Port of Los Angeles San Pedro Questions

[diazwoman61]

My travel documents state to be on time and allow time to find parking, we do not board until 2:30, I was going to leave the car in long-term parking, do I need to be concerned about parking? Normally, I would not think twice but recently I could not find long-term parking at the airport and it caused a significant upheaval in my travel.

[Bruin Steve]

First, at San Pedro World Cruise Center, there is no "Long Term Parking" or "Short Term Parking"...It's just "Parking"...It's a single lot, $20 per day.  And it's a BIG lot.  We have never had trouble finding parking there.  Earlier in the day, there are a whole lot of people leaving the prior cruise and getting into their cars and driving off--so lots of spots open up.  Even later in the day, a lot of people working at certain jobs on the pier and terminal get off work and start driving off, leaving open spots behind.  But, if you want to be more certain of a good spot, get there earlier than your 2:30 time and find a spot as those people from the prior cruise leave.  You also might find they will let you on the ship well ahed of your 2:30 boarding time. 

[diazwoman61]

thank you

[lx200gps]

Just out of curiosity, what cruise line is making you check-in so late? Or are you choosing such a late check-in yourself?  We're sailing out of SP next week on Princess and they did away with mandatory check-in times, passengers can arrive whenever they want (though they never did enforce it anyway).

[KeepCalmBearOn]

I like San Pedro, it is my home port, but I find them incredibly unorganized on boarding day... or else they just don't care. We've taken five cruises out of San Pedro since Covid ended, four on Princess one on NCL and no one has ever blinked at the fact that we were earlier than our assigned boarding time.

 

If I was assigned 2:30PM, I'd sure as heck be showing up much earlier than that.

[lx200gps]

3 hours ago, scottca075 said:

I like San Pedro, it is my home port, but I find them incredibly unorganized on boarding day... or else they just don't care. We've taken five cruises out of San Pedro since Covid ended, four on Princess one on NCL and no one has ever blinked at the fact that we were earlier than our assigned boarding time.

 

If I was assigned 2:30PM, I'd sure as heck be showing up much earlier than that.

We haven't sailed out of SP since maybe a year pre-pandemic, Port Everglades has been our home port for our last half dozen cruises.  If we de-Uber at SP berth 93 at say, 9 or 9:30AM with Elite status, will we simply check in, pick up our Medallions then sit in the PES lounge until boarding starts? I vaguely recollect that's what we did a few years ago at SP. What are some of the issues these days? Thx...

[Bruin Steve]

We've done 11 cruises post-pandemic (since cruise lines started experimenting with boarding times), four of them out of San Pedro--two each on Princess and RCCL...

 

We've found it to be a mixed bag, but, largely, we've never had to board late.

We TRY to remember to get into the system quickly, but, for whatever reason, we haven't always been able to.

One cruise, on RCCL Navigator, I messed up and forgot about check-in and ended up with a 1:00 or 1:30 boarding time.   No problem, we did as we usually do and showed up at the port about 10:10 or 10:15.  We got out of our Uber and handed over our luggage and noticed they were just opening up--the guy waved me in--no one ever asked about boarding times...and we were on the ship by 10:25!

 

Next time on RCCL, we had an early 10:30 boarding time...When we got there, there were lines forming for stated boarding times...and we got on fast.  But those with later boarding times still got on quickly--right after the people with the early boarding times.  I guess, once they moved everyone onboard, they weren't going to just force people to stand there.  The agents were there and waiting for guests, why not just move them along?  And, of course, even for those of us on the 10:30 line, no one EVER really looked for our boarding times and we didn't see anyone get held back or turned away.

 

 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

2 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

One cruise, on RCCL Navigator, I messed up and forgot about check-in and ended up with a 1:00 or 1:30 boarding time.   No problem, we did as we usually do and showed up at the port about 10:10 or 10:15.  We got out of our Uber and handed over our luggage and noticed they were just opening up--the guy waved me in--no one ever asked about boarding times...and we were on the ship by 10:25!

 

Next time on RCCL, we had an early 10:30 boarding time...When we got there, there were lines forming for stated boarding times...and we got on fast.  But those with later boarding times still got on quickly--right after the people with the early boarding times.  I guess, once they moved everyone onboard, they weren't going to just force people to stand there.

 

This is our San Pedro experience with Princess and NCL too.

