Transportation for a post-cruise day in L.A.

We're thinking about spending a day in the greater L.A. area after an October cruise and wondering about transportation options. My recollection is that public transit is incomplete at best.

One option is to go from the cruise ship to Disneyland, then to LAX at 5 or so to catch the plane. Does anyone know whether there are buses or shuttles that would run these two routes? L.A. Harbor-to-Disney and Disney to LAX?

The other option is to rent a car and freelance it a bit more, maybe a stop at a beach, lunch at a favorite restaurant, a visit to Olvera Street. That would call for a car and I'm not sure whether anyone rents them at the cruise terminal and allows me to return it at LAX. Anyone done this? Thanks in advance.

Jim

One option is to go from the cruise ship to Disneyland, then to LAX at 5 or so to catch the plane. Does anyone know whether there are buses or shuttles that would run these two routes? L.A. Harbor-to-Disney and Disney to LAX?

 

The other option is to rent a car and freelance it a bit more, maybe a stop at a beach, lunch at a favorite restaurant, a visit to Olvera Street. That would call for a car and I'm not sure whether anyone rents them at the cruise terminal and allows me to return it at LAX. Anyone done this? Thanks in advance.

 

Jim

Do I read your post correctly that you will arrive on a Disney cruise into San Pedro and will depart LAX that same afternoon? What day of the week will this be, and what airline and time are you departing LAX? The answers might have a big impact on what's do-able.

The best way to maximize your time at Disneyland is a shuttle van or taxi there, and then to LAX. There is a D'land - LAX bus service (easily found with a Google search) but you will be locked into their schedule and will waste time since their route visits hotels to pick up passengers and then stops at each LAX terminal for drop-offs. All this said, even with a van or taxi, you will probably have 11am to 330pm inside the park if you need to be curbside at LAX by 5pm. Since admission is around $100/person it may not be money well-spent.

I would stick to the South Bay and Westside of LA.... Redondo Beach, Venice, Santa Monica, etc. Enterprise is near the docks but they are closed Sundays and have an extremely high one way dropoff fee. Hertz is about 5 miles away so you'd need a taxi to get to their office. I would recommend taking a shuttle van to LAX ($17/person). Rent and return a car from there. Another option is Sunseeker tours, but I don't know if you can bring your luggage and arrange a LAX dropoff. There's quite a few posts on the West Coast forum about Sunseeker.

I can't imagine going to DL for just a few hours, especially considering the cost of admission. If you were staying another day, and were advising you, I would say go ahead and go to Anaheim after your cruise (of course, the cost of transportation may be quite a bit, so it might be a good idea to check into a car rental agency that allows a drop off at LAX the next morning). Maybe get a hotel room in the area (especially if you don't have an early morning flight).

We're thinking about spending a day in the greater L.A. area after an October cruise and wondering about transportation options. My recollection is that public transit is incomplete at best.

 

One option is to go from the cruise ship to Disneyland, then to LAX at 5 or so to catch the plane. Does anyone know whether there are buses or shuttles that would run these two routes? L.A. Harbor-to-Disney and Disney to LAX?

 

The other option is to rent a car and freelance it a bit more, maybe a stop at a beach, lunch at a favorite restaurant, a visit to Olvera Street. That would call for a car and I'm not sure whether anyone rents them at the cruise terminal and allows me to return it at LAX. Anyone done this? Thanks in advance.

 

Jim

If you are disembarking in San Pedro on a Friday and expecting to go to Disneyland, then be back to LAX at 5:00 pm, you may be awfully disappointed...

By the time you get off the ship, clear through customs, etc., find your transportation, get to Disney and buy your tickets, you are likely not starting your day at Disney until around 11:00-noon figuring off the ship around 9:00, leaving the port around 10:00 and an hour to Disney...

Plus, you've got to figure out what to do with your luggage...If you rent a car, you just leave it in the trunk...but, renting that car will also eat up some time...

Then, if you want to get back to LAX by 5:00 pm, you'll have to leave the park by around 3:30-4:00...earlier if you've rented a car since you'll need some time for the car return and shuttle...and, if it's a rental car, add time for the shuttle from the park to the parking lot (it is no longer right outside the gate as it once was)...

So, maybe, you get four hours at Disneyland...maybe less...

