Getting from San Pedro to SF / Oakland area

[Graham_In_Brisneyland]

Hey, fellow cruisers!

 

We're cruising from San Pedro in October this year (Norwegian Jewel) and get back, I gather, early on a Sunday (Oct 30th.)

 

We then need to make our way back to Nthn California, to my daughter's home in the East Bay area.

 

I'm thinking that a car rental's probably the best way to go - but am also considering the Coast Starlight.

 

With that in mind .. a couple of questions.

 

Does anyone know approximately what time ships normally dock after sailing from the Mexican Riviera?

 

Most ships in Australia dock around 6am - but I'm not sure if the same applies up there.

 

If it IS around 6am, would we have time to get to Union Station by 9:30 AM (assuming we can be one of the self-disembarkation passengers?)

 

Or is that all too hard? (I'm not entirely sure I want to be getting into Oakland at 10PM in any case)

 

The other option we are considering is renting a car at San Pedro, and dropping it off in Hayward near SF the next day.

 

I know there's an Enterprise office near the cruise terminal - but they charge a one-way fee even inside California, whereas I don't think some others do.

 

Does anyone know if there are any alternatives? The Enterprise drop-off fee is $150 - or three-fourths of the cost of the car rental!

 

Cheers

 

Graham C

[Keith1010]

You will likely not be off the ship, through immigration/customs and outside the terminal until around 9:30 AM.

 

Keith

[Splinter]

Frankly, I would fly rather than taking the train. You can fly from LAX into Oakland airport on Southwest Airlines fairly inexpensively (and 2 free luggage checks each) if you book ahead of time, and there are plenty of flights to choose from. No way you will be able to catch a train at Union Station that leaves at 0930...as above, that is most likely the earliest you could be off the ship. If booking a flight instead, don't plan on one before 1300. Supershuttle is probably your best bet for travel from the pier to LAX.

[SadieN]

LA traffic can be bad even on the weekends. You'd be hard pressed to get to Union Station by 9:30.

 

Are you looking for easiest or scenic and leisurely? Train will take about 12 hours and Jack London Sq in Oakland is only a place I'd only be in during the day and not for any length of time. There are other rental options over in Long Beach or at Long Beach airport.

Easiest would be taking Southwest (southwest.com) from LAX to Oakland (or San Francisco or maybe San Jose). Lots of shared shuttles going to LAX at about $17/pp. Flights leave all the time.

 

Bolt bus is another option.

Edited March 18, 2016 by SadieN

[Cruisin' Chick]

The drive to the Bay Area will be some seven hours depending on route (the 5 or 101), weather, day of the week and time you'll leaving. We just did it (and we try to rent the smallest car with a big enough trunk for each of our recent trips up north, but they are round trips so about $35 a day, I think).

 

If you can stay over a day, the train is an option. Otherwise, I would forget it.

 

Cheapest flights would be LAX to Oakland (yes, I'd researched this).

[Dayenu]

What if train is late? Amtrak is well known fore being late, especially long-distance trains. Drive or fly.

 

Search flights to both OAK and SFO - sometimes Virgin or other airlines announce sale. From SFO it's an easy ride on BART to East Bay.

[Husky61]

You will likely not be off the ship, through immigration/customs and outside the terminal until around 9:30 AM.

 

Keith

 

It has never taken us that long to get off of the ship in San Pedro, and we have sailed from SP many times.

[wheezedr]

On this route going one way only you would be best served by flying. You have a number of options. Southwest is the number one carrier of persons between LA and Oak with flights all day long. An interesting alternative is to check Jet Blue from Long Beach to OAK. While they have fewer flights they sometimes significantly undercut even SW on fares and a cab to Long Beach airport would be quicker and cheaper.

 

I have both driven and flown this route dozens of times but for your purposes especially going one way the air is usually a better option as it is hard to find a rental without a drop charge. The train is pretty as a tour but less efficient as a travel tool.

[Working 2 Cruise]

It has never taken us that long to get off of the ship in San Pedro, and we have sailed from SP many times.

 

You must have been very lucky then... In 10 of my 11 Princess cruises from San Pedro, usually, the earliest disembarkation time is about 7:30... carrying your luggage.

 

To the OP, there's NO way you'd make it to Union Station by 9:30.... By the time you disembark, go through customs and get to your transportation, it will be close to 9:00 a.m. Union Station is at least 45 minutes from San Pedro.

[Working 2 Cruise]

It has never taken us that long to get off of the ship in San Pedro, and we have sailed from SP many times.

 

You must have been very lucky then... In 10 of my 11 Princess cruises from San Pedro, usually, the earliest disembarkation time is about 7:30... carrying your luggage.

 

To the OP, there's NO way you'd make it to Union Station by 9:30.... By the time you disembark, go through customs and get to your transportation, it will be close to 9:00 a.m. Union Station is at least 45 minutes from San Pedro.

[Graham_In_Brisneyland]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

 

As it turns out, we may need to get from San Pedro to Portland instead of East Bay, so it sounds like air is the only viable option :-)

 

Cheers

 

GraC

[BEAV]

We live in the East Bay and have disembarked a number of cruises in San Pedro. In recent years we have opted to renting a car one way for the trip home. To my knowledge Enterprise in San Pedro does not allow one way rentals at all OR without a hefty drop carg. Based on this we have rented from Avis at their Long Beach office (Ocean Blvd) a number of times (Aprox $20 cab ride from San Pedro). We've never paid a drop fee and our rental total for a full size auto is $50.00 or under (not including gas). We're also able to return the car to our home town Avis location. Very convenient.

 

The Coast Starlight leaves downtown LA around 10:00am. Our last cruise ending in San Pedro didn't disembark until after 12Noon due to Immigrations computers going down in the terminal. Although a rarity, I think catching a 10:00am train in downtown LA is risky and I have worked for Amtrak for 37 years! :eek:

[BEAV]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

 

As it turns out, we may need to get from San Pedro to Portland instead of East Bay, so it sounds like air is the only viable option :-)

 

Cheers

 

GraC

 

Unless you have the luxury of time, the Coast Starlght is a scenic ride up to Portland. Book an overnight hotel in LA and board the train the following day. ;)

 

Have a wonderful cruise and also enjoy Portland. It's a wonderful city!

[Graham_In_Brisneyland]

Coast Starlight sounds wonderful, but we only have 5 days left in America after the cruise, so I think my daughter would rather we spend it with her and her husband than on a train :-)

[notus]

Fly out of LGB....small and easy. Either JetBlue or Southwest (just starting up service there in June) to OAK.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Coast Starlight sounds wonderful, but we only have 5 days left in America after the cruise, so I think my daughter would rather we spend it with her and her husband than on a train :-)

 

Definitely fly up there. We took the Coast Starlight up to Seattle for an Alaskan cruise, leaving from Oxnard (that's south of Santa Barbara) as the other choice (at that time) for checking in luggage was in Union Station:eek: Because Amtrak doesn't own those tracks, freight trains get preference so the Coast Starlight has to "sidetrack" a lot. We ended up getting into Seattle in 40 hours for a trip that is scheduled for 36 hours. From my research (checking the train for several days before our trip), this delay was not unusual.

[lax19]

You can fly from either LAX, Long Beach or Orange County on Southwest to Portland for under $100 in October. LAX is the cheapest, but Long beach would be the most convenient (smaller airport, less crowded...). You can also fly Jet Blue out of Long Beach.

Jet Blue is direct, but charges for checked bags. Southwest stops in Oakland, but first two bags are free.

Edited May 25, 2016 by lax19