arriving back in Long Beach

[adelaidebrad]

We arrive back in Long Beach from the Mexican Rivierre on September 21 at 9.00 a.m. We require as early as possible flights to Houston from LAX. Can anyone help with what they believe the earliest we would be able to look at leaving from LAX.

Don the Mexican Rivierre returns ever get in before 9.00 a.m?

Any advice would be appreciated

[MT_Sea_Cruisers]

We've sailed this itinerary from Long Beach many times.  Our experience has been that while the ship arrived back in port rather early (as early as 6:00 AM), disembarkation time can vary greatly depending on a few factors.  

 

Express Debark: In order to be cleared off the ship shortly after arrival in the homeport, guests have the option of participating in our Express Debark Program if they elect to carry off their own luggage.

Vs.

Checked Luggage Debark: Guests who wish to check-in their luggage by simply leaving their bags outside their stateroom late in the evening on the last night of the cruise.  This option will depend on what zone number** you received.  We've had very high numbers in the past and were one of the last to leave the ship.  **Guests with early flights who have pre-registered with Guest Services will be assigned and called as one of the early Zone numbers.

 

All in all, I would say on average we are off the ship by 10:30 AM at the latest.  

[footballmom68]

Could you possibly fly out of Long Beach? Shorter ride.

[skrufy]

4 hours ago, adelaidebrad said:

We arrive back in Long Beach from the Mexican Rivierre on September 21 at 9.00 a.m. We require as early as possible flights to Houston from LAX. Can anyone help with what they believe the earliest we would be able to look at leaving from LAX.

Don the Mexican Rivierre returns ever get in before 9.00 a.m?

Any advice would be appreciated

You most likely will arrive before 9am. Then it’s up to the customs people to clear the ship. When they do that nobody knows. I never plan to leave the ship before the time the ship is scheduled to dock. Using 9am, look at no later than 1030am. If you absolutely must get off as early as possible, be ready with all your luggage in hand around 8am.

[Chervil]

I wouldn't book anything earlier than about 1pm, to allow for any delays in either arrival or traffic.
Remember you have to account for getting through security and they usually recommend arriving at least 1-2 hours before your flight boards (which starts about 30 mins before the flight)
I flew out of LAX to DFW about a month ago on a Tuesday afternoon and it took about 45 minutes to get through TSA.
This was flying American.

 

If you do decide to get something earlier, then I recommend not buying the cheap tickets that don't allow you to change flights in case you miss it.
There are lots of posts from people who missed their connection due to poor weather delays, mechanical trouble, traffic, etc. and ended up in a pickle.

[RobinCruiser]

I'm doing the same cruise on Sept 29th and my itinerary shows the ship arriving back at Long Beach at 7am. Also, Jamman54 did a review of the four day Baja cruise and posted the debarkation guidelines. If you carry your own luggage, you could be getting off soon after 7:45am. This is what I will be doing so we can get a Lyft to Anaheim to spend the whole day at Disneyland!

 

Edited July 16, 2019 by RobinCruiser
to add Jamman54's full handle

[thenexus2k]

Please be aware that the airline can change a flight on you as well. Our cruise is scheduled to arrive back in Long Beach on Nov 2nd at 9am. We had flights booked out of SNA for 12:45 PM, thinking we had plenty of time to get there. Last week, I received an email from American saying that our flights had been changed to 7:45 am. Needless to say, we were not confident on making that flight. Fortunately they were nice when we called and I got our flight changed to 7:45am on Nov 3rd. 

Edited July 16, 2019 by thenexus2k

[marmac761]

13 hours ago, Chervil said:

I wouldn't book anything earlier than about 1pm, to allow for any delays in either arrival or traffic.
Remember you have to account for getting through security and they usually recommend arriving at least 1-2 hours before your flight boards (which starts about 30 mins before the flight)
I flew out of LAX to DFW about a month ago on a Tuesday afternoon and it took about 45 minutes to get through TSA.
This was flying American.

 

If you do decide to get something earlier, then I recommend not buying the cheap tickets that don't allow you to change flights in case you miss it.
There are lots of posts from people who missed their connection due to poor weather delays, mechanical trouble, traffic, etc. and ended up in a pickle.

I agree 1:00 is the earliest I would recommend.  Have sailed out of Ling beach quite often and one time the ship came in late and passsenger were still debarking at 1:00.   We are platinum and did not board till 130.  You just never know if a problem can arise.

[MEUB1112]

23 hours ago, footballmom68 said:

Could you possibly fly out of Long Beach? Shorter ride.

We highly recommend this, we flew into and out of Long Beach last November and it was great. Short lines and great service. 15 minutes or so from the port.

[rebelcruiser]

Orange County SNA would be an alternate airport as well.  Long Beach is great if it works for you.  SNA is about the same difference as LAX but much less stressful.  The traffic in and out of LAX is a mess due to construction.  These days it's not unusual to take 30-45 min to get to/from the airline terminal from the surface streets in addition to your drive time from Long Beach.

 

I cruise out of Long Beach often.  If all goes well I'm usually off the ship by 800am easily.  But that's with VIFP status.

[Dicecatt]

I believe the Carnival website states you shouldn't book a flight before 11:30 AM, I just looked it up a few days ago but can't find it now,  but I think it depends on which airport and your own situation.  If you have priority debarkation in various ways,  or if it's Long Beach, an early flight is safer.  SNA is furthest away and LAX is the most challenging to navigate,  I've departed the Long Beach port to all three airports after a cruise and am personally uncomfortable booking prior to 12 30 to LAX and that's if I have priority debarkation. Long Beach airport is so much easier,  we booked an 11 15 AM for our next one but we also have FTTF. Traffic can be so iffy and it's not worth it to me to depart a wonderful relaxing cruise only to be frenetic and crazed on the last day,  worried about flight times and traffic.  

Edited July 17, 2019 by Dicecatt

[glrounds]

No earlier than 1:00pm. Ship frequently gets into port around 6:00, but with the fluctuation of arrival times, customs clearance, airport TSAs, and potential events on the dreaded 405 to the airport the day could turn sour in no time. Have cruised Carnival out of Long Beach many times and usually off the ship by 9:00ish (Platinum and self-debark), home by 10:00 when I lived in So Cal.

[azjim66]

FTTF also allows you priority debarkation should you be able to carry off your own luggage.  The last time we cruised out of Long Beach we were through customs and off the ship @ 7:15 am.   We always get FTTF and we have always been off the ship prior to 8am.  Obviously there can always be delays due to weather/traffic etc.. but this has been our experience.