LAX at 12:50 or LGB at 11:30 post cruise?

[Cruise Raider]

I have a choice to fly out of Long Beach airport (LGB) at 11:30 AM or LAX at 12:50 PM after my cruise next month on a Saturday (the day before Easter Sunday).  This is on the Royal and we will be disembarking in San Pedro.  I did a search on the West Coast Departures page to no avail ... nothing recent anyway.  

 

I am now posting on here because I know there are some avid Princess cruisers that live in the area and can give me advice on which on those flights to choose.  We plan on taking Uber from the dock to the port and will be asking for walk off disembarkation.  The recommended Princess time for the earliest flight is 12:30 PM out of LAX.  

 

We may have one bag to check and don't have TSA pre-check, although, oftentimes, it is given to us ... it's just not guaranteed.  

 

Which flight would you all choose? 

 

 

 

 

[bighairtexan]

Just off Ruby a couple of days ago in San Pedro. Debarkation was a piece of cake. The curb was one massive cluster and everyone was having trouble connecting w/ their rides even though we stated "We are under the 93 sign".  Not sure why it was such a mess (but the rest of debarkation more than made up for it).   We Ubered (OK we Lyfted).  We took later debarkation (9:05) and were still at LAX at 10:30AM.  Not sure if this helps.  I'd probably take whichever flight is cheaper if it's a big difference.

[sunsetme]

debarkation may be more complicated because of the ports Royal visited but I would go for Long Beach

[OR_Cowboy_1952]

I think 1130 is pretty early and everything has to go right, but Long Beach is closer, easier to get to, smaller and easier to navigate.  I’d still recommend you get there by 1000 to check luggage etc.  It’s 1020 here as I type this, Goggle and Apple are both saying it’s about 25 minutes from the port to airport.

[wheezedr]

Long Beach is a much less crowded and much easier to navigate airport.  It’s major downside is fewer flights but you seem to have that issue solved.  If pricing is equivalent I would go LGB.

[Colo Cruiser]

LGB all day everyday!!!!

IMO...it is a country bumpkin airport and a refreshing change from LAX!!!

 

I Uber there and back from San Pedro for less than $20 usually. 

[louanne93]

If we fly, we ALWAYS go Long Beach!!

[donswife]

We are flying in for a San Pedro departure, and for $4 more, I went with LGB. I really don't care for LAX.

[crawford]

We did a 7:15 AM walk off at San Pedro on a Sunday and were at our LAX gate by 8:45 AM for a 10:30 AM flight.

 

Would't recommend but it was a Sunday and LAX was much cheaper for us. I think our Uber was around $30. 

[apeller]

Another vote for Long Beach.  It is very small, and you can get in and out very quickly.  It is always our first choice if we can fly through there.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Another local's vote for LGB.  Definitely an easier airport to deal with and fewer fake bomb calls delaying things.

[modes]

It's an easy choice LGB by a mile.

[ctompkins]

You can also notify the front desk of your earlier flight and they will probably give you an early disembarkation ticket.  Also, if you walkoff on your own with your baggage, you get off first.

[PatriciaF]

I live near LGB and it is my first choice over LAX if it is an option.

 

I have TSA pre-check and sometimes that line is longer than the regular security.

 

I would go with LGB--should be no problem if you get to the airport by 1030 AM.

 

[Thrak]

We've never flown into (or out of) LGB but, after reading these comments, I will definitely look into it next time we sail out of San Pedro. Sad to hear that the PreCheck line is longer than the other one but at least you don't have to hassle with TSA. On our last flight through LAX my bag was randomly pulled. What a freaking pain in the butt!!!  We have usually just automagically had TSA Pre Check but that time we didn't get it for some reason. The experience was a total drag so we just went down a couple of weeks ago and paid for 5 years of TSA PreCheck. It's $85 apiece for 5 years Well worth it and my credit card actually reimbursed me for one of the fees. As soon as it went through I went online and entered our new KTN (Known Traveler Numbers) into all of our upcoming flights.

[PatriciaF]

@Thrak most of the time at LGB if you have TSA pre check few in line but early morning flights to the Bay Area lots of businesses travelers with it.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

I wholeheartedly recommend Long Beach over LAX. We always fly in and out of there on these San Pedro cruises and whenever we go south see family.  LGB is to LAX what SJC is to SFO. 

And please use Lyft. Uber is a mysoginyst, toxic culture that should not be supported. Have a great cruise!

[Cruise Raider]

Thanks everyone!!!  I was worried about the flight time out of Long Beach but it's probably equivalent to the time it takes to go to LAX through traffic and then their security lines.  

I've flown out of Long Beach before and absolutely love that airport.  The price of the flights is identical and we are actually flying into Long Beach.  

So, if 11:30 isn't too early ... I'm going to go for it!  I will plan on getting an early walk off first thing from guest services after we board.  Once, we waited and we couldn't do it.  Who knows, we might even just do carry on luggage.  

