Regarding Mexican Riviera Cruise

[lkmamom]

Just for clarification......:) We plan to do this cruise in April and have not been to the LA area before. I know that many of you that have completed this cruise live in California or near, and drive to the port. Thanks, by the way for all of the great reviews! They are all very helpful. I guess I am asking those cruisers that were in our same situation. Do you recommend going back to LAX and taking the Princess transportation to the port or is there a better way that you would recommend??Thanks for all of your help!!

Linda

[LMCAT123]

Linda,

Am I safe in assuming you are spending a few days in LA prior to the cruise and will have a rental car ?

 

If that is the case there are no car rental drop off places at the pier, except for Enterprise.

 

From reading these boards I've come to the conclusion that the Mexican cruises out of LA present the most dilema's for people in "the how to get to the pier scenario". While we live in AZ now we lived in So. CA for 25 years and visit often so I am familiar with the LA area and can understand this problem. We too are taking a cruise out of San Pedro in April and we are flying over, taking shuttle (Primetime, Supershutte, or who ever I decide on) to the Holiday Inn in San Pedro the day before the cruise. For us that will work ok.

 

It is always an option to take one of those Shuttle's to the pier. Taxi's from LAX area are in the neighborhood of $50 and that depends on traffic and time of day. Freeway traffic can be moving right along or sitting still. Taxi's from Long Beach airport are about $30. You an always return a car there (but check to see about drop off charges if you rented at LAX) and then take a taxi to the pier.

 

If you return a rental car at LAX I suggest taking the rental car bus back into the airport and then taking a shuttle to pier if that is what you decide to do. Shuttle company told me they have a surcharge to pick up "outside of LAX proper" when I enquired about a pickup at an airport hotel.

 

There are Hertz (and probably others) offices in Long Beach, Torrance, Lomita, etc. but again, you need to ask about drop off fees. Taxi's from any of those places would depend on traffic but figure at least $25.

 

It's possible the Princess transfers may be ok for you - personally we do not like being herded on a bus with a group of pushing/shoving people (we did it once in FL and that was enough, we vowed we would always make our own arrangements after that).

[CL-JW]

Another option is to drop the rental car off at the Long Beach airport and take a cab to the pier. Most of the major rental agency are at Long Beach airport. This is an option that we are going to do next year when we drive from Northern CA to San Pedro.

[JulieU89]

We flew in the night before out of DTW. We stayed at the LAX Marriott for $59 per person and that included princess transfers to the ship. I thought that $120 for a room and the transfers for both of us was pretty good for LA.

 

We got this deal through princess. I think it was listed in one of the brochures. Talk to your travel agent or call princess. The deal may still be on.

 

In fact, I just checked the 05/05 Mexico & Caribbean book and it is in there, on page 33. There is also a deal for the Westin Long Beach. The Westin Long Beach is $109 per night (and I do believe that is also per person) and includes transfers.

 

I dunno about you, but the night before a cruise I am just looking for a place to rest my head (with a reasonable expectation of cleanliness) so the LAX Marriott was perfect for us.

:)

[Pam in CA]

We took advantage of the Princess "deal" for the LAX Marriott for $59/pp, including transfers to the ship, for our 12/24 Sapphire Princess cruise. Yes, it means we'll arrive on a bus with a bunch of other people and no, we won't make it to check-in at 11:30AM but we decided that we'll just relax over a late breakfast and go with the flow. We're arriving the day before and renting a car to visit family in Laguna Beach and will be returning the car at LAX that night. So, for us, this makes sense. For my Island Princess cruise in March, I'll probably take PrimeTime Shuttle from LAX to a hotel in San Pedro. Or maybe not. It's hard to beat the $59/night including transfer.

