Question re: Carnival Long beach and LGB airport (Morning flight)

[JMKreno]

We have a 12noon flight scheduled out of LGB direct to Reno on Southwest after our NYE cruise on the Miracle. Despite the proximity the stress of any late arrival/delays just wasn't worth it. I would rather sit at the airport and relax versus stressing about changing flights, traffic, security, etc. 

[LatinaInTexas]

We have cut it close like that a few times with no issues but it's always risky and stressful. The one time debarkation didn't go like clockwork luckily we had drove to port. We docked a bit early and the process started normally but within minutes everything came to a screeching halt.

Turns out the scanner pads they use for debarkation all went down. About an hour later we started moving again only to arrive to a major madhouse at customs. Lines like you wouldn't beleive. In all added over 2 hours of unexpected wait times. You just never know.

[NutsAboutGolf]

As long as you have a backup flight/plan picked out, it shouldn't be stressful.  I have made a 9am flight out of FLL but I self carried off, the port uses facial recognition, the airport is almost next door and my airline status allows me to use the priority check in lines and gives you Clear which allows you to "cut" the TSA line.  Ship arrived at 7am, I was in a taxi at 740am.  I also had a backup flight picked out which was nearly double the cost so I had no problem with taking the gamble.

[Brkintx]

OP, take a moment to google and read up on Southwest’s Flat Tire Policy. May make the stress and question moot. 
 

(And PS…. Many airlines let you SDC without re-faring - Southwest’s ‘no change fee’ advertisement/puffery didn't help you here.)

[pks3]

1 minute ago, Brkintx said:

OP, take a moment to google and read up on Southwest’s Flat Tire Policy. May make the stress and question moot. 
 

(And PS…. Many airlines let you SDC without re-faring - Southwest’s ‘no change fee’ advertisement/puffery didn't help you here.)

"TIL".

 

thanks for the info!

[BelowDeck4us]

We cruised on one of last Panorama trips pre-Covid in Feb 2020.  I checked our itinerary and our scheduled Long Beach arrival time was 9 a.m.   I'm not sure what time we actually arrived, but I'd estimate they started disembarking around 7:30 a.m.  As we had stayed in a suite, we were in one of the earlier groups off the ship and were sitting just outside the terminal by 8:10 a.m.  

 

The longest wait we had was for our ride, which arrived around 9 a.m.  As it was a Saturday, traffic was light to LAX and we encountered no accidents.  LAX is farther LGB, but we still arrived just before 9:30 a.m.  

 

Overall, everything fell perfectly into place for us.   We were very lucky.  For example, we had a propulsion issue that started one night in Mexico, but it apparently didn't affect our return time to Long Beach.  

 

I truly hope it all works out for you.  But your flight time is hyper aggressive and would make me a total basket case.  Why ruin the last few days or more of your cruise worrying about whether your going to make your flight?  Unless you're able to self medicate and make the worries go away.....😊

[Angiel13]

Youll be fine. Ship will dock at 6am. And be ready early and you'll be the first to get off if you keep your bags.

 

I'm doing the Dec 30 to Jan 3 radiance ensenada. I, however live nearby and will sleep in and get free breakfast before departing as I'm in no rush.

 

Goodluck 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 11/24/2021 at 6:33 AM, pks3 said:

Encouraged by this, I have booked an outbound flight at 9.30 am from Long Beach airport, but I just wanted to check with folks here who may be more familiar with this particular port and itinerary if this is too risky? 

 

I think anything before noon is nuts, even at LGB.

 

There are multiple moving parts over which you have no control. First is the ship arriving on time, second is how fast and efficient CBP is, which in So Cal is a real crap shoot. Sometimes they are fast, sometimes they are slow. Third, you are relying on getting a cab or Uber fast and no problems on the drive; fourth, you are counting on no issues at LGB security.

 

I believe 9:10AM would be the cutoff for boarding a 9:30AM flight. Any hiccup can upset your plans.

 

On 11/24/2021 at 6:33 AM, pks3 said:

I posted in tripadvisor and was told that this particular airport hardly ever has any sort of security check delays etc - its not a busy airport and it should be OK for the most part...

 

You are putting a lot of trust in what anonymous strangers who have no skin in the game are saying.

 

The keys words are the bolded parts, "hardly ever". Hardly ever isn't never. I've been a "professional traveler" for over 30 years now, spending 150 to 200 days a year on the road (flying) and I've learned very painful lessons about being overly optimistic when arranging my schedule.

