Question for those who have done the 14 Day Hawaii from LA

[abbydancer2003]

We're coming up on the wire for booking our plane tickets to LA for our February RT on the Sapphire. I have a question for anyone who has done this on any ship.

 

If your last stop was Ensenada, what time did you leave Ensenada, and what time did the ship actually arrive in LA. I think it's about 200 nautical miles, and at 22 an hour it's about 9 hours. Leaving at 8pm, the ship would arrive at 5 am, rather than 7 am listed.

 

Does the ship arrive early? The reason I'm asking is that I'd like to know how early we can disembark. We have a commitment in San Jose all afternoon, and we'd like to make the later part of it if possible. So, we want to be on the earliest flight possible.

 

I'm thinking we can make an 11:15 flight, and maybe go standby on a 10:30. I also need to book transportation back to the ship.

 

Does the ship get in early enough to clear customs so that we can leave around 8am?

 

Thank you so much.

[flamomo]

I've done that cruise 4 times, as well as others out of San Pedro, and each time the ship was tied up at the pier between 5:30 and 6:15am.

But there is always that lagtime between then and the time that the ship is given clearance to begin disembarkation.

Departure from Ensenada was 8 PM on the most recent one.

As I recall, on the one I just finished about a month ago, the first group of walk-offs was scheduled for 7:45am.

[NANCYR2]

In Feb of last year we were off the Golden by 9am. Friends did walk off before 8am.

[brickgirl]

We got off the Sapphire from Hawaii on Dec. 10. Left Ensenada at 8:00 pm. We did the express walk off with our luggage and left the ship around 8:20 am. At the airport no later than 9:30-9:45. You should have no problem with 11:15 flight

 

Wonderful cruise. Have fun.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It should work.....

[ccrain]

We've done this twice and both times, taking a cab from the ship, we were at the gate by 10:30 without early walkoff.

 

I don't see any problem with the 11:15. Just do early walkoff to make sure

[Pam in CA]

I've taken quite a few cruises ending in San Pedro. If the ship is scheduled to arrive at 7:00, it will slow down so that it arrives at the scheduled time rather than dock early. A lot depends on what time the pilot is scheduled to board; the ship cannot approach and dock without the pilot and the harbormaster does the scheduling.

 

Last January, there were three ships in port and the Sapphire didn't start disembarkation until 8:00am. Most of the passengers hadn't disembarked at 9:00 as the ship was still crowded. If its a weekday, the freeways to LAX can be bumper-to-bumper. LAX recommends check-in for domestic flights two hours before, three hours for international. Check-in and Security can both be a mess at LAX. Heck, LAX itself can be a mess. There've been times when it took me almost half an hour to get from the entrance to the airport to the terminal.

 

Yes, it's possible to make an 11:15am flight but you aren't leaving yourself much wiggle room in case there are delays. You might consider checking flights from Long Beach. It's closer than LAX and being a much smaller airport, shorter check-in and security lines.

[Princess Patches]

I have to respectfully disagree with all the prior posters (except Pam). I have disembarked at San Pedro multiple times and I think you are cutting it too close. I would not book a flight earlier than noon. You might make your 11:15 a.m. flight, but it is not worth it to scramble to rebook on another flight if you miss your scheduled flight? You have to decide that. It would not be worth it to me.

 

Most recently I disembarked from the Sapphire in San Pedro in October. We had just sailed from Ensenada to LA. The Sapphire docked at San Pedro around 7:00 a.m. but disembarkation did not begin until 8:00 a.m. We walked off at 8:15 a.m.. We waited in the line to get off, waited in the customs line, and got our car in the parking lot. There was no line at all to get out of the parking lot and we walked off with our luggage so we did not have to wait for luggage. We arrived at LAX at 9:45 a.m. There was absolutely no traffic on the freeway. It was clear as a bell.

 

In my experience, if everything goes perfectly the earliest you can get to LAX is 9:45 a.m. If customs is slower, if they start disembarkation later, if there is traffic on the freeway (a frequent occurrence in LA), then you could get to LAX a whole lot later. Even if you get to LAX by 9:45 a.m. that is just an hour before your flight starts to board and 1 1/2 hours before it takes off. When flying out of LAX I like to arrive 2 hours before flight time. You never know what kind of lines you will find there. I would much rather wait at LAX an extra hour than scramble for an alternate flight.

[Cruisin MarcnFran]

When we flew out of LAX (April 2010 Princess cruise from/into San Pedro) we made it off the ship and through customs with ease. A surprising number of people self-assisted, I was shocked. Cabs were $58 - the Super Shuttle was $17 PP.

 

It was once you hit LAX that you need time. The line to get through security was out the door and down to the next terminal. It was insane and there were aggressive people cutting in order to make flights. When we finally got through, we overheard quite a few people bitching that they missed their flight.

 

Good luck.

