11 CCL ships out of FL - 3 in CA???

[Kurbanfan]

Duh!

 

San Diego is a far superior port to LA. JMHO. Yes I can drive to LA and have done so. I also have sat in the parking lot by Queen Mary for 2 hours while it sprinkled on me waiting until they started boarding the ship. San Diego has a nice indoor seating area and if you don't want to sit & wait, there are tons of stores at Seaport Village along the harbor which is a quick walk for the pier. And do you get this scenery when leaving LA?

 

 

Thanks for playin!

 

Yes San Diego is prettier but the terminal is just an old big warehouse lol! I can understand your disappointment of them taking away the Elation because of the better itinerary.....but I don't understand complaining about the port you leave out of......since you will only be there for a few hours.....

I can't stand the port of Miami.......it sure won't stop me from sailing from there......

We sail out of San Pedro and the view is even worse....but the terminal is better......it is called give and take I guess......

[Cuizer2]

We sail out of San Pedro and the view is even worse....but the terminal is better......it is called give and take I guess......

Actually it is called the World Cruise Center. :)

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

I live in Tucson so San Diego is about an hour closer. Not even a concern since both are within 7 hours from my house. I don't like LA. Never have, never will. I love San Diego. I love the port at San Diego. Very easy in comparison to LA. I wish they would keep a ship in San Diego for the summer. If you go to the Carnival website, and select San Diego, you won't see any ships sailing between May and September when my kids are out of school. Thats all I'm sayin. I feel like the rug was pulled out from underneath me. It isn't that the Elation was such an awesome ship or the itinerary. It is the fact that I can visit my favorite city on earth, get out of the Arizona heat during the summer and take a quick get away on a cruise ship with cool ocean breezes without spending thousands of dollars for my family of 4.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

I usually have a pre or post cruise stay in San Diego cuz I love the city. Yes I could drive down to San Diego from LA for post cruise stay. I could also solve the problem of sitting in the elements - in the rain etc- if I got to the LA port at 3pm. But I like getting onboard right away to start my cruise and eat lunch etc. Since I'm coming from a distance, you can never know if you are going to have car trouble so I always get to the port early unless I am staying a hotel the night before. I don't like sitting outside for 2 or 3 hours with nothing to do except tour the queen mary.

[Socref124]

I know the reason I don't even look at doing a cruise out of CA is the time change for us. I don't think I could handle having a scheduled time to eat at 6 or 8:30 which would be 9 or 11:30 our time. I wouldn't be able eat in the MDR room because my stomach would force me to eat way before dinner time :oand I'd be so tired at night I'd miss all the shows:(. The only good thing would be I'd be awake early enough to beat the chair hogs out.:D I just don't think my body could adjust fast enough to make a cruise out of CA worth it.

 

I think you would be able to adjust. We flew to Hawaii from Florida on our honeymoon and did OK. The first night we went to bed early and woke around 2am (8am Eastern time). It worked out well since we were at Pearl Harbor at 6am and was one of the first half dozen people in line. After that first day we went to bed at a normal time and woke up at 6am every morning. I don't remember any problems adjusting to meal times.

[Cuizer2]

I usually have a pre or post cruise stay in San Diego cuz I love the city. Yes I could drive down to San Diego from LA for post cruise stay. I could also solve the problem of sitting in the elements - in the rain etc- if I got to the LA port at 3pm. But I like getting onboard right away to start my cruise and eat lunch etc. Since I'm coming from a distance, you can never know if you are going to have car trouble so I always get to the port early unless I am staying a hotel the night before. I don't like sitting outside for 2 or 3 hours with nothing to do except tour the queen mary.

 

I understand you like San Diego. But no matter how you look at it, it is just two hours from Los Angeles. And Los Angeles is not so bad that it would keep me from cruising.

 

One option would be to stay in downtown Long Beach. There you will find the Aquarium of the Pacific. Walk east of the Aquarium of the Pacific and you will find shops and restaurants very similar to Seaport Village. It is call Shoreline Village. Here is a link ...

 

http://www.shorelinevillage.com/

 

And, as you can see below, you are within sight of the Carnival cruise ship.

 

As to touring the Queen Mary, I think sitting around and doing nothing would be better, but that is just my opinion (I've done both).

 

This is what the area looks like to a bird ...

 

 

One of these days I'll change Pride to Splendor.

 

Here is the view from "the other side" ...

 

 

Here is a view of the area around the Aquarium of the Pacific ...

 

 

And here is a view from inside the Aquarium of the Pacific ...

 

 

 

 

So, what you can do is go to the Aquarium at 9:00am (when they open). Spend 2 1/2 hours there. You can see most of it in that time. Then you can still make it to the Carnival dock before noon.

 

Or just walk along Shoreline Village, and then drive over to the dock when you are ready to board. Either way, you will end up on a better ship (the Splendor) or the same class of ship (Paradise) than the Elation.

