Fly into LAX the night before?

[vplsh]

We are taking Golden Princess out of San Pedro on 3/29 and are deciding whether to fly in Friday night or Sat. morning. Cost of flights is the same, but flying in the night before would involve a hotel room and extra cab ride.

 

What are people's thoughts? Should we be careful (weather, you know!) and fly in the night before or should we fly in on the day of the cruise? AM flight would arrive , if all is on time, around noon on Sat.

 

Thanks!

[Cruise Junky]

If you're coming across country, I'd highly advise coming in the night before, it would be worth the hotel room just to avoid the stress and arrive at the ship relaxed.

[vplsh]

Thanks for the advice. That's just what my husband said!

 

I bid on Priceline for the Crowne Plaza in San Pedro and got it for $76 plustax- under $100 total, so it makes sense to stay. Booked airline tickets too- no difference in price there.

 

Done!! Now we just have to wait until March!!!

[Cruisin' Chick]

good! I always advise going the day before unless you live within driving distance of the port. You never know what problems will pop up (weather -- even if it's decent where you are, conditions elsewhere can still affect you; labor problems; airlines' financial problems; mechanical problems, etc.). Better to get in the day or night before and relax.

[Keith1010]

There is no question about it fly in the day or night before. With flights so full nowadays if your flight is canceled you can easily miss your ship. And delays can be significant and can be caused not only by mechanical or weather conditions but other factors such as security shutdown of airports or computer glithches just to name a few. LAX had a computer glitch this weekend that significantly affected international passengers.

 

It is well worth the peace of mind to come for the extra money to arrive early and could actually save you lots of money relative to missing the embarkation of the ship.

 

Keith

[vplsh]

Thanks for the advice! My husband thinks it's a good idea too. Can't wait!:D

[Desert Cruizers]

Lisa, I won't go into the when to arrive, been already mentioned. Just curious, what was the earliest you could have arrived. We live in So Calif and if we had a cruise a out of Seattle , WA we could catch a 6:30 or 7 AM flight out and be ok. Those traveling to the West Coast have an advantage with the time differance, then those of us going East. However we are 2 hrs from San Diego and could drive, but becasue our M&M have a pre cruise dinner planned, DH & I will drive in and stay at the Hotel with most of them.

[Daniel1313]

We are cruising out of San Pedro next March 17th on a Monday. We are arriving the Friday before just to be sure. Last March we got stuck in Philly in a snow storm on a Friday. It was going to be Monday before we could get our next flight scheduled. Our cruise left on Sunday. We ended up driving to Fort Lauderdale from Philly so we would not miss our cruise. We are hoping we make it to LA this time with no weather related problems.

[Desert Cruizers]

Daniel is that about a 5 hour flight for you. The advantage East Coast has coming West, is we are 3 hrs behind you. If your leaving at 7 AM its 4 AM in Los Angelas. With the weather you spoke of, amazed you were able to get out of Phily by car.

[beasfriend]

You can also fly into Lomg Beach - smaller, less of a hassle airport and a little closer than LAX. Jet Blue has quite a few flights into Long Beach.

[Keith1010]

No matter east coast to west coast or west coast to east cost there is no question about it, fly in the day before. There are just too many things that can go wrong and it would be ashame to miss a cruise because of taking a chance to fly in the day of a cruise.

 

Keith

[Desert Cruizers]

Keith a lady and her husband did just that from a point West to Miami. We were talking Poolside. They arrived at 3:30, DH went looking for a missing luggage, good thing they had transfers, RCL Rep told DW, don't move, went looking for DH & Luggage, found both and they arrived at ship within 1 hour of departure. Her comment, Never Again.

[vplsh]

Lisa, I won't go into the when to arrive, been already mentioned. Just curious, what was the earliest you could have arrived. We live in So Calif and if we had a cruise a out of Seattle , WA we could catch a 6:30 or 7 AM flight out and be ok. Those traveling to the West Coast have an advantage with the time differance, then those of us going East. However we are 2 hrs from San Diego and could drive, but becasue our M&M have a pre cruise dinner planned, DH & I will drive in and stay at the Hotel with most of them.

 

The flight would have left on Sat. AM at 8:40 (which would have most likely been around 9:15 or so from Newark!) and was scheduled to arrive at LAX around noon. I was willing to risk it, but DH was nervous. When we cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale, we usually fly down the day before as well. It's definitely a lot less stress!

[Desert Cruizers]

I think when Cruising , unless you are within driving distance, staying over 1 night is best. Then you both can relax. We are in So Calif and could easily make it to Seattle for a cruise, but even direct, is a 2 1/2 hr flight, providing the plane doesn't end up with mechanical problems. We normally would drive to San Diego for our cruise, Oct 2008 and would have if friends hadn't canceled, but decided to visit with our Roll Call group and attend the Pre Cruise dinner.

[Daniel1313]

GWoodman,

It's about a 6 hour flight to LA and about 5 hour flight back. I think we have the wind on our back on the return flight. When we were in Philly, yes the weather was terrible. Interstate 95 was a nightmare. We were very lucky to even get a rental car. We stayed the night in Newark Deleware and got up the next morning and headed for Fort Lauderdale.

 

Dan