Los Angeles

[thebigpuba]

I am booked on the Star out of LA in the fall wanted to know how far the pier is from the airport and if I can make a 11:30 am flight on return any ideas?

[karfest]

We just got off the Dawn Princess in LA. We were docked at the Port of LA in San Pedro. Our flight out of LAX was at 12:20. It is about a 30 minute drive. We had a car booked and waiting. Plenty of time, right? Wrong! We made it to the gate 7 minutes before they closed the flight.

1- the immigration officers were 1/2 hour late getting started

2-no one followed the instructions on what time to be in line for immigration

3-many,many people were being called because they did not show up for processing

4-the first group did not disembark until after 10am. By this time the crowds were angry and trying to leave the ship before their color group was called. The immigration oficers threatened to shut down the process if people didn't settle down.

5- the cab drivers who were there all left when no one had disembarked by 10am. If you didn't have a pre-arranged ride, you were out of luck.

 

Luckily, our driver was waiting and there was little traffic- he got us to LAX in about 20 minutes. Security lines were long but moving quickly.

I have never experienced this type of disembarkation and have always had flights around noon, but next time I think I will schedule for 1pm or later. I knew I could get a flight out of LA later in the day, but connections to Milwaukee are hard to come by.

So- to answer your question- in the perfect world, yes, you have plenty of time. Our world was not quite so perfect..

 

Good Luck

 

Karen

[jkrislc]

While it's possible to make an 11:30A flight, you can't predict when you'll get off the ship. I've sailed in and out of San Pedro twice in the last few months. In January, we didn't get out of the parking lot until after 11A. In April, we were out of the parking lot by 8:30A. Personally, I'd feel safer booking an early afternoon flight unless it was arranged by the cruise line itself. If you got your air with the cruise, then the cruise line will be responsible.

 

KLC

UPCOMING CRUISES:

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