 

Fran

[WAVTAM]

Just got off Golden which does turn around on Weds. With Express walk off and reserved shuttle, we where at Long Beach Airport at 9 AM. WAVTAM

[srphnx]

We seem to specialize in San Pedro cruises and all of the above is true in that it all depends on what customs is up to. The ship will not arrive early because they pay by the hour for dock time among other reasons like better fuel economy at lower speeds.

 

Assuming you don't have an I90 which is when the whole crew goes through customs once every 90 days and the 6-8 agents passengers normally see is cut down to half that and slows the process A LOT.

 

So even if that is not the case, customs can start at 7:45 or 8:45 and there will be no way to know in advance, now there is the LA traffic which can make a 30 minute trip something you would track on a sundial when the 110 stops cold.

 

Yes, your idea can be done but it would not be worth the stress to me, long beach flights would be FAR superior but likely more expensive.

[quilter49]

We did the Golden in September. I recommend the executive super shuttle. It was only a few dollars more, but we were able to take a carjust for myself and husband. Reserve this on line or phone prior to embarkation. We did express walk off and were off the ship at 7:45 am. Go out the door and go to the left. There is a small stand near the parking lot. Give them your name and reservation number and they bring the car from another lot. This took about 10 minutes and they were very apologetic for the delay.We flew through customs and security at LAX. We had a 10:58 am. flight back to Richmond. I was nervous too about the time, but we were fine. Enjoy the cruise.

Lisa

[trikeman]

We seem to specialize in San Pedro cruises and all of the above is true in that it all depends on what customs is up to. The ship will not arrive early because they pay by the hour for dock time among other reasons like better fuel economy at lower speeds.

 

Assuming you don't have an I90 which is when the whole crew goes through customs once every 90 days and the 6-8 agents passengers normally see is cut down to half that and slows the process A LOT.

 

So even if that is not the case, customs can start at 7:45 or 8:45 and there will be no way to know in advance, now there is the LA traffic which can make a 30 minute trip something you would track on a sundial when the 110 stops cold.

 

Yes, your idea can be done but it would not be worth the stress to me, long beach flights would be FAR superior but likely more expensive.

 

On our last trip it took two hours to get from LAX to San Pedro on the way back 35 minutes. You just don't know about LA traffic and can't count on smooth sailing. I live in Michigan and I would rather take a later flight to be sure but, that's just me. Like has been stated IF everything goes right it is doable. Good Luck

[freetocruise]

We just got off the Sapphire Hawaii RT this morning. Very heavy fog had us arriving later than scheduled. The first walkoff group at 8am didn't get called until 8:15 or so. We were in the next group (8:20am scheduled meet) and we were called at 8:35am. Because it was a Saturday morning, the freeways were light. We have done this trip 5 times now and each one is different.

 

It also depends on whether or not you are disembarking on a Wednesday (Golden Princess) or Saturday (Sapphire Princess). Weekday traffic in LA especially on the 405 between the port and LAX can be very heavy with regular commuter traffic.

[morriscats]

We sailed on Golden 10/26. We got to San Pedro early but it seems they stuck to their schedules for getting off. There was a problem with someone falling down the escalator which backed up the customs line for quite a while. I know things like this don't happen often but what if???

[Sea and Me]

On our return trip from our Hawaii cruise the Captain had to turn the ship back to Hawaii due to a medical emergency. We had been sailing almost a full day. The US Coast Guard met the ship the next morning and transported the patient back to Hawaii. He had a heart attack. You can imagine the confusion of how late we would be getting back. Our flight was 12:20 we never made it!! If it were me I would allow plenty of time to catch a flight. You never know what could happen onboard a ship. Just talking from experience. Enjoy Hawaii it is awesome!!

Carol

[truffles68]

Is it possible to do a quick half day trip to Disneyland or Universal Studios after getting off the Sapphire in March ( 6:30pm flight back to Canada at LAX? )?

 

If possible is there a direct shuttle from the pier to D or U. Studios and a return to LAX to catch the flight out at 6:30pm ?

 

Is there a place to store the luggage at D or U. Studios?

 

If not possible then is there a tour we could join right at the pier until our flight leaves at 6:30pm ? I have to think of something to do with two senior ladies.

 

Thanks.

[abbydancer2003]

Thanks all. I was originally thinking of the 10:30 (flight - we actually made it once on a coastal), but will book 11:15.

 

It's Saturday, so no rush our traffic. We also get the fast pass line at LAX, in 2005 when we did the Mexican Riviera, it took us about 10 minutes to get through security, the rest of our group waited much longer.

 

We're also elite, so we can get an early disembarcation.

 

BTW, when we did that coastal - our friends were on the 9:30 flight - I thought that was crazy.

 

(And the 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 all came in within minutes of each other due to ground delays due to fog at SFO.)

 

Thanks so much!