La/Rccl Mariner cruise and flight ?

[sherin65]

We are taking Rccl Mariner in May.

 

Do we fly into LAX? Is that the closest airport?

 

Is there only one cruise port in the area? Is Mariner at the San Pedro location?

 

I booked the Crowne Plaza and have some good shuttle suggestions, I just need to make sure I'm going to the right place.

 

Sher

[Splinter]

Yes, the RCCL ships go out of San Pedro (also called the World Cruise Center). The Long Beach cruise ship port (about 8 miles from there) is only used by Carnival (with a very few exceptions).

 

Your options for airports (in order of preference and proximity) are Long Beach (very limited flights, but an easy airport), LAX, or John Wayne (Orange County, further away).

[sherin65]

Is Long Beach airport the closest?

[Clarea]

Is Long Beach airport the closest?

Yes, the Long Beach airport is the closest commercial airport to the cruise port.

[Bruin Steve]

We are taking Rccl Mariner in May.

 

Do we fly into LAX? Is that the closest airport?

 

Is there only one cruise port in the area? Is Mariner at the San Pedro location?

 

I booked the Crowne Plaza and have some good shuttle suggestions, I just need to make sure I'm going to the right place.

 

Sher

 

Sher, first of all, Long Beach Airport IS closer than LAX--but not by much...It's 15 miles from Long Beach Airport to the Cruise Terminal and 20 miles of virtually all freeway from LAX to the terminal...John Wayne (Orange County) is about 34 miles away, Burbank Airport is about 37 miles away, Ontario is over 60...

 

I generally recommend John Wayne only of you're doing a pre-cruise at Disney or elsewhere in the OC and Burbank if you're doing some pre-cruise time in Universal/Hollywood, etc. Or if you find such a tremendous good deal as you can't pass it up...

 

Between LGB and LAX, there are trade-offs...

LAX is a MONSTER Airport--one of the busiest in the world. It not only is the main airport for one of the world's largest metropolises, it is also the main hub for connections between all of the US and points west and all of the destinations in Asia, Australia and the Pacific...

 

Because it is so large and so busy, lines for check-in and security tend to be a little longer...The trade-off is that there are more flights to everywhere at more times...more non-stops, more airline choices...

 

LGB is a VERY SMALL airport...getting in and out is easy...never a crowd or a line...the trade off is that it is served by very few airlines and has very few flight choices to very few destinations...IF you can find a flight that connects you directly and at a convenient time, it is worth grabbing it...Otherwise, just stick with LAX...

 

As to going to the right place, you are...LA Harbor is a BIG harbor...It is the third busiest harbor in the world and by far the busiest in the Western Hemisphere...Over 40% of the cargo arriving or departing in the US passes through Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor...It is massive...and spans two cities--Los Angeles (specifically the San Pedro section of LA) and Long Beach (Actually, a third town, Wilmington, as well)...As was said, it is about 6 to 8 miles across and is mostly a commercial harbor. There are two distinct cruise ship terminals--the "World Cruise Center" in San Pedro and the Long Beach Terminal, next to the Queen Mary...The Long Beach Terminal is used only by Carnival (with some rare exceptions--like Cunard went there with it's big new ship and occasionally, for scheduling reasons, I've seen a Princess ship dock there)...But, for the most part, Royal Caribbean and everyone else uses the World Cruise Center--which has more berths available (two large ones plus some smaller ones down the channel)...

 

The Crowne Plaza is very close to the World Cruise Center and will shuttle you to the port to meet the ship...

 

Also, lots of good restaurants close to the Crowne Plaza...I'd recommend San Pedro Brewing Company for a great menu or Acapulco if you want a view of the harbor and maybe a ship or two going by during dinner...

 

Have a great time...

[Let'sGo!]

Sherin - you sound just like me this past May when we were going on Mariner!

 

LAX is kind of scary just because it is soooo big. But we really lucked out because our gates for arrival and departure were in just the best locations. We landed right by the luggage carousel, walked out the door and got on the SuperShuttle van. When it was time to leave, we had made a late afternoon departure reservation, so weren't rushed at all.

 

For our cruise next Feb. on Mariner we've decided to be daring. Southwest Airlines was having a FABULOUS sale so we're flying into John Wayne airport. It was $96 per person cheaper than flying into LAX. For our departure we're flying out of LAX on Sunday. The LAX flight was better for us on Sunday since it is direct and will get us home four hours earlier than if we fly roundtrip from John Wayne. Southwest doesn't charge for open jaw flights.

 

I figure it will take us a little longer to get to our hotel on Friday night, but for the nearly $200 we are saving, it's worth it.

 

If you are pre-booking your shuttle, just make sure you book for the Crowne Plaza on South Palo Verde St.

[sherin65]

Thanks so much for all of this great information! Never having been to LA, I was nervous about exactly what to plan.

 

 

Sher

[sherin65]

we're flying into John Wayne airport.

 

Does this create a transportation problem? I could look for a similar deal but then what will it cost for a shuttle?

 

 

Sher

[sherin65]

If we fly into John Wayne airport what shuttle service is best and how much will it cost?

 

Sher

[Splinter]

Using Supershuttle, you can get quotes and pre-pay (even the tip) on-line. According to their website, for shared van service John Wayne to the World Cruise Center (or nearby hotel) runs $50 for the first person in your party, $9 for each additional (not including tips tips). Exclusive van (up to 9 people) runs $115 plus tip, and towncar (max of 4) is $119 plus tip.

[Let'sGo!]

Sher - the shuttle companies all have websites (Prime Time, Supershuttle) and will give you quotes. It just depends on how many in your group. It seems to me its a couple of dollars higher from John Wayne, but it is still cheaper on the airfare - at least for us.

 

We don't have any problems using the shared van services, although we're not in a hurry on arrival day to get from "Point A to Point B" so fast.

 

We used SuperShuttle last time. I did make a reservation in advance and did pre-pay. We only had to wait about 10 minutes for the right van to show up. Our driver made one loop of the airport looking for more passengers, (which there were none) then took off for San Pedro. It ended up being just us two in his van. With the exception of traffic in LA, it didn't take too long.

 

On our last trip I also reserved and pre-paid our shuttle from the pier back to LAX. This time, we're hoping to make a much earlier flight home, so we're not going to do the shared van route and instead will pay the higher price for a taxi. The vans are much more chaotic at the pier. They pack them to the ceiling and seems to take longer to get going. Then they have to drop everyone off at their individual gates. In this case we're going to need to get from "Point A to Point B" ourselves pretty quickly, so we're not going to wait on everyone else.