Port of San Pedro, CA - best airport nearby?

[negc]

If our ship sails from the port of San Pedro, which is the better airport to fly into (and home from)- LAX or Long Beach? We can fly AA or Jet Blue from Boston. Thanks in advance.:)

[catdancers]

We've used both LAX and Long Beach for cruises out of San Pedro. The Long Beach airport may not be the best choice if anyone in your group is mobility impaired. Planes are boarded out on the tarmac and you have to climb the plane steps, lugging your carry-on bag. It was raining when we flew out of LB so my hair and clothes were wet by the time I boarded. Not sure what arrangements LB is able to make for people who need help, but you could probably inquire before buying your tix.

 

That said, it was less of a traffic hassle to use LB. Have a good trip!

[SusieS]

Either is fine, although I do hear that Long Beach is a nicer experience. we just flew into LAX, & it was fine. Just avoid the Princess transfers out of LAX at all costs.....they had us waiting for 4 hours.

[negc]

Either is fine, although I do hear that Long Beach is a nicer experience. we just flew into LAX, & it was fine. Just avoid the Princess transfers out of LAX at all costs.....they had us waiting for 4 hours.

Thanks for the quick responses. We don't have any mobility problems and JetBlue's airfare is much cheaper than AA's, plus the TVs on JetBlue will make the long flight much more pleasant. Does anyone know the relative time involved in going from either airport to the pier (assuming, of course, that we don't use Princess' transfers:D)?

[DanJ]

I've been told it's a little quicker to LGB than LAX from the pier, and we were 20 minutes to LAX by Supershuttle. The only thing to be aware about with Jetblue is that on occasion they have had issues with headwinds and not being able to make it non-stop from Boston to Long Beach. So I would build a possible fuel stop into my plans. It doesn't happen often, but you only need it to happen once to screw up cruise plans. Ideally you would go a day ahead anyway.

[negc]

I've been told it's a little quicker to LGB than LAX from the pier, and we were 20 minutes to LAX by Supershuttle. The only thing to be aware about with Jetblue is that on occasion they have had issues with headwinds and not being able to make it non-stop from Boston to Long Beach. So I would build a possible fuel stop into my plans. It doesn't happen often, but you only need it to happen once to screw up cruise plans. Ideally you would go a day ahead anyway.

 

Thanks. We always try to fly in a day ahead anyway so that shouldn't be a problem. However the JetBlue schedule for returning to Boston isn't very good for us unless we stay in Long Beach an extra day after our cruise. That sort of shoots any savings we would gain by flying JB.:(

[Pam in CA]

If our ship sails from the port of San Pedro, which is the better airport to fly into (and home from)- LAX or Long Beach? We can fly AA or Jet Blue from Boston. Thanks in advance.:)

Flying from Boston to LA, I've done quite a bit of research on this. Jet Blue is cheaper for some flights but it doesn't have many direct flights so that your flexibility, particularly returning to Boston unless you take an extra day, is lousy. There are also a lot fewer flights on Jet Blue between Boston and/or LAX or Long Beach.

 

I've found that AA flight 25, leaving Boston @ 8AM and getting into LAX at 11:23AM is an excellent flight. Returning, I take AA #264, leaving LAX at 12:55PM and getting into Boston at 9:25PM.

 

You don't want to book a flight post-cruise much earlier than 12:15 or 12:30PM since it's not unusual for late disembarkation, traffic on 405 and check-in and security delays at LAX. Yes, it's possible for everything to go right and you'll be sitting in the airport for 3 hours. But I'd rather not be stressed if the ship starts disembarkation at 9:30AM and I still have to get to the airport, etc.

 

Yes, Jet Blue is often cheaper but in the long run, you won't have the flexibility or flight choices as you do on AA. You can also check out Delta Song which also has the seat-back TVs but Delta has been changing their flight times so much lately that I'd pay the extra for AA and know what I have.

 

As always, I recommend flying in a day before.

[negc]

Flying from Boston to LA, I've done quite a bit of research on this. Jet Blue is cheaper for some flights but it doesn't have many direct flights so that your flexibility, particularly returning to Boston unless you take an extra day, is lousy. There are also a lot fewer flights on Jet Blue between Boston and/or LAX or Long Beach.

 

I've found that AA flight 25, leaving Boston @ 8AM and getting into LAX at 11:23AM is an excellent flight. Returning, I take AA #264, leaving LAX at 12:55PM and getting into Boston at 9:25PM.

 

You don't want to book a flight post-cruise much earlier than 12:15 or 12:30PM since it's not unusual for late disembarkation, traffic on 405 and check-in and security delays at LAX. Yes, it's possible for everything to go right and you'll be sitting in the airport for 3 hours. But I'd rather not be stressed if the ship starts disembarkation at 9:30AM and I still have to get to the airport, etc.

 

Yes, Jet Blue is often cheaper but in the long run, you won't have the flexibility or flight choices as you do on AA. You can also check out Delta Song which also has the seat-back TVs but Delta has been changing their flight times so much lately that I'd pay the extra for AA and know what I have.

