San Diego

[toshiba]

We will arrive probably a day early into San Diego for our Jan 17, 2010 cruise. First is it better to fly into San diego or fly other cities near by? Also any hotels that offer free pick up from SD airport and also to the cruise ship? Also with flights we will have to spend a night if we chose SD is there a hotel that picks up at port.

 

Thanks

[wrp96]

The only airport to use would be SAN. You would have to be saving an extremely large amount of money for the hassle and time it would take to get to any other airport. Besides, SAN is a nice airport and extremely close to the pier. It's probably the shortest distance between pier and airport in the US. The pier is maybe 10 minutes from the airport, if you hit traffic.

[Splinter]

The next closest airports are Tijuana, Mexico (not a good idea unless you are flying from within Mexico) and John Wayne (Orange County: SNA), which is nearly 100 miles away with no good transportation from there without renting a car.

 

Most of the larger and 4-5 star hotels downtown have airport shuttles. Whether or not they would shuttle you to the pier and pick you up there is less likely, but you can call them to check. A cab from the airport to the downtown hotels will run you $15-20 from the airport, and probably similar to the port unless you plan to stay someplace like the Holiday Inn on the Bay (which will shuttle you to the pier even though it is only across the street).

[kenish]

United Express flies turboprops to Carlsbad (CLD), about 30 miles north of San Diego. Very occasionally there will be a very low fare via a connection through LAX. Probably a "non-starter" but it is an option.

 

Ground transport is rental car, taxi, shuttle van, or taking a taxi about 5 miles to the Amtrak station where it's about 40 minutes to the San Diego station a block from the docks.

[cascole]

Check out the Holiday Inn on The Bay & see if they have airport transport (I'm pretty sure they do)... you can use the hotel shuttle to the hotel, stay overnight & walk across the street to the cruise terminal in the morning.

[MomtoCCC]

Since the pier is so close to the airport - how early do you think you can catch a flight out of SAN???

 

Thanks.

[cascole]

I wouldn't do anything earlier than 11-12:00. Debarking Spirit in Nov., I was in group 18 & was home at 10:30 (about a 25 min drive), but there were several groups after mine & you still need at least an hour (or more depending on security lines & which terminal & time/day of the week) at the airport prior to your flight.

[critterchick]

I wouldn't go any earlier than noon, and even that would make me nervous. The San Diego port was chaotic for boarding and disembarkation a couple of years ago (the facility hasn't changed). We were delayed disembarking until after 9:00, and people were still getting off the ship at 11:00.

[cruiserbryce]

San Diego airport would really be the only sensible option to fly into...its only a few minutes from the port and there are a number of hotels close by that could take you to the port in the AM...the closest would be the Holiday Inn

[toshiba]

Thanks for the help. thanks

[arpie05]

Thanks for the help. thanks

 

Hey Toshiba- DOn't let them discourage you from finding the cheapest deal. For me - I live in Missouri and we just got a direct flight on Allegiant to LAX. But due to the dates of the flight, a LA cruise doesn't work but a San Diego does - So I'm going to fly into LAX and drive down. Even if it's 2-3 hours - it's worth save several hundred dollars. (It's probably a saving of $200-300 per tix)

[british betty]

So I'm going to fly into LAX and drive down. Even if it's 2-3 hours - it's worth save several hundred dollars. (It's probably a saving of $200-300 per tix)

 

Our cruise finishes in San Diego and we are thinking of renting a car and driving to LAX as the timings and connections are better.

 

Is it a good / easy drive???

[cascole]

It's an easy drive in that the highways between them are uncomplicated to navigate... when are you planning to travel between the two (day of the week/time of day) & how much time will you allow to travel between San Diego & LAX? Traffic between these cities can be downright awful in parts.

[Splinter]

Without any traffic it is about a 2.5 hour drive. With traffic it can be as long as 4 hours. What time of day and day of the week are you thinking about driving this?? Of course a wreck or construction can turn a "low traffic" time into a major traffic jam, so you would need to plan on that just in case.

[kenish]

As others have mentioned, navigating between LAX and San Diego is easy but traffic can be really bad at times. On weekdays try to make the drive between 9am and 3pm, or after 7pm. That should avoid the worst traffic in both cities. Weekends should not be a problem. Another option is Amtrak. The San Diego depot is adjacent to the cruise docks; the trip to LA Union Station takes about 2 hours. The Flyaway bus service goes between the station and LAX. It's a bit convoluted and probably takes longer than driving.

