San Diego Port Questions

[CruiseMob]

I saw there was no parking at the San Diego Port - so if you drive, where do you park? Is there a shuttle from the parking you use? If not, do you first drop off a member(s) in your party with luggage at the port and then go park and walk back?

[Xcruzr]

There is a fairly large parking lot across the road (within walking distance) from the port. Or you can park at some distant lots which do provide shuttle services.

[CruiseMob]

There is a fairly large parking lot across the road (within walking distance) from the port. Or you can park at some distant lots which do provide shuttle services.

Thanks, I have a couple more questions if you don't mind. So how do you get all your luggage to the port if you walk? Do you know the name of the parking lot and if it's secured?

[Buckeye Geo]

CruiseMob: Here is the link to available parking for cruise ship passengers. Hope it helps.

http://www.portofsandiego.org/sandiego_maritime/cruise/parking.asp

[Nancyquilts]

There is a large parking lot right across the street from the port. It seems to be secure - we haven't had any trouble there. We wheel our luggage across to the pier from the lot. Nancy

[Splinter]

There are MANY parking options near the port. Some (more expensive) are covered. They all provide parking for both the cruise ships and off-site airport parking. Most provide shuttle service.

 

Drop your party and your luggage off on the pier (you can drive onto the pier if you show your cruise tickets), have them stay with the luggage while you go park the car if you don't park where a shuttle is provided. I actually park at home, and have a friend drive us to/from the port as the costs can be high for a longer cruise.

[conflexrules!]

we are flying in from nor cal friday morning at 10am............but cannot board the ship until 2pm..............we got our air through celebrity........so it comes with the transfers.............is there anything to do nearby the port? and what do we do with the luggage? will the hold it for us if we want to roam around??

 

:confused:

[chasetf]

I saw there was no parking at the San Diego Port - so if you drive, where do you park? Is there a shuttle from the parking you use? If not, do you first drop off a member(s) in your party with luggage at the port and then go park and walk back?

It is my brother's home port. He has picked us up at the airport, dropped us at the dock, then went to park the car for the cruise duration and walked back. Maybe he will see this post and provide more info.

 

I also know he gets a much better rate than I get up in the bay area (CA). :(

[CruiseMob]

Thanks everyone - I think what we'll have to do is have my husband drop me and the kids off at the port with the luggage and then go park the vehicle. Is the port large? I can't find on the website any instructions on where to go for our cruise - is it easy to find once you're there? Does anyone have a preference for which parking lot - there seem to be quite a few. I'm thinking a closer one within walking distance might be the easiest, that way DH won't have to wait for a shuttle. Thanks for all your help and assistance.

[Fblack]

Ok. Here's the deal on our port, airport and terminal. I live in San Diego and have taken 16 cruises out of San Diego. Number 17 in 11 days.

 

The airport is less than 10 minutes from the pier. Even if you have transfers, you might want to just take a taxi from the airport. Occasionally there is a very long wait for the transfer bus to leave the airport.

 

You can check in luggage at the pier starting around 10:00AM. The center of downtown is a 12 minute walk from the pier. There are numerous restaurants and places to see right at the pier area. Including the aircraft carrier Midway, a German WW2 submarine and the saling ship used in Russel Crowes movie :Master and Commander".

 

They do not allow you to park in the lot next to the cruise ships any more. It used to be the best deal in town. $3.00 a day for a guarded lot. Now nearby lots cost from $10 to $14 depending on if you want covered parking. The closest lot is less than 10 minutes from the pier on Harbor Drive and Broadway.

[conflexrules!]

thanks for all the great info...............:D

 

my mom was worried there'd be nothing around there for us to do.............more importantly..............no where to go for LUNCH!

[Joe Beach]

Fblack,

I'm not sure what you mean by not being able to park "next to the cruise ship" if you mean the lot across the street, in Feb our friend parked across the street from the pier, it was something like $10/day for the 11 day trip, and a 4 minute walk.

 

Airport to pier is a $7 cab

 

The Holiday Inn is also across the street from the pier where lunch is served.

[cruzin4us]

Oh, there is PLENTY to do within walking distance. The gas lamp isn't too far, or you can walk along the pier to Seaport Village. The walking is easy, if you aren't disabled, you won't find any problem........Plus the weather is some of the best in the world, so you should be lucky (99 times out of 100).

Sometimes the cruise ship will let you on early too, so you might get lucky on that one too.

Have fun and welcome to San Diego!

[Nancyquilts]

Often they say you can't board until two, but we've been able to embark around noon most times. Nancy

[Fredr]

hello,

 

My wife and I are home from San Diego , having been on the Mercury's 3/27 sailing. I have rented cars from Avis for our previous three cruises that left from and returned to San Diego. Avis has an office on Kettner, which is about 5 minutes from the pier and they have a shuttle to and from the pier. Avis has one way rates to and from San Diego and in my case I pay about the same as if I parked my own car, minus the hassle of worrying about the car...safe place, battery and so on. The Avis office on Kettner is an excellent office and I strongly encourage you to see if this option is feasible for you.

 

Hope that this helps,

 

 

Fred

[Fblack]

When I said park "next to the ship", that's where you could park before 9/11. There is a lot about 30 feet from the door to the terminal. Now they only allow it to be used for dropping off passengers. Now the closest lot is a 5 or 7 minute walk on Harbor drive near Broadway. Uncovered, but safe. About $10 or $11 a day. There is also a Holiday Inn right across from the ship. You can have lunch there or just hang out. Do not park in their lot long term. They will tow you away.

 

Check the San Diego web cam of the terminal and Harbor St. area and you can see the lots.

http://live6.truelook.com/face/newface.jsp?func=live&name=/ecodb/sandiego&overlay=default&skin=default&useapplet=true&time=1144446890159&width=640&height=480&quality=65&catalogname=catalog&preset=SEE%20San%20Diego1/Cruise+Ship+Terminal

[CruiseMob]

Thanks everyone for the great information. In our case we can't use the airport transfers as we're not flying in, but driving down. We'll probably be staying a night or two in Carlsbad - does anyone know about how far it is from Carlsbad to the pier?

[Fblack]

Carlsbad to the pier is 35 to 40 minutes.

[Fredr]

Cruise mob,

 

While I also like Carlsbad, I suggest that you check out Del Mar, which has an excellent beach with beach access that is probably the best in California, several very good hotels including the landmark Del Mar motel which is right on the beach, and a number of excellent restaurants. Del Mar is closer to San Diego by about 10 minutes.

 

If you are a family and need some space, the Grand Pacific, and Seapointe in Carlsbad are timeshare properties that may have daily rates.

 

Hope that this helps,

 

Fred

[CruiseMob]

Thanks, we'll look in to Del Mar also. I know it's beautiful there. We're considering Carlsbad because its been a few years since we visited Legoland, and my son is begging us to go to Legoland. He's a Lego fanatic! There's a lovely Four Seasons Hotel there, that we enjoyed in the past - but we're always open for trying new places.