[lx200gps]

We're scheduled to sail out of Berth 93 next Saturday on the Discovery Princess, and its probably 5 years since we last sailed from SP . Do Princess still have the dedicated Platinum, Elite and Suites "lounge" area set aside for priority passengers, and do they currently do the light coffee and munchies set up like they do at Port Everglades?  We are very early arrivers, among the first to check-in then sitting around until boarding starts. What time does boarding typically start at SP these days, given the stated 3PM sailaway time. At PE, on our last few trips, we've started boarding as early as 10:30AM.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

6 hours ago, lx200gps said:

We're scheduled to sail out of Berth 93 next Saturday on the Discovery Princess, and its probably 5 years since we last sailed from SP . Do Princess still have the dedicated Platinum, Elite and Suites "lounge" area set aside for priority passengers, and do they currently do the light coffee and munchies set up like they do at Port Everglades?  We are very early arrivers, among the first to check-in then sitting around until boarding starts. What time does boarding typically start at SP these days, given the stated 3PM sailaway time. At PE, on our last few trips, we've started boarding as early as 10:30AM.

 

We are Suite-Elite and I am going to say no to Elite and Suites Lounge, but I don't really know. We arrive about 10:30AM usually, there are very few people in the Elite - Suite line and we are on the ship by 11AM. Our cabin is never ready, but we hang out in one of the lounges, or the DW does. I take off to explore the ship, even one I've been on before, because it's what I've done since my first trip on a ship back in the Matson days.

 

Point being, we've never sat around long enough to utilize a lounge (if there is one) and no one ever offered a lounge with coffee and nosh for us to wait in.

[DiRonT]

On 9/29/2023 at 2:46 AM, lx200gps said:

We're scheduled to sail out of Berth 93 next Saturday on the Discovery Princess, and its probably 5 years since we last sailed from SP . Do Princess still have the dedicated Platinum, Elite and Suites "lounge" area set aside for priority passengers, and do they currently do the light coffee and munchies set up like they do at Port Everglades?  We are very early arrivers, among the first to check-in then sitting around until boarding starts. What time does boarding typically start at SP these days, given the stated 3PM sailaway time. At PE, on our last few trips, we've started boarding as early as 10:30AM.

Yes, they do have the PES Lounge, with coffee, juices and pastries.  We prefer not to deal with the crowds however and so we wait until noon or so and then we can walk straight on, no waiting, no crowds.  Everyone has their preferences though.  Have Fun!

[orville99]

On 10/19/2023 at 11:11 PM, DiRonT said:

Yes, they do have the PES Lounge, with coffee, juices and pastries.  We prefer not to deal with the crowds however and so we wait until noon or so and then we can walk straight on, no waiting, no crowds.  Everyone has their preferences though.  Have Fun!

We are scheduled to sail out of Berth 91, 92, or 93 on Serenade on 11/21 (cruise docs are a bit vague and list all three) and have an accessibility question. DW has bad knees and has difficulty going up and down ramps. Do these terminals have escalators or elevators (or both) to make it easier for her to navigate the terminal?

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by orville99

[lx200gps]

55 minutes ago, orville99 said:

We are scheduled to sail out of Berth 91, 92, or 93 on Serenade on 11/21 (cruise docs are a bit vague and list all three) and have an accessibility question. DW has bad knees and has difficulty going up and down ramps. Do these terminals have escalators or elevators (or both) to make it easier for her to navigate the terminal?

 

We sailed out of 93 and returned to 92 two weeks ago. There are elevators and escalators available. There were, however LOTS of ramps to negotiate getting on and off the ship up and down the gangways. Not steep, but very long.  You may want to consider arranging for a wheelchair?

 

Berths 91 and 92 are the ones that connect with the big "tent, right next to the USS Iowa. Berth 93 is the one at right angles to it, tucked away from the channel. The San Pedro schedule has you leaving from berth 92 on Nov 11.  Have a great cruise.

 

https://www.portsamerica.com/operations/cruise-los-angeles-terminal-schedule

Edited October 23, 2023 by lx200gps

[DiRonT]

I agree with lx200gps.  Within the structures there are elevators, but to embark or disembark the ship the only access I am aware of are ramps that do a lot of "zig zags".  It probably would be best to request assistance such as a wheelchair.

[orville99]

49 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

We sailed out of 93 and returned to 92 two weeks ago. There are elevators and escalators available. There were, however LOTS of ramps to negotiate getting on and off the ship up and down the gangways. Not steep, but very long.  You may want to consider arranging for a wheelchair?

 

Berths 91 and 92 are the ones that connect with the big "tent, right next to the USS Iowa. Berth 93 is the one at right angles to it, tucked away from the channel. The San Pedro schedule has you leaving from berth 92 on Nov 11.  Have a great cruise.

 

https://www.portsamerica.com/operations/cruise-los-angeles-terminal-schedule

Thanks. We are sailing on Serenade on the 21st. out of Berth 92. Thanks as well for the terminal schedule link.