 

As always, I recommend flying in a day before.

 

Thanks Pam. Those AA flights look pretty good to me. I thought about Song but since Delta is about to reabsorb them, who knows what will happen there. I agree with you about it being better to have a 3 hour wait at the airport than stressing to make an earlier flight home.

I have enough AA frequent flyer points to get roundtrip tickets, so it might be a good time to use them.

Did you get snowed in yesterday? Lots of melting here today.:)

[Pam in CA]

Thanks Pam. Those AA flights look pretty good to me. I thought about Song but since Delta is about to reabsorb them, who knows what will happen there. I agree with you about it being better to have a 3 hour wait at the airport than stressing to make an earlier flight home.

I have enough AA frequent flyer points to get roundtrip tickets, so it might be a good time to use them.

Yup... I treated myself to AA frequent flyer points for a First Class upgrade for my upcoming Island Princess cruise. First time I've flown First Class (other than AirTran and I'm not counting them) so I'm really looking forward to it. As an FYI, having had major problems with flights during the winter that had stopovers, I take only non-stop when going to CA in the winter.

Did you get snowed in yesterday? Lots of melting here today.:)

Another "Yup." We officially got 18" of snow. Not a biggie but enough to be a nuisance driving around today. Living in a condo, I don't have to worry about shoveling and plowing. :)

[negc]

We officially got 18" of snow. Not a biggie but enough to be a nuisance driving around today. Living in a condo, I don't have to worry about shoveling and plowing. :)

Sounds like us. Similar snowfall and one of the great benefits of condo living is the no shoveling and plowing in the winter and no mowing in the summer. Roads are pretty good today and the grandkids even had school.

[DEL67]

We've flown into both LAX and Long Beach and greatly prefer Long Beach. Its a lot less stressful.

 

 

CatDancers is correct that Long beach does not have jetways so passengers walk out onto the tarmac and climb the steps to board/get off the plane. However they do have a loader for the disabled so they can accomodate wheelchair passengers.

[negc]

Thanks Dale. The lack of jetways wouldn't bother me. However, the inconvenient flight schedule for the flight home will probably cause us to fly into and out of LAX rather than LGB.

[D&L-01]

Thanks Dale. The lack of jetways wouldn't bother me. However, the inconvenient flight schedule for the flight home will probably cause us to fly into and out of LAX rather than LGB.

 

Maybe two one way tickets? One into Long Beach on JetBlue, and the other out of LAX on different airline? Just a thought! :cool:

[negc]

Maybe two one way tickets? One into Long Beach on JetBlue, and the other out of LAX on different airline? Just a thought! :cool:

Thought about that but while JetBlue makes one way ticketing easy and inexpensive, the same can't be said for AA. Think the frequent flyer points on AA will be the best option.:)

[critterchick]

Random thoughts:

 

I believe that AA is pulling out of Long Beach altogether this year, and that Delta will be replacing them. I think most of their flights will be to Salt Lake City, one of their hubs.

 

JetBlue has a ramp and stairs for boarding (they load and unload from both ends of the plane) plus the lift for mobility-impaired.

 

LGB is only about 5 miles closer to the port, but the traffic pattern is usually much better (it only takes one freeway incident to make that a false statement). But with only 47 or so flights a day, you really need some good karma to make the schedule and pricing work.

[Noneeds4me]

We highly recommend Long Beach over LAX. We live close by, and whenever there is a chance to avoid LAX, we do so. Another choice for AA would be (SNA) Santa Ana. It's only about 20 minutes south from Long Beach.:)

[Pam in CA]

We highly recommend Long Beach over LAX. We live close by, and whenever there is a chance to avoid LAX, we do so. Another choice for AA would be (SNA) Santa Ana. It's only about 20 minutes south from Long Beach.:)

I agree that both these airports are better than LAX (I fly into SNA all the time and to me, it's "civilized"). However, both are also generally more expensive to fly into from Boston and there are far fewer non-stop flights, not to mention fewer flight options. The biggest problem is flying home. In checking Jet Blue, there is a flight leaving LGB at 11:20AM (not getting into BOS until 9:20PM) and the next one doesn't leave until 5:50PM and you dont' arrive in BOS until after 7AM the next day. 11:20AM is cutting it way too close for comfort and flying overnight isn't an option for me.

[davekathy]

We are flying into John Wayne on Delta. John Wayne is a small Air Port. I've been told not much difference in time/miles from John Wayne to San Pedro vs LAX to San Pedro. A lot less traffic.

[Noneeds4me]

Yes, it's true that flying from SNA or Long Beach is generally a little more expensive than LAX. For us (living in the area), the convenience of either SNA or LGB outweighs the $ difference, plus being these airports are small, we don't have to deal with airport congestion at all. However, we might feel differently if we lived out of the area? If that were the case, we'd probably opt for the lesser cost. FYI for anybody that doesn't know, ...."John Wayne" is the same airport as Santa Ana (SNA).