del47618

I have always ordered ahead... I was under the impression you HAD to, as they didn't have enough on board to sell this way. Was that a misassumptio, and can you always order onboard?

I chose the Doubletree and we had our stay a few weeks ago. The hotel was full of pre-cruisers, pretty interesting. (and Air Tahiti Nui crew who did not cause us any trouble with partying unlike other posters, although I did see a few of them)

I asked them for a ride to a grocery store, they told me to come back an hour later when the van was taking some people to dinner near the CP. The guy dropped me off at a very scary liquor store while he went around the corner to drop people off (I would call it a large Bodega if you were from NYC), which did not have fridge packs of soda that I was looking for. I waited in front for him to come back, then he drove to Von's on Gaffey. It was exactly what I expected and needed and I bought what I wanted. He waited in the parking lot for me and then drove me back. He was actually the same driver the next day to the ship (and they put the passengers and bags in the same van, unlike some other reviews I've read here). The moral of the story is that I would have needed a van to take me to Von's whether I was at the Doubletree or CP.

All in all I am totally happy with the Doubletree, it did what we needed and was reasonably-priced.

Originally Posted by slcreads

On a review of a recent cruise running out of the San Pedro Cruise terminal for the NCL Star the poster mentioned that they had to go through one of the new "full body scanners". Do you know if that is true? Has the Port Authority changed over to the new "full body scanners" that are used by the TSA at the major airports or are they using the standard airport walk thru "metal detectors"?

Anyone know the answer to this?

We cruised on the Star a week and a half ago and they had normal metal detectors. I would be highly surprised if they had any kind of special scanners, since they are primarily looking for weapons and booze.