 but this concerned me enough that we booked a PH to be on the safe side. Sounds like the O ships would be fine but again, check the category. Cheers, Rob

Interesting. We're on the following week - same itinerary. Would be fine with Catalina Island also as we've been to Monterey before. Will watch with interest to see what O comes up with. Cheers, Rob

I would recommend the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay. We stayed there three years ago pre-cruise and it's a short cab/Uber ride to the port. Nice location - excellent breakfast restaurant on the patio overlooking the water. Just checked and for a February one night stay this year you're looking at 33,000 reward points. It was about a $40 cab ride from the airport. Have a great trip! Cheers, Rob

Thanks Gary for an informative, insightful and highly readable post. We too are O newbies with our first cruise on Regatta in May - our first return to cruising since the Regent Explorer in January 2020 just prior to the pandemic. After many years of mainstream sailing we tried Silversea/Crystal and Regent and to date our favorite line has been Regent but the prices have become prohibitive recently. Based on really good comments primarily on CC over the past few years we decided to give O a try and look forward to our upcoming experience. Thanks again for an interesting read and trust your cruise is a good one! Cheers, Rob

We've stayed at both the Holiday Inn - Port of Miami on Biscayne Blvd which is adjacent to the Bayside Marketplace. Rates were reasonable - not fancy but clean and servicable. CVS nearby for last minute items and the Bayside Marketplace was interesting to wander through with a number of restaurants. Most recently we were at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay - a much nicer although more expensive hotel with lots of restaurants nearby. Would recommend either as they're close to the port and from our high room at the Marriott you had a great view of the port and ships. Have a great trip! Cheers, Rob

Wow! Not impressed - particularly when you're on a four leg sailing. I can see increases for sailings which haven't started thus far but not in your situation. We've most recently been on several Regent cruises and thought we'd give O a try in May but these al a carte increases like this tend to make the all-inclusive aspect of Regent more competitive price-wise. Hopefully in your case they will do the right thing and honour your continuing package. Good luck! Cheers, Rob

Thanks Gary for the excellent compilation of 'first-timer' tips and to all for their generous input as well as the Patty for starting this thread. It will be our first O trip next May and I love to do as much research in advance as possible to make life easier once on board. We've found the CC community to be extremely helpful on any of the boards for lines which we've sailed and promote it to our friends as much as possible. Appreciate your efforts! Cheers, Rob

We're also staying at the Crowne Plaza in May sailing from Pier 92 I believe. Our first time staying there also but our research thus far has found a couple of less expensive Black Car options - check out Executivecarservicelax.com and Laxblackcars.com - both are curbside pickup and are private sedans. The Uber/Lyft routine involves getting a shuttle from the terminal to the LAX-it lot and then texting for an Uber/Lyft. The car service runs about $100 so for the difference in price and no hassle with shuttles you might find it worthwhile. As for a restaurant, I like the looks of the San Pedro Brewing Company which is just down the street from the Crowne. Otherwise, just check Tripadvisor and their reviews on area spots. Youtube has an interesting video on the walk from the Crowne Plaza to the port and they indicate about a 20 minute walk. You might want to check it out - think we just did a search for the Crowne Plaza to the pier and it showed up. Have a great trip eh?!!!!! :) Cheers, Rob

Last I heard about Nexus is that you can no longer do your U.S. interview at Pearson and need to go to Buffalo. No thanks! Cheers, Rob

There are some good Youtube videos on LAX-IT to give you a full explanation of the process. Have a good trip! Cheers, Rob

LHT - Yes - the invoice clearly states that the beverage package and PPG are included so we should be covered. You're likely right about the IT department - I didn't want to mess with it just in case. Thanks, Rob

Our first O trip is upcoming in May and must say I find the accounting/"manage my booking" section confusing. Our invoice clearly states the standard beverage package is included as an amenity along with gratuities (thanks to the Black Friday sale - $23/per person) but when I go to the options under the "manage my booking" section under beverage packages, it indicates "none selected". I'm reluctant to go ahead and check off the standard package for fear of screwing anything up. Also - the price indicated for the standard package bears no relation to reality whatsoever, as it's $359 CDN per person. My T/A said that with the invoice being correct not to worry about it but it doesn't make sense that when O makes the invoice that it doesn't update the booking also. Very confusing! Cheers, Rob

I share your pain with the debacle which is YYZ and Air Canada in particular. Our last Med cruise from BCN we took BA through Heathrow and found them to be very good with a short layover for the BCN leg. Unfortunately with AC's unreliability over the past few years, we always book alternatives assuming there is one although I wouldn't consider Westjet/Air Transat/Sunwing etc qualifying as viable alternatives in my opinion. Good luck next fall - I would certainly recommend BA even with the connection. Cheers, Rob