[many cruises]

We are going on the Sapphire in April too. We are renting a car from Enterprise at LAX & probably getting a 3 star hotel in the Torrance, CA area (Hilton or Marriott) for the night before the cruise. The hotels in Long Beach are very high & many are already booked for the night before our cruise. We are dropping off the rental car the morning of the cruise at Enterprise, which is down the street from the San Pedro pier. There isn't a drop off fee for the car because we are going on a cruise. Our rental car cost is around $33.00....you can't beat that cost & we have a car for the night before the cruise to pick up refreshments.

[il professore]

Listen to Julie!!!! We, too, flew in from DTW (Detroit) for the Sapphire on 10/15. Couldn't come in the day before. Baaad move! Had to get up at 1:00 AM PST to get to our 7:30 AM EST flight on America West. (Took the earliest flight since two more later flights could have gotten us there in time, and we did not book flights through Princess. If you book flight with them, they'll take care of you. If not, you're on your own.) Stayed up till only ~10:00PM PST. Awake for 21 hrs and traveling for about 6 of those. Exhausted and did little that night. Next day, got up at 10:00AM and really never recovered til about Tuesday.

 

The money spent to stay in a hotel sounds to be well spent. And I imagine you can lounge in your hotel roomand watch east coast sports so you arrive at the port after the 12-2 rush where there are lines to get through security.

 

By the way, the Princess connection from LAX to and from the pier is pretty efficient. All the luggage goes in a truck at LAX, and you don't see it till it arrives in your room. Early return flights get early disembarkation. We were schedukled to leave at 8:30, but customs delayed or departure from the port til about 10-10:30. Still had plenty of time for a 12:45 return flight.

 

Go Blue!

[lkmamom]

Thanks for all of your replies!!! I did check with our TA regarding the LAX hotel/transport packages. You are right, after the long flight,I am sure that all of us will just want to relax the evening before the cruise. The TA thought that the package included transport to the pier only so he was going to check on that for us. I think that we will most likely do the Princess transfer thing anyway just because it seems "easiest". It helps to hear what others have done. Thanks so much once again for your help everyone.

Linda

[Splinter]

Do it on your own...either via cab or SuperShuttle. When we were on the 9/23 Island Princess departure, there were many people who paid for the Princess shuttle who were stranded at their airport hotel (the Hilton) as the bus never showed up. Most had to hustle to find an available shuttle or cab, and were working on trying to get reimbursed by Princess while we were on the cruise. Fortunately no one missed the cruise, but most arrived at the pier long after they had planned. Better to make your own arrangements that will be reliable.

[MSUcruisers]

If anyone is interested in the Princess package deal at the Marriott LAX, I advise booking way in advance. A few weeks ago, I tried to book this package for the night before our 1/7/06 Sapphire Princess cruise, and it was already filled.

[lkmamom]

Do it on your own...either via cab or SuperShuttle. When we were on the 9/23 Island Princess departure, there were many people who paid for the Princess shuttle who were stranded at their airport hotel (the Hilton) as the bus never showed up. Most had to hustle to find an available shuttle or cab, and were working on trying to get reimbursed by Princess while we were on the cruise. Fortunately no one missed the cruise, but most arrived at the pier long after they had planned. Better to make your own arrangements that will be reliable.

 

Whoa, thanks Splinter! Yep that would not be a good thing. That's why i love these boards, big help! Onward with the research.

Linda

[Lynda90]

There is another way. I am flying in and staying at the Embassy Suites South at LAX both pre and post cruise (free nights from HiltonHonors awards). I called SuperShuttle and have made arrangements for them to pick me up the morning of the cruise at the hotel. It's only a few dollars more than from LAX and well worth it. I also made reservations with them to be taken back to the hotel post cruise. No payment until they pick me up. They emailed me my confirmations so I do have it all in writing. Sounded like the best way for me since I don't want to have to deal with returning a car. Anyway, it is another option.

[lkmamom]

Thanks Lynda, I saw that in my research today. I guess the problem is that we really do not have time to explore around LA and decided not to get a rental car, so thought that the shuttle/ Princess transfer would be easiest. I will be anxious to hear about your cruise when you get back!! It won't be too long the time is flying!!

Linda