 

Often a trip for me is something like a meeting in Salt Lake City in the morning, Chicago in the afternoon, NYC early the next morning and then WDC/VA the day after that. When trying to get out of ORD to get to LGA, I can't afford to miss a plane then miss my morning meeting.

 

You can take the risks you feel comfortable with, but you should be getting realistic scenarios from people, not best case scenarios.

 

51 minutes ago, Angiel13 said:

Youll be fine. Ship will dock at 6am. And be ready early and you'll be the first to get off if you keep your bags.

 

Is AngieL13 going to let you spend the night if you AREN'T fine? If the ship DOESN'T dock at 6AM and get you off by 7AM?

[TheSeagoer]

26 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

 

I think anything before noon is nuts, even at LGB.

 

There are multiple moving parts over which you have no control. First is the ship arriving on time, second is how fast and efficient CBP is, which in So Cal is a real crap shoot. Sometimes they are fast, sometimes they are slow. Third, you are relying on getting a cab or Uber fast and no problems on the drive; fourth, you are counting on no issues at LGB security.

 

I believe 9:10AM would be the cutoff for boarding a 9:30AM flight. Any hiccup can upset your plans.

 

 

You are putting a lot of trust in what anonymous strangers who have no skin in the game are saying.

 

The keys words are the bolded parts, "hardly ever". Hardly ever isn't never. I've been a "professional traveler" for over 30 years now, spending 150 to 200 days a year on the road (flying) and I've learned very painful lessons about being overly optimistic when arranging my schedule.

 

Often a trip for me is something like a meeting in Salt Lake City in the morning, Chicago in the afternoon, NYC early the next morning and then WDC/VA the day after that. When trying to get out of ORD to get to LGA, I can't afford to miss a plane then miss my morning meeting.

 

You can take the risks you feel comfortable with, but you should be getting realistic scenarios from people, not best case scenarios.

 

 

Is AngieL13 going to let you spend the night if you AREN'T fine? If the ship DOESN'T dock at 6AM and get you off by 7AM?

The earliest I saw anyone get off was 9am

[candydane]

Is there any place in or near the Long Beach terminal to pass the time for later flights?  Like an airport lounge?  I can't find anything on the internet.

[NutsAboutGolf]

17 minutes ago, candydane said:

Is there any place in or near the Long Beach terminal to pass the time for later flights?  Like an airport lounge?  I can't find anything on the internet.

 

The OP stated it was much more expensive to do the later flight so it's probably worth attempting the earlier flight then rebooking if missed.  Another strategy could be to book both flights ahead of time, if they make the earlier flight, they can cancel the later flight but will receive a credit vs a refund.

 

LGB is pretty tiny, the whole place is like a lounge, they have indoor seating, like a food hall and at least two bars one being a wine bar.  They even have covered outside seating with a roof after security.

[NutsAboutGolf]

On 11/24/2021 at 3:13 PM, Brkintx said:

OP, take a moment to google and read up on Southwest’s Flat Tire Policy. May make the stress and question moot. 
 

(And PS…. Many airlines let you SDC without re-faring - Southwest’s ‘no change fee’ advertisement/puffery didn't help you here.)

 

Yes but unless you hold a very high status, it's a $75/person fee and doesn't apply to "basic economy" type of fares.  Most of the time its probably cheaper than a same day re-fare but just pointing out there is a fee, I believe the OP said there's 5 in their party including seniors.

[TheSeagoer]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Yes but unless you hold a very high status, it's a $75/person fee and doesn't apply to "basic economy" type of fares.  Most of the time its probably cheaper than a same day re-fare but just pointing out there is a fee, I believe the OP said there's 5 in their party including seniors.

If youbjust spent a relaxing week at sea, why stress for an early flight?🤦‍♂️

[NutsAboutGolf]

13 minutes ago, TheSeagoer said:

If youbjust spent a relaxing week at sea, why stress for an early flight?🤦‍♂️

 

I simply do not stress as I have a backup flight already in mind or in some cases already booked.  Miss the early flight no biggie, take the later one.  Every situation is different yet in one case I want to say the earlier flight for me was $400/person cheaper.  On my most recently cruise which ended this past Sunday out of NOLA, it was over a $500/person saving to NOT fly home the same day as they had a $99 6am flight the next day.