Port of Long Beach- How long to get off ship?

We are scheduled to be in port at 7:00 a.m. What is a realistic time I can expect to be off the ship?

Thanks!

I see by your other posts, that you are on the Star Princess and will be in LB for the day and not on a Carnival ship that uses LB as its home port. You should be able to get off the ship by 8 a.m.

Thank you!

Rosefloater's estimate may have been overly optimistic.

If the ship calls regularly at that port, it may have a slight advantage.

But for all the ports around the world, 2 rank as the absolute worst for cruise ship stops:

Dalian, China and Long Beach, California

Officials in both ports are nasty, lazy, difficult, and slow.

They do not like cruise ships.

The Long Beach officials do not like anyone who is not from the USA.

The Long Beach terminal is so small that passengers must disembark in small groups to avoid crowding the terminal.

If you are not a US Citizen, be prepared for trouble.

The Officials there are convinced that cruise passengers and crew are all trying to illegally enter the USA via Long Beach.

Good luck

Rosefloater's estimate may have been overly optimistic.

If the ship calls regularly at that port, it may have a slight advantage.

 

But for all the ports around the world, 2 rank as the absolute worst for cruise ship stops:

 

Dalian, China and Long Beach, California

 

Officials in both ports are nasty, lazy, difficult, and slow.

They do not like cruise ships.

The Long Beach officials do not like anyone who is not from the USA.

The Long Beach terminal is so small that passengers must disembark in small groups to avoid crowding the terminal.

If you are not a US Citizen, be prepared for trouble.

The Officials there are convinced that cruise passengers and crew are all trying to illegally enter the USA via Long Beach.

 

Good luck

Can you post a link showing that Long Beach is ranked as one of the worst ports? I've searched, but can't find anything.

We have sailed out of Long Beach about 25 times and only 2x has debarkation started after 8. One time was when the crew was going thru customs and the other time was when the gangway from the ship to the dome didn't connect. We have never seen any nasty, lazy or difficult employees. Only 1 time was a customs agent slow (He was new and verrry thorough).

The line for the non US citizens seem to move faster than the US citizen lines.

I think more people can get in to the dome than they can at the World Cruise center. For debarkation and going thru customs, I've noticed, at least on Carnival and Princess, there are less groups and more people per group on Carnival. Princess has many groups and few people in each group which leads to a longer disembarkation.

Can you post a link showing that Long Beach is ranked as one of the worst ports? I've searched, but can't find anything.

 

We have sailed out of Long Beach about 25 times and only 2x has debarkation started after 8. One time was when the crew was going thru customs and the other time was when the gangway from the ship to the dome didn't connect. We have never seen any nasty, lazy or difficult employees. Only 1 time was a customs agent slow (He was new and verrry thorough).

 

The line for the non US citizens seem to move faster than the US citizen lines.

 

I think more people can get in to the dome than they can at the World Cruise center. For debarkation and going thru customs, I've noticed, at least on Carnival and Princess, there are less groups and more people per group on Carnival. Princess has many groups and few people in each group which leads to a longer disembarkation.

Sorry. No links. I have managed cruise ships for over 30 years and have had the misfortune to sail into Long Beach on many more occasions than I want to remember.

Things are so bad there that the cruise line I work for will no longer send ships to that port.

Many other cruise lines have followed our example.

If OP is only there for a port day and not terminating the cruise, the disembarkation should be much faster, shouldn't it??

If OP is only there for a port day and not terminating the cruise, the disembarkation should be much faster, shouldn't it??

Maybe, maybe not. Their previous port is Ensenada and there are two more after it. It's very likely that they'll need to go thru passport control.

While we've never used Long Beach as a port stop, we have sailed out of (and returned to) Long Beach around 20 times.

The latest we've ever debarked at Long Beach was 11:30 due to Crew Check. Usually the while ship is cleared by 10. We are usually one of the last to leave. Debarkation usually starts around 7:30.

Of course the gremlins at port can muck things up.

I have also terminated in Long Beach a LOT, and I have had the same experiences as SadieN. When doing self assist, there have been many times when I was getting on the Long Beach freeway before 8am. Even when not doing self assist, I'm usually off the ship and on the freeway by 9 (and the lines in the parking garage are a big part of that).

I can't speak to how long it will take for a visiting port rather than a termination, but I can't really see THAT much difference.

Bob

We are scheduled to be in port at 7:00 a.m. What is a realistic time I can expect to be off the ship?

 

Thanks!

I'm on the same cruise, and this will be an intermediate stop. Our prior port is Ensenada.

Will we need to take our passports ashore with us and clear customs and immigration on the dock, or is this something which they do on the ship and we just walk off with our CruiseCard and ID?

I'm on the same cruise, and this will be an intermediate stop. Our prior port is Ensenada.

 

Will we need to take our passports ashore with us and clear customs and immigration on the dock, or is this something which they do on the ship and we just walk off with our CruiseCard and ID?

Probably have to clear passport control.

It will be in your ship paper what is expected of you.

Probably have to clear passport control.

It will be in your ship paper what is expected of you.

Thanks... This is the first time I will have experienced clearing immigration at an intermediate port.

Has anyone else had experience doing this? I assume you have to clear customs when you arrive at your final destination, because that is when you are hauling your bags off with you, or is that not the case and you clear both customs and immigration at your first American port of call?

The Long Beach officials do not like anyone who is not from the USA.

The Long Beach terminal is so small that passengers must disembark in small groups to avoid crowding the terminal.

If you are not a US Citizen, be prepared for trouble.

The Officials there are convinced that cruise passengers and crew are all trying to illegally enter the USA via Long Beach.

From what you're saying, the INS station director who got PDX to be known as DePortland (and pretty much destroyed DL's PDX-ICN/SEL route) must have been moved to Long Beach.

From what you're saying, the INS station director who got PDX to be known as DePortland (and pretty much destroyed DL's PDX-ICN/SEL route) must have been moved to Long Beach.

Don't know is BruceMuzz has ever been thru passport control in Long Beach. The area is small. I'd much rather wait, with the option to sit, onboard than stand in line any day. San Pedro's area is even smaller.

As a passenger, the lastest we've ever gotten to the parking lot was as last off pax at 11:30, normally it's 10am. Lot better than Princess' normally scheduled last off at noon debarking in San Pedro.

(I bring up San Pedro because the two ports are 7 miles apart.)

Only debarked once in Long Beach and it was the latest debarkation. There were only four counters opened for passport check.