[Cuizer2]

The first night we went to bed early and woke around 2am (8am Eastern time). It worked out well since we were at Pearl Harbor at 6am and was one of the first half dozen people in line.

 

That is what I did, except I woke at 5:00am, since I am from California. Worked out great. That is what I am going to do next time I am there also.

[cmecruise1962]

to Florida! More cruising options!! :p

[ehfl]

I just did a quick search and found over a dozen ships leaving out of San Diego. If you are limiting yourself to only Carnival ships....well, who's fault is that? There are a variety of cruises leaving out of San Diego of varrying lengths, and prices. Lots to chose from, if you don't restrict yourself.

 

Carnival's specialty is Caribbean cruises....If you want to cruise in another region, you need to expand your search a bit.

[glrounds]

Yes San Diego is prettier but the terminal is just an old big warehouse lol! I can understand your disappointment of them taking away the Elation because of the better itinerary.....but I don't understand complaining about the port you leave out of......since you will only be there for a few hours.....

I can't stand the port of Miami.......it sure won't stop me from sailing from there......

We sail out of San Pedro and the view is even worse....but the terminal is better......it is called give and take I guess......

 

I've enjoyed your posts for a long time Kurbanfan, but can't for the life of me understand your dislike of the Long Beach Carnival facility ? :confused: They've recently put up a huge system of permanent overhangs for waiting passengers, which shield from the rain (are you listening, Yukon?:D) and the sun, which can be intense at midday. They have an immaculate 5 story parking garage with baggage check one end. There is a terrific VIP lounge just a few steps away from the parking garage. A state of the art x-ray boarding area in 1/2 of the geodesic dome(other side is baggage claim for passengers deboarding)and escalators and elevators throughout. Last week I experienced one of the quickest boarding procedures I've ever experienced. One of the first 40 or 50 on (VIP boarding), security pic taken after stepping into the Atrium lobby aboard the SPLENDOR. The whole process from opening the doors to the dome to being onboard, maybe 15 minutes ! !

I like San Diego also, but when it rains (thank God not very common in San Diego) and it did when I boarded the SPIRIT. Had to walk from the parking lot across the street IN THE RAIN, walk along the warehouse (portapotty used for toilets!)used as a "terminal" IN THE RAIN, and seated in a monster warehouse waiting for PLATINUM to be called then INTO THE RAIN AGAIN to go to a tent which passes for security area and sends you across the pier to the awaiting ship INTO THE RAIN ONCE AGAIN. I can understand the pure unadultered beauty of San Diego causing one to prefer this port over others, but can't understand those ranking it that high as a cruise terminal ? Its been 2 1/2 years since I cruised out of this terminal, so maybe big changes have occured and I'm just ALL WET ! ! :D

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Then they were built after February this year. My February cruise on the Pride had none of those shields from the elements.

[ztacruisnmommy]

we had a carnival cruise booked for this nov out of fll. we have options of flying from pit or cleveland. the flight which is usually around 200 was 250 pp. just for the heck of it we looked and saw flights to san diego from pit round trip 170 pp. we got a balcony on the radiance for 349 pp and canceled our carnival cruise (which btw was same price for inside)

so the theory of fl flights being cheaper is not true

[Kissyfur19]

West coasters are having little cruising options without having to fly long distances. Now that the Elation is gone, we have the Paradise from LA, Splendor from LA and the Spirit that splits San Diego, Seattle and Hawaii. I counted a total of 11 CCL ships that leave from either Miami, Port Canveral, Ft Lauderdale, Jacksonville or Tampa which are all not that far apart. 4 alone sail from Miami.

 

Maybe it's because there are many different ports of call to chose from and the ships can get to in a shorter distance of time. This makes for a ton of options for different itineraries.

[Sdallnct]

I wish there were more options out of Texas....but ah well....

 

It really is a simple supply and demand. Carnival and other cruise lines are a business. They make "business" decisions.

 

Tho I like sailing out of Texas as it is overall cheaper with no airfare (but the cruise itself is more expensive generally), I find it not as "international" as Florida or California. More of a mix of a crowd and better food out of Florida and California.

[suzy1212]

The Conquest price has come down since last year.......last year they were getting top dollar.........

 

A random search for a 7 day Western Carribean cruise on a Conquest class ship, balcony cabin for January 2010:

Cheapest Jan cruise on the Carnival Glory from Miami Jan 10th - $619

Cheapest Jan cruise on the Carnival Liberty from Miami Jan 2nd - $639

Cheapest Jan cruise on the Carnival Valor from Miami Jan 10th - $619

Cheapest Jan cruise on the Carnival Conquest from Galveston Jan 24th - $709

 

I could sail cheaper out of Florida (competition keeps the prices lower) but I'd have to fly and get a hotel or drive a really long way. I can drive to Galveston either the day of the cruise or the day before and spend the night at my son's house.