[british betty]

Our flight leaves LAX at 13.35...so we need to be at the airport for 11.35 - 12 the latest ( to avoid panic)... If we get off the ship first thing, should we have time to get the car and drive .... its a friday :eek:

[cascole]

That's really pretty darn close. If there is no hold up in customs clearing the ship & you are able to be in the first group to disembark & you run into no traffic - it's doable. But I would be nervous, especially if it's an international flight.

 

As an example; I just got off a quick baja 3 night cruise yesterday (Sunday) where we were the only ship disembarking. I live in San Diego about 20 min from the port & I was not home until between 10:30-11am. The same was true of my cruise on the Spirit in Nov. Based on these experiences, I could not have made it to LAX by noon.

[CPPADILLA]

British Betty ~ I think it is safe to say there is no way you would be able to make that flight and that's even on a good day with no traffic. For some unknown reason usually Fridays are bad. There is an area on the freeway that is called the "merge". You could lose up to 45 minutes or more if you got caught in the "merge mess".

 

Why not just fly from San Diego up to LA? Like others have said the SD airport is about 10 minutes (or even less) from the cruise terminal. So bother worrying and fighting with the traffic when you could fly up to LA.

[british betty]

Do you know, as I was posting my question, I had a feeling that something was wrong. :confused:

 

I checked my flight details ( its already booked) and I had held the flight departing LAX at 15.15. ( I have printed the reservation) The airline has ticketed the flight departing at 13.15 and on the internet it states that there has been an itinerary change :eek:. The reason it was booked that way was because we had vouchers with AA and I had to "hold " the flight and then speak to AA for them to ticket it.

 

So.... do you think they'll change the flight???... The UK office is closed now so I cant phone till the morning :mad:

[cascole]

Yes, just get on the phone with them when they open. You will probably be able to get them to change your flight, fly you out of SD directly - or put you ona flight from SD to LAX at their expense!

 

Looks like you booked in enough time & the airline changed it on you. They will/should help you resolve it.

[wrp96]

Do you know, as I was posting my question, I had a feeling that something was wrong. :confused:

 

I checked my flight details ( its already booked) and I had held the flight departing LAX at 15.15. ( I have printed the reservation) The airline has ticketed the flight departing at 13.15 and on the internet it states that there has been an itinerary change :eek:. The reason it was booked that way was because we had vouchers with AA and I had to "hold " the flight and then speak to AA for them to ticket it.

 

So.... do you think they'll change the flight???... The UK office is closed now so I cant phone till the morning :mad:

 

What flight numbers are you looking at? If it says there has been an itinerary change, it's possible that the 15:15 no longer exists. Typically for a major schedule change like that they will allow you to cancel for a full refund but I don't know about the UK rules.

[british betty]

In case any of you had a sleepless night ( like we did!) worrying about how we could get from San Diego in time for the flight from LAX ..that we hadn't originally booked :eek:.

 

I was on the phone at 7.30am this morning to AA and explained the situation and without further ado, with not one iota of hassle, the kindly girl said "no problem Ma'am, I'll see what we can do"

 

I suggested the direct flight from LAX to LHR ( we originally had booked a stop as it was cheaper and got us back to the UK earlier, but thats not an issue now ) and she very promptly and efficiently changed it. ( with no extra charge, even though its more expensive now than when we originally booked!!)

 

We now leave LAX at 7.50pm, so theres plenty of time to negotiate the Californian Highway, with plenty of time to spare. :D

 

Thank you all for you help and advice. :o

[cascole]

YEAH! So glad it worked out for you! :D

[wrp96]

So glad it worked out for you. And thanks for reminding me to do my weekly check of my reservations for schedule changes. I had a big one myself that could've been a big problem if I had stayed unaware. Just keep an eye on your reservation to make sure there aren't any more schedule changes (not typically a problem on the flights across the pond but you never know).

[snausman]

In case any of you had a sleepless night ( like we did!) worrying about how we could get from San Diego in time for the flight from LAX ..that we hadn't originally booked :eek:.

 

I was on the phone at 7.30am this morning to AA and explained the situation and without further ado, with not one iota of hassle, the kindly girl said "no problem Ma'am, I'll see what we can do"

 

I suggested the direct flight from LAX to LHR ( we originally had booked a stop as it was cheaper and got us back to the UK earlier, but thats not an issue now ) and she very promptly and efficiently changed it. ( with no extra charge, even though its more expensive now than when we originally booked!!)

 

We now leave LAX at 7.50pm, so theres plenty of time to negotiate the Californian Highway, with plenty of time to spare. :D

 

Thank you all for you help and advice. :o

 

So glad it worked out for you. Have a great cruise and a wonderful flight home.

 

Laura