[lx200gps]

One other point about Berth 91/92 which we noticed. The walk off the ship, down the gangway, down the escalator and through the big tent to the facial recognition cameras and freedom, was about the LONGEST walk we've ever had off a cruise ship. We had boarded at 93 which was much less of a distance than what we had when we disembarked. If anyone is disembarking into the big tent, be prepared for a long journey if mobility compromised.

[marden1970]

We ask for wheelchair assist at both the entrance to the terminal and again from the cruise line.  The first will take you thru the terminal, security and check in and the cruise line will take you from there onto the ship. The same in reverse for disembarkation.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

6 hours ago, marden1970 said:

We ask for wheelchair assist at both the entrance to the terminal and again from the cruise line.  The first will take you thru the terminal, security and check in and the cruise line will take you from there onto the ship. The same in reverse for disembarkation.

 

We do too when traveling with my parents on a San Pedro cruise.

[cruisinfamily7609]

On 10/23/2023 at 3:34 PM, scottca075 said:

 

We do too when traveling with my parents on a San Pedro cruise.

We are traveling with my 80-year old mother in February on NCL. It has been nearly 20 years since I last left out of San Pedro terminal - are there baggage handlers or porters? I’m sure there’s got to be, but I also remember having the option to take our luggage on board ourselves when we cruised this last summer on Carnival so I thought I’d better ask and be prepared! 
 

My mom uses a walker, so it sounds like maybe having a wheelchair would be the best option for her. Is it pretty easy to request one or do I have to somehow reserve it in advance? Once she’s on the ship I think she’ll be okay with just her walker since she can take her time. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

Yes there are porters, no you don't need a reservation to get wheel chair assistance.

[travelin.sisters]

6 hours ago, cruisinfamily7609 said:

We are traveling with my 80-year old mother in February on NCL. It has been nearly 20 years since I last left out of San Pedro terminal - are there baggage handlers or porters? I’m sure there’s got to be, but I also remember having the option to take our luggage on board ourselves when we cruised this last summer on Carnival so I thought I’d better ask and be prepared! 
 

My mom uses a walker, so it sounds like maybe having a wheelchair would be the best option for her. Is it pretty easy to request one or do I have to somehow reserve it in advance? Once she’s on the ship I think she’ll be okay with just her walker since she can take her time. 

• lots of porters for your baggage.

 

• it is easy to get a wheelchair (although our TA always notes the need on our booking) on Princess & I imagine every cruise line, you will have one wc & pusher to get you through check in & then will transfer to a seat to wait for a wc & pusher from the ship to take you onboard.

 

• if you can afford it or her insurance will provide it, a wheeled walker with a seat that folds in (so skinnier where the wheels get closer together but still provides support...like a rollator) is very helpful, my 2 80 y/o family members each have one mostly for cruising...if provides a seat when you have to wait in line for anything & is easier to get down the hallways & through the cabin door (we got one after I spent a 19 day Panama Canal cruise moving cleaning carts so my sissy could get down the hallway every time she wanted to leave the cabin or return...she literally could not go anywhere alone because the walker would not fit between the cart & the wall (maybe this is only a Princess issue I don't know but it has been worth the price for her to not feel trapped & so dependent) 

[lx200gps]

When we Uber'ed up to Berth 93 at San Pedro a few weeks ago, a porter appeared right at our vehicle with his trolley within seconds. You shouldn't have any problems finding one offering to take your bags ;o)

[cruisinfamily7609]

On 10/26/2023 at 11:25 PM, travelin.sisters said:

 

• if you can afford it or her insurance will provide it, a wheeled walker with a seat that folds in (so skinnier where the wheels get closer together but still provides support...like a rollator) is very helpful, my 2 80 y/o family members each have one mostly for cruising...if provides a seat when you have to wait in line for anything & is easier to get down the hallways & through the cabin door (we got one after I spent a 19 day Panama Canal cruise moving cleaning carts so my sissy could get down the hallway every time she wanted to leave the cabin or return...she literally could not go anywhere alone because the walker would not fit between the cart & the wall (maybe this is only a Princess issue I don't know but it has been worth the price for her to not feel trapped & so dependent) 

This is perfect. Thank you for the information. My sister and I were just discussing that perhaps the best thing to do is get my mom a rollator. That way, she’ll *always* have a seat ready.  Thanks so much!!

 

[travelin.sisters]

3 hours ago, cruisinfamily7609 said:

 

you are welcome...my sister liked hers so much that we got my BIL his own before our last cruise so she wouldn't have to give up her seat for him 😉