And a one-day ticket to Disneyland for one adult is now $96...add in $17 to park if you've rented that car...

So, adding up the cost of a one-day, one-way rental car with LAX drop-off, two tickets to Disney and parking will likely run you close to $300...before adding in food or other purchases...

And all that is for maybe four hours worth of park time...With the lines at Disney, you may get onto 3 or 4 rides...maybe...

Not worth it in my book...

Now, public transportation in LA is pretty bad...and not designed for your needs...even with the largest imaginable window--say 10:00 am disembarkation to 5:00 arrival at LAX, that is 7 hours...Public transportation is inefficient, so you will easily eat up over half this time trying to get to the far-flung sights you wish to visit...

A couple of choices:

1) You could rent a car. Enterprise has a location near the port in San Pedro that is open from 8:00 am on Fridays...$30 to $40 for the day, depending on size car plus the typical taxes, insurance or other add-ons (gas, GPS) will get you your car...

Plan your day carefully...Try to schedule things so that you are at least near LAX as you get into the mid-afternoon--because on a Friday, after about 2:30 pm, the freeways in LA will get VERY SLOW and very crowded...

2) You could arrange for a tour with Sunseeker Tours...They willl pick you up at the pier and drop you off at LAX on schedule...and keep your luggage with you on the bus...

I would avoid shuttles or taxis since costs will be high and luggage problematic...

Good luck...

Do I read your post correctly that you will arrive on a Disney cruise into San Pedro and will depart LAX that same afternoon? What day of the week will this be, and what airline and time are you departing LAX? The answers might have a big impact on what's do-able.

 

The best way to maximize your time at Disneyland is a shuttle van or taxi there, and then to LAX. There is a D'land - LAX bus service (easily found with a Google search) but you will be locked into their schedule and will waste time since their route visits hotels to pick up passengers and then stops at each LAX terminal for drop-offs. All this said, even with a van or taxi, you will probably have 11am to 330pm inside the park if you need to be curbside at LAX by 5pm. Since admission is around $100/person it may not be money well-spent.

 

I would stick to the South Bay and Westside of LA.... Redondo Beach, Venice, Santa Monica, etc. Enterprise is near the docks but they are closed Sundays and have an extremely high one way dropoff fee. Hertz is about 5 miles away so you'd need a taxi to get to their office. I would recommend taking a shuttle van to LAX ($17/person). Rent and return a car from there. Another option is Sunseeker tours, but I don't know if you can bring your luggage and arrange a LAX dropoff. There's quite a few posts on the West Coast forum about Sunseeker.

kenish,

I was in the middle of typing my longwinded post when you posted this...Great minds think alike...

Note, though, that if I read the boards right, the OP is on the Golden Princess--which returns to San Pedro on a Friday morning--making Enterprise more of an option, but traffic more of a problem...

I did check the Enterprise site for a quote and they came up with $29.99 for an economy car, up to $39.99 for a full-size (and that was with pick-up in San Pedro and drop-off at LAX)...Since the OP could keep the luggage in the trunk the whole time, it does solve some problems...

But they do have to figure in added time to get from the pier to Enterprise (a few blocks away on 6th at the Crowne Plaza--walkable...or, it's Enterprise, so they nmight pick them up...still, it takes some time...as does returning the car at LAX...

Thanks everyone. Sorry I wasn't clear on a few things. I try not to bore people with super-long questions and apparently was unspecific in the process.

Yes, it's Friday, Oct. 17 that we come in on the Golden Princess. We've been able to get off our last few cruises by around 8 a.m. with the self debarkation. I thought we could probably get to Disney by 10 or so. Our flight isn't until 8:45 p.m., and thus I was talking about leaving D-Land at about 5. So I thought 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. made a pretty good window for the park. I was unaware that the Happiest Place on Earth now wanted almost $100 to make you happy. I guess I'm still stuck in my childhood when we paid $25 or so.

Since the shuttle idea comes with a luggage problem, I think our best bet is actually the Enterprise rental and just spending the day around L.A. and Long Beach. Either that or fly our earlier. The only reason we have this problem is that the cheapest and only nonstop flight from LAX to our home airport in Southern Oregon is at 8:45. We may just have to pay more and have a layover or two while flying out earlier.

Again, thanks for the responses. I can tell you spent some time on them, and I appreciate it.

Jim