Thanks again!  I dread LAX ... so this will make my trip more pleasurable.  

[Kendivallyn]

On 3/19/2019 at 9:47 AM, Cruise Raider said:

I have a choice to fly out of Long Beach airport (LGB) at 11:30 AM or LAX at 12:50 PM after my cruise next month on a Saturday (the day before Easter Sunday).  This is on the Royal and we will be disembarking in San Pedro.  I did a search on the West Coast Departures page to no avail ... nothing recent anyway.  

 

I am now posting on here because I know there are some avid Princess cruisers that live in the area and can give me advice on which on those flights to choose.  We plan on taking Uber from the dock to the port and will be asking for walk off disembarkation.  The recommended Princess time for the earliest flight is 12:30 PM out of LAX.  

  

We may have one bag to check and don't have TSA pre-check, although, oftentimes, it is given to us ... it's just not guaranteed.  

 

Which flight would you all choose? 

  

 

 

 

I think you'll make either one.  We fly out of LB whenever possible and it's a little closer, BUT if you don't want to stress on time, it is Sat, so traffic won't be a nightmare to LAX - you might just be sitting around the airport for like 3 hours though.  I would choose LB personally. 🙂

[stvandy1]

I did LAX To the ship. I am using Princess Transfers. Because my return flight on Southwest leaves at 1220 PM, I wasn’t able to use Princess transfer back to LAX. I just simply booked LAX Super Shuttle to LAX. LGB doesn’t have a lot of flights to Salt Lake City. Southwest got me a direct flight to Slc that me there just after 3 PM. I know LGB just doesn’t work for me. I choose Southwest because I didn’t want to shell out $240 in baggage fees for our group.

[Cruise Raider]

19 hours ago, stvandy1 said:

I did LAX To the ship. I am using Princess Transfers. Because my return flight on Southwest leaves at 1220 PM, I wasn’t able to use Princess transfer back to LAX. I just simply booked LAX Super Shuttle to LAX. LGB doesn’t have a lot of flights to Salt Lake City. Southwest got me a direct flight to Slc that me there just after 3 PM. I know LGB just doesn’t work for me. I choose Southwest because I didn’t want to shell out $240 in baggage fees for our group.

 

Ah yes ... those baggage fees are killer!!  I like Southwest for many reasons, the free luggage being one of them.  We've decided we are packing light just to ensure an easy walk off so even though the luggage is free, we are just going with carry on pieces.  

The other reason I love Southwest is that they allow you to change and cancel flights with no additional charges.  Some airlines charge an arm and a leg for all those extras. 

 

[stvandy1]

1 hour ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

Ah yes ... those baggage fees are killer!!  I like Southwest for many reasons, the free luggage being one of them.  We've decided we are packing light just to ensure an easy walk off so even though the luggage is free, we are just going with carry on pieces.  

The other reason I love Southwest is that they allow you to change and cancel flights with no additional charges.  Some airlines charge an arm and a leg for all those extras. 

 

Truth is I have never been on Southwest before. This no assigned seating will be new to me. I may get early boarding because I am crippled and walk with a crutch. I requested wheelchairs for the airports and the pier.

[tanyaewa]

I would do anything to skip LAX 

[Cruise Raider]

13 hours ago, stvandy1 said:

Truth is I have never been on Southwest before. This no assigned seating will be new to me. I may get early boarding because I am crippled and walk with a crutch. I requested wheelchairs for the airports and the pier.

 

No need to purchase early boarding ... they will allow you to board before anyone else without that EB boarding pass.  I was on a crutch after knee surgery a few years back and they couldn't do enough to make sure I was accommodated.  I wasn't used to that as I only had been challenged post op.  They even asked if I needed a wheelchair but the crutch was sufficient for me ... and they still allowed me to board early.  At the gate, just let them know right before your flight and they will make sure you are in the first group to board.  The only caveat is that you cannot sit in the emergency exit rows but you may not want to anyway.  Your traveling companion can join you during your boarding.  

Southwest is great ... no first class or anything but they always have treated us right.  There are times when I have to use other airlines because SW may not fly into the airports I go to but I almost always return to SW whenever possible.  And no ... I don't work for them.  hahaha 

[stvandy1]

5 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

No need to purchase early boarding ... they will allow you to board before anyone else without that EB boarding pass.  I was on a crutch after knee surgery a few years back and they couldn't do enough to make sure I was accommodated.  I wasn't used to that as I only had been challenged post op.  They even asked if I needed a wheelchair but the crutch was sufficient for me ... and they still allowed me to board early.  At the gate, just let them know right before your flight and they will make sure you are in the first group to board.  The only caveat is that you cannot sit in the emergency exit rows but you may not want to anyway.  Your traveling companion can join you during your boarding.  

Southwest is great ... no first class or anything but they always have treated us right.  There are times when I have to use other airlines because SW may not fly into the airports I go to but I almost always return to SW whenever possible.  And no ... I don't work for them.  hahaha 

Your advice was something I needed to read. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.